Perry Moore, a producer of the Chronicles of Narnia films and an award-winning gay author, has died at the age of 39.

He was found dead in the bathroom of his Manhattan apartment by his partner Hunter Hill last Thursday morning.

A post-mortem examination was inconclusive, although reports claimed he had died of an overdose of OxyContin, a prescription drug.

His father Bill Moore told the New York Daily News that he had spoken to his son the evening before and he had seemed in good spirits.

Moore was the executive producer of the Chronicles of Narnia series and had written an illustrated book to accompany The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

He also won a Lambda Literary award best novel prize for his 2007 book Hero, about a gay teenage superhero.

According to Moore’s website, a film adaption of Hero was in planning and he said of the book: “I have always been enthralled with comic books and superheroes, and I’ve always believed there should be a gay superhero.

“Not as a joke, not as a supporting character, not as a victim, not as a token, but as a real front-and-centre hero. I’ve always been surprised by how few gay heroes there are in comic books, and I decided I would write the definitive coming-of-age story of the world’s first gay teen superhero.”