Dana Carvey’s son Dex’s cause of death has been confirmed

Dana Carvey’s son Dex’s cause of death has been officially released.

Dex Carvey, who was a comedian, passed away on November 15 at the age of 32. It has now been confirmed that his death was an accident and caused by a lethal combination of fentanyl, ketamine and cocaine in his system.

TMZ reported at the time that Dex’s girlfriend called first responders to a property in Los Angeles, California, where he was found unresponsive in a locked bathroom. He is said to have been pronounced dead at the scene.

The report confirms the initial statement his parents, Dana and Paula Carvey, made last year: “Last night we suffered a terrible tragedy. Our beloved son, Dex, died of an accidental drug overdose.”

The message continued: “Dex packed a lot into those 32 years. He was extremely talented at so many things – music, art, filmmaking, comedy – and pursued all of them passionately.

“It’s not an exaggeration to say that Dex loved life. And when you were with him, you loved life too. He made everything fun. But most of all, he loved his family, his friends, and his girlfriend, Kaylee.”

Born in 1991, Dex followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a stand-up comedian. He opened for Dana on his 2016 Netflix special, Straight White Male. During his set, he described his family as “the von Trapps of comedy”.

Last year saw Dex and his younger brother Thomas – who is also a comedian – team up with the father on a podcast series, The Weird Place. An official description called the project “an episodic sci-fi comedy adventure that will blow your mind”.

It added: “From manipulative aliens to time-traveling pirates to a power-hungry mad man with a magic globe, The Weird Place has no shortage of action-packed supernatural occurrences.”

Last week, Carney opened up about how he was adjusting to the loss of Dex as he returned to work after two months.

He thanked his fans for the “outpouring” of love and support in the wake of Dex’s death, while acknowledging that healing from it is “me and my wife and our son’s private journey”, during an episode of the Fly on the Wall podcast.

Explaining his decision to return to work, Carvey said “riffing with” his friend and podcast co-host David Spade “is going to be very healthy for me as I recover”.

“I thought about this over the holidays and decided to come back to the podcast because I think, you know, it’s a long day when you’re not working and you get in your head,” he told Spade. “And I think it’s going to be a great break. And I think it’s really cool to laugh.

“Doing this and riffing with you is going to be very healthy for me as I recover because I’m kind of on the pain train with millions of other people on this planet. And you don’t know how long you’re going to be on it or when it will stop or when it will get better.

“But in the meantime, all this kind of stuff is very healthy.”

Carvey also shared how his family was coping with Dex’s tragic death, explaining that it isn’t something anyone can help them with.

“We’re all together,” he said. “And we do a lot of fun things. We hike; we go to church. You just want to make sure you keep moving.”

For help, advice or more information regarding addiction in the UK, visit the FRANK website. In the US, visit SAMHSA.