Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison was the lead singer of rock band “The Doors”. Born in 1943, Morrison had a successful career with the band but became depressed shortly before his death. In addition to his career with “The Doors”, he was also known for his poetry and he published several books. In July 1971, he was found dead in a bathtub. The cause was said to be an accidental drug overdose. His death appeared mysterious at some points mainly due to the fact that his partner at the time, Pamela Courson, gave different versions of his death. Courson died in similar circumstances just three years later.
itnesses than are the accounts of Ronay and Courson (cited above).[52]
Jimi Hendrix
Born in 1942, Jimi Hendrix was one of the most popular musicians of the 1960s. During the years that his career was active, he enjoyed a huge amount of success both within the United States and the United Kingdom. In 1970, Hendrix died under suspicious circumstances at the age of just 27. His death was thought to have been caused by a mixture of sleeping pills and alcohol, which lead to death by asphyxiation. Some people believed that Hendrix had died as a result as suicide, whilst others even went on to say that Hendrix had possibly been murdered.
There have been many bizarre celebrity deaths over the years, some of which are still unexplained. One of the main causes of bizarre celebrity deaths is drugs. There have been a large number of celebrities who have died in mysterious circumstances as a result of drugs. Others have died in bizarre accidents, some of which have taken place during filming. Here are some of the most unusual celebrity deaths.
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley was one of the most famous singers and actors of the 1950s and 1960s. Born in 1935, he was known as the “King of Rock N Roll” and had a hugely successful singing and acting career. A few years before his death, he became ill. Prescription drugs are thought to have contributed to his change in mood and appearance. He gained a significant amount of weight and struggled to perform on stage. He began to spend less time on stage, eventually failing to turn up for some concerts. In 1977, he was about to begin a new tour, but was found dead in his bathroom. There have been many theories surrounding his death. Drugs was thought to be the main cause, although a second autopsy in 1994 revealed that it could have been a heart attack.
Marc Bolan
Born in 1947, Marc Bolan was the lead singer of the popular group “T-Rex”. Although his death, which occurred in 1977 as a result of a car crash, was not bizarre itself, his death was made strange by the fact that he feared he would die young and had a fear of cars. Things became even more strange when one of his band mates, Steve Currie, was also killed in a car accident just under four years later. Both died young. Bolan was just under 30 and Currie was 33, soon to be 34.on, farming, health care, and construction.
Steve Irwin
Image source - Wikipedia
Heather O’Rourke
Heather O’ Rourke was a young actress who was recognised for her role in the “Poltergeist” films. She also starred in a number of television programmes. She was only twelve years old when she died in 1988 as a result of an illness. It took a while for the exact cause of her death
to be known. She died during filming of the third “Poltergeist” film. Her death was made bizarre due to the fact several other cast members died, leading to believe that the films were cursed. Many of them, like heather, died as a result of illnesses whilst two others were murdered.
Isadora Duncan
Isadora Duncan was a popular dancer who enjoyed a successful career right up until her death. She was known for her love of scarves, which bizarrely led to her death at the age of 50 in 1927. Duncan was travelling in a car as a passenger when the scarf that she was wearing, which was a gift from a friend, became tangled in one of the car’s wheels. Duncan was said to have died as a result of her neck being broken, whilst other have stated that she was strangled from the impact of the scarf around her neck and almost decapitated.
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was one of the most popular actresses of the 1950s. She was best known for her roles in “Some Like it Hot” and “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”. Born in 1926, she had a hugely successful film career and was also known for her singing and modelling work. In later years though, she began to decline as a result of illness and other problems. In 1962, at the age of 36, she was found dead in her home. The cause was thought to be an accidental overdose, whilst others believed that she had either committed suicide or possibly even been murdered.
Sharon Tate
Sharon Tate died the most horrific of all celebrity deaths. On August 8, 1969, Sharon returned from dinner at her favorite restaurant El Coyote with her friends Sebring, Frykowski and Folger at about 10:30pm. That night they were murdered by members of Charles Manson’s Family. I’m not going to get into the actual details of the murders – enough has been written about them over the years. The thing about this death, which is unlike the others, was that this marked a major moment of change in the world. Before the murders of Sharon Tate and her friends, people kept their doors unlocked. People were only killed if they were involved in something that could lead to trouble. The thought that strangers could just break into your home at night and kill you without any reason were inconceivable. Now, in the modern age, fear controls every aspect of our lives. Doors are locked and bolted, strangers are possible murderers, and no one is safe.
I know that there are many more celebrity deaths, more than one person could possibly fit into the confines of a simple article, so it would be hard to even try. I hope that this list at least chips at the morbid and fascinating iceberg of famous people dying.
Natalie Wood
On Nov. 29, 1981 Natalie Wood. Her husband Robert Wagner and friend Christopher Walken were obnoxiously and loudly getting shit-faced at the Harbor Reef Restaurant on Catalina Island. They were celebrating the success of shooting the movie Brainstorm. (Well, almost. Wood had another crucial, climactic scene for the movie, but what bad could possibly happen during a drunken celebration?) After the restaurant they returned to their dingy and back to their yacht, the Splendor where they went on a three-hour tour. Instead of being marooned on a deserted tropical island where wackiness ensued, Wood drowned.
Days after the death of is wife Robert Wagner claimed that she woke up to fix the banging of the dingy against the yacht that was annoying her. She apparently slipped off the rails and to the icy waters below. The Skipper of the ship, Dennis Davern had a decidedly juicer tale. He said that there had been a fight between Wagner and Walken over who was going to stick some wood in Wood. Wagner got a little pissed off when he thought Walken was sleeping with his wife. He broke a wine bottle and held it to the face of Walken and screamed, “Go ahead and fuck her if you want to so badly!" The fight upset Natalie so much she took off on the dingy to seek solace. Some people believe that Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken plotted and committed the murder of Natalie Wood. I, for one, say that this last accusation is false because if anyone had seen True Romance, The Prophecy or any of the movies Walken has been in now, they would know Walken would show up at my house and kill me with his bare hands. So was Natalie Wood’s death an accident, or a murder? No one will ever know because since the incident Wagner and Walken refuse to comment on the night which looks really, really bad. The case is still left open.
George Reeves
In June 16, 1959 a man faster than a speeding bullet couldn’t escape the one fired from a gun aimed at his head. Superman laid dead in a pool of blood in is Hollywood home. At the age of 45 George Reeves committed suicide...or did he? Why would a man, an actor, kill himself right before his hit television show was about to be resurrected for the 1960 to 61 season from the depths of cancellation? Why would a man kill himself just three days before his wedding? Why would a man kill himself with his fiancé, Leonore Lemmon, and three friends, in the same house just one floor down below him? Reeve’s mother, who refused to believe that the death of her son was caused by suicide, hired the Nick Harris Detective Agency to investigate. The Agency found the following inconsistencies that were directly adverse to the theory of suicide:
· The gun used to kill Reeves had no fingerprints.
