Friends Identify Man Hospitalized In Grave Condition After West LA Fire As Former Actor
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Friends of a man hospitalized in grave condition after a fire at a West Los Angeles apartment complex have identified him as a former actor.
Loved ones of Andre Marquis rushed to his apartment after hearing he was in grave condition following the fire at the two-story complex in the 2300 block of S. Bentley Avenue.
"I don't believe it," said Howard Gevorkya, a friend. "He's a great person."
Fire officials said the blaze, which consumed a mattress and may have started from a cigarette, broke out Thursday evening around 7:30 p.m.
When firefighters arrived, they found Marquis burned and unconscious on the ground.
"During that firefight, firefighters did come across a civilian with burns and injuries," Sky 9's Stu Mundel reported overhead.
Firefighters said one person was taken to the hospital in "grave condition," but did not release that person's identity.
"They quickly extracted him from the building. They were doing CPR on him. He was placed in an ambulance and transported to a local hospital," Capt. Daniel Curry of the LAFD said.
Gevorkya showed CBS2's Peter Daut a copy of the book Marquis wrote titled "The Poet and the Clown," which was given to Gevorkya as a gift. He says Marquis moved to the U.S. from Columbia decades-ago to become an actor.
According to his IMDb profile, Marquis appeared in television shows like "MacGyver" and a few films from the '70s and '80s. Gevorkya says Marquis lives alone and has been driving a Taxi in recent years because he enjoys meeting new people.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
