Telling stories has always been part of human existence, and actors are some of our most cherished storytellers, but because so many of them come and go, we easily lose track of which ones are still living and which ones are dead. In honor of the actors we have lost, here are 14 actors you may not know are dead.
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00:0014 actors you may not know are dead
00:06When we watch celebrities at the movies or on TV, we develop special bonds with them.
00:12So when they're gone too soon, it can be devastating, especially when we don't realize
00:16we've lost them.
00:17You may not know some of these actors by name, but you certainly know their faces.
00:22Some of your favorite movies or shows feature actors that have been taken from the world
00:26well before their time.
00:28Lee Thompson Young
00:29The famous Jet Jackson, Lee Thompson Young's star vehicle, was a very popular show on the
00:34Disney Channel for some time.
00:36Friday Night Lights, Akela and the Bee, and The Hills Have Eyes Too are some of the few
00:41films on Young's impressive resume.
00:43But while working as a series regular on Rizzoli and Isles, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
00:49Sadly, on August 19, 2013, his life came to a tragic end after he committed suicide with
00:55a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
00:58Brittany Murphy
00:59After rising to fame in 1995's cult classic Clueless with the famous line,
01:04"'You're a virgin who can't drive," Brittany Murphy offered strong performances in Girl
01:09Interrupted, Drop Dead Gorgeous, 8 Mile, and Sin City, and had a regular role on the hit
01:15animated show, King of the Hill.
01:17Murphy was the breadwinner of the family, as she cared for her mother, a breast cancer
01:21survivor, and her husband, Simon Monjack, who suffered from frequent seizures and heart
01:25troubles.
01:26In a surprising turn of events that shocked the world, Murphy was declared dead on December
01:3120, 2009, due to pneumonia, anemia, and multiple drug intoxication.
01:37It's unclear whether toxic mold also played a part in her untimely death at age 32, as
01:42her husband was found dead in the same house five months later.
01:46Heather O'Rourke
01:48Best known for playing Carol Ann from the movie Poltergeist, Heather O'Rourke was the
01:52sweet young girl that terrified audiences after being sucked into the television set.
01:57She was also one of a very small number of original cast members that remained with the
02:01movie series until Poltergeist III.
02:04If you've seen the final movie, you will notice Heather's cheeks are very puffy, a reaction
02:08to the medication she was taking for Crohn's disease, with which she was misdiagnosed.
02:13Tragedy struck when Heather suffered from cardiac arrest in February 1988 while undergoing
02:19a surgery for bowel obstruction at the tender age of 12.
02:23Dominique Dunne
02:24Sadly, this is another actress from the 1982 film Poltergeist.
02:28Many say the film was cursed, as this young actress from the film also met an early demise.
02:33Dominique was born into a life of privilege in Santa Monica to a ranching heiress and
02:37TV writer and producer Dominic Dunne.
02:40Dominique made appearances in the TV shows Chips, Fame, and The Quest.
02:45But the same year Poltergeist was released, her deranged ex-boyfriend John Thomas Sweeney
02:50murdered her in her own driveway in West Hollywood on November 4, 1982.
02:56Brad Renfro
02:57Skyrocketing to fame at age 11, Brad Renfro made a huge impression on audiences after
03:02starring in Joel Schumacher's adaptation of The Client by John Grisham.
03:07High-profile roles followed, and he made appearances in Sleepers opposite Brad Pitt, Ghost World
03:12alongside Scarlett Johansson, and The Informers starring Kim Basinger.
03:16Renfro fulfilled the sad destiny of many child actors, plunging into a life of illegal drug
03:22use and trouble with the law.
03:24After trying to buy drugs from an undercover L.A. police officer in 2006, Renfro pled no
03:29contest to attempted possession of heroin and spent 10 days in jail.
03:34On January 15, 2008, at 25 years old, Brad Renfro was found dead of an accidental heroin
03:40and morphine overdose.
03:42Jonathan Brandis
03:43With a resume as long as your arm, Jonathan Brandis showed up in Who's the Boss?, Blossom,
03:48L.A. Law, Full House, The Wonder Years, and Murder, She Wrote, among tons of others.
03:54As a child and teenage star for many years, it seemed like he had no shortage of work.
