# Actors who died during filming/series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 25, 2005, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035 "2005-07-25T12:10:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/41 "2005-07-25T19:52:32Z")
**Marilyn Monroe** died during the filming of “Something’s Gotta Give”. (I looked this up on the IMDB to make sure. She was fired from the film but then rehired.) ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/42 "2005-07-25T19:56:30Z")
Not exactly an actor, but there’s also [Christine Chubbuck](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Chubbuck), a news reporter who committed suicide on air during a live news broadcast. Her last words were: > [@](#): > > In keeping with Channel 40’s policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts in living color, we bring you another first, an attempted suicide. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/43 "2005-07-25T19:57:06Z")
Three extras were killed during the filming of the flood scene in [Noah’s Ark](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020223/). The footage was used in the finished film, but it was a crowd scene and you probably couldn’t see any of them. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/44 "2005-07-25T20:00:28Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > [Night Court](http://imdb.com/title/tt0086770/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnx0dD0xfGZiPXV8cG49MHxxPU5pZ2h0IENvdXJ0fG14PTIwfGxtPTUwMHxodG1sPTE_;fc=1;ft=20;fm=1) killed Selma Diamond and Florence Halop before the fearless Marsha Warfield took over the role and proved invulnerable. Fearless, yes. But it appeared to kill her career. When was the last time Marsha appeared in anything? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/45 "2005-07-25T20:34:29Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > **Marilyn Monroe** died during the filming of “Something’s Gotta Give”. And was replaced by [Keanu Reeves](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/combined)? ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/46 "2005-07-25T22:25:56Z")
**Anita Mui** died right before filming was to start on **House of Flying Daggers**. Out of respect for Mui, Yimou Zhang chose not to recast her part, and shuffled the plot around, leaving a big hole in the story where her character was to have been. More info [here.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385004/) ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/47 "2005-07-25T23:52:51Z")
LOL **Otto** I guess I should learn to be more precise in my postings OR include a link to the actual movie: [Something’s Go To Give (1962)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0217055/) And I think we’ll agree that Keanu Reeves is NO Marilyn Monroe. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/48 "2005-07-26T01:08:13Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > From what I understand, [Vic Morrow] was killed in a helicopter stunt accident (in the scene, Vic was carryingt a Vietnamese girl away from a US helicopter, I think, and it flew too low and crashed, in the process cutting of his head…) I’ve also heard accounts that the **reason** the helicopter flew too low and crashed was that the stunt pilot was told to fly down a narrow canyon, but the director conveniently forgot to tell the stunt pilot that he would be setting off **explosive pyrotechnics** along the walls of said canyon as the helicopter passed by. (Movie directors are not known for being the sharpest brick in the chandelier when it came to aviation safety.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ecks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ecks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ecks)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/49 "2005-07-26T01:27:44Z")
Marty Feldman died in the middle of Yellowbeard, and so they rewrote the film so that his character fell into a vat of acid. It made a bad movie just that much worse. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/50 "2005-07-26T02:07:55Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > Fearless, yes. But it appeared to kill her career. When was the last time Marsha appeared in anything? Didn’t she retire due to ill health? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/51 "2005-07-26T04:43:26Z")
Alice Pearce (the first Mrs. Kravitz) died during the run of _Bewitched_ and was replaced by Sandra Gould. Marion Lorne (Aunt Clara) also died during the run of the show, though being a recurring character (27 episodes to be precise) she wasn’t as hard to write out; they just never referenced her again and brought in another bumbling witch (Alice Ghostley) and at least one of the exact same scene for scene plotlines (the babysitting for the client’s kids episode). Bea Benadarat died after a long battle with cancer during the run of _Petticoat Junction_ (on which she was a regular) and _Beverly Hillbillies_ (on which she had a recurring part). On _Petticoat_ her character would sometimes make telephone calls or be seen from the back entering- Benadarat would record the voice for those performances from her sickbed. Zara Cully (“Mother Jefferson”) died during the run of _The Jeffersons_. Her death was referenced in the next season but no episodes were devoted to it. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/52 "2005-07-26T14:53:09Z")
