25 Celebrities Who Suffered the Worst Possible Deaths

PocketEpiphany Published 01/24/2022 in wtf

One of the best parts about becoming a celebrity is all that wealth. Rich and famous celebrities generally have easy golden years and die relatively peacefully.

Sometimes, though, celebrities die in worse ways than you could ever imagine. And here is the definitive roundup of celebs who suffered the worst possible deaths.

Share
Tweet
Flip
Email
Pin It

List View
Player View
Grid View

1. Owen Hart plunged to his death from 70 feet in the air in front of 20,000 people during a live pay-per-view. He was supposed to descend from the rafters in a superhero-like entrance, but it went terribly wrong. WWE insisted on doing the stunt without the proper safety equipment (since they wanted Owen to do a “quick release”), and they hired a below-par rigging company that would agree to do it (since most wouldn’t). They were grossly negligent.Reddit quote, u/Cinnamon16
2. Roger Williamson, British racing driver from the 70s.He was competing in the Dutch Grand Prix when he hit a curb and his car flipped over and caught fire. He was unharmed by the flip but couldn't get himself out because of the smoke and, well, being upside down. Race marshalls were present at the scene but they couldn't do anything since they didn't have fireproof overalls. Bear in mind, the race wasn't stopped while he was burning. Fellow driver, David Purley, stopped his car, sprinted to Williamson's car, took an extinguisher from a marshall and tried to put out the fire while being able to hear screams from the flames. Unfortunately, the fire was too strong for Purley alone to put out, he even tried to flip the car over but it was too heavy. (Drivers did have fireproof overalls). Williamson died from smoke inhalation. He was 26.Purley was shocked that he was the only one who was willing to pull over and help and he received a medal for his efforts.Reddit quote, u/hazardous_lazarus
3. Isadora Duncan, a famous dancer in the 1920’s wore a long scarf. She jumped in a sports car with no roof and the scarf got caught in the spokes of one of the wheels, and she was strangled.Reddit quote, u/JazzRider
4. It's Kirsty MacColl to me. Sliced up by the propeller of an illegally operated boat while saving her children from the same, for the boat's rich owner to buy his way out of justice.Reddit quote, u/Hattix
5. Sharon Tate’s was pretty bad. Getting stabbed to death while pregnant and begging for your unborn child's life is pretty f*cking brutal.Reddit quote, u/HempParty
6. Lou Gehrig. ALS causes loss of muscle control but many people diagnosed know what's in store for them. They know they will be losing the ability to walk, talk and even breathe.Reddit quote, u/legumey
7. Judith Barsi, voiced characters in the land before time and all dogs go to heaven. She died at the hands of her father in a murder-suicide after years of abuseReddit quote, u/darkwolfuwu
8. Phil Hartman - murdered in his bed by his wife. At the time, it was a celebrity death that really bothered me.Reddit quote, u/dansize1
9. Otis Redding. I was reading up on the plane crash. A band member somehow managed to free himself before the plane hit the icy lake and float to safety. Everyone else were still strapped in their seats. He said he won't every forget otis and the band screaming for help as they drowned and froze to death.Reddit quote, u/Affectionate-Key-809
10. Sean Taylor. Tried to save his family from a home invasion and it cost him his life in the (early stages) prime of his career. #21Reddit quote, u/FakeAndGayWrestling
11. Cliff Burton. Metallica was on their tour in 1986 when they got into a bus accident on their tour bus. They were traveling in Sweden when the driver lost control of the bus after hitting a patch of “black ice.” Burton who was sleeping on the top bunk closest to the window when the bus turned over, was thrown out of the window so the bus fell on top of him.Attempts were made to rescue him by lifting the bus with a crane, but the crane dropped the bus and it fell back on top of him. No one is for sure whether he died from the first impact or the second. A truly tragic story, the guy was kickass on bass.Also, I put black ice in quotations because James Hetfield walked around in his socks searching for that patch but never found it, so it is suspected that the bus driver was intoxicated.Reddit quote, u/mga-04
