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 A 61-year-old man from Pittsburgh’s Lincoln Place neighborhood died from injuries he sustained Thursday night when he fell off a balcony in Mt. Lebanon during a break in filming the new movie about legendary children’s television host Fred Rogers, “You Are My Friend,” the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said. 
 
 The office identified the man as James M. Emswiller. 
 
 Mt. Lebanon police said Emswiller fell a couple of stories to the ground from the balcony at an apartment building in the 700 block of Shady Drive East. He was taken by medics to UPMC Mercy in critical condition, where he died roughly an hour after the incident, officials said. 
 
 Mt. Lebanon police Chief Aaron Lauth said Emswiller may have suffered a medical event prior to falling over the brick wall surrounding the balcony. 
 
 The incident happened about 7:30 p.m. No one reported seeing Emswiller fall, but people did hear him hit the ground, the chief said. 
 
 “This is a devastating tragedy and the studio is investigating the matter. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jim’s loved ones, friends, and colleagues,” Sony’s TriStar Pictures division said in a statement. 
 
 Emswiller was involved in the sound production of the movie, which was shooting a scene Thursday night. 
 
 His IMDb page credits him as a sound mixer for an Untitled Mr. Rogers/Tom Hanks Project. 
 
 Film star Tom Hanks, who is playing Rogers in the movie, was at the site and later left. 
 
 Emswiller’s credits include sound work on the Pittsburgh-filmed movies “Jack Reacher,” “Abduction” and “Concussion.” He won an Emmy Award in 2015 for his work on the TV movie “Bessie,” which told the story of legendary blues performer Bessie Smith, his IMDb page said. 
 
 Rogers, a Latrobe native, was known worldwide for his television program, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” which was produced at WQED-TV studios in Pittsburgh and aired from 1968 to 2001. Rogers died in in 2003. 
 
 The new movie is about the experience of Tom Junod, a journalist who profiled Rogers in an article for Esquire magazine in 1998. The movie is about the bond that developed between the two men. 
 
 The movie being filmed in Pittsburgh is described by TriStar as a “heart-warming story, a cynical journalist begrudgingly accepts an assignment to write a profile piece on the beloved icon and finds his perspective on life transformed.” 
 
 Staff writer Madasyn Czebiniak contributed. Bret Gibson and Joe Napsha are a Tribune-Review staff writers. You can contact Bret at bgibson@tribweb.com and Joe at 724-836-5252 or jnapsha@tribweb.com. ||||| Tom Hanks, shown here on the set of his upcoming film, is officially in Mister Rogers' red cardigan. (Photo: LACEY TERRELL) 
 
 A man working on the Mister Rogers film starring Tom Hanks has died after an on-set fall in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, located about 20 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. 
 
 Police said James Emswiller, 61, a sound mixer, was on a break between scenes around 7:30 p.m. EDT Thursday when he went over a brick wall on the balcony of an apartment building and fell two stories. 
 
 Upon arrival, officers, movie crew and a set medic attempted life saving measures, according to a release from Mount Lebanon Police obtained by USA TODAY. 
 
 Police Chief Aaron Lauth told WPX-TV that Emswiller, whose fall may have been triggered by some kind of medical issue, was transported to the University of Pittsburgh's medical center. His condition became critical and he died at approximately an hour after his fall. 
 
 The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed his death to The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. An autopsy revealed the cause of death was blunt impact injuries to the head and torso. The manner of death was listed as an accident. 
 
 The newspaper reported that star Hanks, who plays Fred Rogers, was on the set Thursday, but left after the incident. Filming was canceled for the evening and remains on hold. 
 
 “This is a devastating tragedy and the studio is investigating the matter. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jim’s loved ones, friends, and colleagues,” Sony Pictures/Tri-Star Pictures, the studio making the film, said in a statement to USA TODAY. 
 
 The film is inspired by a real-life friendship between Rogers and journalist Tom Junod. Junod is depicted as a cynical scribe who begrudgingly accepts an assignment to write an Esquire profile on the iconic Mr. Rogers. He finds his life-perspective transformed in the process. 
 
 More: First photo of Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers emerges, red sweater and all 
 
 Contributing: The Associated Press 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2018/10/11/man-critically-injured-set-mr-rogers-movie-tom-hanks/1609347002/ ||||| It’s a sad day on the set of the upcoming Mister Rogers movie. 
 
 James Emswiller, a 61-year-old member of the project’s sound production team, died Thursday night after falling two stories from a building where the movie was shooting, according to USA Today and the Associated Press. 
 
