45 Unforgettable Facts About the Deaths of Iconic Celebrities

- Sponsored Links -

1Robin Williams' Last Film

Robin Williams' Last Film

In one of Robin Williams' last films, The Angriest Man in Brooklyn, his character Henry stated that his tombstone would read "1951-2014." Coincidentally, Robin Williams was born in 1951 and died in 2014. His autopsy revealed he had about a 40% loss of dopamine neurons, and almost no neurons were free of Lewy bodies throughout his entire brain and brainstem, indicating Lewy body disease (LBD). Following his death, the 'Good Will Hunting' bench in the Boston Public Garden became an impromptu memorial, with fans leaving quotes and messages on the sidewalk to honor his work.


2. When Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, websites like Google News, The Los Angeles Times, Wikipedia, Twitter, TechCrunch, and TMZ experienced outages for several minutes due to the surge in web traffic. His autopsy report confirmed that he tattooed his lips pink and his eyebrows black. He was also partially bald and wore wigs to conceal it, with the front of his scalp also being tattooed black.


3. Elvis Presley died while trying to defecate on his toilet. He had an enlarged colon, which made this activity more challenging. Due to rigor mortis, his body was found still in the sitting position but having fallen forward on the floor with his head down. Evidence showed that during the seven and a half months preceding Elvis's death, Dr. Nichopoulos wrote prescriptions for Elvis for at least 8,805 pills, tablets, vials, and injectables. Going back to January 1975, the count was 19,012. His autopsy revealed the presence of morphine, Demerol, chlorpheniramine, Placidyl, Valium, codeine, Ethinamate, quaaludes, an unidentified barbiturate, diazepam, Amytal, Nembutal, Carbrital, Sinutab, Elavil, Avenal, and Valmid.


4. There's a controversial '27 Club' graffiti in Tel Aviv depicting Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse, all of whom died at the age of 27. So many celebrities have died at this age that the '27 Club' has become a cultural phenomenon.


5. Marilyn Monroe nearly died from an overdose in the Hamptons at the age of 31, but she survived. She passed away five years later from a drug overdose. When the District Attorney reopened Marilyn Monroe's death investigation after the coroner claimed coercion to profess suicide, the autopsy file, police report, and her diary, which were believed to contain damaging information on the Kennedys, vanished. A $10,000 reward was offered for her missing diary.


Latest FactRepublic Video:
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History


6Bruce Lee's Tragic Passing

Bruce Lee's Tragic Passing

A cerebral edema may have contributed to Bruce Lee's death. However, during his second autopsy, it was initially believed that a cannabis reaction was to blame for his passing. This theory was later retracted. After his death in 1973, the film industries in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea raced to find his replacement in order to build on his legacy. This period, later known as 'Bruceploitation,' featured actors with screen names like Bruce Li, Bruce Lai, Brute Lee, and more.


7. Rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly proposed to his wife Maria five hours after their first date, and they were married within two months. Maria was pregnant when Holly died in a plane crash six months later. Unfortunately, she had a miscarriage the day after his death and didn't attend the funeral. Since then, it has become policy to notify family members of tragedies before releasing their names to the public. She inherited everything but signed over 50% to his family.


8. In 1977, Bob Marley was diagnosed with melanoma under a toenail but chose not to follow his doctors' advice to have his toe amputated due to his religious beliefs. Unfortunately, the cancer spread, and he passed away from metastatic melanoma four years later, at the age of 36. He was buried with a guitar, a joint, and a bible.


9. Mark David Chapman, the assassin of John Lennon, confided in his wife about his obsession with killing Lennon and even showed her the gun he intended to use. However, she failed to inform the police. David Bowie was next on Chapman's hit list after Lennon. Chapman had a front-row ticket to "The Elephant Man" the following night. Every year on the anniversary of Lennon's death, the National Trust keeps the bedroom light on in John Lennon's childhood home throughout the night.


10. Amy Winehouse did not die from a drug overdose but from alcohol poisoning. Her blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at the time of her death was .416, more than five times the legal limit.


- Sponsored Links -

11Tupac's Controversial Legacy

Tupac's Controversial Legacy

After being fatally shot in 1996, Tupac Shakur's last words to the assisting police were "fu*k you." He refused to say anything else. Later, his group, The Outlawz, smoked his ashes. At a memorial held shortly after his death, members of the hip-hop collective Outlawz took the lyrics to his track "Black Jesus" literally and mixed his ashes into a marijuana cigarette.