· Leonore and guest did not call the police for a half an hour to 45mins after his death.
· Bruises were found all over his body with no real explanation was presented on how he received them
· For most suicides where the gun falls is usually consistent. If the victim is laying down the gun usually falls by the head. George Reeves was believed to by lying in bed at the time of the incident but the gun was found at his feet.
· When a gun is held to the head as most suicide would there are powder burns on the wound. There were none found so the gun had to have been held several inches from his head.
· A spent bullet shell was found under the body which would be an impossible placement if he was lying down.
This information was never relayed to Reeve’s mother. She died before investigation could find any proof. Even more mysterious was that George Reeves was but a link in the chain of the Superman Curse, a well known urban legend about the actors that played the man of tomorrow. George Reeves died by suicide, Christopher Reeve was paralyzed and eventually died due to a horse riding accident and Brandon Routh’s career died at the hands of Bryan Singer.
Judy Garland
Born in 1922, Judy Garland was an extremely popular actress and singer who was best known for her role as Dorothy Gale in “the Wizard of Oz”. Throughout her career, Garland battled with drug addiction. Garland was thought to have taken the drugs to control her weight. She also battled depression and had a number of personal problems, including a string of divorces. She was found dead in 1969 from a drug overdose. Although Garland had attempted suicide on many occasions, the overdose was said to be accidental.
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was, and still is, one of the most popular and influential martial arts stars of all time. Born in 1940, Bruce Lee went on to star in many films, including “Enter the Dragon” and “Way of the Dragon”, in which he starred alongside Chuck Norris. He was just 32 when he died in 1973 after taking a painkiller to cure a headache. The painkiller contained a muscle relaxant, which was thought to be the cause of Lee's death. As the exact cause of his death was unknown, doctors ruled it as a death by misadventure, which later went on to be the name of a documentary based on him. His death was branded part of a curse when, just over twenty years after his death, his son, Brandon Lee, was killed during filming.
Jimi Hendrix
Born in 1942, Jimi Hendrix was one of the most popular musicians of the 1960s. During the years that his career was active, he enjoyed a huge amount of success both within the United States and the United Kingdom. In 1970, Hendrix died under suspicious circumstances at the age of just 27. His death was thought to have been caused by a mixture of sleeping pills and alcohol, which lead to death by asphyxiation. Some people believed that Hendrix had died as a result as suicide, whilst others even went on to say that Hendrix had possibly been murdered.
There have been many bizarre celebrity deaths over the years, some of which are still unexplained. One of the main causes of bizarre celebrity deaths is drugs. There have been a large number of celebrities who have died in mysterious circumstances as a result of drugs. Others have died in bizarre accidents, some of which have taken place during filming. Here are some of the most unusual celebrity deaths.
Isadora Duncan
Isadora Duncan was a popular dancer who enjoyed a successful career right up until her death. She was known for her love of scarves, which bizarrely led to her death at the age of 50 in 1927. Duncan was travelling in a car as a passenger when the scarf that she was wearing, which was a gift from a friend, became tangled in one of the car’s wheels. Duncan was said to have died as a result of her neck being broken, whilst other have stated that she was strangled from the impact of the scarf around her neck and almost decapitated.
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was one of the most popular actresses of the 1950s. She was best known for her roles in “Some Like it Hot” and “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”. Born in 1926, she had a hugely successful film career and was also known for her singing and modelling work. In later years though, she began to decline as a result of illness and other problems. In 1962, at the age of 36, she was found dead in her home. The cause was thought to be an accidental overdose, whilst others believed that she had either committed suicide or possibly even been murdered.
Sharon Tate
Sharon Tate died the most horrific of all celebrity deaths. On August 8, 1969, Sharon returned from dinner at her favorite restaurant El Coyote with her friends Sebring, Frykowski and Folger at about 10:30pm. That night they were murdered by members of Charles Manson’s Family. I’m not going to get into the actual details of the murders – enough has been written about them over the years. The thing about this death, which is unlike the others, was that this marked a major moment of change in the world. Before the murders of Sharon Tate and her friends, people kept their doors unlocked. People were only killed if they were involved in something that could lead to trouble. The thought that strangers could just break into your home at night and kill you without any reason were inconceivable. Now, in the modern age, fear controls every aspect of our lives. Doors are locked and bolted, strangers are possible murderers, and no one is safe.
I know that there are many more celebrity deaths, more than one person could possibly fit into the confines of a simple article, so it would be hard to even try. I hope that this list at least chips at the morbid and fascinating iceberg of famous people dying.
Natalie Wood
On Nov. 29, 1981 Natalie Wood. Her husband Robert Wagner and friend Christopher Walken were obnoxiously and loudly getting shit-faced at the Harbor Reef Restaurant on Catalina Island. They were celebrating the success of shooting the movie Brainstorm. (Well, almost. Wood had another crucial, climactic scene for the movie, but what bad could possibly happen during a drunken celebration?) After the restaurant they returned to their dingy and back to their yacht, the Splendor where they went on a three-hour tour. Instead of being marooned on a deserted tropical island where wackiness ensued, Wood drowned.
Days after the death of is wife Robert Wagner claimed that she woke up to fix the banging of the dingy against the yacht that was annoying her. She apparently slipped off the rails and to the icy waters below. The Skipper of the ship, Dennis Davern had a decidedly juicer tale. He said that there had been a fight between Wagner and Walken over who was going to stick some wood in Wood. Wagner got a little pissed off when he thought Walken was sleeping with his wife. He broke a wine bottle and held it to the face of Walken and screamed, “Go ahead and fuck her if you want to so badly!" The fight upset Natalie so much she took off on the dingy to seek solace. Some people believe that Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken plotted and committed the murder of Natalie Wood. I, for one, say that this last accusation is false because if anyone had seen True Romance, The Prophecy or any of the movies Walken has been in now, they would know Walken would show up at my house and kill me with his bare hands. So was Natalie Wood’s death an accident, or a murder? No one will ever know because since the incident Wagner and Walken refuse to comment on the night which looks really, really bad. The case is still left open.
