Are These Super Stars Die Naturally?

Nothing is last forever. But what if it lasted too fast without any solid and clear explanation? The following article is about movie stars who died mysteriously. Even the explanation of their dead is published, but still there are some questions are left unexplained. Did they really die as “simple” as that? No any other reason?  

1. DAVID CARRADINE (Death : June 3, 2009)

He was an American actor best known for his work in 1970’s television series Kung Fu and appeared in more than 100 feature films. His last performance was Crank : High Voltage (2009), played as Poon Dong. On June 4, Carradine was found dead in his room at the Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel on Wireless Road, in central Bangkok, Thailand. Carradine was found hanging by a rope in the room’s closet and it reported by Bangkok Post that his body was found curled up in the wardrobe with a shoelace tied around his genitals and neck.

Khunying Pornthip Rojanasunand, a Thailand Forensic Patholgist and Director of Central Institute of Forensic Science, stated it was an accidental death involving autoerotic asphyxiation.

However it has been reported that Carradine was found “with his hands tied behind his back”.

Carradine’s body was taken to a hospital for an autopsy by last Friday (Jun 5, 2009).

2. RIVER PHOENIX (Death : October 31, 1993)

His dead was considered one of show-business’ most shocking and tragic and elicited a vast amount of coverage from the media at the time. On October 31, 1993, Phoenix collapsed from a drug overdose of heroin and cocaine outside the Viper Room, a Hollywood night club partially owned by actor Johnny Depp (until 2004). It reported, he began convulsing for eight minutes. He was rushed to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center via ambulance. But unfortunately, all attempts to resuscitate Phoenix were failing and he was pronounced dead at 1:51 a.m. 

Some people – until today - still not believe if River Phoenix was having drug habits. He was known as a dedicated animal rights, environmental, and political activist. He won PETA’s Humanitarian of the Year  Award in 1990 for his fund-raising efforts. 

3. HEATH LEDGER (Death : January 22, 2008)

Ledger was found unconscious in his bed by his housekeeper and his masseuse, in his fourth-floor loft apartment at 421 Broome Street in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. On February 6, 2008, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York released its conclusions, based on initial autopsy of January 23, 2008. They concluded that Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effect of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine. The manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications.

Even the case has closed, the question still remain: How Ledger obtained the oxycodone and hydrocodone in the drug combination that killed him? Oxycodone is main active ingredient for the relief of moderate to severe pain, and hydrocodone is an orally active antitussive and commonly compounded with other analgesics like paracetamol or ibuprofen. Meanwhile, the prescription did not mention any kind of medicine that use those kind of ingredients.

4. MARILYN MONROE (Death : August 5, 1962)

Her dead become one of the most debated conspiracy theories of the 20^th and 21^st centuries. Monroe was dead at her home in Brentwood, Lost Angeles. It was her live-in housekeeper Eunice Murray found her. Sergeant Jack Clemmons was the fist police office to arrive at the death scene.

The official – as stated by Dr. Thomas Noguchi of the Los Angeles County Coroners office - cause of her death was “acute barbiturate poisoning” An examination of the body ruled out intravenous injection as the source of the drugs leaving only an enema or suppository as a source. The results of full autopsy – oversaw by Dr. Theodore Curphey – were never made public and no record of the findings were kept.

Today, the mystery surrounding her death prevails. The sealing of her file by the government, the destruction and loss of the many records during the time and the death of many of the people involved, leave us with a very big question mark.

5. GEORGE REEVES (Death : June 16, 1959)

The man who personified the “real” Superman for an entire generation of television fans, George Reeves, died at 1: 59 am on June 16, 1959. He was died of a gunshot wound to the head in the upstairs bedroom of his Benedict Canyon home. Police concluded that Reeves had committed suicide. But many people refused to believe that he would kill himself. There is a fact that no powder stippling from the gun’s discharge was found on the actor’s skin. Police also found the gun too thickly coated in oil to hold fingerprints.

Until today, the caused of George Reeves’ death still unexplained.

6. THE NOTORIUS B.I.G. (Death : Mach 9, 1997)

On March 9, 1997, Christopher George Latore Wallace – also known as The Notorious B.I.G, one of the well-known American rapper – killed by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. The incident happened fifteen days before his double-disc set Life after Death released. The album hit #1 on the America album charts and was certified Diamond in 2000. Since his death, a further three albums have been released.

Wallace’s murder remains unsolved. The Lost Angeles Times reported that Wallace might be killed by the Southside Compton Crips because he was not paying them money he owed for security services provided in the West Coast.

