17 CELEBRITIES WHO DIED WHILE MAKING MOVIES

If you think acting isn’t dangerous, think again. Not only do actors sometimes put their bodies in harms’ way on set, but they also put their emotional and mental health at risk, exposing themselves to long, difficult hours, harsh tabloid coverage, and lives that can be rather isolating. Tragic as it is, some actors have died before the films they are working on are complete. In many cases, these circumstances create even more buzz around a film or episode of a show, drawing fans of the deceased to watch in hoards so they can pay homage to a beloved actor in his or her final performance. One of the most famous cases is Heath Ledger, who died before filming was completed for “The Dark Knight.” These are 17 celebrities who died while making movies.

1. Steve Irwin

Known best as “The Crocodile Hunter,” Irwin died while filming a documentary about Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Irwin was stung by a giant stingray when the animal allegedly mistook Irwin’s shadow for a tiger shark and lashed out in defense.

2. Philip Seymor Hoffman

Hoffman died this year from a heroine overdose but he still had one week of filming left in the most recent installment of the “Hunger Games” saga; “Mockingjay Part 2.” To complete Hoffman’s scenes, the filmmakers inserted a computer-animated version of the actor.

3. John Candy

The comedic actor died of a heart attack in his sleep when he was just barely done filming the comedy “Wagons East.” Using special effects, the filmmakers were able to insert Candy into a final couple of scenes.

4. Paul Walker

Walker was in the middle of filming “Fast & Furious 7” when he died, tragically and ironically, in a car accident — his character watches several of his friends die in car accidents. Production of the film was briefly put on hold until Walker’s brothers, Caleb and Cody Walker, came in to fill in some of the gaps their brother had left, shooting some final action scenes for their dead brother.

5. David Strickland

Strickland had been acting on the sitcom “Suddenly Susan” for three years when he was found dead in a Las Vegas hotel room, having hung himself. Reportedly, the final two episodes of season three of “Suddenly Susan” were cancelled due to Strickland’s death.

6. John Ritter

Actor John Ritter suffered from heart complications while on the set of the sitcom “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.” The show went on hiatus for a few weeks after Ritter’s death and when it returned, the death of his character had been written in.

7. Heath Ledger

Ledger had technically wrapped up work on “The Dark Knight” when he was found dead from an accidental drug overdose in his Manhattan apartment. It was six months before the film was released. Sales of film were affected as if he’d died during filming.

8. Marilyn Monroe

Perhaps Marilyn Monroe perhaps just wasn’t meant to be in the film “Something’s Got To Give” because she was fired during filming, then re-hired, then found dead before the film could wrap. The film was not completed. The cause of her death — officially ruled a suicide — has been the subject of speculation and conspiracy theories ever since.

9. Natalie Wood

In the middle of filming “Brainstorm,” actress Natalie Wood went on a boating trip with her co-stars Christopher Walken and husband Robert Wagner. Wood’s body was found floating in the water one morning during the trip—she died from what was deemed an accidental drowning. Wood’s death, as well as financial problems around the film, delayed the release by several years.

10. Nicholas Colasanto

Colastano played “Coach” on the popular series “Cheers” but died of heart complications while filming. The writers of the show created an episode in which the characters address Colastano’s death, and a new actor was brought in to fill the gap, but was not meant to replace Colastano.

11. Art Scholl

Art Scholl was filming “Top Gun” when he died. Scholl, a flight instructor and owner of an aviation school, was trying to complete a stunt while flying an airplane, but the plane was too heavy for the stunt and crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Neither Scholl nor the plane were ever found.

12. Tyrone Power

Power was one of the greatest film stars of his time before he died and one of the top box office actors. Power’s father was also an actor who died of a heart attack right before getting on a stage. Power himself died of a heart attack in 1958 while filming “Solomon and Sheba.”

13. Jon Erik-Hexum

Hexum was a rising star in the early 80’s, having starred in the television series “The Voyagers” and having been offered the lead in the original “Dukes of Hazard.” While entertaining himself during some down time on the film “Cover Up,” the actor decided to play a game of fake Russian roulette, however, the blank he shot into his head gave him a hemorrhage which he died from one week later.

14. Roy Kinnear

Kinnear, who also appeared in “Willy Wonka and the Cholate Factory,” fell off a horse and broke his pelvis while filming “The Return of the Three Musketeers.” Kinnear died the day after his accident, due to complications. Kinnear had spent much of his life volunteering his time to programs working with handicapped children.

15. Oliver Reed

Reed is another actor from “The Three Musketeers” trilogy and he also acted in the 1979 horror film “The Brood.” Reed was a notorious alcoholic and while acting as Proximo on the 1999 version of “Gladiator,” he drank himself to death. After having several bottles of rum to himself, Reed suffered a heart attack and died.

16. Bruce Lee

Even though Lee only has five completed films to his name he is still one of the most famous martial arts actors. Lee was in Hong Kong filming a movie too appropriately titled “The Game of Death” when he collapsed. Doctors diagnosed Lee with cerebral edema, which caused swelling in his brain. Lee survived two more months until the condition killed him. He was still filming “The Game of Death” at the time of his death.

17. Bela Lugosi

Lugosi was a film and Broadway actor, most known for his depiction of “Dracula” first on Broadway, and eventually in the Universal Studios film. Lugosi was unfortunately a morphine addict, and that may have contributed to the heart attack that killed him while he was filming “Plan 9 From Outer Space” in 1959.