Indiscriminate Death: a Decade of of Shocking Celebrity Tragedies

"Oh no, not him. Not her." Those seem to be the words for the last decade, a decade filled with shocking celebrity deaths. It seemed every time we turned on the news, death had struck again, indiscriminate and final.

Shocking Celebrity Death #10 Chris Henry: May 17, 1983 - December 17, 2009

Everyone loves a celebrity success story, but none so much as the story of an overcomer. Chris Henry, wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, had had his share of legal troubles, yet in 2009 he seemed to be putting it all back together. His shocking death was particularly tragic. On December 16 Henry fell out of the back of a truck driven by his fiancée during a spat. At 6:36 am on December 17th he died of blunt force trauma to the head, shocking the sports world.

Shocking Celebrity Death #9 Daul Kim: May 31, 1989 - November 19, 2009

The world was hers, yet the young fashion model from South Korea filled her blog with frustration and pain, eventually ending her career with a shocking death. Describing herself as mad, overworked and lonely, the beautiful Daul posted thoughts of hurting herself as far back as 2007. She recently wrote, "I already accepted that I relate to nothing. The more I gain, the more lonely it is...I know I'm like a ghost." On November 19, 2009, the celebrity model was found dead in her Paris apartment after an apparent suicide by hanging. Her final post: "Say hi to forever."

Shocking Celebrity Death #8 Patrick Swayze: August 18, 1952 - September 14, 2009

This celebrity could mambo, sing and he had a mean right hook. He had overcome family deaths, a plane crash and alcoholism. It seemed he could do anything, even kick pancreatic cancer. Then on September 14, 2009, Patrick Swayze passed away, a shocking death after twenty months of courageous fighting.

"Patrick was a rare and beautiful combination of raw masculinity and amazing grace...He was a real cowboy with a tender heart. He was fearless..." Jennifer Grey

Shocking Celebrity Death #7 Adam Goldstein: March 30, 1973 - August 28, 2009

Adam Goldstein, better known as celebrity DJ AM, fell in love with deejaying after a rough childhood of cruel verbal abuse and drugs. He had cleaned himself up, developed his talent, and gained a serious following. Then on September 19, 2008, the Learjet that should've taken him home crashed on takeoff, leaving him in critical condition with burns on his hands and head. He recovered and, shortly after that, he performed a New Year's Eve Party in Los Angeles. On Friday, August 28, 2009, Goldstein was found dead in his New York City apartment. Friends who hadn't been able to reach him for a few days called the police. His shocking death was ruled an accidental drug overdose, a combination of cocaine and medications prescribed for pain and post-traumatic stress.

Shocking Celebrity Death #6 Natasha Richardson: May 11, 1963 - March 18, 2009

A day of fun ended in a shocking death. After sustaining a fall during a ski lesson, celebrity Natasha Richardson got up, talking and acting normally. She refused medical attention and returned to her hotel room. Three hours later the English-American stage and screen actress complained of a headache and was taken to the hospital, only to end up in critical condition seven hours after her fall. She died on March 18 from an epidural hematoma due to blunt impact to the head.

Shocking Celebrity Death #5 John Hughes: February 18, 1950 - August 6, 2009

He was the icon of teen angst films. Celebrity director, producer and writer John Hughes felt the pulse of America's teen like no one else. For a celebrity so permanently associated with timeless hits like the Breakfast Club, no one could've guessed that when he went walking on August 6, 2009 in Manhattan, the day would end in a shocking death due to cardiac arrest.

Shocking Celebrity Death #4 Billy Mays: July 20, 1958 - June 28, 2009

Everyone knew that smiling, bearded celebrity face. He could hock anything from magnetic armbands for holding tools to neckties with hidden pockets. Celebrity Billy Mays seemed to never run out of enthusiasm. On June 28, 2009 the news of his sudden, shocking death caught the nation by surprise. That morning his wife found him unresponsive. Medical examiners concluded that he had died sometime during the night from hypertensive heart disease.

Shocking Celebrity Death #3 Heath Ledger: April 4, 1979 - January 22, 2008

Celebrity actor Heath Ledger earned an Oscar nomination for his performance in Brokeback Mountain and reinvented a shocking Joker that no one would ever forget. Yet in a November interview with the New York Times, Ledger had complained of insomnia due to stress. He commented that a double dose of Ambien would only give him an hour of rest. His housekeeper and masseuse found him on January 22. This celebrity's shocking death was attributed to an accidental overdose of sleeping medications.

Shocking Celebrity Death #2 Steve Irwin: February 22, 1962 - September 4, 2006

Part of me still doesn't want to believe that the indestructible Crocodile Hunter is gone. I swear if it breathed, the man could converse with it. On September 4th he was filming his own documentary. When weather interrupted, Irwin decided to film some shallow water shots for his daughter's program. One of the men on board the boat described the incident. "He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole in his heart." It was a one-in-a-million incident that ended in a shocking death.

Shocking Celebrity Death #1 Michael Jackson: August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009

Celebrity entertainer Michael Jackson changed music history. His shocking death shook the world. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame not once, but twice, he was staging the celebrity comeback of a lifetime. Yet on June 25th he collapsed at his rented mansion in Los Angeles. His personal physician and paramedics tried to resuscitate him, but at 2:26pm he was pronounced dead. On August 24 his shocking death was ruled a homicide, a combination of the drugs administered to him by his personal physician.

May they find peace.