The 1980s teen heartthrob, best known for his roles in Lucas and The Lost Boys, died in the early hours of Wednesday at Providence St Joseph Medical Centre in Burbank, Los Angeles County coroner Cheryl MacWillie said.

An autopsy will determine the cause of death and there were no other details, she said.

Police said there was no evidence of foul play.

Haim had flulike symptoms before he died and was getting over-the-counter and prescription medications, police said. The cause of death is unknown.

“He could have succumbed to whatever (illness) he had or it could have been drugs. Who knows?” police sergeant William Mann said. “He has had a drug problem in the past.”

Haim was taken by ambulance to the hospital from an apartment in Los Angeles near Burbank. The enormous complex is known as Oakwood and is popular with young actors, police sergeant Michael Kammert said.

Haim acknowledged his struggle with drug abuse to The Sun in 2004.

“I was working on Lost Boys when I smoked my first joint,” he told the newspaper. “I did cocaine for about a year and a half, then it led to crack.”

Haim said he went into rehabilitation and was put on prescription drugs. He took both stimulants and sedatives such as Valium.

“I started on the downers which were a hell of a lot better than the uppers because I was a nervous wreck,” he said. “But one led to two, two led to four, four led to eight, until at the end it was about 85 a day.”

In 2007, he told ABC’s Nightline that drugs hurt his career.