The tragic deaths of celebrities often leave fans and the entertainment industry wondering about the potential future projects and contributions that were lost. Here are some notable celebrities who passed away during the filming of a movie or TV show:
1. **Heath Ledger**: Heath Ledger’s death in 2008 was a huge shock to the world. He passed away before the release of "The Dark Knight," for which he won a posthumous Academy Award for his role as the Joker. He was also in the middle of filming "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," which was completed with the help of other actors stepping in for his role.
2. **John Ritter**: John Ritter, beloved for his roles in "Three’s Company" and "8 Simple Rules," died suddenly in 2003 from an aortic dissection while filming the second season of "8 Simple Rules."
3. **James Dean**: James Dean’s death in a car crash in 1955 at the age of 24 cut short a promising career. He had completed filming "Giant," which was released posthumously, but his untimely death left fans wondering what more he could have achieved.
4. **Aaliyah**: The singer and actress died in a plane crash in 2001 after filming scenes for "The Matrix Reloaded." Her role was recast, but her death left a significant impact on her fans and the music industry.
5. **Philip Seymour Hoffman**: Hoffman passed away in 2014 from a drug overdose during the filming of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2." His scenes were mostly completed, but his absence was deeply felt in the final film.
6. **Steve Irwin**: The beloved "Crocodile Hunter" died in 2006 after being pierced by a stingray barb while filming a documentary titled "Ocean's Deadliest." His death was a massive loss to wildlife conservation and education.
These tragic losses remind us of the fleeting nature of life and the profound impact these individuals had on the world. Do you remember where you were when you heard the news of any of these celebrity deaths? Share your memories in the comments.
1. **Heath Ledger**: Heath Ledger’s death in 2008 was a huge shock to the world. He passed away before the release of "The Dark Knight," for which he won a posthumous Academy Award for his role as the Joker. He was also in the middle of filming "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," which was completed with the help of other actors stepping in for his role.
2. **John Ritter**: John Ritter, beloved for his roles in "Three’s Company" and "8 Simple Rules," died suddenly in 2003 from an aortic dissection while filming the second season of "8 Simple Rules."
3. **James Dean**: James Dean’s death in a car crash in 1955 at the age of 24 cut short a promising career. He had completed filming "Giant," which was released posthumously, but his untimely death left fans wondering what more he could have achieved.
4. **Aaliyah**: The singer and actress died in a plane crash in 2001 after filming scenes for "The Matrix Reloaded." Her role was recast, but her death left a significant impact on her fans and the music industry.
5. **Philip Seymour Hoffman**: Hoffman passed away in 2014 from a drug overdose during the filming of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2." His scenes were mostly completed, but his absence was deeply felt in the final film.
6. **Steve Irwin**: The beloved "Crocodile Hunter" died in 2006 after being pierced by a stingray barb while filming a documentary titled "Ocean's Deadliest." His death was a massive loss to wildlife conservation and education.
These tragic losses remind us of the fleeting nature of life and the profound impact these individuals had on the world. Do you remember where you were when you heard the news of any of these celebrity deaths? Share your memories in the comments.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Tonight, our metropolitan area and the whole world mourns the death of 43-year-old movie actress Natalie Wood.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at 20 famous people who tragically died while filming.
00:12It will be some time before we know for sure what killed 33-year-old Chris Farley,
00:17one of America's best-known combined actors and comedians.
00:21For this list, we'll be looking at celebrities who passed away during the filming of a movie or TV show.
00:27Do you remember where you were when you heard the news? Let us know in the comments.
00:32John Ritter – 8 Simple Rules
00:35On September 17, 2002, ABC began airing a sitcom called 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage
00:42Daughter. John Ritter starred as an uptight and overprotective father named Paul Hennessy.
00:48I just figured it's time our daughters are maturing and, you know, it'd be foolish of
00:52me not to use expert resources that are available right at my fingertips.
00:56The first season was a huge ratings success for the network,
00:59but Ritter passed away shortly into the second. While rehearsing on set,
01:04Ritter started vomiting and experiencing severe chest pain, so he was rushed to a nearby hospital.
