Report: Theater Director Died from Mix of Drugs

The death last fall of a widely praised director of San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater was the result of an accidental drug overdose, the medical examiner's office has ruled.

Mark Rucker, 56, who was an associate artistic director at the theater, died from "combined toxicity of opioids and benzodiazepines," according to the agency's report, which it released last week.

Rucker was found dead August 25 at his home in the 600 block of 41st Avenue, in the city's Outer Richmond neighborhood.

The specific drugs listed as causing Rucker's death were the painkillers oxymorphone and oxycodone, along with diazepam and alprazolam, which can be used to treat anxiety and other issues.

Danny Scheie, of San Francisco, who said Rucker was "my best friend," said of the findings, "This is what we suspected, I think, a mixture of prescription drugs and alcohol."

Scheie declined to elaborate on why he had suspected that, but the medical examiner's office says, "There was evidence of alcohol containers" in Rucker's in-law unit, and he "reportedly used to abuse alcohol." The report lists ethanol among the drugs found in his system, but it doesn't indicate it contributed to his death.

Vickie Wise, 69, of Post Falls, Idaho, Rucker's aunt, said of the medical examiner's ruling, "I don't know anything about that. All we were told was that it was an accidental death."

Asked about whether she'd known anything about him using drugs, Wise said, "Absolutely not. Nothing ever."

Like many people, she recalled Rucker's kindness and generosity.

"He was just the nicest human being that I've ever met in my entire life," Wise said. "That includes my own children and grandchildren. ... He touched everyone he ever met. He touched them."

Before his death, Rucker had recently directed ACT productions of Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play; Maple and Vine, and other plays, as well as many of the theater's Masters of Fine Arts program productions.

The medical examiner's office says that for the week before he was found, Rucker had called in sick to work, but he'd reportedly "mentioned no specific symptoms."

Rucker and his ex-partner had broken up around February, and the ex-partner indicated to authorities that Rucker had been depressed, but had "never expressed suicidal ideation and had no history of past attempts." The public version of the report doesn't list the ex-partner's name.

After a co-worker told him that Rucker had missed a rehearsal that day, the ex-partner went to check on him. He found Rucker in his bed, "unresponsive." Paramedics tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate him, and he was pronounced dead at 4:44 p.m.

Among other items, investigators found two bottles that weren't labeled and contained pills that were eventually identified as ibuprofen, diazepam, and other drugs.

There was "no obvious external trauma," and no notes were found at the scene, the report says. Besides its other findings, the medical examiner's office also noted heart and liver trouble.

Wise, Rucker's aunt, said, "He's loved and missed every day. Every day, he is so missed."