SHORT TAKES : Ex-Steely Dan Drummer Dies

Services are planned Saturday for Jimmy Hodder, a former drummer for the rock group Steely Dan, who drowned in his pool, officials said. He was 42.

Mendocino County Sheriff’s Lt. Jay Miller, who also is deputy coroner, said Hodder was pronounced dead at 3:25 a.m. Tuesday at Ukiah Medical Center. Hodder had been on life support since he was found by a friend Monday afternoon at the bottom of his pool at his Point Arena home.

The hospital measured Hodder’s blood-alcohol level at 0.28%, which is more than three times the legal limit in California for driving, according to Miller.

Miller also said that Hodder “had recently been drinking to excess and was taking a prescription medication (Valium) to avert alcohol withdrawal symptoms and another medication for a seizure disorder.”

After joining Steely Dan in 1969, Hodder and the group made several gold and platinum albums, including “Can’t Buy A Thrill,” named in December, 1988, by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top 100 rock albums of all time.