 Mt. Lebanon Chief of Police Aaron Lauth told PEOPLE hours before Emswiller died that the production member was “taking a break” when he collapsed and fell from the balcony of the building. 
 
 “Basically, he appears to have suffered from a medical emergency while on the balcony,” Lauth said at the time. “He was taking a break and smoking a cigarette when he fell.” 
 
 “He fell from the second story of the building. Other crew members were inside the building, but not on the balcony. They noticed he wasn’t there and saw him down on the ground,” he continued. 
 
 #BREAKING: Mt. Lebanon Police say they think James Emswiller stepped outside for a smoke break when he may have suffered a heart attack and fell from the balcony. The fall happened around 7:28 in Mt. Lebanon. His time of death was 10:36 at the hospital.@KDKA pic.twitter.com/rzvOKy7pSq — Meghan Schiller (@MeghanKDKA) October 12, 2018 
 
 Emswiller won an Emmy in 2015 for outstanding sound mixing for a limited series or a movie for HBO’s Bessie. 
 
 Tom Hanks, who is playing the beloved TV personality, was on set throughout the day, Lauth said. The AP reported Hanks was also on set at the time of the incident. 
 
 A rep for the actor did not immediately respond for PEOPLE’s request for comment. A spokesperson for Big Beach Films, the movie’s production company, also did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. 
 
 WATCH: Tom Hanks to Star as Mister Rogers in Upcoming Movie 
 
 The Oscar winner made headlines in late September when Sony Pictures released the first photo of the actor in costume as Fred Rogers. 
 
 RELATED: Tom Hanks Is Fred Rogers in First Look at Movie About Beloved TV Icon 
 
 He was pictured smiling happily at the camera in a bright red sweater pulled over a buttoned-up shirt and tie over khaki pants — the familiar outfit Mr. Rogers is remembered for wearing. 
 
 The film will focus on Rogers’ unlikely friendship with award-winning journalist Tom Junod, who got to know the television personality while writing a 1998 profile on the star for Esquire magazine. 
 
 The film will hit theaters in October 2019. ||||| 6 dead, 7 hurt in Berkeley balcony collapse 
 
 A 21st birthday party in Berkeley full of students from Ireland turned into a scene of chaos and tragedy early Tuesday when the small fourth-floor balcony of the apartment hosting the bash gave way, killing six young people who crashed to the street below and injuring seven more. 
 
 The accident at the four-story Library Gardens complex at 2020 Kittredge St., near the UC Berkeley campus, unleashed waves of grief across Ireland as well as Rohnert Park, where one of the victims was from. It launched Berkeley homicide detectives and building inspectors into what they said would be a swift investigation. 
 
 While city officials wouldn’t comment on their initial findings, independent experts who viewed the damage in person or through photographs said it appeared rainwater had penetrated the balcony’s wood structure, causing dry rot that weakened it. Such rot, they said, can happen in just a few years if a building isn’t properly sealed from the elements. 
 
 Four people died at the scene and two others died at a hospital, police said. Two of the seven who were injured were in critical condition at trauma centers. And those who witnessed the balcony’s sudden plunge at 12:40 a.m. remained stunned hours later. 
 
 “I saw a bunch of bodies,” said Jason Biswas, 16, a student at nearby Berkeley High School. He said the victims were in “piles of blood,” adding, “It seemed like a movie, but it wasn’t.” 
 
 Alameda County officials identified the dead as Ashley Donohoe, 22, of Rohnert Park and Irish nationals Olivia Burke, Eoghan Colligan, Niccolai Schuster, Lorcan Miller and Eimear Walsh, who were each 21. 
 
 Donohoe was a soccer star and homecoming queen before she graduated from Rancho Cotate High School in 2011, and she and Burke were cousins. Their grieving family members were too overcome to speak Tuesday. 
 
 Irish officials said many of those at the party were in the United States on J-1 nonimmigrant visas, which are given to those approved to participate in work-and-study-based exchange visitor programs. 
 
 “The families who have been bereaved in the tragedy in Berkeley earlier today have now all been contacted,” Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan said in a statement. “I again want to express my deepest sympathy to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in this appalling incident.” 
 
 Makeshift memorial 
 
 On Kittredge Street, a makeshift memorial sprang up on the sidewalk. Neighbors delivered flowers and cards amid hugs and tears. Onlookers came throughout the day, crowding behind police barricades as city crews, hoisted by cranes, inspected what was left of the balcony and gathered shards for examination. 
 
 The balcony itself tumbled over and landed upside down on the third-floor balcony below. Red cups, tree branches and other debris littered the sidewalk. 
 