01:10He was treated for a heart attack, but his affliction was later found to be an aortic
01:14dissection. Ritter died later that night, coincidentally in the very same hospital
01:19in which he was born. Ritter's sudden death was blamed on
01:22a heart condition that is hard to detect, but not as rare as you might think.
01:26The ratings of 8 Simple Rules plummeted without Ritter, and it was canceled after three seasons.
01:32He would say anything. He didn't care how silly he was, just wanted to make us laugh.
01:39I'm really gonna miss that.
01:40Roy Kinnear – The Return of the Musketeers
01:43A British character actor, many people recognize Roy Kinnear as Veruca Salt's
01:48father from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
01:51Daddy, I want an Oompa Loompa. I want you to get me an Oompa Loompa right away.
01:54All right, Veruca, all right. I'll get you one before the day's out.
01:58I want an Oompa Loompa now!
02:00Kinnear worked a lot with director Richard Lester,
02:03and he starred in three of his Musketeers movies. He would die during the production of the third.
02:09While shooting, Kinnear fell off a horse and suffered both a broken pelvis and internal
02:15bleeding. The injuries were severe and put great strain on Kinnear's body,
02:20and he died of a heart attack the following day.
02:22It's very hard to express the loss that was felt by so many people,
02:29friends and strangers, on hearing this news.
02:32Kinnear's family later won multiple settlements over his death.
02:35They sued the production company for their sloppy health and safety measures,
02:39and they later went against the Madrid hospital in which Kinnear died for their poor quality of care.
02:44Five, four, come on. Three, two, one, go.
02:49I like to observe the correct procedure, you see. Thank me for it in the end.
02:52Oliver Reed, Gladiator
02:54Coincidentally, Oliver Reed starred alongside Roy Kinnear in the Musketeers films,
02:59playing Athos. He later found great acclaim portraying Antonius Proximo in Gladiator,
03:05although this would be his final role.
03:07I wasn't the best because I killed quickly. I was the best because the crowd loved me.
03:14Win the crowd, and you'll win your freedom.
03:18Reed suffered from alcoholism, and on May 2nd, 1999,
03:23he got into a drinking competition with some sailors while filming in Malta.
03:27He drank about $600 worth of alcohol, including eight pints of beer and a dozen shots of rum,
03:33before competing with them in arm wrestling.
03:36Following the fights, Reed collapsed and died of a heart attack.
03:39Reed, who was 61, appeared in 100 films. One of his co-stars was Glenda Jackson,
03:44who said of him tonight, I'm sorry he's gone,
03:47but I think he probably went the way he would have wished.
03:49Gladiator was finished with the help of CGI and a body double,
03:53and Reed was posthumously nominated for a BAFTA.
03:56John Eric Hexham, Cover Up
03:58This male model was cast as Mac Harper on an 80s CBS action show called Cover Up.
04:04He appeared in just eight episodes of the show before passing away at 26.
04:09Tell me, do you have access to weapons?
04:14Special truth chemicals.
04:16Access?
04:17Can you get your hands on them?
04:19Well, I get my hands on anything I need to survive,
04:21any place in the world, but I don't know what the hell it's got to do with modeling.
04:23To film an action scene, Hexham was given a functional .44 Magnum that was loaded with blanks.
04:29Bored between takes, Hexham decided to play Russian roulette with the gun.
04:33Seemingly unaware that blanks fired at such close range can cause serious harm.
04:38Hexham was rushed from the 20th Century Fox lot to nearby Beverly Hills Medical Center,
04:42where he underwent several hours of surgery by a team of neurosurgeons.
04:46Hexham suffered some horrible luck and fired the blank directly into his head.
04:51He underwent emergency surgery and stayed on life support for about a week,
04:55but he was eventually declared brain dead.
04:57He was then taken off, and his organs were donated to those in need,
05:01including a five-year-old child.
05:03John Eric Hexham died in October of this year,
05:08but the lives he touched will continue to be brightened by his light forever and ever.
05:17James Dean, Giant
05:19To this day, James Dean is the only actor to have received two posthumous Oscar nominations for
05:25He was nominated for his roles as Cal Trask in East of Eden and Jet Rink in Giant.
