# 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:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2007, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/61 "2007-03-05T01:48:46Z")
Edgar Allen Poe. age 40. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2007, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/62 "2007-03-05T02:20:10Z")
Tim Buckley Nick Drake Phil Ochs ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2007, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/63 "2007-03-05T02:29:15Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] :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. [/QUOTE] I think he was on the threshold of becoming a great actor; he certainly exhibited enormous potential. I’m just not certain how I feel about actors being classified as artists in general. Which is not to say that actors aren’t capable of bringing astonishing depth or nuance to a character; it may just be my own bias at play here. ---
**Author:** ![8675309](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/8/ea5d25/32.png) [@8675309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/8675309)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2007, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/64 "2007-03-05T02:35:26Z")
The poet Hart Crane, at age 32. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2007, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/65 "2007-03-05T03:40:14Z")
[QUOTE=LifeOnWry] I think he was on the threshold of becoming a great actor; he certainly exhibited enormous potential. I’m just not certain how I feel about actors being classified as artists in general. Which is not to say that actors aren’t capable of bringing astonishing depth or nuance to a character; it may just be my own bias at play here. [/QUOTE] I think there is a large portion of actors who look at it as a job, do exactly what the director or script supervisor tells them to do - no more, no less - and dream of landing a gig on the OC, and it would be hard to make a case that they are artists. On the other hand, there are the Ian McKellans and Laurence Oliviers of the world, who would be almost impossible to make a case _against_ their credentials as artists. I would probably agree with you that River Phoenix was right there on the cusp. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2007, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/66 "2007-03-05T13:31:19Z")
Phil Lynott, only 36. He may not have been the best musician in the world, but damn he could write some kick ass songs. When I was in Dublin in November someone had stolen the hand and bass off the statue, jerks. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2007, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497/67 "2007-03-05T13:43:00Z")
[Richard Farina](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Fari%C3%B1a). After having a novel published and releasing an album with his wife Mimi Baez, the man had everything, Then he dies in a motorcycle crash on Mimi’s 21st Birthday. He was also friends with Thomas Pynchon (he wrote a song called “V”). Richard could write novels, lyrics, and music, sing, play the dulcimer, and was an essential part of the early 1960’s NYC folk scene. I was reading "Positively 4th Street’ yesterday–a good read about Joan & Bob & Dick & Mimi. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-died-too-young/394497.md?page=3)