George Reeves
In June 16, 1959 a man faster than a speeding bullet couldn’t escape the one fired from a gun aimed at his head. Superman laid dead in a pool of blood in is Hollywood home. At the age of 45 George Reeves committed suicide...or did he? Why would a man, an actor, kill himself right before his hit television show was about to be resurrected for the 1960 to 61 season from the depths of cancellation? Why would a man kill himself just three days before his wedding? Why would a man kill himself with his fiancé, Leonore Lemmon, and three friends, in the same house just one floor down below him? Reeve’s mother, who refused to believe that the death of her son was caused by suicide, hired the Nick Harris Detective Agency to investigate. The Agency found the following inconsistencies that were directly adverse to the theory of suicide:
· The gun used to kill Reeves had no fingerprints.
· Leonore and guest did not call the police for a half an hour to 45mins after his death.
· Bruises were found all over his body with no real explanation was presented on how he received them
· For most suicides where the gun falls is usually consistent. If the victim is laying down the gun usually falls by the head. George Reeves was believed to by lying in bed at the time of the incident but the gun was found at his feet.
· When a gun is held to the head as most suicide would there are powder burns on the wound. There were none found so the gun had to have been held several inches from his head.
· A spent bullet shell was found under the body which would be an impossible placement if he was lying down.
This information was never relayed to Reeve’s mother. She died before investigation could find any proof. Even more mysterious was that George Reeves was but a link in the chain of the Superman Curse, a well known urban legend about the actors that played the man of tomorrow. George Reeves died by suicide, Christopher Reeve was paralyzed and eventually died due to a horse riding accident and Brandon Routh’s career died at the hands of Bryan Singer.
Judy Garland
Born in 1922, Judy Garland was an extremely popular actress and singer who was best known for her role as Dorothy Gale in “the Wizard of Oz”. Throughout her career, Garland battled with drug addiction. Garland was thought to have taken the drugs to control her weight. She also battled depression and had a number of personal problems, including a string of divorces. She was found dead in 1969 from a drug overdose. Although Garland had attempted suicide on many occasions, the overdose was said to be accidental.
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was, and still is, one of the most popular and influential martial arts stars of all time. Born in 1940, Bruce Lee went on to star in many films, including “Enter the Dragon” and “Way of the Dragon”, in which he starred alongside Chuck Norris. He was just 32 when he died in 1973 after taking a painkiller to cure a headache. The painkiller contained a muscle relaxant, which was thought to be the cause of Lee's death. As the exact cause of his death was unknown, doctors ruled it as a death by misadventure, which later went on to be the name of a documentary based on him. His death was branded part of a curse when, just over twenty years after his death, his son, Brandon Lee, was killed during filming.
Jimi Hendrix
Born in 1942, Jimi Hendrix was one of the most popular musicians of the 1960s. During the years that his career was active, he enjoyed a huge amount of success both within the United States and the United Kingdom. In 1970, Hendrix died under suspicious circumstances at the age of just 27. His death was thought to have been caused by a mixture of sleeping pills and alcohol, which lead to death by asphyxiation. Some people believed that Hendrix had died as a result as suicide, whilst others even went on to say that Hendrix had possibly been murdered.
John F. Kennedy
President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on November 22, 1963, while on a political trip to Texas to smooth over factions in the Democratic Party between liberals Ralph Yarborough and Don Yarborough (no relation) and conservative John Connally.[107] He was shot once in the upper back and was killed with a final shot to the head. He was pronounced dead at 1:00 p.m. Only 46, President Kennedy died younger than any U.S. president to date. Lee Harvey Oswald, an employee of the Texas School Book Depository from which the shots were suspected to have been fired, was arrested on charges of the murder of a local police officer and was subsequently charged with the assassination of Kennedy. He denied shooting anyone, claiming he was a patsy,[108][109] but was killed by Jack Ruby on November 24, before he could be indicted or tried. Ruby was then arrested and convicted for the murder of Oswald. Ruby successfully appealed his conviction and death sentence but became ill and died of cancer while the date for his new trial was being set.
President Johnson created the Warren Commission—chaired by Chief Justice Earl Warren—to investigate the assassination, which concluded that Oswald was the lone assassin. The results of this investigation are disputed by many.[110]
John Kennedy Jr.
On July 16, 1999, Kennedy was killed along with his wife Carolyn and sister-in-law Lauren when the Piper Saratoga II HP he was piloting crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Martha's Vineyard. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the probable cause of the crash was pilot error: "Kennedy's failure to maintain control of the airplane during a descent over water at night, which was a result of spatial disorientation."[12] Kennedy was not qualified to fly a plane by "instruments only." Their ashes were scattered from the Navy ship USS Briscoe off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.[13]
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood was an actress who was best known for her role in “Rebel Without a Cause”. Born in 1938, she enjoyed much success as a child and teenage actor before going on to star in many films in later years. In 1981, at the age of 43, Wood was in the process of filming “Brainstorm”, a science fiction film, when she fell overboard a yacht and drowned. It is believed that her fall happened as a result of her drinking a large amount of alcohol. The death was also appeared strange when a witness claimed that the people attempting to save her did not appear to be panicking.
Vic Morrow
Vic Morrow was an actor whose career began in the 1950s. He starred in a number of films throughout the 1960s and 1970s. His death occurred on the set of “Twilight Zone: The Movie”, which was based on the popular television series, “The Twilight Zone”. In a bizarre events that matched the nature of the television show and the movie, Morrow was killed by decapitation when a helicopter crashed on him during filming. Two children, who had been on the set with Morrow at the time, also died.
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After the accident, action was taken against the filmmakers due to the deaths of the two children, who people believed should not have been present on the set during dangerous filming. Morrow was 53 at the time of his death in 1982. His daughter is Jennifer Jason Leigh, who is best known for her role in “Single White Female”.
John Belushi
John Belushi was an actor and comedian who was best known for his role in the 1980 comedy film “The Blues Brothers”. Belushi had a successful career, starring in a selection of films, mainly comedies. He was also known for his work on “Saturday Night Live”. He was found dead in his hotel room at the age of 33 in 1982. Belushi was thought to have died as a result of a drugs overdose. However, a woman named Cathy Smith, who was a backup singer and groupie, was charged with his murder after she admitted that she had given him a lethel combination of cocaine and heroin. She was later charged with manslaughter.
Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams was a famous playright, best known for his play “A Streetcar Named Desire”. He was born in 1911 and had a hugely successful writing career, winning many awards for his works. Williams battled alcoholism and depression throughout his life, but it was a strange accident that eventually led to his death in 1983. He choked on a bottlecap from
which he had removed from a bottle of eyedrops and placed in his mouth. The bottlecap slipped down his throat as he titled his head back to place the eyedrops in his eyes. After his death, drugs were found in his room and there were suspicions that these contributed towards his death.
