Tragedy stikes Glee again in lead-up to final season

Almost a year after Cory Monteith died of a heroin and alcohol overdose, the boyfriend of cast member Becca Tobin was found dead in a Philadelphia hotel room. The body of 35-year-old nightclub owner Matt Bendik was discovered a little after 1 p.m. Thursday (Eastern Daylight Time) by a maid at the Hotel Monaco. It’s unclear where the 28-year-old Tobin — who found fame in 2012 by playing cheerleader Kitty Wilde on the Fox series — was at the time. There were conflicting reports about whether she accompanied Bendik on the business trip. No drugs or paraphernalia were found in the room. Just four weeks ago, Tobin posted a black-and-white Instagram picture of herself kissing Bendik on the cheek. As word of Bendik’s death spread, Tobin’s fans posted messages of support beneath the sweet photo. “Stay strong Becca!” wrote one, Brittany Heath. “We love you!” Bendik, who ran Hollywood hot spots DBA and AV, was a go-getter who was just 15 when he got into the club business. He worked as a promoter for the famed Whiskey a Go Go on the Sunset Strip before heading off to study business at Cornell University. When Bendik returned to L.A., it was back to the night life and a career that allowed him to rub elbows with celebrities. Now he can rub elbows with such other dead celebrities as Michael Jackson, Kurt Cobain, and Cory Monteith.