Life and Death in Hollywood

Ever wonder what happened to the rich and famous actors/actresses in Hollywood? Remember the movie Rebel Without a Cause filmed in 1955, was it jinxed? James Dean soon after making the movie was killed in a car crash. Sal Mineo, one of the stars, was murdered several years later and Natalie Wood died mysteriously.

Many of the countless Hollywood celebrities died young and before their time, from tragic accidents, drugs and alcohol or sickness. We as a society are fascinated with the "stars" and when one dies in Hollywood we feel as if we lost someone that we knew personally. We watch them in movies and on television and think they will live forever and are invincible but their death proves that they are human and are just like us. Being a Hollywood star does not make them immune from sickness and disease.[1]

Lex Barker, born May 8, 1919 was the tenth actor to play Tarzan died May 11, 1973 from a heart attack while on a street in New York City. He was only 54 years old and looked in perfect health.

William Bendix born January 14, 1906 was a mainly a supporting actor, some of his films were The Hairy Ape (1944) and Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944). He was best known for the television show The Life of Riley. On December 8, 1964 he was admitted to the hospital for lobar pneumonia and died on December 14^th.

Geraldine Brooks born October 20, 1925 rose to fame in the 1940s. Some of her movies were Cry Wolf (1947), Volcano (1950) and The Green Glove (1952). She was eclectic in her life, along with her husband Budd Schulberg she established a writers' workshop for under-privileged African-Americans. She also published a book on bird photographs along with accompanying essays. At the age of 51, on June 19, 1977 Geraldine died from a heart attack, she was also suffering from cancer.

John Candy, born October 31, 1950 rose to fame with his Hollywood comedy. Some of his best supporting roles were in National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) and The Little Shop of Horrors. John Candy died from a fatal heart attack on location in Mexico while filming Wagons East on March 4, 1994.

Many of the famous died from foul play or suffered mysterious deaths. Their deaths were whodunits in real life. These deaths will never be fully explained and their memory will remain a question mark surrounding their controversial deaths.[2]

Lana Clarkson born April 5, 1962 was a blonde, blue-eyed California girl. She had minor roles in television programs such as Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley and Fantasy Island. Her film roles include Scarface (1983), Deathstalker, (1983) and Barbarian Queen (1985) On February 3, 2003 she was found dead from a gunshot to the head in the home of Phil Spector, a record producer. He was charged with her murder, but claims she committed suicide.

Marilyn Monroe born June 1, 1926 as Norma Jean Mortenson. From 1946 to 1952 she appeared in 18 films, her first starting role was in Don't Brother to Knock (1952). In 1953, she starred in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire. She was found dead in her home in the early morning of August 5, 1962. According to police, she was found naked, lying face down on her bed, covered by a sheet. She was in a "soldier's position", with here hands by her side. There were between eight and 15 empty or partially empty pill bottles on her bedside table including empty bottles of sleeping pills. Her death was ruled a suicide but many believe that ruling was wrong. Her stomach was empty with no traces of the drugs that were supposed to have killed her. There was no glass in her room, so how did she take the pills and the position of the body was not consistent with a suicide. So the mystery remains today, how did Marilyn Monroe meet her death?

Sharon Tate born on January 24, 1943 hardly a star, but had minor roles in the television series The Beverly Hillbillies and in the films Valley of the Dolls and Don't Make Waves, both in 1967. On the night of August 9, 1969, she was murdered along with others by members of Charles Manson family. She was eight months pregnant and was stabbed 16 times.

Life is Hollywood at best is a fast paced and hectic lifestyle. Many of the stars turn to drugs and alcohol to help cope with the day to day grind. Sleeping pills, barbiturates, alcohol, cocaine or heroin was the choice of many Hollywood Stars.

John Belushi was born January 24, 1949 and had the ability to make people laugh. In October 1975 he became one of the stars of Saturday Night Live show. One of his biggest roles was in the National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). In the 1960s he acquired a taste for marijuana and hallucinogens, from that point on drugs plagued him and caused problems for him during shoots. Early in the morning of March 5, 1982, after having partied all night, he arrived back at his hotel to take more drugs and alcohol. Hours later he was found lying on his bed, naked and curled up in the fetal position. The coroner's report stated death was due to acute cocaine and heroin intoxication.

Chris Farley was born February 15, 1964. like John Belushi was a regular on Saturday Night Live Show. Some of his movies were Wayne's World (1992) Wayne's World 2 (1993), Coneheads (1993) and his last film Almost Heroes (1998). He tried to break away from the drug life by attending health farms and rehabilitation centers but would always fall back to his old ways. In December 1997 he went on a week long binge of almost nonstop eating, drinking, cocaine snorting and on December 17^th, his brother found him dead. An autopsy found he died of an overdose of morphine and cocaine.