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye was an extremely popular soul and R&B singer. Born in 1939, he had a successful career, first with a group called the Monnglows in the 1950s and then a successful solo career, during which he had a number of hits, including “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “Sexual Healing”. In the years leading up to his death, he did a number of tours, but also battled with drug addiction and depression. Gaye often felt suicidal and it became known that he did not have a good relationship with his father. A few months before his death, troubled Gaye gave his father a gun, which was thought to be for his father to protect him. Later, in early 1984, Gaye’s parents began arguing and Gaye reportedly asked his father to leave his mother alone. Gaye and his father began fighting and Gaye, who was still battling drug addiction and depression, prepared to leave the home, stating that his father did not like him. Gaye’s father then entered the room and shot Gaye, fatally wounding him with the gun that Gaye had given him just months earlier.
River Phoenix
River Phoenix was just one of the many actors who died in mysterious circumstances as a result of drugs. Born in 1970, he was a popular actor whose many fans were unaware of his connection with drugs. Because of this, his death came as a great shock to many. He died from a drug overdose outside the Viper Room in 1993 at the age of 23. Johnny Depp, who partly owned the club, was deeply saddened by Phoenix's death and closed the Viper Room every year on the date of the actor's death out of respect. One of Phoenix best known roles was as “Chris Chambers” in the 1986 film “Stand By Me”.
Brandon Lee
Like his father, Brandon Lee became an iconic martial arts star. He was born in 1965 and went on to have a successful martial arts film career. At the time of his death, in 1993, he was filming “The Crow”. He was killed when a bullet from a gun was fired into his abdomen during filming. The bullet had become lodged in the gun and was fired when a dummy round came apart and pushed the bullet into the barrel. Although it was decided that his death was an accident, there was much controversy surrounding it and his death caused people to believe that it happened as part of a curse due to the mysterious death of his father twenty years earlier.
Selena
Selena was a popular singer who was at the height of her fame when she died at the age of 23. She had much success during the early nineties and even made cameo appearances in films. She had many fans, which led to her organising a fan club, which was run by a woman named Yolanda Saldivar. In 1995, Selena had a disagreement with Saldivar, which resulted in Salvidar being fired by Selena's family. Selena decided to meet with Saldivar so that she could obtain some financial documents that Saldivar had taken. Selena made it clear to Sladivar that she did not trust her, which resulted in Saldivar shooting Selena.
Kurt Cobain
Born in 1967, Kurt Cobain was the lead singer of the popular band, Nirvana. The band, which formed in the 80s, enjoyed much success, but Cobain was brought down by a number of illnesses. His well known addiction to drugs was thought to be a result of him trying to find a way to cure his illnesses. Cobain also suffered from depression and ended up in hospital after overdosing on alcohol and drugs. It is thought that this was a suicide attempt. A month or so later, Cobain did commit suicide, this time by shooting himself. In the days leading up to his death, he had gone missing. He was eventually found with a suicide note. There have been many theories surrounding his death, which was ruled as suicide due to the note, the gun and Cobain's history of drug addiction and depression. Some people, such as the private investigator Cobain's wife Courtney Love hired to search for him when he went missing, believe that Cobain was murdered.
Tupac Shaker
Tupac Shaker was a popular rapper. Born in 1971, he was at the height of his fame when he was shot in 1996 at the age of 25. Prior to the shooting, Shakur had already been shot in 1994. At the time, Shakur believed that rapper, Biggie Smalls (Notorius B.I.G), and Shakur's friend, Randy Walker, were involved. Shakur's death in 1996 was never properly solved. He was shot whilst travelling in a car. Seconds before the incident, a car pulled up and one of the occupants fired several shots at Shakur, who died a few days later in hospital. The murder case was never solved, but it was thought that Biggie Smalls was involved. Oddly enough, Randy Walker was killed a year after the 1994 attack on Shakur and Biggie Smalls died in 1997, a year after Shakur's death. He was murdered in exactly the same way as Tupac Shaker.
Michael Hutchence
Michael Hutchence was the lead singer of INXS. Born in 1960, he had an extremely successful career with the band. He also became known for his string of brief relationships with many other celebrities, including Kylie Minogue. He was found dead in his hotel room in 1997 at the age of 37. His bizarre death was looked into and it was believed that he died as a result of autoerotic asphyxiation. At the time of his death, Hutchence had been in a relationship with television presenter Paula Yates. Just three years later, in 2000, another bizarre event occurred when Paula Yates was found dead in her London home as a result of a drug overdose. Some believed it to be suicide as she was suffering depression following Hutchence's death, but this was ruled out.
Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley was a popular alternative rock and folk singer. He enjoyed much success, scoring many hits, one of which was a cover version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. Buckley’s version of the song is favoured by many and it performed well when it re-entered the charts in 2008. During an outing in 1997, at the age of just 30, Buckley died after drowning in a river. He had decided to go swimming and entered the water with all of his clothes intact. His colleagues that he were with noticed he was missing moments later and a search began. His body was found a few days later and whilst drugs were suspected to be the cause of his death, this was ruled out.
