20-year-old son of 'Orange Is the New Black' creator dies at Utah ski resort
Charles "Charlie" Noxon, 20, son of an acclaimed TV writer and producer, died at a ski resort in Utah on New Year's Eve, his family and authorities announced Monday.
Noxon, the son of Jenji Kohan, who created such popular series as "Orange Is the New Black," "Weeds" and "Glow," died on an intermediate trail at Park City Mountain ski resort on Dec. 31.
He was pronounced dead after hitting a sign at the resort, police said. Noxon was alone and there were no witnesses to the crash, but it appears that it happened as he tried to navigate a fork in the trail, according to Lt. Andrew Wright, spokesman for the Summit County Sheriff's Office.
Noxon, an experienced skier who was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, was on a trip with his siblings and father, journalist Christopher Noxon, police said. They were further down the mountain at the time of the accident.
His family was "shattered" by the loss, according to a statement issued via the sheriff's office.
"There are no words. But words are what we’ve got right now, along with tears and hugs and massive quantities of baked goods and deli platters," the statement said. "He was absolutely adored by his parents, Jenji Kohan and Christopher Noxon, and his siblings, Eliza and Oscar."
Charles Noxon of Sherman Oaks, California, was a junior at Columbia University in New York, studying philosophy, economics and Chinese.
His family's statement said he had "a beautiful life of study and argument and travel and food and razzing and adventure and sweetness and most of all love."
"He loved Bob Dylan, George Saunders and Hayao Miyazaki. He was questioning, irreverent, curious and kind," the family statement said. "We cannot conceive of life without him."
On Friday, Kohan posted a picture and a mournful tribute to her son on Instagram.
"He was my best work. A list of adjectives don’t do him justice. There is no justice. I am the luckiest person who ever lived in that I got to spend so much time and help grow this brilliant, funny, truly kind and thoughtful person-man-boy. My baby. My golden child. My beautiful boy. I don’t understand what life is now without him in the world. I don’t understand where he’s gone. And I’m broken. How is this real?"
The ski resort, part of Vail Resorts, confirmed a "serious incident" on an intermediate trail near Canyons Village. A statement to Paste BN from Mike Goar, chief operating officer at Park Mountain, said the resort's ski patrol responded to the incident, and the victim was evaluated, treated and pronounced dead by an air ambulance team.
“Park City Mountain, Park City Mountain Ski Patrol and the entire Vail Resorts family extend our deepest sympathy and support to our guest’s family and friends,” Goar said in the statement.
His funeral will be Sunday at Temple Israel of Hollywood.
Contributing: The Associated Press