7. TUPAC SHAKUR (Death : September 7, 1996)

Tupac Shakur – well-known American rapper and actor -  was shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. He died six days later of the complications from the gunshot wounds. People speculated about the connection between Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. since both of them are having unpleasant relationship, especially after Shakur released “Hit ‘Em Up”, a diss song in which he explicitly claimed to have sex with B.I.G.’s wife. There has speculation from outset about the possibility of B.I.G.’s collaboration in the murder. But there is no evident about it. His death is remaining a mystery. 

8. CHRIS FARLEY (Death : December 18, 1997)

Years before his death, Farley had attempted to seek treatment for his alcohol and drug abuse. He also made numerous visits to weight reduction treatment centers. However, on December 18, 1997, he found dead in his apartement on the sixtieth floor of the John Jancock Center in Chicago. His younger brother, John Farley, found his first. An autopsy later revealed that Farley had overdosed on a combination of cocaine and heroin with advanced atherosclerosis cited as a significant contributing factor in his death. Somehow, at the time of his death, there were no illegal drugs found in his apartment, only prescription pain killers.

(Later on in his official biography, The Chris Farley Show : A Biography in Three Acts, it stated that actually there were several bags of cocaine found in the apartment.)

9. BRUCE LEE (Death : July 20, 1973)

Several weeks before his death, Lee was collapsed in Golden Harvest studios while doing dubbing work for his film, Enter the Dragon. Suffering from full-body seizures and cerebral edema, he was immediately rushed to Hong Kong Baptist Hospital where doctors were able to reduce the swelling through the administration of mannitol and revive him. Rumors said, the caused of the seizure was the injured that Bruce Lee got during a fight between him and a Silat (one of the popular martial art from Southeast Asia) Master from Malaysia, Dato Meor Abdul Rahman. The fight happened while Lee was doing a research on Malay Silat.

Late night on July 20, 1973, after having a dinner with former James Bond star, George Lazenby, Lee and his producer, Raymond Chow, went to Betty Ting’s house to discuss their next film, Game of Death. Betty Ting is a Taiwanese actress who also Lee’s colleague.

A short time after, Lee complained of a headache and Ting gave him an analgesic, which content aspirin and muscle relaxant. At 7:30 pm, Lee went to lie down for a nap, and never woke up after that. Lee was dead while being sending by ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The doctors announced Lee’s death officially was ruled a “death by misadventure”.

Many people are questioning his dead was questioning for years. But on October 15, 2005, Raymond Chow stated that Lee died from a hypersensitivity to the muscle relaxant in the analgesic. Even the statement has been given, the exact details of his death are still a subject of controversy. There are many theories about his death, including murder involving the Triad Society and a supposed curse on him and his family.

10. BRANDON LEE (Death : March 31, 1993)

While making The Crow, Brandon Lee – the son of Bruce Lee - was supposedly hit by blank gun fire that made by actor Michael Massee (played as Fun-boy, the film’s villain). However the movie’s teams who prepare the gun forget to pull out the primer bullet. An when fired, it hit Lee in the abdomen and lodged in his spine. He was immediately rused to the hospital, but Lee’s heart stopped once in the ambulance.

Same as his father, his death has raising the rumor about the curse on his father which extended to him.

11. PHIL HARTMAN (Death : May 28, 1998)

He was a Canadian-born American actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic artist. You might remember him if you watched his appearance in the films Houseguest, Small Soldiers, Sgt. Bilko, and Jingle All the Way.

On the evening of May 27, 1998, after returning from dinner with producer and writer Christine Zander in  Italian Restaurant  Buca di Beppo in Los Angeles, Phil had an argument with Brynn Hartman – his wife – and threatened to leave her if she started using drugs again. While he slept, Brynn entered his bedroom at 3 am with a .38 caliber handgun and fatally shot him twice in the head and once in his side.

Los Angeles police stated Hartman’s death was due to “domestic discord between the couple”.

Some people found difficulty to accept the facts of this murder case. Actor Steve Guttenberg said that the pair were “a very happy couple and they always had the appearance of being well-balanced”.

12. NATALIE WOOD (Death : November 29, 1981)

On November 28, 1981, Wood together with Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken went on to Catalina Island for weekend use their yacht.  It was anchored in Isthmus Cove. After midnight, while tried to leave the yacht, Wood accidentally slipped and fell overboard.

Thomas Neguchi, a Los Angeles County coroner, held an investigation and resulted in an official verdict of accidental drowning. Noguchi concluded Wood had drunk of wine and was intoxicated when she died. There were marks and bruises on her body which considered have been received as a result of her fall.

Still for some people, her death is still unsolved because many questions are unanswered. The story about Wood was going to go boating around the cove in a dinghy at midnight in her thin nightgown does not sound realistic. They also questioned numerous bruises over the lower and backside of her legs. Even the case has closed, her death is still under mysterious circumstances.