Thanks for jogging my '60s sitcom memory. Barbara Pepper died in 1969 and was replaced by Fran Ryan as Doris Ziffel (Arnold’s Mom) on _Green Acres_. Ann Sheridan died in 1967 while filming _Pistols ‘n’ Petticoats_ and the show was cancelled after that season. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/53 "2005-07-26T16:51:59Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Alice Pearce (the first Mrs. Kravitz) died during the run of _Bewitched_ and was replaced by Sandra Gould. Marion Lorne (Aunt Clara) also died during the run of the show, though being a recurring character (27 episodes to be precise) she wasn’t as hard to write out; they just never referenced her again and brought in another bumbling witch (Alice Ghostley) and at least one of the exact same scene for scene plotlines (the babysitting for the client’s kids episode). Bewitched had such a turnover in cast (two Darrens, two Mrs. Kravitses, two Louise Tates) that they actually recycled several scripts with the new cast members. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/54 "2005-07-26T23:23:40Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Bewitched had such a turnover in cast (two Darrens, two Mrs. Kravitses, two Louise Tates) that they actually recycled several scripts with the new cast members. . . . Not to mention that both Paul Lynde and Maurice Evans used to steal Agnes Moorehead’s wig and occasionally play Endora . . . ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/55 "2005-07-27T00:06:01Z")
I want to say Pearl White of the _Peril’s of Pauline_ (silent versions) but when **Eve** didn’t mention it, I question if I remember it correctly. I also seem to remember that an actress doing the same film in the 1970s was killed doing her version also. I do know that Betty Hutton doing the role in the 1940s was not killed. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/56 "2005-07-27T02:44:55Z")
> [@TV time](#): > > I want to say Pearl White of the _Peril’s of Pauline_ (silent versions) but when **Eve** didn’t mention it, I question if I remember it correctly. > > I also seem to remember that an actress doing the same film in the 1970s was killed doing her version also. > > I do know that Betty Hutton doing the role in the 1940s was not killed. Nope, **Pearl White** did suffer a back injury while filming _Pauline_, and that led to her eventual reliance on painkillers and her death in 1938. But she went on to make some 40 films after _Pauline_, retiring in 1924. A low-budget _Perils of Pauline_ starred **Evalyn Knapp** in 1934; Miss Knapp died in 1981 at the age of 73. **Betty Hutton** , who starred in the Pearl White bio-pic in 1947, is still alive and well at 84. Kooky '60s starlet **Pamela Austen** (The "Dodge Rebellion! Girl) starred in a high-camp _aren’t we cute?_ version in 1967. The 64-year-old starlet does not seem to have worked since a walkon in a 1988 low-budget film called T_he Dressmaker_. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/57 "2005-07-27T03:03:19Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > **Betty Hutton** , who starred in the Pearl White bio-pic in 1947, is still alive and well at 84. Isn’t she the one who wound up living in a indigent and living in a homeless shelter some years ago? If so, I hope she’s recovered since then. (Of course Patricia Neal isn’t indigent but lived under a vow of poverty in a convent for some while in recent years, in part to sort out her life after a divorce and to atone for an abortion she had early in her career [she’s majorly anti abortion now].) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/58 "2005-07-27T03:05:10Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Bewitched had such a turnover in cast (two Darrens, two Mrs. Kravitses, two Louise Tates) that they actually recycled several scripts with the new cast members. I think I remember two episodes in which Endora splits Durwood (one with York and one with Sargent) into two men, one of them a workaholic and the other a doting husband. As memory serves, Samantha was even pregnant in both episodes, but by different Dicks. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035/59 "2005-07-27T13:23:52Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > As memory serves, Samantha was even pregnant in both episodes, but by different Dicks. Puh-_lease!_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-died-during-filming-series/314035.md?page=2)