Coroner to the Stars
2025, NR, US, Documentary, 83 minutes
Florida Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Juried Film
Directors: Ben Hethcoat, Keita Ideno
Producers: Billy Ray Brewton, John Henry Hinkel, Tommy Andres
Cast: Dr. Thomas Noguchi, George Takei, Supervisor Janice Hahn, Dr. Cyril Wecht
Coroner to the Stars charts the extraordinary life and controversial career of Dr. Thomas Noguchi, the former Los Angeles County chief medical examiner-coroner whose celebrity autopsies forever shaped American culture. From Janis Joplin and Sharon Tate to Robert F. Kennedy and John Belushi, Dr. Noguchi’s death investigations pushed forensic science into the spotlight — even as Hollywood elites and political adversaries sought to silence him. A Japanese American who unwittingly rose to fame in a city driven by stardom, Noguchi’s commitment to “tell it like it is” often put him within the crosshairs of controversy.