12. I would say Randy Rhoads, while he was on the Diary Of A Madman tour with Ozzy in 1982, he was tired of touring and tired of Ozzy, their last conversation was an argument over Ozzy’s heavy drinking. The last thing he said to Ozzy was “you’ll kill yourself, you know, one of these days.”After driving a while in the night they stopped over at a flying estate in Leesburg, Florida to fix a malfunctioning air conditioning unit on their bus while Osbourne was asleep. Someone saw some planes and said that they should take it for a joyride, someone suggested that Randy should fly with them (even though he was terrified of flying) but he went on the plane and the pilot wanted to “buzz” the tour bus But on the third attempt, the plane clipped the top of the tour bus, breaking the wing and sending the plane out of control. Randy’s head went through the windshield and crashed into a nearby garage, just some seconds later the plane burst into flames. According to Sharon Osbourne (Ozzy’s wife) who was asleep in the bus and awoken by the crash, “they were all in bits, it was just body parts everywhere” it’s just a horrific death to anyone, Randy is and will always be my biggest inspiration as a guitaristReddit quote, u/pean29
13. Vic Morrow and two non-famous kids decapitated by helicopter on set [of The Twilight Zone movie]Reddit quote, u/flippenzee
14. Selena. Being murdered by someone you thought you could trust and being snuffed out when she was on the cusp of superstardom. All her hard work since a little girl down the drain.Reddit quote, u/JadeStratus
15. Bobby DriscollIf you don't know who he is as a child he worked for Disney as the voice of Peter Pan and played Jim Hawkins in Disney's version of Treasure Island. His career did not carry on into adulthood and after he went missing for a year it was discovered he died homeless from a drug overdose and was buried in a pauper's grave.Reddit quote, u/CatboyInAMaidOutfit
16. Adrienne Shelly. Murdered in her own apartment by a contractor who had been working in the building. She caught him robbing her office, which led to him suffocating her and staging her body to look like she’d hanged herself. She was apparently an incredible woman and mom at the happiest point in her life with a career just about to take off. This was right before the release of her amazing indie film Waitress, which she wrote, directed, and starred in.Watch Waitress. It’s a delight and a masterpiece. If it weren’t for her murder, I think she’d be one of the most influential screenwriters and directors today. I also heard her husband created a documentary about her that was released recently.Reddit quote, u/fruitflykween
17. Tycho Brahe."Brahe thought it would be rude to get up and use the facilities while at a banquet; according to observers, this set off a bladder ailment that killed him shortly thereafter in 1601. A 2010 autopsy by Danish scientists revealed that, despite rumors that he had been poisoned, Brahe did most likely die from a burst bladder."Reddit quote, u/kebosangar
18. Houdini. He did the trick countless times before and could take a punch from anyone. The night he died someone came up to him and punched him in the gut without giving him time to stretch and prepare. It ruptured his appendix and he continues to do the show and dies from lack of medical treatmentReddit quote, u/brandslambreakfast
19. Dimebag Darrell Abbot.Playing on stage when a crazed fan jumped the railing and shot him in the head. He then shot a few other people while Dime's brother watched on as he was the drummer for the band. Horrible way to go and something like that should never have happened.Reddit quote, u/Jurrahcane
20. Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of The Cranberries, drowned in a bathtub while intoxicated.Reddit quote, u/tearlessreason
21. Isador and Ida Straus. The then owners of Macy’s were aboard the Titanic when she went down.When the steward was getting all the women and children to board, Ida refused to board the boat. Instead, she removed her coat and gave it to her maid, who was traveling with them, along with some money. When Isador asked her what she was doing, she took his hand and said to him, "We have lived together for many years. Where you go, I go." This isn’t even the worst part. Seeing their love for each other, the steward was willing to make an exception and let Isador board the boat. He declined. He said that he and his wife were old. There were many young people aboard that needed to be saved. The Titanic sank and so did they. Isador’s body was found. Ida’s wasn’t. Reddit quote, u/Outrageous-Collar-09
22. Marvin Gaye was trying to stop his abusive af dad from hitting his Mom. His dad didn't like Marvin overpowering him so he shot him. Coward. The dad had his own demons and chose to take them out on his family.Reddit quote, u/NeverEndingWhoreMe
23. Christopher Reeves (Superman) died from bedsores getting infected after breaking his neck and getting paralyzedReddit quote, u/brianhurry
24. Robin Williams. What he was going through with Lewy Body Disease before his suicide is just horrific. His wife wrote an article about it and it’s heartbreaking.Reddit quote, u/ibrokethelevee
25. Anton Yelchin. I can't imagine anything worse than slowly dying in a torturous manner with not a soul nearby and zero way to get help or save yourself. I'm not afraid of much, not heights or claustrophobic or drowning, but dying in a helpless manner slowly is one thing that terrifies me truly.Reddit quote, u/KassSpin

