As someone fascinated by movies and Hollywood, I possess a significant amount of knowledge about celebrities.
The Golden Age of Hollywood? Yes. Modern-day performers? You name it.
I also have a morbid mind so as you can imagine, I have a lot of knowledge about celebrity deaths. I sometimes think about Heath Ledger, who died of an accidental overdose in 2008. What must it be like to die that way, and to die alone?
What about Bobby Driscoll, best known for voicing the title character in Disney's Peter Pan?
He died of heart failure, also alone, and his body was discovered in an abandoned building in the East Village of Manhattan. His body was later buried in a pauper's grave and remains on New York's Hart Island.
There are other tragic celebrity deaths that have captured the nation's–and even the world's–imagination.
People shared their thoughts after Redditor Boldstarspindleshawk asked the online community:
"What celebrity suffered the worst death?"
Owen Hart
"He won’t be the biggest celebrity on this list, but the wrestler Owen Hart plunged to his death from 70 feet in the air in front of 20,000 people during a live pay-per-view. He was supposed to descend from the rafters in a superhero-like entrance, but it went terribly wrong."
"WWE insisted on doing the stunt without the proper safety equipment (since they wanted Owen to do a 'quick release'), and they hired a below-par rigging company that would agree to do it (since most wouldn’t). They were grossly negligent."
Cinammon16
Hart's death was also extremely controversial because WWE chose to continue the event even though he was severely injured in front of a live audience! Can you imagine?
Isadora Duncan
"Isadora Duncan, a famous dancer in the 1920’s wore a long scarf. She jumped in a sports car with no roof and the scarf got caught in the spokes of one of the wheels, and she was strangled."
JazzRider
Duncan's death always frightened me.
It's an example of how one thing, one choice, can go horribly wrong.
Kirsty MacColl
"It's Kirsty MacColl to me. Sliced up by the propeller of an illegally operated boat while saving her children from the same, for the boat's rich owner to buy his way out of justice."
Hattix
She died saving her son, who suffered minor head and rib injuries.
She died instantly.
Vic Morrow
"Jennifer Jason Leigh’s father, Vic Morrow. On the set of the Twilight Zone movie. Morrow and two children were killed. The helicopter crashed decapitating him and one of the children. The other child was crushed to death."
Illustrious_Tie491
These deaths caused a major scandal, ultimately impacting the career of director John Landis and resulting in a change to child labor laws in regard to film sets.
Sharon Tate
"Sharon Tates' was pretty bad. Getting stabbed to death while pregnant and begging for your unborn child's life is pretty f**cking brutal."
HempParty
The horrors and crimes committed by the Manson family continue to draw fascination to this very day.
Lou Gehrig
"Lou Gerhig. ALS causes loss of muscle control but many people diagnosed know what's in store for them. They know they will be losing the ability to walk, talk and even breathe."
legumey
The Lou Gehrig Memorial Award is given annually to the MLB player who best exhibits Gehrig's integrity and character.
Judith Barsi
"Judith Barsi voiced characters in The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go to Heaven. She died at the hands of her father in a muder-suicide after years of abuse."
"A murder suicide after a long campaign of both physical and psychological abuse too. She was just 10 years old."
darkwolfuwu
Barsi and her mother were buried in adjoining plots.
Her tombstone includes the phrase "Yep! Yep! Yep!" a phrase uttered by Ducky, the character she voices in the 1988 animated classic The Land Before Time.
Selena
"Selena. Being murdered by someone you thought you could trust and being snuffed out when she was on the cusp of superstardom. All her hard work since a little girl down the drain."
JadeStratus
Selena is more famous now than she was when she was alive.
It's crazy to think about.
Meanwhile, Yolanda Saldivar, who murdered her, is still in prison.
She is eligible for parole in 2025.
Christopher Reeve
"Christopher Reeve (Superman) died after bed sores became infected after breaking his neck and getting paralyzed."
SerVimesGOT
Christopher Reeve led a hard life after his horseback riding accident and yet remained such a kind and generous figure.
Anton Yelchin
"Anton Yelchin. I can't imagine anything worse than slowly dying in a torturous manner with not a soul nearby and zero way to get help or save yourself. I'm not afraid of much, not heights or claustrophobic or drowning, but dying in a helpless manner slowly is one thing that terrifies me truly."
KassSpin
This death was such a shock and a huge blow to Star Trek fans worldwide.
Yelchin was 28 when his SUV rolled down his driveway and pinned him against a brick pillar gate post.
His death was due to blunt traumatic asphyxia.
Jon-Erik Hexum
"Jon-Erik Hexum. He was an actor who was playing around with a gun loaded with blanks during a delay in filming. As a joke, he put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger."
Flashpoint123
This death, much like the death of Brandon Lee and the death of a crew member on the set of the movie Rust, have challenged views about safety on the sets of Hollywood films.
When you learn more about Hollywood, you can very easily fall down a rabbit hole.
James Dean: That car crash sounds terrifying.
Barbara Payton: Became a prostitute and died of alcoholism in her late 30s.
Phil Hartman: Murdered by his wife.
Have a celebrity you'd like to mention? Feel free to sound off in the comments below!
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.
Latasha Booth/Facebook
GayFamilyValues/Facebook
@OGentertained/X
@KharayKrayKray/X