Aaliyah
On August 25, 2001, at 6:45 pm (EST), Aaliyah and various members of the record company boarded a twin engine Cessna 402B (N8097W) at Marsh Harbour, Abaco Islands, The Bahamas, to travel to the airport in Opa-locka, Florida, after they completed filming the music video for Rock the Boat.[41] They had a flight scheduled the following day, but with filming finishing early, Aaliyah and her entourage were eager to return to the United States. They made the decision to leave immediately. Against the advice of baggage handlers and the pilot, all the equipment from the shoot was loaded on to the plane.[42] The group was unaware that the plane was unable to hold all the equipment of the Cessna 404 they had initially flown in by.[43] Therefore, the aircraft exceeded the standard weight and balance tolerance limit provided by Cessna.[42] The plane crashed shortly after takeoff, about 200 feet (60 m) from the runway.[41] Aaliyah, pilot Luis Morales III, hair stylist Eric Forman, Anthony Dodd, security guard Scott Gallin, video producer Douglas Kratz, stylist Christopher Maldonado, and Blackground Records employees Keith Wallace and Gina Smith were killed.[44]
According to findings from an inquest, conducted by the coroner's office in The Bahamas, Aaliyah suffered from "severe burns and a blow to the head", in addition to severe shock and a weak heart.[45] The coroner theorized that, even if Aaliyah had survived the crash, her recovery would have been virtually impossible given the severity of her injuries.[46] The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report stated that "the airplane was seen lifting off the runway, and then nose down, impacting in a marsh on the south side of the departure end of runway 27."[47] It also indicated that the pilot was not approved to pilot the plane he was attempting to fly. Morales falsely obtained his Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) license by showing hundreds of hours never flown, and he may also have falsified how many hours he had flown in order to get a job with his employer, Blackhawk International Airways.[48] Additionally, an autopsy performed on Morales revealed traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system.[49] Further investigations determined the plane was over its total gross weight by 700 pounds and was loaded with one more passenger than it was allowed to carry.[50] John Frank of the Cessna Pilots Association stated that the plane was "definitely overloaded".[51] The NTSB reported that the total gross weight of the plane was "substantially exceeded", which caused the center of gravity to be pushed too far aft.[47]
Aaliyah's funeral was held on August 31, 2001, at the Saint Ignatius Loyola Church in New York. Her body was set in a silver casket, which was carried in a glass hearse and was drawn by horse.[52] An estimated 800 mourners were in attendance of the procession.[12][53] Among those in attendance to the private ceremony were Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Gladys Knight, Lil' Kim and Sean Combs.[52][54][55] After the service, 22 white doves were released to symbolize each year of Aaliyah's life.[56] She was buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery.[57]
The day of the crash was Morales' first official day with Blackhawk International Airways, an FAA Part 135 single-pilot operation. In addition, Morales was not registered with the FAA to fly for Blackhawk. As a result of the accident, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed by Aaliyah's parents and was later settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.[58] Barry & Sons, Inc., a corporation formed in 1992 to develop, promote and capitalize Aaliyah and to oversee the production and distribution of her records and music videos, brought an unsuccessful lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court against Instinct Productions LLC, the company that was hired in August 2001 to produce the music video for "Rock the Boat". The case was dismissed due to New York's wrongful death statute only permitting certain people to recover damages for wrongful death.[59][60]
Ayrton Senna
The death of Formula One triple world champion Ayrton Senna, on May 1, 1994, resulted from a crash that occurred while he was leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Italy. The accidents of Senna and Roland Ratzenberger (the previous day) were the first fatal accidents in Formula One in 12 years, and were the worst of several accidents to take place during the race meeting.Th
To many within the F1 world, including some drivers of that era who had raced at Imola, the conclusions drawn from low tyre pressure as a cause of the accident seem implausible. Telemetry recorded that Senna took the bend at 306 km/h (190 mph) on lap 6 with cold tyres. The information released in the trial stated that Senna started the race with 86 litres of fuel and had planned a two-stop race strategy, one fewer than Schumacher, who started the race lighter on a three-stop strategy. The theory that low tyre pressure caused the crash was defeated in court when Stefano Stefanini, head of Bologna's traffic accident unit, testified that Senna, with a heavier car than Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill, recorded a time of 1.24.887 on the sixth lap, Senna's only lap at race speed and the third fastest lap of the race. Michele Alboreto and other drivers of the era claimed that given Senna's lap time, his tyres would have been at race temperature by the 7th lap and could not have been a factor in the crash. Max Angelelli (driver of the Safety Car at Imola in 1994) has stated in interviews that on numerous occasions during the safety car period at the start of the race, Senna had pulled up alongside him and had frantically urged him to drive faster to maintain tyre temperatures.[5] In addition, an explanation of losing control by bottoming from a reduced ride height due to lower tyre pressures seems unlikely, as on Senna's previous lap the tyre temperatures and resulting ride height would have been even lower.
Some drivers indicated that Senna's crash was due to driver error. Michael Schumacher, who had followed closely behind the Brazilian before the crash, gave the following account at the subsequent winners' press conference:
I saw that his car was already touching quite a lot at the back on the lap before, the car was very nervous in this corner, and he nearly lost it. On the next lap he did lose it. The car touched with the rear skids, went a bit sideways, and he just lost it.[6]Damon Hill, Senna's teammate at the time of his death, had this to say in an interview given on the subject 10 years later:
I am convinced that he made a mistake, but many people will never believe that he could. Why not? He made many mistakes in his career. I have listened to and read endless theories about why, or how, he could have crashed on such a 'simple' corner like Tamburello. No-one other than Ayrton Senna and I know what it was like to drive that car, through that corner, in that race, on that day, on cold tyres. He was identified with pushing to the limit and beyond. It was not the fault of anyone else that he kept his foot flat when he could have lifted.[7]The ban on active suspension affected Williams more than any other team, as it was the key development that had helped make the Williams car the class of the field during 1992 and 1993 seasons. After active suspension was banned in 1994, the Williams drivers complained of severe handling problems and a twitchy rear-end grip. The FW16's new handling modifications were introduced at Imola. At the beginning of 1994 Senna himself told the press that he would be surprised if there would be no large accidents that year. He referred to the fact that after the wide "white label" 18-inch-wide (460 mm) Goodyear slicks were replaced for 1993 by the narrower "yellow label" 15-inch-wide (380 mm) slick, now the technology at the very core of the cars, the science around which they had been based for the last few years (active suspension, traction control and ABS) was also banned for 1994. He surmised that the cars would have trouble staying on the road, which is exactly what was observed at the beginning of 1994. J. J. Lehto damaged his vertebrae at Silverstone in January (as did Jean Alesi, causing him to miss Imola) prior to Ratzenberger's and Senna's fatal accidents at Imola. During qualifying for the next race at Monaco, Karl Wendlinger suffered an accident which left him in an induced coma; Ratzenberger's replacement, Andrea Montermini, broke his feet in the Simtek in Barcelona and Eddie Irvine was banned for three races after causing an accident during the season-opening Brazilian Grand Prix. None of these accidents were deemed to be caused by driver error (except Irvine's), although there is no evidence to suggest that the accidents were caused by the ban on driver aids.
Senna commented as follows on the FW16 during Estoril testing at the start of the year:
"I have a very negative feeling about driving the car and driving it on the limit and so on. Therefore I didn't have a single run or a single lap that I felt comfortable or reasonably confident."
"I am uncomfortable in the car, it all feels wrong. We changed the seat and the wheel, but even so I was already asking for more room." "Going back to when we raced at Estoril last September (on testing the passive Williams at the same track 4 months later), it feels much more difficult. Some of that is down to the lack of electronic change. Also, the car has its own characteristics which I'm not fully confident in yet. It makes you a lot more tense and that stresses you."[8]
There are other factors – Senna did not like the position of the steering column relative to his seating position and had repeatedly asked for it to be changed. Patrick Head and Adrian Newey agreed to Senna's request to lengthen the FW16's steering column, but there was no time to manufacture a longer steering shaft. The existing shaft was instead cut, extended by inserting a smaller-diameter piece of tubing and welded together with reinforcing plates. Many surmise, based on the "yellow button tracking analysis" done in 1997 that the movement of the steering wheel during the final seconds into Tamburello was abnormal. A reference point (yellow button) on the onboard video is seen to move several centimetres in its own plane, due to the steering wheel moving up and down, indicating a fully or partially buckled steering column.
