These tragic celebrity deaths beg the question "What could have been?" For this list, we’ll be looking at celebrities who passed away during the filming of a movie or TV show.
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00:00Tonight, our metropolitan area and the whole world mourns
00:02the death of 43-year-old movie actress Natalie Wood.
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at 20 famous people
00:10who tragically died while filming.
00:12It will be some time before we know for sure
00:14what killed 33-year-old Chris Farley,
00:17one of America's best-known combined actors and comedians.
00:20For this list, we'll be looking at celebrities who passed away
00:24during the filming of a movie or TV show.
00:26Do you remember where you were when you heard the news?
00:29Let us know in the comments.
00:32John Ritter – 8 Simple Rules
00:35On September 17, 2002, ABC began airing a sitcom called
00:408 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.
00:43John Ritter starred as an uptight and overprotective father named Paul Hennessy.
00:48I just figured it's time our daughters are maturing and,
00:52you know, it'd be foolish of me not to use expert resources
00:54that 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.
01:02While rehearsing on set, Ritter started vomiting and experiencing severe chest pain,
01:08so he was rushed to a nearby hospital.
01:10He was treated for a heart attack,
01:12but his affliction was later found to be an aortic dissection.
01:16Ritter died later that night,
01:17coincidentally in the very same hospital in which he was born.
01:21Ritter's sudden death was blamed on a heart condition that is hard to detect,
01:25but not as rare as you might think.
01:26The ratings of 8 Simple Rules plummeted without Ritter,
01:30and it was cancelled after three seasons.
01:32He would say anything, he didn't care how silly he was,
01:35just 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
01:47as Veruca Salt's father from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
01:51Hey Daddy, I want an Oompa Loompa!
01:53I want you to get me an Oompa Loompa right away!
01:55All right, Veruca, all right.
01:56I'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.
02:07He would die during the production of the third.
02:09While shooting, Kinnear fell off a horse,
02:12and suffered both a broken pelvis and internal bleeding.
02:16The 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.
02:36They sued the production company for their sloppy health and safety measures,
02:39and they later went against the Madrid hospital
02:42in which Kinnear died for their poor quality of care.
02:45Five, four, come on!
02:48Three, two, one, go.
02:49I like to observe the correct procedure, you see,
02:51and thank me for it in the end.
02:53Oliver Reed, Gladiator
02:55Coincidentally, Oliver Reed starred alongside Roy Kinnear
02:58in the Musketeers films, playing Athos.
03:01He later found great acclaim portraying Antonius Proximo in Gladiator,
03:05although this would be his final role.
03:08I wasn't the best because I killed quickly.
03:12I was the best because the crowd loved me.
03:15Win the crowd, and you'll win your freedom.
03:19Reed 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,
03:30including 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 a hundred films.
03:42One of his co-stars was Glenda Jackson, who said of him tonight,
03:45I'm sorry he's gone, but I think he probably went the way he would have wished.
03:50Gladiator 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
03:59This male model was cast as Mac Harper on an 80s CBS action show called Cover Up.
04:05He 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 any place in the world,
04:22but I don't know what the hell that's got to do with modeling.
04:24To film an action scene, Hexham was given a functional .44 Magnum
04:28that 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,
04:43where 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 bright by his light forever and ever.
05:17James Dean
05:18Giant
05:19To this day, James Dean is the only actor to have received
05:23two posthumous Oscar nominations for acting.
05:26He 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.
05:35Yeah, well, I do a lot of things in a pinch.
05:38Dean very famously died on September 30th, 1955,
05:42when his Porsche t-boned a Ford on what is now State Route 46 in California.
05:47I used to fly around quite a bit, you know,
05:49took a lot of unnecessary chances on the highway.
05:52Dean was raced to a nearby hospital, but he was declared dead on arrival.
05:57According to the book Ferber, a biography of Edna Ferber and her circle,
06:01Dean had not quite finished work on Giant at the time of his death.
06:04He was still required for dubbing and post-production,
06:07so his best friend Nick Adams filled in for his late companion.
06:11Everybody thought I had a duster.
06:13Y'all thought old Spindletop, old Burke Burnett was all the oil was, didn't you?
06:19Well, I'm here to tell you it ain't, boy.
06:21It's here.
06:23And that ain't a dang thing you're gonna do about it.
06:25Natalie Wood
06:27Brainstorm
06:28Natalie 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.
06:49By late 1981, Wood was filming a comeback movie called Brainstorm with Christopher Walken.
06:54During a scheduled break, Wood, her husband, and Walken
06:58went on a yachting trip to Santa Catalina Island.
07:01Everyone on the boat, including the ship's captain Davern,
07:04had been drinking for much of the weekend.
