February 27, 1983

Williams Choked on a Bottle Cap

By SUZANNE DALEY

ennessee Williams choked to death on a plastic cap of the type used on bottles of nasal spray or eye solution, New York City's Chief Medical Examiner said yesterday.

The 71-year-old playwright, whose body was found Friday morning on the floor of his Manhattan hotel suite, was first thought to have died of natural causes. But an autopsy yesterday found the bottle cap blocking the larynx -''swallowed or inhaled or some combination,'' said the Medical Examiner, Dr. Elliot M. Gross.

Dr. Gross said that there was no suspicion of foul play and that ''deaths of this type are usually classified as accidental.'' He said, however, that he would not make that determination until the results of all the chemical tests were complete. He said they would take several weeks.

The Medical Examiner's initial findings left many questions unanswered about the death of the playwright, who had moved between illness and hypochondria, often relying on alcohol and drugs to keep going.

An empty bottle of wine and several types of medication were found in Mr. Williams's room, the police said. But Dr. Gross would not say whether they had been a factor in the death.

The Medical Examiner also would not speculate on how the bottle cap might have got into Mr. Williams's throat. He did say there were a number of medical dispensers in Mr. Williams's two-room suite at the Hotel Elysee at 60 East 54th Street. He would not say whether any was missing a cap like the one that caused the playwright's death.

Dr. Gross said he had discussed his findings with Mr. Williams's personal physician, whom he would not name. Alcohol and drugs, along with strong coffee and cigarettes, became a regular part of Mr. Williams's life in the mid-1950's after ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' brought him a second Pulitzer Prize. As the playwright saw it, that great success was a turning point, and a long decline began.

Though Mr. Williams continued to write prolifically, he never again achieved the success or the greatness of his earlier works, ''The Glass Menagerie'' and his first Pulitzer Prize play, ''A Streetcar Named Desire.''

At his best, Mr. Williams was a master of dramatic moments who created lost, tortured characters struggling for dignity and hope in a world that often denied both. Suffered From Several Ailments

Obsessed with sickness, failure and death, he constantly thought his heart would stop beating. He had suffered from several ailments, including cataracts, arthritis and heart disease. ''I've had every disorder known to man,'' he once said.

Several weeks ago, when Mr. Williams returned to New York from his house in Key West, Fla., he told close friends that he was exhausted, overworked and suffering from a shoulder condition.

Mr. Williams's body was found Friday morning by his secretary, John Uecker, who shared the playwright's two-room suite. Mr. Uecker said he had heard a noise in Mr. Williams's room at about 11 P.M on Thursday, but did not investigate. At about 10:45 A.M. Friday, Mr. Uecker entered the room and found Mr. Williams lying next to his bed.

Dr. Gross said Mr. Williams had died sometime in the late evening on Thursday or the early morning of Friday. According to doctors, normal nerve reflexes at the back of the throat would ordinarily force a person to gag and therefore eject any object that was caught in the opening of the larynx, called the glottis. No Test for Alcohol

Yesterday, Dr. Gross said that, while ''a number of reasons'' could have impaired the gag reponse, ''it frequently happens when a person is under the influence of alcohol or drugs.''

He said that Mr. Williams's blood had not been tested for alcohol, a procedure that often takes less than an hour to complete, but that testing would start tomorrow.

Dr. Gross issued a brief statement yesterday at a 2:30 P.M. news conference in the lobby of the Medical Examiner's headquarters at 520 First Avenue. The statement, which refers to Mr. Williams by the name he was given at birth, said:

''An autopsy was performed this morning on the body of Thomas L. Williams. The cause of death is asphyxia due to obstruction of the glottis (the opening to the larynx or upper airway) by a plastic over-cap (of the type used to cover the opening of nasal spray or ophthalmic solution dispenser). Further studies, including chemical tests, will be performed.''

The police were unable to say what the bottle cap might have belonged to. ''All the medication was taken from the apartment by the Medical Examiner's office,'' said Captain Gene Burke of the Manhattan detective squad. ''We don't have any information on it.''

Plans for funeral services for Mr. Williams remained incomplete yesterday. A memorial service was scheduled for Wednesday at the Tennessee Williams Fine Arts Center in Key West and a viewing, open to the public, was set for Sunday through Tuesday from 10 A.M. to 8 P.M. at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home, 1076 Madison Avenue.