OZZY Tour Manager Death Likely Due To Throat Cancer

July 25, 2003

Mike Martindale of The Detroit News is reporting that the tour manager for Ozzy Osbourne likely died as a result of throat cancer, but results of his autopsy could take several weeks.

Robert "Bobby" Thomson died Thursday afternoon in his room at the Townsend Hotel (photos) in Birmingham. He was in town with Osbourne for the two-day Ozzfest concert performances.

Birmingham Police Chief Richard Patterson said Friday that there was no evidence in the motel room to indicate Thomson's death was anything but natural. Thomson, 50, of Saugus, Calif., had been diagnosed with throat cancer about 18 months ago.

"There were no signs of foul play and outside of the presence of some prescriptions, there were no drugs present," Patterson said. "Those that knew him said he was quite ill and had been having some problems in recent days."

Thomson was taking several prescription medications to combat his cancer, according to his associates.

Results of an autopsy completed Friday by the Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office were described as pending because extensive toxicology tests must be completed to determine if any of the medications may have contributed to Thomson's death.

Thomson and Osbourne were staying at the Birmingham hotel this week while Osbourne performed Thursday and Friday shows at the DTE Energy Music Theatre.

Despite the death, Osbourne performed Thursday and released a statement expressing sympathy for Thomson's family. Osbourne said Thomson, a native of Wallyford, Scotland, had toured with him for 23 years.

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).