Anyone who thinks 13 is the unluckiest number should take a closer look at 27.
Once you realize just how many celebrities have died at that age, it starts to get a
little distressing... particularly if you happen to be 26.
Though there are plenty more, here are 10 of the most famous of stars who died at age
27.
Jonathan Brandis
Although already acting while he was still fairly young, it was as a teen heartthrob
that Jonathan Brandis found the greatest success of his career.
Brandis starred in the NBC series seaQuest DSV and films like The NeverEnding Story II,
Ladybugs, and Stephen King's It.
When seaQuest ended in 1996, things began to slow down for Brandis.
His role in the 2002 Bruce Willis film Hart's War was virtually trimmed out of existence
in the film's final cut, and his 2003 pilot 111 Gramercy Park wasn't picked up.
Brandis's life tragically came to an end after he hung himself on November 12, 2003.
Amy Winehouse
She may have started out jazzy with her 2003 debut album, Frank, but once she shifted into
more soulful territory on 2006's Back to Black, Amy Winehouse became an international sensation.
Winehouse's voice was a marvel, and both her look and attitude regularly led to press coverage.
But she also made more than a few headlines with her intense personal relationships and
her tendencies toward excess.
When she died on July 23, 2011, the coroner's inquest revealed that her blood alcohol level
was more than five times the legal limit for driving in the UK.
Kurt Cobain
It would be a disservice to dismiss Kurt Cobain as just another rock star with a death wish.
Cobain’s contributions to music remain significant even decades after his death.
Unfortunately, Cobain had demons to spare.
“But I was in pain.
I mean I was in pain for so long that I didn’t care if I was in a band, I didn’t care if
I was alive, ya know.”
Although he found solace in music, it wasn't enough to keep those demons at bay.
After skipping out of a Los Angeles rehab facility where he was attempting to kick his
heroin habit, Cobain flew home to Seattle and turned a shotgun on himself, though conspiracy
theorists still believe that his death wasn’t a simple suicide.
He died on April 5, 1994, leaving his young family behind.
And it wouldn’t be the only death that his wife, Courtney Love, would have to face that
year...
Kristen Pfaff
It took a while for Courtney Love to convince Kristen Pfaff to become the bassist for her
band Hole, but she eventually came around.
Unfortunately, while in Seattle to record Hole's second studio album, Live Through This,
Pfaff developed a drug habit.
She entered a detox center in February of 1994, but in the wake of Kurt Cobain's death,
she left both Hole and Seattle behind for good.
On June 16, 1994, the day before her planned departure for Minneapolis, Pfaff was found
dead in her apartment, after overdosing on heroin.
Jimi Hendrix
Unless you want to accuse the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame of hyperbole, Jimi Hendrix is
"arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music."
Frustrated by the music industry, Hendrix wasn't in the best state during the final
days of his life.
He was battling a recording contract dispute, contemplating leaving his manager, and dealing
with the departure of bassist Billy Cox from his band.
He'd also been hit with a paternity suit, was having trouble sleeping, and, on top of
everything else, was stricken with writer's block.
On the morning of September 18, 1970, Hendrix attempted to battle his insomnia by taking
nine sleeping pills, which left him so incapacitated that he choked on his own vomit and died.
“The Jimi Hendrix experience is over.
The acid rock musician died today in a London hospital apparently from an overdose of drugs.
Sixteen days later, music would lose another legendary performer.
Janis Joplin
Inspired by beautifully bluesy ladies like Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, and Big Mama
Thornton, Janis Joplin quickly developed a reputation for being able to furiously belt
out numbers as well as any man.
She could also hold her own against men when it came to partying, which became a problem.
Although she blew audiences' minds at the Monterey Pop Festival, at Woodstock, and on
the legendary Festival Express train tour through Canada, Joplin's alcohol and heroin
habits were profound.
Although efforts were made to sway her into rehab, she finally succumbed to her addictions
on October 4, 1970, dying of a heroin overdose in her hotel.
Brian Jones
Everyone knows Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, but when they began, the Rolling Stones were
initially steered by multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones.
As the Stones began moving in a more pop-centric direction, Jones grew more frustrated, drowning
his sorrows in alcohol and drugs, which led to dramatic mood swings that eventually resulted
in his dismissal from the Stones.
“He was two things.
He was not very nice and he upset people very easily.
He wasn’t very pleasant.”
Although Jones was reportedly in good spirits in his last days, his bad habits did not diminish,
and on July 3, 1969, he was found at the bottom of his swimming pool, with the coroner ruling
it a case of "death by misadventure."
Jim Morrison
Doors’ frontman Jim Morrison may be even more popular now than he was at the time of
his death, both because of his music and because his excessive lifestyle has been richly detailed
in a number of books and films.
On July 3, 1971, Morrison was found dead in his bathtub in his Paris apartment, with the
cause of death listed as heart failure.
The fact that no autopsy was performed has led to theories about how he really died,
whether he overdosed accidentally, if he was murdered, or if he even died at all.
Regardless, his legacy still looms so large, it's like he never left.
Jean-Michel Basquiat
If you’re a fan of art, you can't help but be aware of Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose work
impressed Andy Warhol so much that there was a period of creative collaboration between
the two artists.
Did we mention that he dated Madonna for a while, too?
Plus, he was in the video for Blondie's “Rapture,” which is an impressive claim as well.
Unfortunately, Basquiat was also addicted to heroin, and when Warhol died in February
1987, Basquiat retreated into both depression and drugs.
While he tried to turn things around on a trip to Hawaii, he ultimately overdosed on
August 12, 1988.
Anton Yelchin
He may be best known as Pavel Chekov in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek series, but Anton Yelchin's
acting credits have spanned over fifteen years.
On June 19, 2016, Yelchin got out of his Jeep Cherokee while in the driveway of his house
in Studio City, California.
The car rolled back, pinning him against a brick pillar and a security fence.
By the time friends found Yelchin, he was dead.
When Star Trek Beyond hit theaters a few weeks later, it was dedicated to Yelchin's memory.
And the list goes on…
While these were some of the most famous members of the 27 Club, they're far from the only
ones.
There's legendary bluesman Robert Johnson, Grateful Dead founding member Rob "Pigpen"
McKernan, Pete Ham of Badfinger, Chris Bell of Big Star, soul singer Linda Jones, D. Boon
of The Minutemen, Pete de Frietas of Echo and the Bunnymen, and Mia Zapata of The Gits,
just to name a few.
The saddest realization of all is that membership in this club will only continue to grow.
All we can hope is that it won't grow too fast...
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