MTV

Former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr was found dead Tuesday afternoon (March 8).

TMZ reports that police found Starr's body in a Salt Lake City, Utah, house at 1:42 p.m. He was 44 years old.

A co-founding member of the pioneering Seattle grunge band, Starr appeared on VH1's "Celebrity Rehab" in 2009. He was arrested last month for felony possession of a controlled substance. Salt Lake City police said he had several painkillers on him when he was arrested. Alice in Chains have written heart-wrenching and evocative songs about drug addiction.

Former singer Layne Staley died in spring 2002 after overdosing on a mixture of heroin and cocaine, commonly known as a "speedball." The group mounted a successful comeback with 2009's Black Gives Way to Blue, which featured new vocalist William DuVall alongside guitarist Jerry Cantrell, drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Inez.

Mike Starr was born April 4, 1966, in Honolulu. He rose to prominence in the Seattle scene as bassist for Diamond Lie, which featured Cantrell and Kinney. Once Staley entered the fold, they changed their name to Alice in Chains and signed a major-label deal. Starr appears on the group's debut album, Facelift, which produced the monster hit "Man in the Box." He's also on the band's follow-up EP release, Sap, and their second album, Dirt, which was released in September 1992.

Dirt is a hard rock classic, with "Rooster" remaining a radio staple. "Would?" was featured in the movie "Singles," which was set in the Seattle scene. "Down in a Hole" has been covered by Ryan Adams, Fuel and Demon Hunter. Songs like "Junkhead" dealt with heroin use head-on. The band Godsmack, whose sound owes much to Alice in Chains, took their name from track nine. Cantrell wrote the majority of the songs with some heavy contributions from Staley. Starr is credited as a co-writer on one track, "Rain When I Die."

Starr left Alice in Chains while touring behind Dirt in 1993. Years later, he would reveal on "Celebrity Rehab" that his reason for leaving was his growing addiction to drugs. He briefly joined former Black Sabbath singer Ray Gillen in Sun Red Sun. Their self-titled debut was released in 1995, two years after Gillen died from AIDS-related complications.

Heroin addiction sent Starr to "Celebrity Rehab," which was followed by a stint in the spin-off show "Sober House." He showed up on one episode of the following season of "Celebrity Rehab," celebrating more than six months of sobriety. He was arrested for possession by Salt Lake City police on February 18, 2011.

Travis Meeks of the band Days of the New was reportedly driving the van Starr was riding in when he was arrested last month. The singer/guitarist found platinum success with his band's first album in 1997 and a sound that drew comparisons to Alice in Chains. Meeks put together several different versions of the band in subsequent years, and his own drug problems landed him on the A&E show "Intervention" in 2005.

"Hey, officer, have you ever heard of Alice in Chains? I used to be the bass guitarist for them," Starr said to police, according to a local news report. "We are down here in Utah, me and Travis, putting together a new band."

According to a Ticketmaster listing, "Days of the New featuring Travis Meeks and Mike Starr" was scheduled to appear March 19 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Mike's dad told TMZ his son's death is "a terrible shock and tragedy."

ROLLING STONE

Mike Starr, the original bassist in Alice In Chains who recently appeared on VH1's Celebrity Rehab, died March 8th in Salt Lake City of unknown causes. He was 44. Starr played with the grunge band on their first two studio LP's – including their hit singles "Rooster" and "Man In The Box" – before leaving the band in 1993. He struggled with drugs during much of the past two decades, and last month was arrested in Salt Lake City after being caught with unauthorized prescription drugs.

Photos: Alice in Chains in the Nineties

Alice In Chains came together in Seattle in 1987, right as the local music scene was taking off with groups like Mudhoney and Mother Love Bone. Sensing the changing times, Columbia Records signed the band in 1989 and the next year they released their debut Facelift. The group opened up for Iggy Pop, Van Halen, Extreme and Poison as their song "Man In The Box" climbed the charts – but Starr battled with drug addiction during much of his tenure in the band.

In 1993 he left the group. "It was just a difference in priorities," lead singer Layne Staley told Rolling Stone in 1994. "We wanted to continue intense touring and press. Mike was ready to go home." Starr later claimed that he was fired due to his drug addiction. The next year he served 90 days in jail after being caught stealing luggage from a Houston airport.

Photo Gallery: Alice In Chains, Slipknot, Motley Crue Rattle The Heartland

Three years after Starr left, Alice In Chains dissolved as Staley faced his own drug problems. He died of an overdose in 2002, and Starr later claimed to be the last person to see him alive. "I wish I hadn't been high on benzodiazepine [that night]," Starr said on Celebrity Rehab. "I wouldn't have just walked out the door."

Starr's appearance on the VH1 reality show rankled his former bandmates. "Addiction is no joke, and we know that firsthand," Alice guitarist Jerry Cantrell said in 2010. "We lost a good friend of ours to that. Mike deserves a better life.”

Dr. Drew Tweeted about Starr's death yesterday. "Devastating to hear of Mike Starr succumbing to his illness," he wrote. "So very sad. Our prayers are with his family."

NY Daily News

Evidence that Mike Starr's unexpected death may have been drug-related is continuing to mount since his passing earlier this week.

The former Alice in Chains bassist, who was found dead in his Salt Lake City home Tuesday, made a desperate plea for drugs shortly before he died.

"If you could score me an eighth, quarter ounce, half ounce or bud or whatever," Starr said to an unidentified friend in a voice mail message obtained by TMZ.com.

"I need it so bad," the musician pleaded before hanging up.

He reportedly died hours later.

Starr's roommate also revealed to TMZ that the former "Celebrity Rehab" participant was "mixing" anti-anxiety medicine with methadone on Monday night.

The chief investigator of Utah's office of the medical examiner told the Daily News on Wednesday that toxicology reports would not be completed for 8-12 weeks.

Dr. Drew, who worked with Starr on the VH1 reality show, already seemed convinced that the rocker's drug addictions caused his death.

"Devastating to hear of Mike Starr succumbing to his illness," he tweeted Tuesday.

Starr was arrested last month for felony possession of a controlled substance after he was reportedly caught with several painkillers.

"Mike was a beautiful person who was fighting to stay sober," his roommate told TMZ. "I am going to miss him greatly."

Michael Christopher Starr