7 Actors Who Died During Production
Actors subject themselves to many things - public scrutiny, the whims of the business, the stress
of the job - and while it wholly seems like a lucrative, glamorous job on the surface
- performers of the screen routinely deal with much more than one would think.
And - like any profession, the hazards of the job sometimes include - well, the ULTIMATE
hazard.
Whether due to the psychological and physiological toll the career path can take on a person
- or through extreme examples of dangerous events gone awry - today, let's take a look
at seven actors who died during filming or production.
Number seven - Heath Ledger.
This native Australian actor only enjoyed mainstream American success for less than
a decade - never even seeing the legacy he would leave behind.
Known for his roles in films such as Ten Things I Hate About You and Brokeback Mountain, Ledger
suddenly passed away in 2008, shortly after filming his (now legendary) role as the Joker
in The Dark Knight from an accidental intoxication of prescription drugs.
While the Batman flick faced editing challenges as it was still in post production - he was
also in the midst of filming a role for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.
Reportedly suffering psychological problems from deeply immersing himself in his portrayal
of "the clown prince of crime", his ever increasing need for medication eventually led to the
tragically fatal overdose.
Number six - John Ritter.
Beloved actor John Ritter enjoyed a long, respectable career in both television and
the big screen.
Best known for his role of Jack Tripper in the 1970s sitcom Three's Company, Ritter went
on to appear in hundreds more films and television shows, breaking free of his typecast persona
in an impressively varied amount of dramas, comedies and even horror / thrillers.
Returning to his television comedy roots in 2002, he starred in the ABC sitcom 8 Simple
Rules with Katey Segal.
After only 31 episodes, Ritter experienced chest pain while rehearsing a scene for the
show - prompting the crew to rush him to the hospital.
Learning he suffered from a previously undiagnosed aortic dissection, he sadly died shortly later.
His death was subsequently worked into the plot of the show.
Number five - Steve Irwin.
The 44 year old Australian wildlife expert - best known by his nickname of "The Crocodile
Hunter" - was not only a gifted zoologist, but a naturalist, conservationist and acclaimed
television personality.
Achieving his worldwide fame through broadcast of his show that bore the same title as his
nickname, he and his wife Terri even owned and operated the Australia Zoo.
In September 2006, Irwin was filming with crew for an underwater documentary entitled
Ocean's Deadliest.
While snorkeling in part of the Great Barrier Reef near Port Douglas, Queensland - he approached
an 8-foot wide stingray from behind, unexpectedly getting stabbed hundreds of times by its tail
- piercing his heart and eventually bleeding out - becoming the only known stingray death
to ever be filmed.
Number four - Owen Hart.
Although arguably more athlete than actor, the infamous professional wrestler WAS performing
a scripted performance stunt for a pay-per-view event when tragedy struck.
The 34 year old Canadian native was a descendent of the Hart wrestling family - a prominent
force in the world of pro wrestlers.
On May 23, 1999 - Hart was in the process of being lowered into the ring by a harness
and grapple line affixed to the rafters of Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.
Intended to be a dramatic character entrance for the highly publicized Over The Edge pay-per-view
event, his harness released prematurely, plummeting him 78 feet chest-first into the top rope,
located near the turnbuckle - fatally severing his aorta.
The event controversially continued, but his death was cut out of the broadcast.
Number three - Brandon Lee.
The son of Bruce Lee - perhaps the most famous martial artist of all time - Brandon experienced
a similarly tragic end as his late father did just twenty years before.
Although remaining fairly unknown during his life - a string of low budget action flicks
led to the chance of him being able to portray Eric Draven in the noir-tinged adaptation
of The Crow.
During filming one of the movie's stunt sequences, he was supposed to be fired at by a .44 Magnum
revolver using a dummy cartridge fitted with a bullet but no primer or powder - a trick
movies often employ to achieve a realistic firing effect.
However, the film's prop crew chose to fashion their own - causing an unknown bullet stuck
in the barrel to strike Lee in the abdomen, mortally wounding him.
The film's remaining unfinished scenes were completed by way of rewrites, doubles and
digital FX.
Number two - Jon-Erik Hexum.
This 26 year old New Jersey native was at the height of a budding acting and modeling
career - portraying the lead male character on the short-lived CBS series, Cover Up.
During a break between filming scenes, a bored Hexum began playing with a prop gun he had
been using during taping.
Attempting to entertain his co-stars and crew to lighten the frustration of the room, he
foolishly began playing Russian roulette with the .44 Magnum - loaded with blanks.
The ensuing shot catapulted wadding from the blank cartridge into his skull, driving a
quarter-sized fragment of bone into his brain.
Due to massive hemorrhaging, he was declared brain-dead and taken off life support 6 days
later.
While his character was replaced by another actor, the show was cancelled 15 episodes
later.
Number one - Vic Morrow.
Morrow, a veteran actor from the 1960s TV series Combat! (and even roles alongside Elvis
Presley), was cast in a segment of the motion picture adaptation of The Twilight Zone.
During a scene in which Morrow's character would be shielding two Vietnamese children
from a helicopter air strike attack, an on-set flash-force explosion caused the low-flying
stunt helicopter to spin out of control - careening its blades straight into the actors - not
only instantly killing Morrow - but also the two young kids (aged six and seven) named
My-Ca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen.
Morrow and one child were decapitated while the other was crushed to death by the skids.
Causing a massive controversy - the incident became subject to highly publicized trials
and legal battles for years later.
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