George Jung, inspiration for movie ‘Blow,’ dies

George Jung, the cocaine smuggler whose life-of-crime story became the basis for the Johnny Depp film “Blow,” has died.

He was 78 years old.

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TMZ was the first to report that Jung died at his home in the Boston area.

He had been experiencing liver and kidney failure and had been in home hospice care, but his cause of death has not been released.

Jung’s official Instagram page confirmed his death in his hometown of Weymouth, Massachusetts.

Jung’s official Twitter account featured the quote “May the wind always be at your back and the sun upon your face, and the winds of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars.”

Jung, known as “Boston George,” served 20 years in prison for drug running. He was released in 2014 but then was back in jail for violating parole two years later, for not telling his parole officer he had traveled to San Diego.

He was part of the Medellin Cartel, helping Pablo Escobar smuggle cocaine into the U.S.

Jung recounted his exploits in the book “Blow: How a Small-Town Boy Made $100 Million with the Medellin Cartel and Lost It All,” written by Bruce Porter and which was the inspiration for the 2001 Depp film.

A five-part docuseries recently finished post-production and was picked up by a distributor, Yahoo News reported. No release date has been announced for “Boston George: Famous Without The Fortune.”

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