03:59He was 16 when he made Ladybugs, and 17 when he was cast as a teen genius in Steven Spielberg's
04:05SeaQuest 2032.
04:07When SeaQuest was canceled in 1996, however, the once plentiful casting offers dried up.
04:13Depression soon plagued the young star.
04:15He died after sustaining injuries from an attempted suicide via hanging at the age of
04:1927 in Danbury, Connecticut.
04:22Dana Plato
04:23Playing Kimberly Drummond in the television series Different Strokes, Dana Plato was catapulted
04:28to instant stardom alongside Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges.
04:32To cope with the mounting pressures of fame, she often indulged in cocaine and marijuana
04:38Once she became pregnant, however, the network released her from her contract, and she began
04:42a downward spiral of drugs and alcohol that included work in adult films and a spread
04:47in Playboy magazine.
04:49Dana moved to Las Vegas where, desperate for cash, she robbed a store for less than $200
04:54and was bonded out of jail by Vegas entertainer Wayne Newton.
04:58She died at the age of 35 on May 8, 1999, in her RV in Oklahoma after taking a fatal
05:05dose of Lortab and Valium.
05:07Lisa Robin Kelly
05:08Kelly made audiences laugh as part of the ensemble cast of That 70s Show, but her real
05:13life wasn't funny at all.
05:15After a lengthy battle with drug and alcohol addiction that ultimately caused her to lose
05:19her job on the show, Kelly checked into rehab in August 2013, only to pass away in her sleep
05:26due to complications from an accidental overdose.
05:29She was only 43.
05:31Thuy Trang
05:32Best known for her work as the original Yellow Ranger on Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, Thuy
05:36Trang was developing what seemed like a potentially promising career after leaving the show in
05:411994, landing roles in Spy Hard and The Crow, City of Angels.
05:46Sadly, she never had a chance to fulfill that potential.
05:49She was killed in a car accident in 2001, at the age of 27.
05:54Michael Clarke Duncan
05:56Duncan's towering physique made him a natural for big guy roles, but he really had dramatic
06:00chops.
06:02And unlike a lot of actors booked for that type of part, he got a chance to show them.
06:06His too-brief filmography includes memorable supporting turns in Armageddon and Daredevil,
06:11as well as a beautifully sensitive starring performance in the big-screen adaptation of
06:15Stephen King's The Green Mile.
06:18Duncan should have had a much longer career, but he was felled by a heart attack in 2012,
06:23at the age of 54.
06:25Harold Ramis
06:26Known best for playing the role of Egon in Ghostbusters, Harold Ramis brought his screenwriting
06:30and directing talents to a slew of some of Hollywood's best-loved films, including Caddyshack,
06:36Animal House, and Groundhog Day, just to name a few.
06:39Ramis was 70 when he passed away from an autoimmune disease in 2014.
06:44Though he enjoyed a long and productive career, fans the world over know he was still taken
06:49far too soon.
06:51Andy Hallett
06:52A Buffyverse fan favorite for his work as the demon Lorne in the spin-off series Angel,
06:57Andy Hallett seemed to be on the verge of a fruitful career in Hollywood.
07:01Unfortunately, he passed away at the age of 33 in 2009, the victim of congestive heart
07:08failure.
07:09Taylor Negron
07:10One of Hollywood's all-time ultimate That Guy actors, Negron compiled an impressive
07:15list of memorable credits without ever becoming a household name in his own right.
07:19Although he tended to be on screen for no more than a few moments at a time, Negron's
07:24deadpan delivery made him a standout in pictures like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Better
07:29Off Dead, as well as TV shows like Seinfeld and Friends.
07:33He was only 57 when he died in early 2015, a victim of liver cancer.
07:39Rowdy Roddy Piper
07:41After making a name for himself as a professional wrestler, Piper branched out onto the big
07:46screen where he starred in the 1988 cult classic They Live.
07:50He's the one who coined the catchphrase,
07:52"...I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass.
07:57And I'm all out of bubblegum."
08:02That set the tone for a busy Hollywood career full of B-movie roles and small but unforgettable
08:07appearances on shows like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
08:11He died in his sleep in 2015 after suffering a pulmonary embolism that triggered a heart
08:16attack at the age of 61.
08:20For more information visit www.FEMA.gov