Random Weird Celebrity Deaths You've Never Heard Of (19 items)

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  (#1) Tennessee Williams

  • Dec. at 72 (1911-1983)

  Tennessee Williams is considered one of the greatest American playwrights in history, yet he often struggled with depression. Found lifeless in an New York hotel suite, many suspected the cause to be drug- and alcohol-related, and while both played a role, the main contributor to his passing was asphyxiation.

  According to medical professionals consulted at the time, Williams perished from choking on a bottle cap that was lodged in his throat. The cap was from a bottle for eye drops (or nose drops) that he often used. However, some have since hypothesized that this somewhat bizarre explanation was used to cover up an OD.
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  (#2) Sonny Bono

  • Dec. at 63 (1935-1998)

  Known as one half of the infamous duo Sonny & Cher, Bono later got involved in politics. His aspirations were cut short when he perished in a freak skiing accident at South Lake Tahoe's Heavenly Ski Resort. While on the slopes, Bono collided with a tree, sustaining fatal injuries.

  The most bizarre aspects of Bono's passing were the eerie similarities to Michael Kennedy's (son of Robert F. Kennedy) demise, which occurred less than a week prior. Kennedy also perished in a skiing accident.
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  (#3) Jon-Erik Hexum

  • Dec. at 27 (1957-1984)

  While on set filming the CBS television show Cover Up, muscle stud Jon-Erik Hexum became restless throughout takes. Hexum began fiddling with a prop gun and then spun a blank cartridge, held the barrel to his head in a mock game of Russian roulette, and pulled the trigger.

  The wadding from the empty barrel shot out of the trigger and impacted Hexum's temple. He was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent five hours of surgery. Six days later, he was pronounced brain dead. Hexum donated many of his organs before being cremated.
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  (#4) Natasha Richardson

  • Dec. at 46 (1963-2009)

  Best known for her roles in The Handmaid's Tale movie and The Parent Trap reboot, Richardson was a prominent English actress and charmer. While taking a skiing class on vacation in Canada, Richardson fell and sustained injuries. In a state of lucid confusion, she reportedly refused medical help, stating she felt fine and returned to her hotel room.

  She later complained of a headache and was rushed to a hospital where she perished from epidural hematoma.
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  (#5) Natalie Wood

  • Dec. at 43 (1938-1981)

  Known for her roles in Miracle on 34th Street and Rebel Without a Cause, Natalie Wood was considered a successful Hollywood actress. While on break from filming her last movie, Brainstorm, Wood drowned on a boating trip on the way to Catalina Island, off the California coast.

  Details surrounding her drowning were mysterious, considering neither her husband, Robert Wagner, nor the captain saw Wood fall into the water. Wagner claimed that following a fight, Wood went to bed. Her remains were found off the shore with bruises and scratches on her body.

  Examiners ultimately changed her cause of death from accidental to "drowning and other undetermined factors." Many have speculated that Wagner could have potentially played a role in Wood's drowning.
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  (#6) David Carradine

  • Dec. at 73 (1936-2009)

  Carradine was a successful martial artist and actor who appeared in the hit series Kung Fu. Carradine actually learned a lot of his martial arts techniques through his immersive experiences and training while filming kung fu films. While filming in Bangkok, police found Carradine unclothed and hanging from a rope in the closet of his hotel room. At first, most assumed that Carradine's passing would be labeled as a suicide. However, autopsy reports ruled that his demise was caused by autoerotic asphyxiation.

  Details about Carradine's interests in bondage and experimental sex provided further evidence that his suffocation was likely accidental, and not intentional.
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  (#7) Jayne Mansfield

  • Dec. at 34 (1933-1967)

  Mother of Mariska Hargitay, known as the "Working Man's Marilyn Monroe," Jayne Mansfield was the blonde bombshell of 1950s Hollywood. While driving with her children, lover, and driver, Mansfield's Buick crashed into the rear of a tractor that had suddenly stopped due to fog being emitted from a truck's mosquito fogger. The impact instantly ended Mansfield, her lover, and driver, but her children were miraculously only injured - including Hargitay.

