[Music]
everyone knows that making movies and tv
is no mean feat but who would have
thought that hollywood can be as
dangerous as this from a horrific
helicopter crash to the young actor
killed by a joke these are the actors
who tragically died on set
both the son of martial arts legend
bruce lee and a noteworthy actor in his
own right brandon lee died on the set of
a film in march 1993. brandon was
filming the gothic superhero movie the
crow when he was accidentally shot dead
by a fellow cast member
the weapon in question was supposed to
be filled with blanks for that day's
filming but this wasn't the case lee's
autopsy later revealed that he had been
killed by a fragment of a dummy shell
that had been previously fired but which
had lodged in the gun's barrel unknown
to the movie's production team lee was
taken to the hospital but the bullet was
lodged in his spine and he died from his
injuries he was just 28 years old
tv actor vic morrow and two child actors
renee shin yee-chen and micah dinley
were killed on set during filming on
twilight zone the movie it was july 1982
and mauro was in california shooting a
scene set during the vietnam war the
sequence in question involved morrow
running away from a helicopter chasing
both him and the children and required a
number of pyrotechnics explosions and
special effects in order to reproduce an
authentic seeming battlefield
due in part to these explosions the
helicopter used in the scene lost
control and crashed in tomorrow chen and
lay killing them instantly it was all
over we just started spinning we went
around in circles about one and a half
times or something and crashed into the
riverbed mauro was 53 and the child
actors were just six and seven years old
john landis the film's co-director was
charged with involuntary manslaughter
alongside four other crew members with
the prosecution arguing that the crash
could have easily been avoided the
director and crew were all acquitted
however and the families of the victims
settled out of court for an undisclosed
amount of money
the 1950s and 1960s were the decades of
the western an iconic genre of film
westerns brought some of the world's
most famous actors into the spotlight
and eric fleming was one of them
fleming was the star of the hit
television show rawhide and while he was
known for his presence on tv he soon
expanded his career into feature films
sadly his rise to stardom was destined
to be cut short in 1966 fleming was on
location in lima peru filming an episode
of off to see the wizard when he was
fatally injured in a tragic accident
the 41 year old was filming a scene in
the wayago river located in the andes
when the canoe he was using took on
water
the canoe sank and while his co-star
managed to escape fleming was caught in
the current despite being an excellent
swimmer and trained diver fleming was no
match for the fast-flowing river he
drowned and despite substantial search
efforts his body was never found
there are some actors whose comedic
timing jovial laugh and warm expressions
are renowned for capturing the hearts of
viewers the beloved british actor roy
kinnear was one such star
known for his roles in films such as
willy wonka and the chocolate factory
and the three musketeers kineer was a
national treasure in britain making his
death that much more of a tragedy
in 1988 kinnear was in spain filming the
return of the musketeers for one scene
caneer was required to ride a horse but
while on set he fell from his saddle and
was injured kaneer was taken to a
hospital where he was treated for a
fractured pelvis
unfortunately during his treatment he
suffered a heart attack and passed away
he was 54 years old filming for the
return of the musketeers was almost
complete when kinear died and the film
was dedicated to him upon its release
red fox was known both as the star of
the 1970s show sanford and son and for
his trademark nickname the king of the
party records fox was a stand-up
comedian who got his start in the 1950s
he soon made his way from the stage to
the screen and found fame thanks to
sanford and son
sadly during filming on another of his
shows the royal family fox had a massive
heart attack fox was rehearsing for the
show on the paramount studio soundstage
when he suddenly collapsed he was rushed
to a nearby hospital but ultimately
succumbed to the attack fox was 68 years
old when he died
when beloved actors and comedians pass
away it can often have a devastating
effect on their adoring fans take john
ritter for example an iconic star of
american tv ritter passed away on the
set of his own sitcom in 2003 ritter had
found television success with the show
three's company and later returned to
the small screen with another standout
comedy eight simple rules for dating my
teenage daughter while on the abc set of
eight simple rules ritter became sick
and was quickly taken to hospital it
soon came to light that ritter had a
tear in his aorta a previously
undetected heart problem that can hit
when you're least expecting it ritter
passed away later that day at just 54
years old in the wake of his death
ritter's fellow actor henry winkler told
entertainment tonight it's like there is
a big tear in the world's heart
cbs star john eric hexham died on the
set of his tv show cover-up after a
terrible joke went awry
when a number of on-set delays slowed
filming on the show hexham's patience
quickly began to strain
when he was told once again that further
delays were expected hexham went over to
the prop gun jokingly held it to the
side of his head and reportedly said
quote can you believe this crap hexham
then pulled the trigger and although the
gun was loaded with blanks the force
from the blank ammunition fractured his
skull in this demonstration a 38 blank