07:06On the night of November 28, 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,
07:18and 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 after going
07:24into a jealous rage over Wood and Walken's interactions.
07:28Wood's sister was brought in to replace her for the filming of Brainstorm.
07:31John Candy – Wagons East
07:34In 1994, legendary funnyman John Candy was filming a movie called Wagons East in Mexico
07:40when 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.
07:57It all took a toll on his body, and he passed away at just 43.
08:01He was the sweetest man. I was so lucky to work with him.
08:04So lucky.
08:05It will be sad because he will be missed.
08:07Candy had finished most of his scenes for Wagons East,
08:10and those that weren't were completed with the help of a body double and some clever editing.
08:18Aaliyah – The Matrix Reloaded
08:20Known as the princess of R&B,
08:22Aaliyah 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 ten 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 are from true.
08:50At 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 – Shrek
09:14Like John Candy, Chris Farley did not take care of himself,
09:18and 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, his declining health was obvious to all.
09:38He 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. I don't know if you know that or not.
10:08He often went to mass. Chris had so many demons that he couldn't fight them.
10:14At the time, Farley was nearly finished work on Shrek,
10:17his death, Mike Myers was brought in as a replacement and re-recorded nearly the entire movie.
10:24Vic Morrow
10:24Twilight Zone the movie
10:26This actor died in what is arguably the most horrific on-set accident in the history of film.
10:32Morrow was shooting Twilight Zone the movie with two young actors
10:36named Micah Yin-Lei and Renee Shin-Yi Chen.
10:39The scene was very elaborate. A helicopter was flying overhead,
10:43explosions were going off, and 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, causing it to spiral out of control.
10:57It quickly plummeted to the ground and landed right on top of the actors.
11:02Set was closed down immediately after the accident,
11:04with the parents of the two children being rushed to a nearby hospital.
11:08They couldn't stop crying and screaming. The staff diagnosed them as being in shock.
11:12This horrible accident resulted in lengthy court battles.
11:16The parents of the child actors were awarded an undisclosed settlement, as were Morrow's children.
11:21Philip Seymour Hoffman
11:23The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2
11:26This is another actor who tragically succumbed to substance use disorder.
11:30Hoffman abused drugs in university, but he entered rehab at 22
11:34and stayed sober for much of his adult life.
11:36And why did you decide to stop?
11:42You get panicked. You get panicked. It was, um,
11:47I was 22 and I got panicked for my life. It really was. It was just that.
11:51Unfortunately, he relapsed in 2013 and died soon after. On February 2, 2014,
11:57Hoffman 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.
12:11Further 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.
12:26And whatever she's doing, we conceived it. It was our plan all along.
12:34Of course it was.
12:35Tommy Cooper, live from…
12:37This was a very famous English magician who performed funny tricks on television.
12:41Watch! Watch! Watch!
12:46However, 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.
12:56Did you learn anything at school?
12:58Did I learn anything at school?
13:00Yes.
13:00Well, I always say that the sun shines on the lower side of the hill.
13:04Oh, I think that's terrible. I mean, that's…
13:07What does that mean, exactly? I 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. Everyone, including the audience and Cooper's own assistant,
13:22believed that it was an act. However, it soon became evident that something serious had occurred,
13:28and attempts to revive Cooper began backstage. He was taken to Westminster Hospital,
13:33but was declared dead on arrival, having passed from a heart attack.
13:37Marilyn Monroe – Something's Gotta Give
13:40By the early 60s, Marilyn Monroe's life was in a downward spiral. The press was hounding her,
13:46producers didn't want to work with her, and her performances were being harshly criticized.
13:50Furthermore, she was divorcing her third husband, suffering from various health problems,
13:55and falling deeper into her substance use disorder.
13:58Marilyn 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, and Monroe was fired
14:07on June 8, 1962. She was later rehired with the help of her co-star Dean Martin, and filming was
14:13scheduled to recommence the following October. Unfortunately, Monroe died of an overdose in
14:18August. To this day, many suspect that Monroe intentionally took her own life,
14:24although we may never know for sure. The movie was subsequently abandoned.
14:28River Phoenix – Dark Blood
14:30In late 1993, River Phoenix was in Utah filming a movie called Dark Blood. In October, he flew
14:36back to Los Angeles and spent several days consuming substances with John Frusciante
14:41of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. On the night of October 30, Phoenix was watching Frusciante
14:46perform at the Viper Room, when he started feeling sick. He made his way outside,
14:51collapsed on the sidewalk, and began having convulsions.
14:54Paramedics found him on the sidewalk. He 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.
15:06In an open letter to the Los Angeles Times, River's mother,
15:09Hart Phoenix, wrote,
15:11River was not a regular drug user.
