# Artists who died too young **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 4, 2007, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497 "2007-03-04T02:10:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/41 "2007-03-04T17:13:30Z")
Jimi ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/42 "2007-03-04T17:18:46Z")
[QUOTE=The Librarian] Jimi [/QUOTE] And Janis. Both 27 when they died, I believe. WAY too young. River Phoenix, I think, was really tragic - I’m not sure he qualifies as an “artist” but I do think he was a very talented young man with a ton of potential. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/43 "2007-03-04T17:48:18Z")
[QUOTE=LifeOnWry] River Phoenix . . . I’m not sure he qualifies as an “artist” [/QUOTE] :dubious: Do you say that because he was an actor, or because he was not, in your opinion, a great actor? I could see someone making an argument for the latter, though not the former. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/44 "2007-03-04T17:52:48Z")
[QUOTE=kung fu lola] Jim Henson. I just went and looked up [“A Boy And His Frog”](http://www.tomsmithonline.com/freestuff/oddio/BoyFrog.mp3) again and now I am crying. [/QUOTE] **wipes tears from face** Thanks, **lola** , I haven’t heard that one before. Of all the famous people I’ve never known, Jim Henson is only one of two I truly look up to, and I truly miss in a personal way. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/45 "2007-03-04T17:59:05Z")
Canadian artist [Tom Thomson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Thomson) who died at the age of 39, under what some view as mysterious circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/46 "2007-03-04T18:42:49Z")
Federico García Lorca, killed at 38 during the Spanish Civil War in 1936, allegedly because of his homosexuality. That one always breaks my heart. He was a buddy of Dalí’s… would have been interesting to see what he came up with. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/47 "2007-03-04T18:45:03Z")
Frank Zappa ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/48 "2007-03-04T18:52:17Z")
Hank Williams (29) ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/49 "2007-03-04T19:14:13Z")
[QUOTE=Ogre] Hank Williams (29) [/QUOTE] Good one Ogre, I’ll add Patsy Cline (30) ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/50 "2007-03-04T19:17:35Z")
[QUOTE=PastAllReason] Canadian artist [Tom Thomson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Thomson) who died at the age of 39, under what some view as mysterious circumstances. [/QUOTE] I have three of his paintings up in my apartment (obviously reproductions). I hadn’t realized he was so young when he died. John Candy could’ve made me laugh a lot more, I’d wager (he was 44). ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/51 "2007-03-04T19:27:57Z")
[QUOTE=Emeria] I’d go with Chopin (1810-1849), who died of TB, and even more so Schubert (1797-1828), who probably died of syphilis. Not to mention Mozart (1756-1791). These are just a few examples among many. [/QUOTE] A little research has the Classical Composers as: Franz Schubert (31) Vincenzo Bellini (33) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) Henry Purcell (35) Georges Bizet (36) Felix Mendelssohn (38) Frederic Chopin (39) Just imagine the music that has been lost due to these early deaths! ---
**Author:** ![flex727](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@flex727](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flex727)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/52 "2007-03-04T20:05:27Z")
Gilda Radner ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/53 "2007-03-04T20:11:09Z")
Elliot Smith (34) Douglas Adams (49) IMO, that was too young. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/54 "2007-03-04T20:25:50Z")
[Selena](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selena) had some potential and was finally getting mainstream notice, until her life was taken by a crazy fan. Given that Jennifer Lopez played her in a movie, and now she’s putting out Spanish language CDs, who knows what Selena could have done? ETA: In the movie that is Selena’s voice dubbed in, not J Lo’s voice. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/55 "2007-03-04T21:29:51Z")
[QUOTE=Wile E] Douglas Adams (49) IMO, that was too young. [/QUOTE] I can’t believe I didn’t think of DNA. His is the only celebrity death I’ve ever cried at. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/56 "2007-03-04T22:22:23Z")
Mama Cass Elliott ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/57 "2007-03-04T22:53:10Z")
Angela Carter and Teresa Hak Kyung Cha. Both are rather obscure outside of their disciplines (literature) but they were both brilliant writers. It’s sad that we’ll never know what else they might have written had they not died before their prime. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/58 "2007-03-04T23:00:56Z")
[QUOTE=Zabali\_Clawbane] [Selena](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selena) had some potential and was finally getting mainstream notice, until her life was taken by a crazy fan. Given that Jennifer Lopez played her in a movie, and now she’s putting out Spanish language CDs, who knows what Selena could have done? ETA: In the movie that is Selena’s voice dubbed in, not J Lo’s voice. [/QUOTE] Yes; I agree. Couple of Texas legends on the list: Janis Joplin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Selena. We should also add Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper, too. And I never knew that Hank Williams didn’t even make it to thirty! **ZC,** you mean that Selena’s songs were lip synced by J-Ho, right? ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/59 "2007-03-04T23:40:28Z")
Freddie Mercury Buddy Holly John Lennon ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/60 "2007-03-04T23:52:54Z")
Harry Chapin at 39. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497.md?page=4)