05:32You make a very excellent cup of tea.
05:36Yeah, well, I do a lot of things in a pants.
05:40Dean very famously died on September 30th, 1955,
05:44when his Porsche t-boned a Ford on what is now State Route 46 in California.
05:49I used to fly around quite a bit, you know,
05:51took a lot of unnecessary chances on the highway.
05:54Dean was raced to a nearby hospital, but he was declared dead on arrival.
05:58According to the book Ferber, a biography of Edna Ferber and her circle,
06:03Dean had not quite finished work on Giant at the time of his death.
06:06He was still required for dubbing and post-production,
06:09so his best friend Nick Adams filled in for his late companion.
06:13Everybody thought I had a duster.
06:16Y'all thought old Spindletop, old Bert Burnett was all I was, didn't you?
06:21I'm here to tell you it ain't, boy.
06:24It's here.
06:26And there ain't a dang thing you're gonna do about it.
06:28Natalie Wood.
06:29Brainstorm.
06:30Natalie Wood's death remains one of Hollywood's greatest mysteries.
06:34Wood was quite popular throughout the 50s and 60s,
06:37but she took a hiatus to focus on her children.
06:39I think, for me, I'm doing something that I used to think was not allowed,
06:44which is that I'm married and I have two beautiful children.
06:48By late 1981, Wood was filming a comeback movie
06:52called Brainstorm with Christopher Walken.
06:54During a scheduled break, Wood, her husband, and Walken
06:58went on a yachting trip to Santa Catalina Island.
07:00Everyone on the boat, including the ship's captain Davern,
07:04had been drinking for much of the weekend.
07:06On the night of November 28th, 1981, Wood somehow went over the side and drowned.
07:11Suspicion has been repeatedly placed on her husband Robert Wagner.
07:15He has been named a person of interest by the police,
07:17and the boat's captain claimed that Wagner was responsible for his wife's death.
07:21He claimed that Wagner grabbed and smashed a wine bottle
07:24after going into a jealous rage over Wood and Walken's interactions.
07:27Wood's sister was brought in to replace her for the filming of Brainstorm.
07:31John Candy.
07:32Wagons East.
07:33In 1994, legendary funnyman John Candy was filming a movie called Wagons East in Mexico
07:39when he died of a heart attack in his sleep.
07:42I guess a lot of things change in 20 years.
07:44Candy was notoriously unhealthy through much of his professional life.
07:48He continuously struggled with his weight and tended to binge eat.
07:51He was also a very heavy smoker and drinker,
07:54and he was known to have a substance use disorder.
07:56It all took a toll on his body, and he passed away at just 43.
08:00He was the sweetest man. I was so lucky to work with him.
08:03So lucky.
08:04It will be sad because he will be missed.
08:07Candy had finished most of his scenes for Wagons East,
08:09and those that weren't were completed with the help of a body double and some clever editing.
08:18Aaliyah.
08:18The Matrix Reloaded.
08:20Known as the princess of R&B, Aaliyah saw great success throughout the 90s and early 2000s.
08:33All three of her albums have been certified multi-platinum,
08:36and she had five singles reach the top 10 in the United States.
08:40She eventually found success in movies as well,
08:42starring as Akasha in Queen of the Damned.
08:44Never fear me, Lestat. All your wishes have come true.
08:49At the time of her death, Aaliyah was filming scenes for The Matrix Reloaded,
08:53as she had been cast as a character named Z.
08:56Tragically, Aaliyah died in a plane crash on the night of August 25, 2001.
09:01Along with eight passengers, Aaliyah, a young Brooklyn native,
09:04and a talented singer and actress.
09:06Aaliyah's footage was cut from The Matrix Reloaded,
09:08and the character of Z was recast with Nona Gaye in the role.
09:12Chris Farley.
09:13Shrek.
09:14Like John Candy, Chris Farley did not take care of himself,
09:17and it led to a premature death at just 33.
09:21I'll turn this damn bus around.
09:23That'll end your precious little field trip pretty damn quick, huh?
09:28Farley was a very heavy drinker and also used substances.
09:32By 1997, the year that Farley would die,
09:35his declining health was obvious to all.