1. Owen Hart plunged to his death from 70 feet in the air in front of 20,000 people during a live pay-per-view. He was supposed to descend from the rafters in a superhero-like entrance, but it went terribly wrong. WWE insisted on doing the stunt without the proper safety equipment (since they wanted Owen to do a “quick release”), and they hired a below-par rigging company that would agree to do it (since most wouldn’t). They were grossly negligent.Reddit quote, u/Cinnamon16
2. Roger Williamson, British racing driver from the 70s.He was competing in the Dutch Grand Prix when he hit a curb and his car flipped over and caught fire. He was unharmed by the flip but couldn't get himself out because of the smoke and, well, being upside down. Race marshalls were present at the scene but they couldn't do anything since they didn't have fireproof overalls. Bear in mind, the race wasn't stopped while he was burning. Fellow driver, David Purley, stopped his car, sprinted to Williamson's car, took an extinguisher from a marshall and tried to put out the fire while being able to hear screams from the flames. Unfortunately, the fire was too strong for Purley alone to put out, he even tried to flip the car over but it was too heavy. (Drivers did have fireproof overalls). Williamson died from smoke inhalation. He was 26.Purley was shocked that he was the only one who was willing to pull over and help and he received a medal for his efforts.Reddit quote, u/hazardous_lazarus
3. Isadora Duncan, a famous dancer in the 1920’s wore a long scarf. She jumped in a sports car with no roof and the scarf got caught in the spokes of one of the wheels, and she was strangled.Reddit quote, u/JazzRider
4. It's Kirsty MacColl to me. Sliced up by the propeller of an illegally operated boat while saving her children from the same, for the boat's rich owner to buy his way out of justice.Reddit quote, u/Hattix
5. Sharon Tate’s was pretty bad. Getting stabbed to death while pregnant and begging for your unborn child's life is pretty f*cking brutal.Reddit quote, u/HempParty
6. Lou Gehrig. ALS causes loss of muscle control but many people diagnosed know what's in store for them. They know they will be losing the ability to walk, talk and even breathe.Reddit quote, u/legumey
7. Judith Barsi, voiced characters in the land before time and all dogs go to heaven. She died at the hands of her father in a murder-suicide after years of abuseReddit quote, u/darkwolfuwu
8. Phil Hartman - murdered in his bed by his wife. At the time, it was a celebrity death that really bothered me.Reddit quote, u/dansize1
9. Otis Redding. I was reading up on the plane crash. A band member somehow managed to free himself before the plane hit the icy lake and float to safety. Everyone else were still strapped in their seats. He said he won't every forget otis and the band screaming for help as they drowned and froze to death.Reddit quote, u/Affectionate-Key-809
10. Sean Taylor. Tried to save his family from a home invasion and it cost him his life in the (early stages) prime of his career. #21Reddit quote, u/FakeAndGayWrestling
11. Cliff Burton. Metallica was on their tour in 1986 when they got into a bus accident on their tour bus. They were traveling in Sweden when the driver lost control of the bus after hitting a patch of “black ice.” Burton who was sleeping on the top bunk closest to the window when the bus turned over, was thrown out of the window so the bus fell on top of him.Attempts were made to rescue him by lifting the bus with a crane, but the crane dropped the bus and it fell back on top of him. No one is for sure whether he died from the first impact or the second. A truly tragic story, the guy was kickass on bass.Also, I put black ice in quotations because James Hetfield walked around in his socks searching for that patch but never found it, so it is suspected that the bus driver was intoxicated.Reddit quote, u/mga-04
12. I would say Randy Rhoads, while he was on the Diary Of A Madman tour with Ozzy in 1982, he was tired of touring and tired of Ozzy, their last conversation was an argument over Ozzy’s heavy drinking. The last thing he said to Ozzy was “you’ll kill yourself, you know, one of these days.”After driving a while in the night they stopped over at a flying estate in Leesburg, Florida to fix a malfunctioning air conditioning unit on their bus while Osbourne was asleep. Someone saw some planes and said that they should take it for a joyride, someone suggested that Randy should fly with them (even though he was terrified of flying) but he went on the plane and the pilot wanted to “buzz” the tour bus But on the third attempt, the plane clipped the top of the tour bus, breaking the wing and sending the plane out of control. Randy’s head went through the windshield and crashed into a nearby garage, just some seconds later the plane burst into flames. According to Sharon Osbourne (Ozzy’s wife) who was asleep in the bus and awoken by the crash, “they were all in bits, it was just body parts everywhere” it’s just a horrific death to anyone, Randy is and will always be my biggest inspiration as a guitaristReddit quote, u/pean29