 In the evening, Mayor Tom Bates was joined by Ireland’s general consul in San Francisco, Philip Grant, for a ceremonial wreath-laying to honor the dead. A bagpiper played a mournful tune. 
 
 Berkeley officials said the apartment complex, which was built from 2005 to 2007, was subject to city and state building codes established in 1998, which mandated that balconies support at least 60 pounds per square foot. The balcony that collapsed appeared to be roughly 30 square feet. City officials said the apartment had no sign warning of the balcony’s capacity — and was not required by law to do so. 
 
 The officials would not speculate on what may have caused the balcony to break away. “In 48 hours we should know more,” said Matthai Chakko, a city spokesman. 
 
 As the investigation began, though, officials red-tagged three similar balconies at the 176-unit apartment complex out of concern that they might not be structurally sound. The city ordered the property owner to “perform a structural assessment of the remaining balconies within 48 hours,” said Chakko. 
 
 Bates said the tragedy was a “wake-up call,” and that city officials planned to inspect 13 other buildings under construction in the city to ensure they are safe. 
 
 Library Gardens, which consists of two buildings, has an assessed value for tax purposes of $65.6 million, according to public records. On its website, the manicured complex is described as the “premiere choice for convenient Berkeley apartments.” Units rent for $2,150 to $4,000 a month. 
 
 In a statement, property manager Greystar said, “Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the deceased and those injured in this tragic accident. 
 
 “The safety of our residents is our highest priority,” said Greystar, which is headquartered in Charleston, S.C., and has offices in San Francisco, “and we will be working with an independent structural engineer and local authorities to determine the cause of the accident.” 
 
 A similar statement was released by New York-based private equity group BlackRock, which bought the complex in 2007 and serves as the investment adviser for a real estate fund that owns the property. The owner is listed under the name Granite Library Gardens LP. 
 
 Wood joists ‘degraded’ 
 
 Bernard Cuzzillo, a mechanical engineer who owns a Berkeley laboratory and studies why structures fail, came to the scene to view the damage and take photographs. 
 
 He said the wood structure of the balcony — which sat beyond a set of French doors — appeared to have been exposed to rain and that the “wood joists are obviously degraded due to dry rot.” He was not involved in the investigation. 
 
 Gene St. Onge, an Oakland civil and structural engineer, reviewed a picture of the detached balcony at the request of The Chronicle. 
 
 While stressing that his assessment was preliminary, St. Onge said, “This appears to be a classic case of there being inadequate waterproofing at the point where the deck meets the house. If the waterproofing is substandard, rainwater can enter the building, causing dry rot, which can destroy the wood members within a short time, i.e. only a few years from construction.” 
 
 Carrie Olson, who was on the Berkeley Design Review Committee that approved the building in 2001, said the balcony that collapsed was intended largely as decoration, and was “definitely not large enough to be what the city would call an ‘open space balcony,’ where groups of people could stand outside.” Olson abstained from the 2001 vote. 
 
 The number of people who fell, and the distance they dropped, horrified witnesses, who described a frantic scene on the street. 
 
 Gerald Robinson of Berkeley said he had just left a movie and was in his car when a young man and woman with blood on them flagged him down. He drove them to Highland Hospital in Oakland and stayed with them for about an hour. 
 
 “They were distraught. They were hanging on each other for comfort,” said Robinson, 65. 
 
 The two, both Irish, told Robinson that the balcony had collapsed during a 21st birthday celebration for a friend. “They were having a party — suddenly it went down,” Robinson said. “It came down really fast and chucked everybody off.” 
 
 Another witness, 18-year-old Xueyao Song, said, “It was really horrible. We came down and saw people crying, holding each other.” 
 
 Owen Buckley, who lives on the third floor of the building and is also an Irish student who came to the Bay Area for the summer to work, was not at the party but heard the collapse. 
 
 “I thought someone had gotten shot,” he said. 
 
 Rushed to hospitals 
 
 Two women and a man were taken by ambulance to Highland Hospital, officials said, while three men and a woman were rushed to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley. At least one victim was taken to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek. 
 
 The balcony collapsed about 40 minutes after Berkeley police officers were notified by dispatchers that someone had complained about a “loud party” in the building, said Police Chief Michael Meehan. 
 
 The chief said, however, that officers had not yet responded to the complaint because of other more serious calls and that, even if they had, it’s “highly doubtful” that officers would have gone inside. 
 
 San Francisco Chronicle staff writers J.K. Dineen and Michael Cabanatuan contributed to this report. 
 