09:37He was not only finding it difficult to perform,
09:40but he physically looked sick and grew exhausted easily.
09:43Well, yes, you might say that I enjoy chocolate.
09:47Well, then feast your eyes on this little baby right here.
09:53How do you like this one?
09:54This was especially evident when he hosted Saturday Night Live on October 25th.
09:59He was dead two months later,
10:00the result of a highly dangerous combination of multiple substances.
10:04He was very religious.
10:06I don't know if you know that or not.
10:08He often went to mass.
10:10Chris had so many demons that he couldn't fight them.
10:13At the time, Farley was nearly finished work on Shrek.
10:17Upon his death, Mike Myers was brought in as a replacement
10:20and re-recorded nearly the entire movie.
10:23Vic Morrow.
10:24Twilight Zone the movie.
10:26This actor died in what is arguably the most horrific
10:29on-set accident in the history of film.
10:32Morrow was shooting Twilight Zone the movie with two young actors
10:35named Micah Yin-Lei and Renee Shin-Yi Chen.
10:39The scene was very elaborate.
10:41A helicopter was flying overhead,
10:43explosions were going off,
10:44and Morrow was running across a body of water
10:47while holding the two children in his arms.
10:52A pyrotechnic went off and damaged the helicopter,
10:55causing it to spiral out of control.
10:57It quickly plummeted to the ground and landed right on top of the actors.
11:01Set was closed down immediately after the accident,
11:04with the parents of the two children being rushed to a nearby hospital.
11:07They couldn't stop crying and screaming.
11:09The staff diagnosed them as being in shock.
11:12This horrible accident resulted in lengthy court battles.
11:15The parents of the child actors were awarded an undisclosed settlement,
11:19as were Morrow's children.
11:21Philip Seymour Hoffman.
11:23The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2.
11:25This is another actor who tragically succumbed to substance use disorder.
11:30Hoffman abused drugs in university,
11:32but he entered rehab at 22 and stayed sober for much of his adult life.
11:36And why did you decide to stop?
11:42You get panicked.
11:43You get panicked.
11:44It was, um, I was 22 and I got panicked for my life.
11:49It really was.
11:50It was just that.
11:51Unfortunately, he relapsed in 2013 and died soon after.
11:55On February 2nd, 2014, Hoffman was found dead.
11:59Police say they responded to a 911 call from those friends at 1136 this morning.
12:05When they arrived, 46-year-old Hoffman was unresponsive, lying on the bathroom floor.
12:10Further investigation showed that multiple substances were in his system.
12:14The official cause of death was acute mixed drug intoxication.
12:18Hoffman was nearly finished filming The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2,
12:22but the movie needed some last-minute rewrites to accommodate his sudden death.
12:25And whatever she's doing, we conceived it.
12:30It was our plan all along.
12:34Of course it was.
12:35Tommy Cooper.
12:36Live from...
12:37This was a very famous English magician who performed funny tricks on television.
12:41Watch! Watch! Watch!
12:45However, Cooper's career was waning by the late 70s as he fell deeper into alcoholism.
12:51Not only did he drink to excess, but he also smoked up to 40 cigars a day.
12:55Did you learn anything at school?
12:58Did I learn anything at school?
12:59Yes.
13:00Well, I always say that the sun shines on the lower side of the hill.
13:03Oh, I think that's terrible.
13:05I mean, that's...
13:07What does that mean exactly?
13:09I don't know, but I always say it.
13:11On April 15, 1984, Cooper was filming a live variety show called Live from Her Majesties
13:17when he collapsed on stage.
13:19Everyone, including the audience and Cooper's own assistant, believed that it was an act.
13:24However, it soon became evident that something serious had occurred,
13:27and attempts to revive Cooper began backstage.
13:30He was taken to Westminster Hospital, but was declared dead on arrival,
13:34having passed from a heart attack.
13:37Marilyn Monroe.
13:38Something's gotta give.
13:39By the early 60s, Marilyn Monroe's life was in a downward spiral.
13:44The press was hounding her, producers didn't want to work with her,
13:47and her performances were being harshly criticized.