was fired
as you can see the explosion can do a
lot of damage
the bone fragment that was blown off
lodged into his brain and hexem was
rushed to hospital he endured five hours
of surgery but was later pronounced
brain dead as a result of his injuries
he was 26 years old when he died
a massive heart attack took the life of
the renowned actor adolf caesar when he
was just 52 years old in 1986 caesar was
on the set of his then-latest venture
tough guys starring kirk douglas and
bert lancaster after becoming suddenly
ill he was transported to a nearby
hospital but it was too late caesar was
declared dead in the medical center's
emergency room caesar was a very
well-respected actor whose performance
in the film a soldier's story had
earlier earned him an oscar nomination
something about which he was pleasantly
surprised in 1982 he said it's a
marvelous chemistry that happens five
times in your career if you are lucky
that you and the part and the play work
i never expected all this attention
australian crocodile hunter steve irwin
has died during a diving expedition near
port douglas in australia otherwise
known as the crocodile hunter steve
irwin was a famed television personality
actor and activist best known for his
work down under his popular show
featured wildlife of all kinds and his
bubbly and enthusiastic personality
inspired a generation to engage with the
natural world around them
erwin who was also known to act in
movies from time to time was filming
footage of the great barrier reef in
australia for his show ocean's deadliest
when he suffered a fatal onset injury
irwin his cameraman and the show's
director set out into the reef to
capture some footage when erwin decided
to go off in search of stingrays he soon
encountered a bull stingray nearly eight
feet wide and weighing approximately 220
pounds
tragically when irwin approached the ray
it attacked him with its sharp tail
striking him with hundreds of strikes in
a few seconds according to the mirror
erwin was 44 years old when he died
it's one thing to suffer a devastating
accident on camera but what if you found
yourself on stage in front of an entire
audience of spectators
that was the nightmare in which famed
comedian tommy cooper found himself in
as on april 15 1984 the magician and
comic tragically died while performing
in front of a live studio audience at
the time cooper was at the height of his
career but all that success came to an
end during his performance on live from
her majesties a british weekend
television program
known for his intentional mistakes
during his comedic and magical sets
cooper collapsed on stage and while his
condition was rapidly declining the
audience and host at the theater thought
that it was all part of the act to make
matters worse the theatergoers erupted
in laughter assuming it was all part of
the joke all while cooper was suffering
a severe heart attack the director
eventually stepped in and cooper was
taken off stage
despite efforts to resuscitate him
however tommy cooper was declared dead
at a local hospital
stunt people can perform some truly
spectacular feats on set many of which
are incredibly dangerous unfortunately
this can occasionally result in tragic
and fatal accidents
dar robinson a stuntman and the
recipient of more than 20 stunt records
died after suffering injuries during a
motorcycle accident on the set of the
film million dollar mystery just 39
years old at the time of his death
robinson was known for his ambitious
stunt performances
for example in 1980 six years before he
died he had free fallen 900 feet from
toronto's canadian national tower with a
cable preventing him from hitting the
floor just 200 feet from the pavement
soon after robinson turned his attention
to the entertainment industry
contributing to a number of hollywood
movies for a scene on million dollar
mystery robinson was supposed to drive a
motorcycle along a cliffside in a
routine action sequence instead
robinson lost control of the vehicle and
rode it straight off the cliff sending
him plummeting to his death george
fisher a stunt coordinator on the movie
later told the press
we have a saying it's always the easy
ones that get you
tyrone power was a true heartthrob of
the 1940s and 50s he was dashing
good-looking and had that old-school
charisma and he was pretty famous too
having starred in a number of movies in
the first half of the 20th century but
his life was cut short when he
tragically died at just 44 years old
during filming on the movie solomon and
sheba
in 1958 power was filming a scene on the
movie set and suffered a major heart
attack the sequence was a dueling scene
between power and fellow actor george
sanders before which power had
complained that his left arm and stomach
were in pain the crew continued to roll
however and power had a heart attack
soon after he was taken to hospital but
died within the hour strangely enough
power's father tyrone power senior had
also died during production on a movie
having suffered a heart attack the night
after shooting scenes on the 1931 movie
the miracle man
in 1923 silent film star martha
mansfield died on the set of the warrens
of virginia the film was set in the
civil war era and as such mansfield was
decked out in a costume of hoop skirts
and ruffles
during a break in the filming her
costume was accidentally set on fire by
a smoker's match and due to the layers
of material her costume contained it
simply burst into flames mansfield was
sitting in her trailer at the time and
she reportedly rushed out to seek help
mansfield's co-star wilfrid lytel used
his coat in an attempt to stop the
flames but by that point only her face
and neck remained unscathed mansfield
was taken to the hospital but died of
her injuries less than a day later