13. Vic Morrow and two non-famous kids decapitated by helicopter on set [of The Twilight Zone movie]Reddit quote, u/flippenzee
14. Selena. Being murdered by someone you thought you could trust and being snuffed out when she was on the cusp of superstardom. All her hard work since a little girl down the drain.Reddit quote, u/JadeStratus
15. Bobby DriscollIf you don't know who he is as a child he worked for Disney as the voice of Peter Pan and played Jim Hawkins in Disney's version of Treasure Island. His career did not carry on into adulthood and after he went missing for a year it was discovered he died homeless from a drug overdose and was buried in a pauper's grave.Reddit quote, u/CatboyInAMaidOutfit
16. Adrienne Shelly. Murdered in her own apartment by a contractor who had been working in the building. She caught him robbing her office, which led to him suffocating her and staging her body to look like she’d hanged herself. She was apparently an incredible woman and mom at the happiest point in her life with a career just about to take off. This was right before the release of her amazing indie film Waitress, which she wrote, directed, and starred in.Watch Waitress. It’s a delight and a masterpiece. If it weren’t for her murder, I think she’d be one of the most influential screenwriters and directors today. I also heard her husband created a documentary about her that was released recently.Reddit quote, u/fruitflykween
17. Tycho Brahe."Brahe thought it would be rude to get up and use the facilities while at a banquet; according to observers, this set off a bladder ailment that killed him shortly thereafter in 1601. A 2010 autopsy by Danish scientists revealed that, despite rumors that he had been poisoned, Brahe did most likely die from a burst bladder."Reddit quote, u/kebosangar
18. Houdini. He did the trick countless times before and could take a punch from anyone. The night he died someone came up to him and punched him in the gut without giving him time to stretch and prepare. It ruptured his appendix and he continues to do the show and dies from lack of medical treatmentReddit quote, u/brandslambreakfast
19. Dimebag Darrell Abbot.Playing on stage when a crazed fan jumped the railing and shot him in the head. He then shot a few other people while Dime's brother watched on as he was the drummer for the band. Horrible way to go and something like that should never have happened.Reddit quote, u/Jurrahcane
20. Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of The Cranberries, drowned in a bathtub while intoxicated.Reddit quote, u/tearlessreason
21. Isador and Ida Straus. The then owners of Macy’s were aboard the Titanic when she went down.When the steward was getting all the women and children to board, Ida refused to board the boat. Instead, she removed her coat and gave it to her maid, who was traveling with them, along with some money. When Isador asked her what she was doing, she took his hand and said to him, "We have lived together for many years. Where you go, I go." This isn’t even the worst part. Seeing their love for each other, the steward was willing to make an exception and let Isador board the boat. He declined. He said that he and his wife were old. There were many young people aboard that needed to be saved. The Titanic sank and so did they. Isador’s body was found. Ida’s wasn’t. Reddit quote, u/Outrageous-Collar-09
22. Marvin Gaye was trying to stop his abusive af dad from hitting his Mom. His dad didn't like Marvin overpowering him so he shot him. Coward. The dad had his own demons and chose to take them out on his family.Reddit quote, u/NeverEndingWhoreMe
23. Christopher Reeves (Superman) died from bedsores getting infected after breaking his neck and getting paralyzedReddit quote, u/brianhurry
24. Robin Williams. What he was going through with Lewy Body Disease before his suicide is just horrific. His wife wrote an article about it and it’s heartbreaking.Reddit quote, u/ibrokethelevee
25. Anton Yelchin. I can't imagine anything worse than slowly dying in a torturous manner with not a soul nearby and zero way to get help or save yourself. I'm not afraid of much, not heights or claustrophobic or drowning, but dying in a helpless manner slowly is one thing that terrifies me truly.Reddit quote, u/KassSpin

