DJ AM, the celebrity disc jockey known for his high profile relationships with Nicole Richie and Mandy Moore, has been found dead.

The body of the 36-year-old Adam Goldstein was discovered by police at 5.20pm on Friday after they broke down the door of his New York apartment. The NYPD had been responding by a 911 call that Goldstein had been missing for two days, according to People magazine.

Although the official cause of death has not yet been released, there was no apparent evidence of foul play, the NYPD said, although a police source claimed prescription pill bottles had been found near the body.

"The circumstances surrounding his death are unclear," confirmed Goldstein's publicist. "Out of respect for his family and loved ones, please respect their privacy at this time."

News of his death was greeted with shock by friends and other celebrities.

"In complete shock ...I really want to use words right now but I can't get em. F---...," wrote John Mayer on Twitter. "We're supposed to lose our friends to time, at an age when we're ready to agree to the terms of having lived a long life. Not now."

"nononononono what????? i can't believe this.. i'm in shock. why? why? r.i.p. Adam," wrote Lindsay Lohan.

"I just can't wrap my head around it ? I don't want to believe it's real ? and nothing I can say will serve his memory any justice right now ... I'm just f-ng sad sad," celebrity DJ Samantha Ronson told People.

AM ? who had collaborated with the likes of Madonna, Babyface, Papa Roach, Will Smith and Blink-182's Travis Barker ? last September survived a plane crash that killed four people.

Despite his popularity on the club scenes of Las Vegas, Hollywood and New York, AM had in the past battled drug addiction, weight problems and depression.

"New york, new york. Big city of dreams, but everything in new york ain't always what it seems," he wrote in his last message on Twitter on Tuesday.