Thomas Noguchi
Thomas Noguchi 野口恒富 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Noguchi in 2016 | |
| Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner for the County of Los Angeles | |
| In office 1967–1982 | |
| Preceded by | Theodore Curphey |
| Succeeded by | Ronald Kornblum |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Tsunetomi Noguchi January 4, 1927 Fukuoka Prefecture, Empire of Japan |
| Nationality | American |
| Residence | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Nippon Medical School |
| Occupation | Coroner, medical examiner |
Thomas Tsunetomi Noguchi (野口 恒富, Noguchi Tsunetomi, born January 4, 1927) is a Japanese-American medical examiner and coroner. He was the chief medical examiner-coroner for Los Angeles County from 1967 to 1982. He is known as the "coroner to the stars".[1]
Noguchi was born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan and raised in Yokosuka. Hegraduated from Tokyo's Nippon Medical School in 1951 before interning at The University of Tokyo School of Medicine Hospital.[2] Then, he emigrated to the United States in Los Angeles. He studied at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, and Barlow Sanatorium in Los Angeles.[3]
Noguchi helped find the cause of death in many celebrity cases in Hollywood during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. He performed autopsies on many celebrities, including John Belushi, Albert Dekker, William Holden, David Janssen, Janis Joplin, Robert F. Kennedy, Harris Glen Milstead, Marilyn Monroe, Gia Scala, Inger Stevens, Sharon Tate, and Natalie Wood.
Noguchi was demoted in 1982 because of the media attention he was getting for his handling of Natalie Wood's autopsy.[4][5]
Afterwards, he became a professor at the University of Southern California and at the University of California at Los Angeles.
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "At 98, the 'Coroner to the Stars' Is Getting One Last Act". The New York Times. May 24, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
- ↑ Robert, Lindsey (March 12, 1982). "Man in the News: A Chastised 'Coroner to the Stars'". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ↑ "Thomas T. Noguchi Receives the R.B.H. Gradwohl Medallion". American Academy of Forensic Sciences. April 2, 2015. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ↑ "Noguchi Begins New Job". Reading Eagle. April 29, 1982. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
- ↑ Cawthon, Elisabeth (2004). Medicine on Trial. ABC CLIO. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-85109-564-3.
Other websites
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