It had been accepted in court that the steering column exhibited stress signs on three quarters of the circumference and on 40% of the cross section, but that it had probably not snapped entirely. Due to the fact that the rigidity of the column when partially broken in this manner had never been examined publicly, the possibility exists that Senna may have felt the column buckle partially and physically "pushed" the steering wheel forwards to maintain torsional forces on the front wheels / sensing an imminent breakage, and continuing to do so while braking in a straight line to decrease impact speed. The buckling of the column would be a slow process in the seconds leading up to the final opposite lock at 11.2 seconds in the CINECA footage and would manifest itself as the steering wheel tilting on its own plane.
Williams released its own video to prove the movement was normal by Coulthard manhandling an FW16B steering wheel, yet the effort required by Coulthard to deflect the wheel in the demonstration is termed to be "quite considerable". The nature of Tamburello requiring a light and anticipatory grip on the wheel (because of the high speed and bumps) coupled with Senna's slight frame causes some to question whether or not the movement of the yellow button was indeed as "normal" as Williams has claimed.
No analysis has been done on the tracking of the yellow button at other laps of the FW16 around Imola or other racing circuits.
Senna on his final lap is seen turning the wheel left to full lock with no movement of the front wheels. Others have raised suspicion at what can clearly be seen on the onboard footage as Senna looking down at his steering wheel seconds before entering Tamburello.
The irony of the onboard video available from Senna's car is that the final seconds of footage are missing. The approximately 1.5 seconds of remaining video which would have provided a definite answer as to the cause of Senna's death were lost in an act of astounding coincidence when the TV race director decided to switch camera signals at the very instant the Williams started to leave the track.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, numerous rumours abound that the remaining 1.5 seconds are not lost and reportedly show Senna's steering wheel clearly coming off in his hands as his car is leaving the track. In addition to this, the video shown in the Court Room on May 14, 1997 stopped 0.9 seconds before the impact [9], causing numerous questions. Although allegations exist that this video has been seen by a number of people at the top level of motorsport, there is no evidence to support its existence.
The off-board video in slow-motion has a hint of Senna starting to throw something out of the car, before the car disappears off screen. Some think this is the wheel, but he did not throw it far because it is still attached to the car.
The Williams team was entangled for many years in a court case with the Italian prosecutors over manslaughter charges, but they were found not guilty and no action was taken against Williams. In 2004, the case was re-opened, but closed again in 2005 when there was no new evidence.
During the trials [10], Fabrizio Nosco, a Regional technical commissioner, testified that both of the vehicle's black boxes were intact, except for minor scratches. He said "I have seen thousands of these devices and removed them for checks. The two boxes were intact, even though they had some scratches. The Williams device looked to have survived the crash.". In a move that apparently breached FIA regulations, Charles Whiting, a FIA official, handed the black boxes to Williams before the regulating body's own investigation into the accident. Williams claimed the black boxes were unreadable, and the boxes returned for the court proceedings were indeed unreadable, a full month after the accident. The black boxes might have put to rest the cause of the accident.
At the conclusion of the Italian trial, Senna's FW16, chassis number 02, was returned to the Williams team. The team reported that the car was in an advanced state of deterioration and was subsequently destroyed. The car's engine was returned to Renault, and its fate is unknown.[11]
His death was considered by many of his Brazilian fans to be a national tragedy, and the Brazilian government declared three days of national mourning. Senna is buried at the Cemitério do Morumbi in his hometown of São Paulo.
James Dean
In the early afternoon hours of September 30, 1955, Dean would head out with Porsche factory mechanic, Rolph Weutherich to an auto rally in Salinas, California. Dean and the "Little Bastard" were pulled over for speeding by a Bakersfield police officer, who issued a citation for doing 65 in a 55 and cautioned Dean to slow down and be careful. Dean and Rolph would continue their journey to the Salinas rally and headed out on Highway 466 towards Cholame, California, unaware of their fate that lie before them.Meanwhile, near Paso Robles, 23 year-old Cal Poly student, Donald Turnupseed was heading home in his 1950 Ford Tutor. He made a left turn at the intersection of Highways 41 onto State Route 466 (later State Route 46) unaware of the Spyder approaching. As James Dean yelled to his friend seated next to him "He's Got to See Us." (Some sources cite the quote as, "That guy's gotta stop... He'll see us.")
Contrary to the reports that have since stated Dean's speed in excess of 80 miles per hour, California Highway Patrol officer Ron Nelson (one of the first law enforcement officers on the scene) said "the wreckage and the position of Dean's body indicated his speed at the time of the accident was more like 55 mph."
"Little Bastard" plowed into the broad side (check out this claim that the two vehicles collided driver's door - to driver's door) of the Ford Tutor. "Little Bastard" and its occupants would come to rest near a telephone pole fifteen feet off the road.
Rolf, thrown from the car, survived with a broken leg and serious head injuries, but he would survive. Donald Turnupseed, escaped the accident with only a gashed forehead and bruised nose. But James Dean, America's rebel without a cause, would suffer fatal injuries, including a near decapitation. His body would be taken via ambulance to Paso Robles War memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival by Deputy Coroner Paul E. Werrick. The Coroner's report would list Dean's death as broken neck, multiple fractures of upper and lower jaw, multiple fractures of left and right arm and other internal injuries caused by a 2 car collision. James Dean was but 24 years old.
Kuehl's Funeral Home in Paso Robles, California would prepare the badly mangled body for its return back home to Indiana. His funeral would take place at the Back Creek Friends Church on October 8, 1955.James Dean is buried in Fairmount Park Cemetery where his tombstone has been stolen 3 times, the last in July of 1998.
Ironically, Rolf Weutherich would be killed in a car accident in 1981, after surviving several failed suicide attampts. Donald Turnupseed would die in 1995 of lung cancer.
Phil Hartman
Born in 1948, Phil Hartman was a popular actor who was best known for a number of comedic roles, including regular appearances on “The Simpsons”. He enjoyed a successful career up until his death in 1998 at the age of 49, when he was shot and killed by his wife. It is thought that Hartman and his wife had been arguing prior to the murder. His wife, Brynn, suffered from drug addiction and committed suicide shortly after killing Hartman. Hartman had previously told her that he would end their marriage if she continued to take them. She had drugs in her system when she committed the murder.
