Ted Owen — the gaming executive and advertising scion who lobbied to have video games in the Olympics — was found dead on Friday at the luxury downtown hotel where he was living, Page Six has exclusively learned.
Friends last saw him on Thursday, but became worried when they hadn’t heard from him a day later, sources said.
“On Friday, no one could get ahold of him,” a pal told us. “We had the hotel do a health check, and he was found dead, alone in his room. It’s such an awful tragedy.”
Owen’s p.r. rep confirmed his death and said, “They found him in bed peacefully — there were no signs of anything that explained why this happened. It’s undetermined.”
The NYPD had no comment.
The p.r. rep added: “There were no signs of drugs or alcohol… They are doing tests on the body — he went back to his hotel Thursday night alone and was last seen in good spirits.”
Owen apparently did have a health condition, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, stemming from being a 9/11 responder, we’re told. But, “he was telling friends on Thursday night, ‘I’m healthy, I’m great!’”
Owen’s attorney, Jonathon Warner, told us when reached for comment on Monday that an autopsy has been performed, and results are still pending.
The dashing-looking Owen was single, and his exact age was a mystery even to those closest to him.
“He wasn’t married, no kids, he was always surrounded by beautiful women,” said a close friend. “He was a charismatic personality, and kind of a quintessential playboy. He never liked to talk about his age.”
Records of his age could not be immediately found by Page Six. Friends pegged him to be in his early 50s, (though he was known to say he was 47).
A pal said that Owen had been living at the Lower Manhattan boutique hotel recently. “He had a great two-bedroom with a wraparound terrace. He was very happy there.”
He had also launched a new company, PlayAPI, and was co-founder of the Global Gaming League. He once said of his bid to get video gaming into the Olympics: “I don’t see how curling is any more of a sport.”
Owen’s p.r. rep added: “He was on the verge of doing so many exciting things in the online gaming world — we hope his legacy will live on.”
A Duke grad who started his career in investment banking, he was the grandson of advertising legend Ted Bates.
He was also known for some typically Manhattan controversies — including a bitter back-and-forth dispute with a former Soho landlady that made the tabloids, plus a legal dust-up with a moving company over some rugs from the 1800s.