 Jaxon Van Derbeken, Henry K. Lee, Hamed Aleaziz and Kurtis Alexander are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: jvanderbeken@sfchronicle.com, hlee@sfchronicle.com, haleaziz@sfchronicle.com and kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jvanderbeken @henryklee @haleaziz @kurtisalexander ||||| UPDATED at 9:17 p.m PT: AMC and “Walking Dead” showrunner Scott Gimple released statements on Bernecker’s death. 
 
 “John Bernecker’s family has decided that he will be removed from life support, following organ donation,” AMC said. “We are deeply saddened by this loss and our hearts and prayers are with John’s family, friends and colleagues during this extremely difficult time.” 
 
 “Our production is heartbroken by the tragic loss of John Bernecker,” Gimple said. “John’s work on The Walking Dead and dozens of other movies and shows will continue to entertain and excite audiences for generations. We are grateful for his contributions, and all of us send our condolences, love, and prayers to John’s family and friends.” 
 
 PREVIOUSLY: 
 
 “Walking Dead” stuntman John Bernecker has died after suffering an accident on the show’s set in Georgia, Variety has confirmed. 
 
 According to Coweta County Coroner Richard Hawk, Bernecker died at Atlanta Medical Center of blunt force trauma due to his fall. He was reportedly placed on a ventilator after the accident, which was turned off on Thursday. 
 
 Bernecker fell more than 20 feet off a balcony onto a concrete floor, suffering a serious head injury that required him to be transported to a nearby hospital by helicopter. AMC announced Thursday that they had temporarily shut down production on the show’s eighth season in the wake of the tragedy. 
 
 Related 'Walking Dead' Cast Writes Rick Grimes' Epitaph TV’s Most Meaningful Deaths of 2018 
 
 Bernecker is a veteran stunt performer and fight choreographer. Per his IMDB page, he has worked on projects such as “Olympus Has Fallen,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay” parts 1 and 2, and “Logan,” among many others. He is also listed as having worked on upcoming films like Marvel’s “Black Panther” and Dwayne Johnson’s “Rampage.” He has been an actor in several films, with small parts in “Logan,” “The Last Witch Hunter,” “Goosebumps,” and an episode of Season 1 of “True Detective.” 
 
 A SAG-AFTRA spokesperson said on Thursday the guild is investigating the accident. 
 
 “We are saddened to report that John Bernecker, a talented stuntman for ‘The Walking Dead’ and numerous other television shows and films, suffered serious injuries from a tragic accident on set,” AMC said in a statement on Thursday. “He was immediately transported to an Atlanta hospital and we have temporarily shut down production.” 
 
 In addition, the Atlanta office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) confirmed to Variety on Friday that they have launched their own investigation into the incident. 
 
 SAG-AFTRA also issued a statement on Friday after his family confirmed his death: “SAG-AFTRA offers its deepest condolences to the friends and family of John Bernecker, an accomplished stunt performer who passed away after a fall on the set of ‘The Walking Dead’ in Georgia. This tragic and untimely loss of a member of the SAG-AFTRA family is heartbreaking, and our thoughts are with his loved ones and his friends and colleagues in the Georgia production community. 
 
 “The safety of our members is paramount. We will work with the authorities and closely monitor their investigations into this tragic incident.” 
 
 The LifeLink Foundation posted a statement saying that he would serve as an organ donor: “Although devastated by their loss, John’s loved ones have ensured his legacy will live on, not only through the personal and professional contributions he made during his life, but also by their generous decision to allow John to save lives as an organ donor,” the statement read.
– Sad news out of Pennsylvania, where a biopic about Fred Rogers (aka "Mister Rogers") is filming. WPXI and the AP report that a 61-year-old crew member for You Are My Friend has died after falling off a second-story balcony at a Mount Lebanon apartment building. Police say James Emswiller, described as a sound mixer on his IMDb page, had gone out onto the balcony for a smoke in between shooting scenes for the film and apparently plummeted over the balcony's brick wall about 7:30pm Thursday. No one saw him fall, but others nearby heard a sound and soon discovered Emswiller on the ground below. "He appears to have suffered from a medical emergency while on the balcony," Mount Lebanon Chief of Police Aaron Lauth tells People. Emswiller was initially listed in serious condition, but he soon deteriorated and was pronounced dead at a local hospital about an hour after the fall. He had previously done work on The Avengers and Jack Reacher, per his IMDb creds; the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes he won an Emmy for the TV movie Bessie in 2015. "This is a devastating tragedy and the studio is investigating the matter," Sony Pictures/TriStar Pictures said in a statement to USA Today. Tom Hanks, who stars as Rogers, was reportedly on the set Thursday and left after the incident.