  Rumors circled that Mansfield was decapitated by the crash largely because of the appearance of the car, which looked as if the top had been sliced off. However, the rumors were proven false, and only began because Mansfield's wig flew from her head to the windshield following the crash.
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  (#8) Linda Darnell

  • Dec. at 42 (1923-1965)

  After receiving critical praise for her performances in Unfaithfully Yours and A Letter to Three Wives, Linda Darnell secured herself within Hollywood's elite. Darnell perished unexpectedly in a house fire while staying at a former secretary's home. Caused by a cigarette left out in the living room, Darnell was trapped on the second floor after waking to the smell of smoke.

  While her friend and friend's daughter escaped through the second-story window, Darnell attempted to make it to the downstairs front door. Over 80% of her body was burned, and she perished from the sustained injuries.  
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  (#9) Ramon Navarro

  Ramon Novarro was a successful film actor. Dubbed the "Latin lover," Novarro became a Hollywood sex symbol. In 1968, a now elderly Novarro welcomed Paul and Tom Ferguson to his home in Los Angeles for intimate relations. While Novarro was entertaining the men at his home, the two of them beat him up, dragged him to the bathroom, and let him choke on his own blood.

  The motive was widely theorized and disputed during the investigation of the case. Ultimately, Paul took the largest blame for the deed, blaming his actions on his homophobia.

   
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  (#10) Gram Parsons

  • Dec. at 27 (1946-1973)

  Considered an influential country and rock musician, Gram Parsons played both solo as well as with acts such as the Byrds. On a trip to Joshua Tree National Park in California in 1973, Parsons's friends found him unresponsive. Coroners declared that he perished of heart failure.

  Parsons's body was ultimately scheduled to be delivered to Louisiana for a family burial. Many friends believed that Bob Parsons, his stepfather, wished to rush the body back to Louisiana to prove that he lived there, in order to inherit his estate. However, Parsons's friends somehow managed to steal his body from the airport. They transported the body back to Joshua Tree where they attempted to cremate his body by lighting it up with gasoline in the coffin. The result was a mess, and the rest of Parsons's remains were eventually buried in Louisiana. 
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  (#11) Bruce Lee

  • Dec. at 33 (1940-1973)

  Famed martial arts actor Bruce Lee was highly respected and well-known throughout the genre. While filming a movie two months prior to his passing, Lee suffered a seizure and collapsed. Doctors were able to assist him, but a few months later, after complaining about a headache, Lee was found lifeless in his room. Doctors reported that he had an allergic reaction to Equagesic, an aspirin and tranquilizer he used to help with seizures.

  However, his passing was officially ruled a death by "misadventure." Lee's demise sparked a wildfire of theories and conspiracies. Many believed that Lee's passing transpired at the hands of an ancient curse laid upon him and his family.
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  (#12) George Reeves

  • Dec. at 45 (1914-1959)

  Cast as the original Superman, George Reeves was never able to escape the infamy of his trademark role. His career essentially flopped after playing the hero, and he often struggled to find work. After he apparently took his own life, many assumed that depression stemming from his faltering career may have played a role. Others are skeptical, suspecting foul play and citing the many unanswered questions that surfaced during his autopsy.

  After a night of entertaining, Reeves retired to his room, where his guests and girlfriend claimed to have heard a single gunshot. Reeves's passing ultimately spawned "the Superman curse," used to describe the strange deaths of actors who have taken on the daunting superhero role.
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  (#13) Elizabeth Short: The Black Dahlia

  Quite possibly the most notorious unsolved murder in Los Angeles, Elizabeth Short was found severed at the waist in an empty lot. Short's body had been posed, cut into a Glasgow smile, and drained of blood by her slayer. The murder was heavily publicized and Short was eventually dubbed "The Black Dahlia." The story would go on to inspire everything from books to films.

