The massive ranks of those who live to entertain, are sometimes thinned by the Darwinian forces of dramatic irony. Wether on stage, on screen, or on a high-wire, the cold, bony finger of Death himself has pointed at many a star. Heart attacks seem to be a prime culprit, obviously some entertainers enjoy culinary pleasures a bit to much. For others, it’s suicide, injury, and — on more than occasion — rampant stupidity. From the hilarious to the macabre, here are 16 entertainers who died doing what they do best: attempting to entertain a bored and jaded audience.
16. Alexander Woollcott, 1943
Alexander Woollcott was a prominent critic, writer and wit in the 20s and 30s who was discussing Hitler on a radio show in 1943. Woollcott was known for being opinionated and loud, so when he stopped chiming in part way through the show, most listeners just thought he was being uncharacteristically withdrawn. What the didn’t realize is that he suffered a heart attack during the discussion, and that the panel continued without him, barely missing a beat.
15. Gareth Jones, 1958
In 1958 Gareth Jones was performing in a live science fiction play telecast for the UK’s Armchair theater, where he played a character who died of a heart attack. Between two scenes, Jones did exactly that. Full credit to his fellow actors and the director, who improvised around his absense in the live broadcast.
(Shown: a stock image of a heart attack. You try finding an image of an obscure British radio actor from the 50s with a very common name!)
14. Karl Wallenda, 1978
Karl Wallenda was the founder of the Flying Wallendas, internationally renowned daredevils and tightrope walkers, who performed their death-defying tricks without a net. Can you guess where this is going? At the ripe old age of 73, he attempted to cross between two 10-story towers of the Condado Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. At the height of 121 feet, he was hit by wind gusts more than 30 miles per hour, which sent him falling to his death—an act caught on camera by a local news team. Showing that ignoring Darwin is genetic, his Grandson returned to complete the trick the next year.
13. Les Harvey, 1972
Harvey was the lead guitarist of Glasgow rock/blues band “Stone The Crows”, and Les was even talented enough to tour with Led Zeppelin in 1969. However, his promising career was brought to an end, when at a “Stone The Crows” gig in 1972, he grabbed an ungrounded microphone with wet hands, fatally electrocuting himself. I guess he should have stayed acoustic.
12. Tiny Tim, 1996
Herbert Khaury, better known as Tiny Tim, was a novelty musician, who played the ukulele before it was cool—which means he officially out hipsters the hipsters. Best known for his falsetto version of “Tiptoe Through The Tulips”, he did have a normal singing voice, and used it most of the time. At the ripe old age of 64, he suffered a heart attack at a ukulele festival in Massachusetts. However, he didn’t let that stop him playing, and he was performing at a charity concert in Minneapolis later that year, when he was hit by another heart attack while singing his signature tune, which finally did him in.
11. Dick Shawn, 1986
Dick Shawn (apart from having a pornstar name and awesome hair) was a prominent comedian, who showed up in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and the original film version of The Producers. While performing at UC San Diego’s Mandeville Hall, he started a bit mocking politicians, and used the line “If elected, I will not lay down on the job”. Later, when he collapsed from a heart attack, everyone assumed it was part of the act. After five minutes of heckling, someone actually checked on Shawn and CPR was administered. They tried to clear the audience, but everyone was convinced it was just part of the show, until the paramedics arrived.
10. “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, 2004
Dimebag Darrell was the legendary guitarist of Pantera and then Damageplan, who died under the fire of a gunman at a metal concert in Al Rosa Villa in Columbus, OH. The shooter was Nathan Gale, who shot Darrell in the head, killing him instantly, then fired an additional four times on the body, before opening fire on the crowd. Without saying a single word, Gale fired off a total of 15 shots, including taking time to reload. The bands head of security and an employee of the venue were both killed trying to take down the shooter, and Damageplan’s drummer was injured in the same act. An audience member was killed attempting CPR on the wounded, and the tour manager was also wounded. Gale was eventually brought down by a police officer, via a shotgun blast to the head. He was found to have 35 rounds of ammo remaining.
9. Frank Levick, 1908
I’ve deliberately avoided sports players in this list, but the case of Frank Levick deserves mention, because it’s utterly horrifying. In a football (UK) game in 1908, he blocked a shot, which hit him in the groin, forcing his testicles to become lodged in his abdomen. This caused internal bleeding of the bowel and led to cardiac arrest. That’s right, he got hit in the nuts so damned hard, he had a heart attack. Holy crap. Seeing as this took place in 1908, we couldn’t find a picture of the man, so here’s just a shot of a soccer player getting hit in the crotch.