13:50Furthermore, she was divorcing her third husband,
13:52suffering from various health problems and falling deeper into her substance use disorder.
13:57Marilyn had grown dependent on sleeping pills during her rise to fame in Hollywood.
14:02It ironically came to a head while filming Something's Gotta Give,
14:05and Monroe was fired on June 8, 1962.
14:09She was later rehired with the help of her co-star Dean Martin,
14:12and filming was scheduled to recommence the following October.
14:16Unfortunately, Monroe died of an overdose in August.
14:19To this day, many suspect that Monroe intentionally took her own life,
14:23although we may never know for sure.
14:25The movie was subsequently abandoned.
14:28River Phoenix, Dark Blood.
14:30In late 1993, River Phoenix was in Utah filming a movie called Dark Blood.
14:35In October, he flew back to Los Angeles and spent several days consuming substances
14:40with John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
14:43On the night of October 30th, Phoenix was watching Frusciante perform at the Viper Room,
14:47when he started feeling sick.
14:49He made his way outside, collapsed on the sidewalk, and began having convulsions.
14:54Paramedics found him on the sidewalk.
14:57He didn't have a heartbeat, didn't have a pulse.
14:59An ambulance was called, and Phoenix was rushed to Cedars-Sinai,
15:03but he died the following morning from the overdose.
15:05In an open letter to the Los Angeles Times,
15:08River's mother, Hart Phoenix, wrote,
15:11River was not a regular drug user.
15:13Some important scenes were still required for Dark Blood,
15:16and because Phoenix was no longer available, the entire movie was scrapped.
15:20It was later released in 2012 after some significant re-editing.
15:24We got problems.
15:33Bruce Lee, Game of Death.
15:35Shortly before his death, Bruce Lee was diagnosed with a cerebral edema,
15:39which is an accumulation of fluid in the brain.
15:41On July 20th, 1973, Lee was suffering from a headache and was given painkillers by a colleague.
15:48He then went to lie down for a nap and never woke up.
15:51Betty called Raymond back at the restaurant in hysterics.
15:54She couldn't wake him up.
15:56It was later theorized that Lee died from an allergic reaction to an ingredient in the painkiller,
16:01which exacerbated the cerebral edema.
16:03It may have also been exacerbated by heat stroke,
16:06as Lee had the swelling of his head and neck,
16:08It may have also been exacerbated by heat stroke,
16:10as Lee had the sweat glands removed from his armpits.
16:13At the time, Lee was working on a movie called Game of Death.
16:16This was released five years later,
16:18with two martial arts experts crudely and quite obviously standing in for Lee.
16:29The final scene of Furious 7 is iconic,
16:32with Dominic Toretto happily seeing off Brian O'Connor.
16:35Hey, thought you could leave without saying goodbye.
16:38This wasn't just Dom bidding farewell to Brian.
16:40It was also Vin Diesel, and the entire world for that matter,
16:43saying goodbye to Paul Walker.
16:45In the middle of filming, Walker and his friend Roger Rodas
16:48died in a horrible car crash in Santa Clarita, California.
16:52The driver, Walker's friend, Roger Rodas,
16:54was a pro racer with championship titles to his name.
16:58The decision was made to continue filming without Walker
17:00and to retire his character in a show of respect.
17:03Actor John Bretherton and Walker's brothers Caleb and Cody
17:07stood in for the late actor,
17:08and his face was superimposed over their bodies.
17:11You'll always be with me.
17:15And you'll always be my brother.
17:16Owen Hart, Over the Edge
17:18It was May 23, 1999,
17:21and 16,000 people were sitting in Kansas City's Kemper Arena
17:25for a wrestling event called Over the Edge.
17:27Thousands more were watching at home.
17:29The event plays to a sold-out crowd
17:32and airs live to hundreds of thousands at home.
17:34The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin
17:37were headlining the main event.
17:39Owen Hart was also scheduled to fight the Godfather
17:41for the Intercontinental Championship.
17:43To make a dramatic entrance,
17:45Hart was being lowered into the ring from the rafters.
17:48Unfortunately, the escape mechanism was prematurely sprung,
17:51and Hart fell nearly 80 feet to his death.