  To this day, the mystery of Short's demise has not been solved. As an aspiring actress, Short never reached cinematic recognition, but she still reached notoriety.
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  (#14) Bob Crane

  • Dec. at 50 (1928-1978)

  Star of the classic TV series Hogan's Heroes, Bob Crane was slain while living in his Scottsdale, Arizona, apartment in 1978. Crane was beaten with a weapon that was never identified. Unprepared to handle a homicide case, the Scottsdale Police Department struggled to collect enough evidence to indict their main suspect - Crane's friend, John Henry Carpenter. Many believed that the camera tripod found at the scene of the crime could have been the weapon.

  Police reopened Crane's case years later and officially indicted Carpenter. However, lack of substantial evidence led to his acquittal. Crane's murder was never officially solved.
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  (#15) Lana Clarkson

  • Dec. at 41 (1962-2003)

  Lana Clarkson, a famous 1980s actress and model, was found deceased inside the home of acclaimed record producer Phil Spector. Both lauded and despised for his tyrannical and formulaic approach to record producing, Spector was a controversial, albeit successful, figure in the music industry.

  Shot dead after a night out at the House of Blues with Spector, Clarkson's demise led to the producer's arrest and trial. Following a mistrial, Spector was eventually convicted of second-degree murder. His driver noted that after hearing the gunshots, Spector allegedly stated, "I think I killed somebody." During his two trials, Spector tried to argue that Clarkson's demise was an accidental suicide and that she had "kissed the gun."
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  (#16) Andy Kaufman

  • Dec. at 35 (1949-1984)

  Andy Kaufman, a prominent American comedian and prankster, became gravely ill after being diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer. Kaufman refused modern medicine and instead relied on experimental and natural treatments, such as special diets and "psychic surgery."

  In 1984, Kaufman perished from kidney failure as a result of his cancer. However, many conspiracy theorists believed that Kaufman faked his death. The hoax theory started after many close friends of Kaufman claimed that he always intended to fake his own death. 
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  (#17) Jeff Buckley

  • Dec. at 31 (1966-1997)

  Best known for his heartfelt cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," Jeff Buckley secured a cult musical following from a supportive fan base. Although Buckley only lived to release one studio album, Grace, he garnered critical appreciation.

  While in Memphis recording new material, he was joined by his fellow bandmates. During a break, Buckley jumped into the Wolf River Harbor with all his clothes on, and began swimming. Soon, Buckley had disappeared. A thorough rescue operation failed to find Buckley and he remained missing. It wasn't until a few days later when two people found his body near a boat that he was announced dead. 
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  (#18) Rebecca Schaeffer

  • Dec. at 22 (1967-1989)

  Known for her role on the sitcom My Sister Sam, Rebecca Schaeffer was shot at point blank range by her obsessive stalker, Robert John Bardo. After repeated attempts to meet the actress, Bardo went home, dejected.

  However, after viewing Schaeffer in a sex scene for her new film, Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills, Bardo became enraged, equating her to just "another Hollywood whore." He traveled back to Los Angeles and showed up at her doorstep. After talking briefly, Schaeffer reportedly asked Bardo to leave and not come back.

  Bardo returned about an hour later and and shot Schaeffer directly in the chest upon her answering the door. She was pronounced dead on arrival of medics, and Bardo was apprehended soon after, caught running in traffic. He immediately confessed to slaying Schaeffer.
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  (#19) Ray Combs

  • Dec. at 40 (1956-1996)

  Host of the classic TV game show Family Feud, Ray Combs suffered from severe depression after injuring his spinal disc. Left in permanent pain, Combs struggled to make a comeback and made some faulty financial decisions.

  In 1996, police were called to Combs's Los Angeles home over some sort of disturbance. When they arrived, Combs had nearly trashed his entire place, and he had reportedly been banging his head against the walls. After his wife arrived on the scene and informed the police of Combs's suicidal thoughts, the actor was apprehended and committed to an institution.

  The next day, Combs made a noose out of his sheets and hung himself from the closet.

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