Owen Hart
Owen Hart was a famous wrestler who became known during his time in the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Born in 1965, he enjoyed a hugely successful wrestling career throughout the 1980s and 1990s, along with many other well known wrestlers from that time such as his brother, Brett Hart and David Smith (the British Bulldog). Owen’s bizarre death occurred in 1999, when at the age of 34, he fell 78ft after a stunt went wrong. The stunt was intended to be carried out for comedic effect, with Hart landing flat on his face. However, the mechanism that was holding Hart in the harness was released too early and he fell to his death. There was much controversy surrounding his death, which happened during a pay per view WWF event. A few years later, David Smith died as a result of a heart attack, which was thought to have been brought on by drugs.
Aaliyah
Born in 1979, Aailyah was a popular singer and actress and was at the height of her fame when she died at the age of 22 in 2001. She enjoyed a successful career and had been performing since the age of 12. She died when a plane she was travelling in crashed. She was with several people from her record company and a number of crew members, who also died. It is thought that the crash was caused by heavy equipment that was loaded onto the plane. Later though, it was discovered that the pilot may not have been registered to fly the plane as it was discovered that his license was false. There was also traces of alcohol and drugs in his system, which would have no doubt contributed towards the crash.
Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes
Lisa Lopes was a singer and rapper, best known for being part of the R&B group TLC. TLC were extremely popular and scored a number of hits throughout their time together. It became known that Lopes had battled alcoholism and had encountered a number of problems throughout her life. She was just 30 years old when she was killed in a car crash in 2002. The crash occurred when Lopes tried to swerve out of the way of an oncoming truck. Previously, Lopes had been involved in another car accident in which a child with the surname Lopes had been killed. In a documentary that was shown after her death, clips of Lopes were played which showed her stating that she had felt a “spirit” following her afterwards and that she believed that it was a sign that the child with the same surname as her should not have died and that the death was intended for her instead. There was much controversy surrounding her death, and footage of the actual accident in which she died was played during the same documentary.
Jam Master Jay
Jam Master Jay was a popular DJ best known for his work with Run DMC. He was born in 1965. In a situation similar to that of Tupac Shaker and Biggie Smalls, Jam Master Jay was murdered in 2002 at the age of 37. Unlike the other two, who were both killed whilst in cars, Jam Master Jay was shot in a recording studio. One of the men that is thought to have been involved with the murder is also thought to have been involved in the murder of Randy Walker, who was a close friend of Tupac Shaker and was killed a year before Shaker's murder.
Steve Irwin
Born in 1962, Steve Irwin was an incredibly popular television presenter best known for placing himself in dangerous circumstances, mainly with crocodiles. Nicknamed the Crocodile Hunter, Irwin's crazy antics earned him many fans and many believed that he was indestructible. His antics also caused much controversy and he received much criticism for one event, in which he fed a crocodile whilst holding his young son under his arm. Despite these controversies though, he was still very much well liked and his death in 2006 came as a shock to people worldwide.
He was killed after being impaled by a barb from a stingray whilst shooting an underwater documentary. His death, although tragic, was also ironic, so much that some people could not believe that Irwin, who had cheated death so many times during his antics with crocodiles, had eventually gone on to be killed by a stingray.
Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger's death at the young age of 28 in early 2008 came as a shock to many. Born in 1979, Ledger was an extremely popular actor, best known for his roles in “Brokeback Mountain” and “The Dark Knight”. His role of the Joker in “The Dark Knight” received much attention as the film was released just months after his death. He won much critical acclaim for his roles in both films. He began his career in the 1990s and became well known around 1999, when he starred in “Ten Things I hate About You”. He was found unresponsive in his apartment in January 2008. He had been previously experiencing trouble sleeping and had been taking sleeping pills, which were thought to be the cause of his death due to an overdose. There was much speculation about his death, which was ruled as accidental and caused by abuse of drugs.
David Carradine
David Carradine was a popular actor. Born in 1936, he went on to have a successful career and is known for his roles in “Kung Fu” and the “Kill Bill” series. Carradine won his role in “Kung Fu” in the 1970s over Bruce Lee. Lee's anger on losing out on the role is seen in the documentary film “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story”. In a situation similar to that of Michael Hutchence, David Carradine was found dead in his hotel room in June 2009. His death was accidental and came as a result of autoerotic asphyxiation.
Michael Jackson
The death of Michael Jackson in June 2009 shocked people worldwide. Born in 1958, Jackson was one of the most iconic performers of all time. His singing and dancing earned him the name of “The King of Pop”. His career spanned over four decades, during which he scored a number of well known hits. Throughout the eighties and early nineties, he became the centre of much attention due to the drastic change in his physical appearance. In 1993, he revealed that he was abused by his father after a number of child sexual abuse accusations were made against him. Since then, he became the centre of media attention and continued to battle allegations right up until 2005, when his trial took place. Despite all the allegations though, Jackson had millions of fans worldwide. His sudden death had a huge impact on both the public and celebrities.
Just hours before his death, which was thought to be a cardiac arrest, Jackson had been rehearsing for his comeback tour. Pictures and videos showed him to be in perfect health, although it was believed that drugs, mainly painkillers, played a part in his death. Jackson was also believed to have complained of feeling ill shortly before his death. His funeral was held on July 7th 2009, with a private service for his family and then a public service, where a number of celebrities and his children paid their tributes and sung his songs.
from:www.blurtit.com
Dale Earnhardt
To most people, this didn’t seem like such a huge deal – for NASCAR, this was a relatively common accident and they had seen Dale come out unscathed after much worse crashes. The two cars slid down toward the infield grass and Schrader got out of his car, appearing to be completely fine. He walked to the #3 car and looked inside to check on Dale, then immediately signaled for help.
It turned out that Earnhardt died instantly, but wasn’t officially pronounced dead until he was examined at Halifax Medical Center. His injuries included a fatal skull fracture, eight broken ribs, a broken ankle, a fractured breast bone, and collarbone and hip injuries that indicated his seat belts did not fail. Sterling Marlin started receiving hate mail and death threats, Earnhardt’s #3 car was retired, and fans paid tribute to Earnhardt by holding up three fingers for the third lap of every Winston Cup race for the next year (I’m sure some people still do it). Even television announcers stopped commentating for the third lap.
Photo from USA Today.
Princess Diana
Diana died of her internal injuries a few hours later at the hospital – the crash had jolted her body so severely that her heart reportedly was displaced to the right side of her chest. Her death was announced at 5:30 a.m. People worldwide were horrified and saddened and more than three million people showed up to mourn her during her Westminster Abbey funeral on September 6. So many flowers and gifts were left outside of Kensington Palace that the public was asked to refrain from bringing any more items because they were becoming safety hazards.