8. Renato Di Paolo, 2000
Di Paolo was a stage actor who was playing Judas in a production of the Passion outside Rome, just before Easter. During the scene where Judas is hanged, something went wrong, and he actually was. I wonder if his body then burst open into the field, shooting his internal organs all over the place. That was a biblical reference I dropped on you all. Check it.
7. Brandon Lee, 1993
I’m sure everyone know the story of the death of Brandon Lee during the filming of The Crow. A prop gun misfired, sending the blank cartridge into Lee and immediately killing him. Thus was the end of Bruce Lee’s son, who apparently had a promising action career ahead of him. It did, however, make the Crow a runaway success, and inspired thousands of goth kiddies to wrap themselves in electrical tape, and paint their faces white. Did anyone else ever see Brandon in Showdown in Little Tokyo with Dolph Lundgren. Given how much that movie sucked, I’m really surprised Lee ever got another acting gig, but I suppose the Lee family name carried some weight.
6. Tommy Cooper, 1984
Tommy Cooper was a famous British comedian/magician, who deliberately flubbed most of his tricks to get a laugh. He did huge amounts of prop comedy and slapstick in between excellent sleight of hand. He was also apparently a miser and a bastard offstage, but lets not dwell on that. Since so much of his success and humor revolved around him screwing up his tricks, when he collapsed on stage, everyone assumed it was part of the act. No surprises for guessing what actually occurred. Attempts were made to revive him backstage, but they failed, and he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
5. Jerome Rodale, 1971
You know how this list has been chock full of dramatic irony so far? How’s this suit you: Jerome Rodale was a longevity expert, who popularized the concept of ogranic foods. He was quoted as saying, “I’m going to live to be 100, unless I’m run over by a sugar-crazed taxi driver,” and “I’m in such good health that I fell down a long flight of stairs yesterday and I laughed all the way.” During a radio interview with Dick Cavett he was hit by a heart attack, and died. His age? 72. So much for living till 100, huh?
4. Leonard Warren, 1960
Look at the grin on this guy! Just look at it! That is a happy Opera singer. Maybe he just saw the diva’s cleavage. Or someone just offered to cook him dinner. So what brought about the end of our ludicrously joyful friend? Like most people on this list, it was a heart attack that did him in. He was singing La Forza del Destino, and was about to start Don Carlo’s act III aria, which begins Morir, tremenda cosa (“to die, a momentous thing”) when he fell face forward into the stage. Who said Opera was boring?
3. Johnny Ace, 1954
Johnny Ace was a rhythm and blues star in the 50s, and his very first recording spent 9 weeks at the top of the charts. At the tender age of 25 he was touring around the country. During a break in his performance in Houston on Christmas of 1954, he got himself resoundingly drunk, and decided to play Russian roulette. Three guesses as to what happened, and the first two don’t count.
2. Joseph W. Burrus, 1990
Burrus was an American escape artist based in San Francisco, who died attempting to escape being buried alive. The plan was to put him in a plastic coffin, which would be interred beneath seven tons of earth and concrete. He had attempted the trick before, but only with the soil, not the additional concrete. While attempting the trick he was placed in the coffin, lowered, and the dirt was piled on top of him. When the concrete was added, it became apparent that he’d failed to take into account the extra weight of the substance, and the coffin collapsed on top of him. By the time safety crews got to him, he was well and truly dead. Gah! Being buried alive is one of my all time most terrifying nightmares, and this doesn’t help matters.
1. Christine Chubbuck, 1974
Chubbuck was a news anchor with WXLT-TV in Sarasota, Florida—a channel renowned for its blood and guts approach to news. You know what they say, “if it bleeds, it leads”. Chubbuck suffered from depression, hated the sensationalistic nature of the channel she worked for, and was paid only a pittance for her work. In a piece she was working on about suicide, she talked to the sheriff’s department about ways people killed themselves. The officer told her one of the most efficient ways was to use a .38 caliber revolver with wadcutter target bullets, and to shoot yourself in the back of the head.
On the day of July 15, 1974, she went to anchor her morning news spot. In a bag she had a script for her upcoming attempt to kill herself, down to the details of when she would be pronounced dead, and of what her coworkers should say that evening. After reading the morning’s news, a film reel was meant to show, but jammed instead. Christine announced, “in keeping with Channel 40’s policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts, you are going to see another first: attempted suicide.” She pulled a magnum out of her notes, put it behind her ear, and pulled the trigger. Just as she had scripted, she was declared dead 14 hours later at hospital.