Bon Jovi Death Hoax—Déjà Vu All Over Again

Fans of Jon Bon Jovi went from devastated to elated when it was confirmed that a report of the singer's death Monday night was nothing more than a twisted hoax. It's not the first time a celebrity has had to pinch himself to make sure he was still alive.

In Bon Jovi's case, a post appeared in a blog, Dailynewbloginternational. It stated: "Rockstar Jon Bon Jovi (John Francis Bongiovi, Jr.) was pronounced dead today after paramedics found him in a coma at his Empress Hotel, city and law enforcement of Asbury Park, NJ sources told The Times after World Christmas Tour concert on The Bamboozle Festival, North Beach Asbury Park."

Tweeters went wild with the news, spreading it from one source to another before CNN and other legitimate news sources began the tedious task of disproving a negative. CNN tweeted: "Jon Bon Jovi is not dead -- rep tells #CNN he's alive, well and doing another charity event tonight."

Long before the Internet age, rumors of a celebrity's death took a bit longer to spread and consequently disprove. Then, it was usually an honest mistake or shoddy reporting as opposed to a hoax as is the case with Bon Jovi and other celebrities such as Miley Cyrus.

Newspapers generally have obituaries written in advance on celebrities so they can respond quickly if the person dies. In 2003, CNN, the source that reported Jon Bon Jovi is, indeed, still alive, maintained live access to draft obituaries on at least seven notable figures who were very much alive at the time. The draft obits were located on a site that was not password protected, so the public had access to obituaries that included: Nelson Mandela, Bob Hope, Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan.

Mark Twain is known for the quote: "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." The quote was in response to a news report that Twain had died, when he was still alive.

Steve Jobs used the Twain line when his death was reported on Wall Street, Bloomberg in 2008. Joe Dimaggio saw his own name pop up on TV when NBC reported his death. Other victims of premature death notices (hoax and accident) include Zach Braff (on a fan webpage) and Will Ferrell (i-Newswire).

While it certainly causes family and fans much distress when a favorite celebrity is reported erroneously as deceased, sometimes it's not a bad thing once the truth comes out. People magazine reported an erroneous report on actor Abe Vigoda's death in 1982. Vigoda, who played Phil Fish in "Barney Miller," believed the report impacted his ability to get work in the '80s; however, he experienced a bit of a career revival when he started showing up on TV programs spoofing the fact that he was alive. In fact, People ran an article when Vigoda celebrated his 80^th birthday years after the magazine had reported his death.

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