Share This Image

REPLAY GALLERY
25 Celebrities Who Suffered the Worst Possible Deaths

NEXT GALLERY
24 Cringeworthy Pics Proving Some People Just Shouldn’t Be Parents

RELATED MEDIA

Owen Hart plunged to his death from 70 feet in the air in front of 20,000 people during a live pay-per-view. He was supposed to descend from the rafters in a superhero-like entrance, but it went terribly wrong. WWE insisted on doing the stunt without the proper safety equipment (since they wanted Owen to do a “quick release”), and they hired a below-par rigging company that would agree to do it (since most wouldn’t). They were grossly negligent.Reddit quote, u/Cinnamon16

25/25

1/25

Share
Tweet
Flip
Email
Pin It

Categories: Wtf Pop Culture

Tags: celebrities pop culture tragic tragedy death killed sad

NEXT GALLERY 24 Cringeworthy Pics Proving Some People Just Shouldn’t Be Parents

25 Celebrities Who Suffered the Worst Possible Deaths

3. Isadora Duncan, a famous dancer in the 1920’s wore a long scarf. She jumped in a sports car with no roof and the scarf got caught in the spokes of one of the wheels, and she was strangled.Reddit quote, u/JazzRider

4. It's Kirsty MacColl to me. Sliced up by the propeller of an illegally operated boat while saving her children from the same, for the boat's rich owner to buy his way out of justice.Reddit quote, u/Hattix

5. Sharon Tate’s was pretty bad. Getting stabbed to death while pregnant and begging for your unborn child's life is pretty f*cking brutal.Reddit quote, u/HempParty

6. Lou Gehrig. ALS causes loss of muscle control but many people diagnosed know what's in store for them. They know they will be losing the ability to walk, talk and even breathe.Reddit quote, u/legumey

7. Judith Barsi, voiced characters in the land before time and all dogs go to heaven. She died at the hands of her father in a murder-suicide after years of abuseReddit quote, u/darkwolfuwu

8. Phil Hartman - murdered in his bed by his wife. At the time, it was a celebrity death that really bothered me.Reddit quote, u/dansize1

10. Sean Taylor. Tried to save his family from a home invasion and it cost him his life in the (early stages) prime of his career. #21Reddit quote, u/FakeAndGayWrestling

13. Vic Morrow and two non-famous kids decapitated by helicopter on set [of The Twilight Zone movie]Reddit quote, u/flippenzee

14. Selena. Being murdered by someone you thought you could trust and being snuffed out when she was on the cusp of superstardom. All her hard work since a little girl down the drain.Reddit quote, u/JadeStratus

20. Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of The Cranberries, drowned in a bathtub while intoxicated.Reddit quote, u/tearlessreason

22. Marvin Gaye was trying to stop his abusive af dad from hitting his Mom. His dad didn't like Marvin overpowering him so he shot him. Coward. The dad had his own demons and chose to take them out on his family.Reddit quote, u/NeverEndingWhoreMe

23. Christopher Reeves (Superman) died from bedsores getting infected after breaking his neck and getting paralyzedReddit quote, u/brianhurry

24. Robin Williams. What he was going through with Lewy Body Disease before his suicide is just horrific. His wife wrote an article about it and it’s heartbreaking.Reddit quote, u/ibrokethelevee

Share This Image

22 Comments

Related Galleries

Top 5

Karen Threatens to Cancel CEO by Contacting His Boss, Which, Of Course, Is Him

Kia Soul Flies High after Truck Tire Sends It Airborne

Monday Morning Randomness - 54 Memes, Tweets, and Pics That Shouldn't Be Missed

23 Fresh Memes to Take Your Break With

ER or the 27 Club: Woman Breaks Down Why 5 Inches Is Actually the Perfect Length

Get our free newsletter

Amazing new updates!