IIRC, it was the concussive force of the blank (a .44 magnum) that knocked a circular plug of his skull deep into his brain tissue.
Herb Caen made a couple of sad references to the “Jon-Erik Hexum One Small Lapse in Judgment Award” in subsequent years.
Tom Mix, killed by a suitcase that hit him in the back of the head when his car went into a ditch. Some hotel in the southwest still has the “killer suitcase” on display.
There are varying stories about what happened to Lupe Velez. The most lurid has her getting sick from the overdose of barbiturates, running to the bathroom, getting her head jammed in the toilet and drowning. In any case, she was found dead in the bathroom from a combination of barbs and water or vomit aspiration… hardly noteworthy.
He was mentioned in the article.
Jimi Heseldon - inventor of the segway - fell off a cliff while riding a segway.
Jimi Heselden, the inventor of the Segway, died from falling off a cliff. While driving a Segway
Vaguely famous Canadian folk singer Taylor Mitchell was killed and eaten by coyotes.
Extremely famous (for a mathematician) Kurt Gödel starved to death in very odd circumstances.
Michael Rockefeller disappeared in Papua New Guinea in 1961 and his body was never found. He may have drowned and/or eaten by a shark or crocodile. However, it was also widely speculated that he was eaten by cannibals.
Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt disappeared while swimming in 1967 and his body was never found. It was speculated that he may have been eaten by sharks.
On the list cited in the OP, Steve Irwin’s death by stingray spine qualifies as both bizarre and ironic.
Yes, he was! I think he belongs on our list too, as his death was truly bizarre and happened while his career was rising.
We could add his father, Bruce Lee, whose death from cerebral edema and an allergy to a muscle relaxant/analgesic tablet, while young and incredibly fit is equally sad and bizarre. Especially when we consider all the crazy conspiracy/curse stories that school kids in Hong Kong and the US loved so much in the 70’s.
Sharon Tate - actress, murdered by the Charles Manson family.
Stuntman Brady Michaels died not performing a stund, but from stunt preparation. He fell about 15 feet off a ladder while checking out an upcoming stunt to make sure everything was in order.
One of the most famous stunt drivers in Hollywood, whose name eludes both me and Google at the moment, was killed when his stunt car rolled over, at low speed, as he turned to return to the stunt location after a successful run.
Yes, Jimi Heseldon did die after falling off a cliff while riding a Segway, but the scooter itself was invented by Dean Kamen.
ETA: Jimi Helseldon bought the company that made Segway.
From the article in the OP about Michael Carradine’s death:
Is this accurate? I always thought he’d been found dead.
Kirsty MacColl was hit by a speedboat, pushing her son out of the way of said speedboat, while scuba diving on vacation.
If the story as told is true (the whole thing seems to be controversial), Bobby Fuller died under mysterious circumstances.
Not really on point, but what the hell: Wiki’s list of unusual deaths. I found that while looking up the story on the Segway death above. I haven’t read the whole thing yet, but my favorite so far is:
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You’re both wrong. Jimi Heselden did not invent the Segway; Dean Kamen did. Heselden bought the company in 2010.
ETA: I see Knorf beat me to the punch!
Music promoter Bill Graham died when the helicopter he was in crashed into an electrical power tower.
John Denver and John F. Kennedy Junior died in plane crashes - and both were the pilots.
He was going to be my suggestion. I’m morbidly amused that he wound up being the first one posted.
Noooooope.
Jimi Heselden was a British entrepreneur, ex-coal miner who made good in the world and bought Segway Inc. (the manufacturer of the Segway) in 2010 and died on September 26, 2010.
The inventor of the Segway was Dean Kamen, who last time I checked was still alive and well 
And now on-topic: I hereby present for your consideration the death of French president Félix Faure, who died at his desk in the Elysée while having sex with his mistress (persistent rumours all state that she was fellating him when he apparently suffered a stroke).
EDIT: Crapzoid, multi-ninjaed! 
What’s more bizarre than Sonny Bono dying from slamming into a tree while skiing is that Micheal Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, died in exactly the same way five days earlier.
…while sitting in a chair he’d specially designed for sex acts.