A man working on the Mister Rogers film starring Tom Hanks has died after an on-set fall in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, located about 20 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
Police said James Emswiller, 61, a sound mixer, was on a break between scenes around 7:30 p.m. EDT Thursday when he went over a brick wall on the balcony of an apartment building and fell two stories.
Upon arrival, officers, movie crew and a set medic attempted life saving measures, according to a release from Mount Lebanon Police obtained by USA TODAY.
Police Chief Aaron Lauth told WPX-TV that Emswiller, whose fall may have been triggered by some kind of medical issue, was transported to the University of Pittsburgh's medical center. His condition became critical and he died at approximately an hour after his fall.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed his death to The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. An autopsy revealed the cause of death was blunt impact injuries to the head and torso. The manner of death was listed as an accident.
The newspaper reported that star Hanks, who plays Fred Rogers, was on the set Thursday, but left after the incident. Filming was canceled for the evening and remains on hold.
“This is a devastating tragedy and the studio is investigating the matter. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jim’s loved ones, friends, and colleagues,” Sony Pictures/Tri-Star Pictures, the studio making the film, said in a statement to USA TODAY.
The film is inspired by a real-life friendship between Rogers and journalist Tom Junod. Junod is depicted as a cynical scribe who begrudgingly accepts an assignment to write an Esquire profile on the iconic Mr. Rogers. He finds his life-perspective transformed in the process.
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