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Balthazar Getty's Father, John Paul Getty, Dies at 54
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Feb. 8 2011, Published 4:19 a.m. ET
Brothers & Sisters star Balthazar Getty has lost his father, John Paul Getty III. The 54-year-old oil heir, John, died this past weekend in Buckinghamshire, England after battling a long illness.
John Paul is the grandson of American oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, Los Angeles Times reports.
In 1981, he suffered a stroke caused by a drug overdose, leaving him paralyzed and nearly blind.
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His drug and alcohol addiction stemmed from his abduction in 1973 by the mafia in Rome. He was held for a $17 million ransom. Four months later he was released.
Two years later, the troubled heir and his wife Gisela welcomed Balthazar.