George Jung's Cause of Death Detailed: Johnny Depp's Inspiration on 'Blow' Biopic Dead at 78

By Alexandria Kim

(Photo : Photo by David Tomaseti on Unsplash) George Jung cause of death

The person who inspired Johnny Depp's character on "Blow" has died. He was 78.

On Wednesday, multiple news outlets revealed that Jung died at his Boston-area home. His official Instagram and Twitter account also confirmed his death through a photo of him smoking and a quote from the 2001 biopic.

"May the wind always be at your back and the sun upon your face, and the winds of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars," the tweet says.

A post shared by instagram

The exact cause of death remains unknown. However, it is worth noting that the infamous trafficker suffered from severe liver and kidney failure prior to his passing.

He had been staying in hospice care for the past few years. Only last week when his close friend Roger and girlfriend Ronda fetched him and stayed with him until his death.

George Jung's Life Story

During his heyday, he was infamously known for nicknames El Americano and Boston George. He was allegedly the brain behind 90 percent of the cocaine smuggled into the United States.

In 1974, he was arrested after an attempt to smuggle 300 kgs of marijuana through Chicago. Jung then spent over 20 years behind bars before he was released in 2014.

However, he returned to prison again for violating the parole in 2016. The following year, the authorities freed him again.

His dark and problematic life inspired many materials in the past. Initially, he became the inspiration behind the 1993 book "Blow: How a Small Town Boy Made $100 Million with the Medellin Cocaine Cartel and Lost it All."

It then gave birth to Depp's biopic which the late director Ted Demme directed.

In 2018, Jung said that he was initially hesitant to allow Depp to take on his likeness in the film.

"Ted told me Johnny played a narc in 21 Jump Street and a half-human, androgynous barber in Edward Scissorhands, so I thought, 'This isn't going to work,'" he said, as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter.

Fortunately, Demme made him realize that Depp could give justice to the character by not going with a Hollywood fantasy angle.

Jung continued, "Johnny got angry and said, 'The guy's right here, he's still alive, so if you can't do it right, then you can take your money and shove it up your ass."

The film earned critical acclaims from critics and moviegoers and gained massive box office sales.