John Lennon
Lennon managed to get six stairs up to the doorman before he collapsed; the doorman took the gun from Chapman’s hand and covered Lennon with his jacket. Police loaded Lennon in the backseat of the police car and drove him to the hospital immediately and said that acknowledged that he knew who he was and fell unconscious shortly after. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center where the cause was determined to be hypovolemic shock caused by more then 80 percent blood loss.
Crowds gathered in Central Park outside of the Dakota singing and chanting and apparently keeping Yoko Ono awake. She asked them to give her a little peace, but please come back the following Sunday to help her observe 10 minutes of silence for her slain husband. Not only did they come back, the whole world decided to get in on the tribute. More than 100,000 people gathered in Central Park on Sunday, December 14, and 30,000 people in Liverpool followed suit.
Photo from the BBC.
Grace Kelly
Marc Vivien Foé
Image source - thekushchronicles
Jeff Buckley
Image source - Christmas.vg
Salvatore “Sonny” Bono
Image source - alhazan
John Bonham
Weeks later at the coroner’s inquest, it emerged that in the 24 hours before he died, John Bonham had consumed forty shots of vodka which resulted in him vomiting and subsequent aspiration (inhaling) of his vomit, causing asphyxiation. A verdict of accidental death was returned at an inquest held on 27 October. An autopsy had found no other drugs in Bonham’s body. John Bonham was cremated and, on 12 October 1980, interred at Rushock Parish Church, Worcestershire.
Led Zeppelin never toured again after Bonham’s death, although they did play a benefit at the O2 Arena in London 2 years ago, with Bonham’s son Jason playing drums.
Bob Crane – Death by Tire Iron
The popular star of “Hogan’s Heroes” met his maker in an Arizona motel. Someone bludgeoned the sleeping actor with a tire iron, smashing in his skull. The assailant then cut an electric cord from a motel lamp with a pocketknife and tied a tight knot around Crane’s neck. The suspect was acquitted due to lack of evidence and maintained his innocence for the rest of his life.
Lupe Velez – Death by Toilet
Beautiful, feisty Lupe Velez, star of nearly 50 movies from 1927 through 1944, former wife of Johnny “Tarzan” Weissmuller, and passionate lover of Gary Cooper, drowned in the toilet. Lupe, known by her fans as The Mexican Spitfire, decided to quit this life at the age of 36.
According to her suicide note, pregnant Lupe had taken a huge dose of Seconal when the father of her baby gave her the big kiss off. Unfortunately for Lupe, the pills only made her nauseous. As she made her way to the orchid-color bathroom, stomach churning, she staggered to the toilet where she slipped on the tile and plunged head first into the chartreuse-colored deluxe commode. The maid discovered her the next day, still in the same embarrassing position, dead from drowning.
Ramon Novarro – Death by Dildo
Film star Ramon Novarro, the original Ben Hur, choked on his own blood due to an Art Deco dildo being shoved down his throat. Two Chicago hustlers suffocated the star with a lead dildo, which had been given to him 45 years earlier by Rudolph Valentino. They did it for $5,000 they heard was hidden in his home.
Marie Provost – Death by Dachshund
Silent film star Marie Provost couldn’t make it in talkies due to her pronounced Bronx accent. In her despair, she had a drink-to-the-death contest with Greta Garbo’s lover, Jack Gilbert, another talkie casualty. He won, dying of booze in 1936, while Marie continued for another year. Her half-eaten corpse was discovered in her seedy apartment. The dachshund survived.
Peggy Entwistle – Death by Sign
Despondent aspiring actress Peggy Entwistle, who once appeared on stage opposite Humphrey Bogart, entered Hollywood mythology by hurling herself off the Hollywood sign in 1932. Her part in RKO’s “The 13 Women” ended up on the cutting room floor; some say she lept from the 13th letter of the sign, then called Hollywoodland and lit by electric bulbs. Actually, she climbed up 50 feet of an electrician’s ladder behind the H, losing one of her shoes in the process. When she reached the top, she jumped, plunging to her death. Her suicide note read: “I am afraid I am a coward. I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago, it would have saved a lot of pain. P.E.”
Gwili Andre – Death by Newspapers
Blonde, blue-eyed Gwili Andre from Denmark, “the highest priced model in America,” was taken on as a “Garbo look-alike” by RKO Studio, earning $25,000 a year and dating Howard Hughes. To her dismay, she failed to become a movie star. In a bizarre suicide, she was found sprawled on the bedroom floor of her apartment, burned to a crisp in a funeral pyre she had made out of old publicity clippings.
Albert Dekker – Death by Underwear
Character actor Albert (Dr. Cyclops, The Wild Bunch ) Dekker, a fan of autoeroticism, was found hanging from a shower curtain rod wearing delicate ladies’ silk lingerie. He had dirty hypodermic needles stuck in each arm, a hangman’s noose around his neck, a scarf over his eyes, and a rubber-ball bit in his mouth, its metal chains tied firmly behind his head. The corpse was trussed in leather belts fastened around his body like a halter, the end of one clutched in his hand. Each wrist was handcuffed separately. Among other equally weird sentiments scrawled in flaming red lipstick all over his body was “make me suck.”
Vic Morrow – Death by Helicopter
While on location filming the Steven Spielberg-produced “Twilight Zone: The Movie,” Morrow was decapitated by the blades of a low-flying helicopter. Spielberg, pilot Dorsey Wingo, and director John Landis were ultimately acquitted of involuntary manslaughter and Morrow’s daughters, Carrie Morrow and Jennifer Jason Leigh, settled out of court.
Rebel Without a Cause, Entire Cast Dies Young
Sal Mineo - Knifed to death in the driveway behind his Los Angeles apartment.
James Dean – Auto crash, soon after receiving speeding ticket
Nick Adams – Paraldehyde, used in hospitals and associated with alcohol withdrawal
Natalie Wood – Drowned. Known to be terrified of drowning. Ruled “accidental.”
George Sanders – Death by Boredom
Oscar winning actor George (All About Eve) Sanders, onetime husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor, offed himself by drugs and booze, not that unusual. What was unusual was his suicide note: Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool — good luck. Love, George”
Excluded from the list is the demise of 50′s blonde siren Jayne Mansfield. Rumors that she was decapitated in an auto accident have been proven untrue. The blonde “head” sighted by reporters turned out to be just her wig.
While we are sure that our opinion is 100% correct, we know that we might have missed others. If you care to suggest your own (not your death, but the death of a celeb), please do so below.
Attila the Hun
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