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Patton Oswalt speaks on his wife Michelle's death in Times piece

Michelle McNamara died suddenly at age 46 in April.

By Annie Martin
Patton Oswalt (L) and Michelle McNamara at the Los Angeles premiere of "Ratatouille" on June 22, 2007. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 3 | Patton Oswalt (L) and Michelle McNamara at the Los Angeles premiere of "Ratatouille" on June 22, 2007. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Patton Oswalt thinks wife Michelle McNamara may have died of an overdose.

The 47-year-old actor revealed the late writer had taken Xanax the night before she died while recounting the circumstances of her unexplained death for the New York Times.

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"I have a feeling it might have been an overdose," he said. "That's what the paramedics there were saying while I was screaming and throwing up."

McNamara died suddenly at age 46 in April, but her cause of death has yet to be released. Oswalt said his wife was obsessively working on a book at the time of her death but agreed to take a night off and took Xanax before bed.

Los Angeles County coroner's office spokesperson Ed Winter told The Hollywood Reporter in April that it might take months to determine McNamara's cause of death. He said at the time that the medical examiner's office was backed up with cases.

Patton has since returned to performing, but told the New York Times he will "never be 100 percent again" in the wake of the loss. The actor and comedian had said in August that he's "crawling" but no closer to "closure."

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"102 days at the mercy of grief and loss feels like 102 years and you have [expletive] to show for it," he wrote in a Facebook post. "You will not be physically healthier. You will not feel 'wiser.' You will not have 'closure.'"

"It's 102 days later and I can confidently say I have reached a place where I'm crawling," the star said. "Which, objectively, is an improvement. Maybe 102 days later I'll be walking."

Patton and McNamara married in 2005 and share 7-year-old daughter Alice. The actor is known for King of Queens, Justified and Veep, and will appear on the new Hulu series Dimension 404.

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