The Los Angeles County medical examiner released the cause of death for Kevin Turen, the “Euphoria” producer who died in November.
The medical examiner listed “acute cardiac dysfunction” and “hypertrophic heart disease” as the official causes of death for Turen, 45. The office also cited coronary artery atherosclerosis as a contributing condition.
Turen suffered a cardiac event Nov. 12 on a California freeway. Turen’s 10-year-old son Jack was able to stop the car on the roadside. The producer was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died.
The pair had been headed back from a tennis tournament, Turen’s father, Edward Turen, told The Times days after the event. “Jack looked over and his dad had fainted, he thought, at the wheel,” he said. “He had the presence of mind to undo his seat belt, to get on the floor with his left hand [controlling] the brake and the accelerator, his right hand the steering wheel.”
Turen co-founded Little Lamb Productions in 2018 and produced the nine-time Emmy Award-winning HBO drama “Euphoria,” starring Zendaya and the late Angus Cloud. He reunited with “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson on the feature film “Malcolm and Marie” and the Weeknd-starring HBO series The Idol.” He also produced Larry Clark’s “Wassup Rockers,” Kornél Mundruczó’s “Pieces of a Woman” and Ti West’s slasher-horror films “X” and “Pearl.”
In a statement to The Times after his death, HBO described Turen as “a talented producer and collaborator and will be immensely missed by all who knew and had the fortune of working with him.”
Jay Penske, CEO of Penske Media Group, was Turen’s close friend and told The Times after his death that “He was so proud of his children. He and his wife, Evelina, were resolved that their children grow up with great values and ensured they make a difference in the broader world. Our collective heart breaks for them, and we all feel such a profound sense of loss. We will miss Kevin so much, and this town lost one of its brightest rising stars today.”
Turen is survived by his wife, Evelina, and his two sons, Jack and James.