Judy Garland was born June 10, 1922 as Frances Ethel Gumm. She when on to become one of the most enduring and talented performers of the twentieth century. Some of her films were Every Sunday (1936); Thoroughbreds Don't Cry (1937), The Wizard of Oz (1939) and she earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role in A Star Is Born (1954). In 1959, she almost died from liver failure caused by hepatitis. Trouble with her marriage, she turned to drugs, adding Ritalin and Valium to her list along with alcohol. On the morning of June 22, 1969 she was found dead in the bathroom of her apartment, cause of death, accidental overdose of the barbiturate Seconal.

From illicit love affairs, sordid scandals and criminal trails, broken hearts, illness and depression caused many Hollywood Stars to end their own life. Some deaths reported as a suicide is still in doubt today, Margaux Hemingway, George Reeves and George Zucco remains a mystery. [3]

Richard Farnsworth was born September 1, 1920 and became a respected star. He started out as a stuntman in the 1937 film A Day At The Races. He was one of the horsemen in the Adventures of Marco Polo and drove chariots in the Ten Commandments. His last film was the Straight Story (1999) where he played Alvin Straight, a real-life person who crossed Iowa and Wisconsin to visit his brother, who was dying of cancer. While shooting this film he was suffering from prostate cancer, later he couldn't walk and became paralyzed. On October 6, 2000, Farnsworth who once told a friend that "It's been a nice ride, but this old world's gotten too heavy for me", took a .38 revolver and shot himself in the head.

Alan Ladd was born September 3, 1913 and became a star in the movie This Gun For Hire (1941). Some of his films were China (1943), Thunder in the East (1952) and his most famous Shane (1953). By the end of the 1950s his life was taking a downward turn due to liquor and several unsuccessful films. In November 1962 he was found unconscious with a bullet would near his heart. He survived this suicide attempt only to succeed in January 1964 by using an overdose of sedatives and alcohol.

Inger Stevens was born October 18, 1934 as Inger Strensland in Stockholm, Sweden. One of her best known roles was in the television show The Twilight Zone (1960). Her Hollywood debut was in Man on Fire (1957), and she went on to star in Cry Terror (1958), The Buccaneer (1958), The Farmer's Daughter, a television series. She had a brush death three times, attempting suicide from barbiturate and ammonia, she survived. The second time was when she escaped from a plane just before it crashed. On April 30, 1970 she committed suicide from barbiturate poisoning and after her death it was discovered that she had been married to African-American character actor Ike Jones since 1961 but they were estranged when she died.

Many of the Hollywood Stars met their death from accidents, such as car wrecks, plane crashes, fires and other accidents. [4]

Aaliyah was born January 16, 1979 and by the age of 22 she was an established recording artist and had a future in Hollywood. At age 14, 1994, she released her debut album titled Age Ain't Nothing But A Number, which went platinum. At age 17, she recorded her second album One in a Million, going double platinum, she became a superstar. In 2001 she released her third album and was an instant success. It all came to an end on August 25, 2001 when she was killed in a plane crash along with the pilot and members of her entourage.

William Holden was born April 17, 1918 and had a career that spanned more than 40 years, over 70 films and three Academy Award nominations, with one Academy Award. His real name was William Franklin Beedle Jr and was raised in Monrovia, California. In 1939 he played the leading role in the Golden Boy along with co-star Barbara Stanwyck. In the 1940s he appeared in some 18 films, including Our Town (1940), Arizona (1940), and Apartment for Peggy (1948). He became a superstar for the film sunset Boulevard (1950) and starred in The Country Girl (1954) and The Bridges at Toko-Ri. One of his most famous films was The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and his last film was S.O.B. (1981). On November 16, 1981, he was found dead in his apartment, lying on the bedroom floor and steeped in blood. He had been dead for several days and an autopsy showed he died drunk. The coroner believed he had tripped over a scatter rug while getting out of bed and hit his head on the bedside table.

We as society look at the Hollywood Stars as someone special and believe they live the fairy tale life, always rich and happy. Always surrounded with friends and fans, no worries or problems, a life we all would love to lead. But a closer look at the real Hollywood and the real human men and women that make up the Hollywood picture shows a life that can be overwhelming and just like normal people sometimes they cannot cope. Loneliness is a real problem in Hollywood even if the cameras show that friends and family are always around them.

The lifestyle that is so demanding of the stars, to keep up appearances, attend numerous parties, to be "hip" is doing drugs and alcohol and catches up to many of them and leads to a sad end to their lives. As the old adage states "The Grass is Not Always Greener On the Other Side". See you all at the movies!

[1] Cut by Andrew Brettell, Bruce Elder, Denise Imwold, Damien Kennedy, Dr. Noel King, Warren Leonard, Pro Toby Miller and Heather Von Rohr

[2] Cut by Andrew Brettell, Bruce Elder, Denise Imwold, Damien Kennedy, Dr. Noel King, Warren Leonard, Pro Toby Miller and Heather Von Rohr

[3] Cut by Andrew Brettell, Bruce Elder, Denise Imwold, Damien Kennedy, Dr. Noel King, Warren Leonard, Pro Toby Miller and Heather Von Rohr

[4] Cut by Andrew Brettell, Bruce Elder, Denise Imwold, Damien Kennedy, Dr. Noel King, Warren Leonard, Pro Toby Miller and Heather Von Rohr