15:14Some important scenes were still required for Dark Blood, and because Phoenix was no longer
15:18available, the entire movie was scrapped. It was later released in 2012 after some significant
15:24re-editing.
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.
15:46On July 20, 1973, Lee was suffering from a headache and was given painkillers by a colleague.
15:52He then went to lie down for a nap and never woke up.
15:55Betty called Raymond back at the restaurant in hysterics. She couldn't wake him up.
16:00It was later theorized that Lee died from an allergic reaction to an ingredient in the
16:04painkiller, which exacerbated the cerebral edema. It may have also been exacerbated by heatstroke,
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. This was released five years later,
16:18with two martial arts experts crudely and quite obviously standing in for Lee.
16:27Paul Walker – Furious 7
16:29The final scene of Furious 7 is iconic, with Dominic Toretto happily seeing off Brian O'Connor.
16:38This wasn't just Dom bidding farewell to Brian. It was also Vin Diesel,
16:42and the entire world for that matter, saying 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, was a pro racer with championship titles to his name.
16:58The decision was made to continue filming without Walker,
17:01and to retire his character in a show of respect.
17:04Actor John Bretherton and Walker's brothers Caleb and Cody stood in for the late actor,
17:09and his face was superimposed over their bodies.
17:11You'll always be with me.
17:15And you'll always be my brother.
17:17Owen Hart – Over the Edge
17:19It was May 23, 1999, and 16,000 people were sitting in Kansas City's Kemper
17:24Arena for a wrestling event called Over the Edge. Thousands more were watching at home.
17:29The event plays to a sold-out crowd and airs live to hundreds of thousands at home.
17:35The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin were headlining the main event.
17:39Owen Hart was also scheduled to fight the Godfather for the Intercontinental Championship.
17:44To make a dramatic entrance, Hart 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, was killed performing a pre-match stunt.
17:59The accident was not broadcast on TV, but the thousands in attendance witnessed the fall.
18:04Hart was taken to the hospital, and the show controversially continued.
18:08The audience was never informed of Hart's death.
18:11Here's a vibrant guy that died unnecessarily before he could ever get to the peak of his career.
18:16Brandon Lee – The Crow
18:18Even those who don't believe in curses might 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. Like the coat?
18:28Brandon Lee was eight years old when his father Bruce died at the age of 32.
18:32Brandon would be even younger when he went, being just 28.
18:37Lee followed in his father's footsteps and started working in the film industry.
18:40He landed the role as the titular character in 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 that had been lodged in the prop gun.
18:52It was here at the Carolco Studios in Wilmington, North Carolina,
18:56that actor Brandon Lee was filming The Crow.
18:59Ironically, the film is about a man who dies and comes back to life to avenge his death.
19:04He was taken to a nearby hospital, but died after six hours of surgery.
19:08I have something to give you. I don't want it anymore.
19:1730 hours of pain!
19:18Steve Irwin – Ocean's Deadliest
19:21Steve Irwin was unlike any other zookeeper or TV personality.
19:25He had a certain charm and enthusiasm about him that garnered the attention of millions,
19:30and 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 with my little dog, Suie,
19:40capturing some wild crocodiles.
19:42But his dangerous line of work would 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 and quickly bled to death.
19:52It's reported the environmentalist was killed after being stabbed by a stingray barb in the chest
19:57while filming an underwater documentary on the Great Barrier Reef.
20:00The documentary was finished without Irwin and aired in January 2007.
20:05That was after an estimated 300 million people watched his memorial service at the Australia Zoo.
20:10In everything he did, he was direct, he was genuine,
20:15and oh so Australian. And that is what we love so much about him.
20:20Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get
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20:36HEATH LEDGER – THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS
20:39According to Heath Ledger's former partner Michelle Williams,
20:42Ledger frequently had trouble with insomnia.
20:45I know why you choose to have your little group therapy sessions in broad daylight.
20:52I know why you're afraid to go out at night.
20:55While filming his final movie, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus,
20:58Ledger complained about his lack of sleep to his co-star Christopher Plummer.
21:02To deal with the insomnia, Ledger started misusing pills.
21:06In the afternoon of January 22, 2008, Ledger was found dead in his Soho apartment.
21:12It was nine years ago, 28-year-old actor Heath Ledger
21:15died of an accidental prescription drug overdose.
21:18A toxicological analysis found multiple drugs in his system,
21:21and his death was ruled an accidental overdose of prescription medication.
21:25Three friends of Ledger, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law,
21:29were brought in to replace his character in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.
21:33They played alternate versions of Ledger's character as he travels through magical realms.
21:38Can I ask you a question? Do you dream?
21:42Or should I say, can you put a price on your dreams?