Cory Monteith: An ‘Enduring Sweetness’ on Glee

Cory Monteith arrived in our homes in 2009 in a happy burst of music, color and youth called Glee.

The news of his death in a Vancouver hotel room comes with the shock of someone dying at only age 31 (he seemed more like 22) – and also with the realization that he takes with him that music, color and youth.

Monteith was Finn Hudson, tall, handsome in a clean, square way. He looked like an old-fashioned teenage dreamboat dropped down in a school so up-to-the-minute in its heterogeneous mix he might have seemed out of place – like Ronald Reagan turning up in his brown suit to audition for the annual musical (Rent, say).

PHOTOS: Cory Monteith’s Hollywood Life

But Monteith had an open-faced quality that revealed, or betrayed, whatever emotion he was feeling (or singing) at the moment. He had an earnestness, an awkwardness, a sincerity that gave him a certain rawness – and an enduring sweetness.

The other performers on Glee tend to have the shiny, expert confidence that we want (and need) of a show that expects its characters to burst into song. Monteith never had quite that same edge: His definition was softer. He moved through the corridors of McKinley High at a slightly different lope, and that all lingers in the mind.

At least that’s how Monteith strikes me now – perhaps I’d already begun to adjust my ideas about him after he entered rehab earlier this year for substance abuse. These shadows filter into your perceptions, especially your perceptions of an actor still so early in his career – and associated with a show as bright as Glee.

Miss him already.

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Cory Monteith Was ‘In Great Spirits’ Two Days Before Death

Two days before he was found dead, Cory Monteith enjoyed “a quiet night with a lot of laughing” with one of his first mentors, Maureen Webb.

“He looked so good, so healthy,” Webb, the co-founder of Project Limelight Society, a Vancouver charity close to the actor’s heart, tells PEOPLE. “I hadn’t seen him look that good in a long time.”

Joined by Monteith’s manager Elena Kirschner, the trio dined at East of Main, a restaurant that supports the organization. “We ate a lot of food,” recalls Webb, noting no one drank alcohol. “We drank the rhubarb lemonade.”

Monteith initiated the dinner, telling Webb he wanted to get more involved the non-profit arts program for children that he had supported since its 2011 launch.

“I told him, ‘I remember everything we talked about when we first talked about this project. Now it’s happening.’ His face just lit up. He was in great spirits.”

Two days later, on Saturday, the 31-year-old Glee star’s body was discovered in his hotel room. No cause of death has been determined but police have ruled out foul play.

For more information or to make donation in Monteith’s memory go to Project Limelight Society.

PHOTOS: Cory & Lea: Their Love Story
RELATED: Lea Michele: This Is a ‘Devastating Time’
RELATED: A shocked Hollywood reacts to Cory Monteith’s death
EARLIER: Cory Monteith, 31, Found Dead in Hotel Room
FLASHBACK: Watch His Glee Audition Tape

Cory Monteith’s 11 Best Glee Performances