At the Academy Museum in Los Angeles, visitors can see some of the most iconic props from
some of their favorite films.
You can catch a glimpse of Rocky Balboa's boxing gloves, Dorothy's ruby slippers from
Wizard of Oz, and the original R2D2 from the Star Wars films.
Film props come in all sizes, shapes, and varieties, but you would never expect these
seemingly incongruous objects to actually be dangerous.
They're props, after all.
How could a facsimile pose any real-world threat?
Well, simply put, sometimes accidents happen, and people get hurt – especially when those
props are weapons.
On Thursday, October 21, 2021, at approximately 1:50 pm Mountain Time, actor and producer
Alec Baldwin discharged a prop gun resulting in the death of one crew member and injuring
another while on the set of the upcoming film 'Rust'.
The accidental shooting took place at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico,
a site that is often used for Western film and television show productions.
The director of photography Halyna Hutchins ended up needing to be rushed to surgery because
of her injuries, but sadly she didn't make it.
Hutchins was only 42 years old and was both a wife and mother.
The director of the film, Joel Souza, and was rushed to the hospital via ambulance and
received emergency care but was released later that evening.
Alec Baldwin made his first public statement after the shooting on Friday.
He shared that he was heartbroken and that he had no words that could convey his shock
or sadness.
He went on to explain that he is fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how
the tragedy occurred and that he was in contact with Hutchin's husband.
At the moment, it's not very clear how exactly the accident happened, but it's not the first
time that such a tragedy has taken place on a Hollywood set.
Join us as we take a look at a few other incidents where actors and crew members were killed
or injured by prop weapons.
Brandon Lee On The Set Of The Crow
One of the most infamous film set accidents occurred on the set of the cult Gothic superhero
film The Crow in 1993.
Actor Brandon Lee, the son of Bruce Lee, was killed when a prop gun loaded with a dummy
round misfired and struck him in the stomach, hitting his aorta.
The scene that was being filmed when the accident took place involved Lee's character walking
in on a group of gang members as they were murdering his fiancee on the eve before the
couple's wedding day.
When the killers saw Lee, they were supposed to shoot him.
Reportedly a series of unfortunate yet preventable mistakes led to the dummy cartridge getting
jammed in the barrel of the gun.
Michael Massee was the actor that actually fired the gun at Lee, and because the cartridge
was stuck in the barrel, it fired just as an actual gun would have.
Lee was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital and underwent several hours of surgery, but
sadly he didn't make it.
The rest of the movie had to be completed using a stunt double and using CGI.
Jon-Erik Hexum On The Set Of Cover Up
On October 12, 1984, the cast and crew of the CBS adventure television series Cover
Up were shooting the seventh episode entitled 'Golden Opportunity' at the 20th Century Fox
lot.
Hexum's character had a scene that required him to load bullets into a .44 Magnum handgun,
and he was given a functional gun and some blanks.
After the scene didn't play out as the director would have liked, there was a brief delay
in filming.
Hexum became irritable and restless and began horsing around to help lighten up the mood.
At one point, he unloaded the gun except for one blank round and pretended to play Russian
Roulette.
After spinning it, he put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger, completely unaware
that he was putting himself in great danger – because even though prop weapons don't
actually shoot real rounds, they still release a tremendous amount of energy.
When Hexum discharged the prop gun, the blank cartridge managed to exert enough force to
shatter a quarter-sized section of his skull and lodged those pieces into his brain resulting
in severe hemorrhaging.
Hexum was immediately rushed to Beverly Hills Medical Center, where he underwent extensive
surgery attempting to repair his wounds.
Sadly, just six days after the incident on October 18, 1984, Hexum was declared brain
dead.
Hexum's organs were then donated to people in need and ended up saving several lives.
Enjoying this video so far?
Give us a like and subscribe to Facts Verse for more content just like this.
And don't go anywhere just yet.
Stay tuned to learn about one of the worse on-set deaths in Hollywood's history.
Vic Morrow On The Set Of The Twilight Zone
In 1982, Morrow, who was previously one of the leads on the ABC drama series Combat!,
was cast in a starring role in Twilight Zone: The Movie.
Morrow was set to portray Bill Connor, a racist bigot who travels back in time and is put
into a variety of situations where he would be the persecuted victim of intolerance and
hate.