12. Yolanda Saldivar, infamous for murdering Selena Quintanilla, has been serving her sentence in isolation due to death threats and bounties from prison gangs and the Mexican mafia. Some gang members in Texas even attempted to raise $500,000 for her bond, with the intention of murdering her once she was released. Howard Stern mocked Selena's murder and burial, poked fun at her mourners, criticized her music, and made derogatory comments about Spanish people's taste in music. Stern even played Selena's songs with gunshots in the background on his show.


13. When Albert Grossman, Janis Joplin's manager, learned about her substance abuse, he chose to buy a $200,000 insurance policy on her life instead of addressing her addiction. In her will, Janis Joplin left $2,500 for her friends to "have a ball after I'm gone." The Grateful Dead performed at her funeral party.


14. Brittany Murphy passed away from pneumonia in December 2009, and her husband also died under similar circumstances just five months later, in May 2010. Although Brittany was only 32 years old, her death was ruled to be due to seemingly natural causes. Her mother filed a lawsuit against the builder of the house.


15. Stingray injuries are rarely fatal. Steve Irwin's death from a stingray attack in 2006 was only the second reported fatality in Australia since 1945. Worldwide, one to two fatal attacks are reported each year. Following Irwin's death, there were reports of at least ten stingrays found dead and mutilated on the coast of Queensland, believed to be acts of revenge killings.


- Sponsored Links -

16Natalie Wood's Mysterious Drowning

Natalie Wood's Mysterious Drowning

During the filming of 'Brainstorm,' actress Natalie Wood drowned while on a boat with Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken. Wood's body was discovered one mile away, and a small dinghy was found nearby. The autopsy revealed bruises on her body and arms, as well as an abrasion on her left cheek. Robert Wagner remains a person of interest in Natalie Wood's 1981 drowning death. The boat's captain admitted to lying to the police, stating that Wood and Wagner had argued on the night she drowned and that Wagner had prevented the captain from turning on the search lights and contacting authorities. Later, the word "accidental" was removed from her death certificate.


17. Following vocalist Chris Cornell's suicide, Chester Bennington of Linkin Park performed "Hallelujah" at his funeral. Two months later, after Bennington's death, Cornell's 12-year-old daughter, who was also Bennington's goddaughter, performed "Hallelujah" as a tribute to both of them.


18. Carrie Fisher had a combination of drugs, including cocaine, heroin, and ecstasy, in her system when she passed away. Tragically, Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher's mother, passed away just one day after her daughter's death.


19. Frank Zappa frequently played with mercury as a child that his father brought home from work, often covering the entire floor of his bedroom with the substance. Exposure to mercury during childhood is known to increase the risk of prostate cancer later in life. Frank Zappa ultimately succumbed to prostate cancer at the age of 52.


20. In a heartfelt tribute to Bill Paxton, after his death, hundreds of storm chasers coordinated across three states to spell out his initials, BP, using GPS markers. This gesture honored Paxton for his memorable role as a storm chaser in the 1990s movie "Twister."


21Anton Yelchin's Tragic Car Mishap

Anton Yelchin's Tragic Car Mishap

In 2016, Anton Yelchin, known for his portrayal of Chekov in the Star Trek reboot, was tragically found dead, pinned between his own car and a brick pillar outside his house. The incident occurred when he exited his car, which then rolled back, trapping him against the pillar and causing asphyxiation.


22. Upon Leslie Nielsen's death in 2010, ESPN published an obituary for Enrico Pallazzo, the character he played as an umpire in "The Naked Gun." During his funeral, the "Naked Gun" theme played as RCMP officers carried his casket into a hotel near the funeral home. As a final touch of humor, Nielsen had chosen "Let 'er rip" as his epitaph.


23. Gene Wilder kept his Alzheimer's diagnosis private because he couldn't bear the thought of reducing the number of smiles in the world. He passed away at home while listening to one of his favorite songs, "Over the Rainbow," performed by Ella Fitzgerald.


24. Following Hugh Hefner's death, the Playboy Mansion became the property of neighbor Daren Metropoulos, who purchased the estate for $100 million in 2016. Metropoulos reportedly struck a deal with Los Angeles officials to permanently protect the mansion from demolition, even under future ownership. Hugh Hefner is buried in the crypt adjacent to Marilyn Monroe, Playboy's first centerfold.


25. Two years prior to his death from cancer, George Harrison was attacked by an intruder who broke into his home and stabbed him over 40 times with a kitchen knife. George Harrison's final letter was addressed to Mike Myers, expressing his appreciation for the Austin Powers films. Myers received the letter on the same day Harrison passed away. As a Hindu, Harrison's ashes were spread in the Ganges.

1
2

Sign up to our Newsletter & get

FREE!! 1000 Facts E-BOOK

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

- Sponsored Links -

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here