17:54Canadian Owen Hart, known as the Blue Blazer,
17:57was killed performing a pre-match stunt.
17:59The accident was not broadcast on TV,
18:02but the thousands in attendance witnessed the fall.
18:04Hart was taken to the hospital,
18:06and the show controversially continued.
18:08The audience was never informed of Hart's death.
18:11Here's a vibrant guy that died unnecessarily
18:14before he could ever get to the peak of his career.
18:16Brandon Lee, The Crow
18:18Even those who don't believe in curses
18:19might think twice after hearing about the Lee family.
18:22Do you know someone named T-Bird?
18:24He had a friend who shouldn't have played with knives.
18:27Like the coat.
18:28Brandon Lee was eight years old
18:30when his father Bruce died at the age of 32.
18:32Brandon would be even younger when he went,
18:34being just 28.
18:36Lee followed in his father's footsteps
18:38and started working in the film industry.
18:40He landed the role as the titular character
18:42in Alex Proyas' The Crow,
18:44and it was while filming this movie that he would die.
18:47While filming a violent scene,
18:48Lee was shot in the abdomen with a dummy bullet
18:50that had been lodged in the prop gun.
18:52It was here at the Carolco Studios
18:54in Wilmington, North Carolina,
18:56that actor Brandon Lee was filming The Crow.
18:58Ironically, the film is about a man who dies
19:01and comes back to life to avenge his death.
19:04He was taken to a nearby hospital,
19:06but died after six hours of surgery.
19:08I have something to give you.
19:10I don't want it anymore.
19:1630 hours of pain.
19:18Steve Irwin, Ocean's Deadliest
19:21Steve Irwin was unlike any other zookeeper or TV personality.
19:24He had a certain charm and enthusiasm about him
19:27that garnered the attention of millions,
19:29and he quickly became the world's most popular wildlife expert.
19:33My fondest memories are of catching crocodiles.
19:36And during the 80s, I was up on my own
19:38with my little dog, Suie, capturing some wild crocodiles.
19:42But his dangerous line of work
19:43would eventually get the best of him.
19:45While filming a documentary called Ocean's Deadliest,
19:48Irwin was pierced in the heart by a stingray
19:50and quickly bled to death.
19:51It's reported the environmentalist was killed
19:54after being stabbed by a stingray barb in the chest
19:57while filming an underwater documentary
19:59on the Great Barrier Reef.
20:00The documentary was finished without Irwin
20:02and aired in January 2007.
20:05That was after an estimated 300 million people
20:07watched his memorial service at the Australia Zoo.
20:10In everything he did, he was direct,
20:13he was genuine, and oh so Australian.
20:17And that is what we love so much about him.
20:20Before we continue,
20:21be sure to subscribe to our channel
20:23and ring the bell to get notified
20:24about our latest videos.
20:26You have the option to be notified
20:28for occasional videos or all of them.
20:30If you're on your phone,
20:31make sure you go into your settings
20:33and switch on notifications.
20:36Heath Ledger, the Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
20:39According to Heath Ledger's former partner,
20:41Michelle Williams,
20:42Ledger frequently had trouble with insomnia.
20:44I know why you choose to have your little
20:49group therapy sessions in broad daylight.
20:52I know why you're afraid to go out at night.
20:55While filming his final movie,
20:56The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus,
20:58Ledger complained about his lack of sleep
21:00to his co-star Christopher Plummer.
21:02To deal with the insomnia,
21:03Ledger started misusing pills.
21:05In the afternoon of January 22, 2008,
21:09Ledger was found dead in his Soho apartment.
21:11It was nine years ago,
21:1328-year-old actor Heath Ledger died
21:15of an accidental prescription drug overdose.
21:17A toxicological analysis found multiple drugs
21:20in his system and his death was ruled
21:22an accidental overdose of prescription medication.
21:25Three friends of Ledger,
21:26Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law
21:29were brought in to replace his character
21:31in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.
21:33They played alternate versions of Ledger's character
21:35as he travels through magical realms.
21:38Can I ask you a question?
21:40Do you dream?
21:42Or should I say,
21:44can you put a price on your dreams?