In the early morning of July 23, 1982, while on location in California in a place known
as Indian Dunes not far from Santa Clarita.
Morrow and two other actors were performing in a scene in which their characters would
attempt to escape a deserted village in Vietnam as they were pursued by a U.S. Army helicopter.
The helicopter was reportedly hovering just 24 feet above them when the flames of a pyrotechnic
explosion damaged the copter's rotor blades, causing it to come crashing down on top of
Morrow and the other two actors killing all three of them instantly.
Morrow and seven-year actor Myca Dinh Le were decapitated and torn apart by the helicopter
blades, while six-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen was crushed to death by a helicopter skid.
While a helicopter might not at first seem like a weapon, the fact that it was meant
to portray a military craft that was actively in pursuit of three Vietnamese civilians certainly
makes for a strong case that it was indeed an implement of destruction.
The parents of Chen and Le sued the film studio, and the case was settled out of court for
an undisclosed amount of money.
Morrow's daughters also sued the studio and settled out of court.
Antonio Velasco Gutierrez On The Set Of Revenge Of The Scorpion
Gutierrez might not be a name that you recognize, but he was an extra that worked in Mexico's
direct-to-video film industry.
He was killed after being shot twice by real .38 caliber handgun bullets while filming
a scene for the film Revenge of the Scorpion on August 16, 2003.
He was 42 when he died.
Reportedly the gun was supposed to be loaded with blanks, but somehow real bullets ended
up in its chamber.
The film's property master, who goes by the name 'The Brush', was wanted for questioning
by law enforcement after fleeing the scene after the shooting.
Brendan Fletcher On The Set Of The TV Series Cardinal
Fletcher had to be hospitalized after being shot in the throat by a gun that was supposed
to be emptied of blanks but obviously hadn't been.
The accident happened when Fletcher's character on the Canadian TV series was supposed to
be shot in the mouth.
The actor ended up suffering a laceration and burn to his mouth, jaw, and throat area.
Reportedly, the blank that had been fired had no paper or plastic wadding.
Daigo Kashino On The Set Of A Japanese Play
Kashino and a fellow actor were rehearsing a scene from a play they were both set to
appear in when he was accidentally stabbed in the stomach with a samurai sword.
He was rushed to the hospital, but sadly he later died.
He was only 33.
When he was pierced through the abdomen, reportedly, the other actors heard him let out a low groan.
When they turned to look at him, they discovered him hunched over, bleeding profusely.
Frustratingly, no one saw what exactly happened.
Harry Barnes On The Set Of The General
Barnes was the assistant director on the 1926 Buster Keaton feature The General.
He was shot in the face with a blank round while filming In Oregon.
Luckily he was not in close range when the weapon discharged and wasn't injured very
badly.
Barnes got lucky once again when he survived an incident that involved a prop cannon that
discharged while he was standing too close.
He was knocked unconscious but made a full recovery.
Charles Chandler On The Set Of The Captive
Chandler was an extra who was killed when he was shot in the head by a rifle while filming
Cecil B. DeMille's 1915 film The Captive.
The gun was supposed to be loaded with blanks, but it was still had a live round in its chamber.
The accident happened while filming a scene where a group of soldiers shot down door.
DeMille had them use live rounds for the first shot but then instructed them to swap out
their rounds for blanks – that's when the deadly mix-up happened.
Now, some of these accidents from long ago make a little bit more sense.
After all, they probably didn't have nearly as many regulations and protocols to follow
back then, but it's pretty amazing that these kinds of mistakes and accidents still happen
today.
Prop guns are often real guns that have been adapted to use blanks.
While most of the time, they don't pose any real serious danger as long as they are treated
with the utmost caution and care, obviously, they can still potentially be deadly.
You would think that the majority of film gunshots these days would just be done digitally,
but perhaps after that latest incident involving Alec Baldwin, that's the direction the industry
will move in.
Do you think Hollywood should ban the use of blank rounds on film sets, or do you think
that what happened in Santa Fe on the set of Rust was just a freak accident?
Let us know in the comments section below.
And before you go, like and subscribe to Facts Verse to show us a little support.
Tap the bell to turn on notifications.
That way, you can keep up with all of our latest and upcoming videos without missing
a beat.
And as always, thanks for watching!
Be safe out there!