# Celebrities killed on TV or movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 26, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753 "2017-08-26T19:07:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/21 "2017-08-27T07:49:24Z")
Ernest Borgnine plays himself in **The Simpsons** episode _“Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood”_ and the ending implies he’s about to be murdered by Jason Vorhees. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/22 "2017-08-27T08:36:45Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Ernest Borgnine plays himself in **The Simpsons** episode _“Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood”_ and the ending implies he’s about to be murdered by Jason Vorhees. And the movie, of course, had Green Day drown in Lake Springfield after the toxins in the lake eroded the hull of the floating stage they were performing on. One of the Halloween specials had Johnny and Edgar Winter get run down by Homer after mistaking them for mutants, but I don’t recall if they were voiced or not. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/23 "2017-08-27T09:10:24Z")
Jean-Claude Van Damme was murdered in _Las Vegas_ ---
**Author:** ![Trafalgar\_Laura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trafalgar_laura/32/2907_2.png) [@Trafalgar\_Laura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trafalgar_Laura)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/24 "2017-08-27T11:10:58Z")
Several actors and celebrities play themselves in the Sharknado series and subsequently get eaten. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/25 "2017-08-27T11:45:12Z")
Two examples from British TV: Nicholas Parsons was killed in [an episode](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Jolly_Lives_Next_Door)of The Comic Strip Presents. The Goodies died a few times, including [Bunfight at the O.K. Tea Rooms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunfight_at_the_O.K._Tea_Rooms), [The End](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_(The_Goodies))and [Earthanasia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthanasia). ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/26 "2017-08-27T13:58:04Z")
Decades ago, one of Bob Hope’s specials involved a n hour-long plot about a serial killer who was busily bumping off celebrities. Dozens of famous guests were “murdered,” including Bob Hope himself. At the very end, the masked killer turned out to be Johnny Carson (he wanted to do Tonight solo, and was killing ever celeb who could possibly be a guest). ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/27 "2017-08-27T16:24:21Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Paul Rudd bites it, or rather the other way around, in “Neon Joe, Werewolf Hunter.” He gets killed in the first episode of “Delocated”, too! ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/28 "2017-08-27T18:51:33Z")
Jon Hamm died during the making of “The Greatest Event in Television History”. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/29 "2017-08-28T02:24:28Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > _This is the End_ (2013) might well hold the record for celebrities, playing themselves, and dying on-camera. I can’t see any movie beating that. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/30 "2017-08-28T11:10:24Z")
William Shatner was on some TV show where he clutched his chest and said “Oh sweet merciful death.” I don’t think it was Police Squad, but it’s been a really long time and those are the only details I remember. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/31 "2017-08-28T11:25:34Z")
I can’t remember, does Kareem Abdul Jabbar die in Airplane, or does he just get sick? ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/32 "2017-08-28T13:04:37Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I can’t remember, does Kareem Abdul Jabbar die in Airplane, or does he just get sick? “I’m sorry, son, but you must have (him) confused with someone else. (His) name is Roger Murdock. (He’s) the co-pilot.” ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/33 "2017-08-28T13:19:43Z")
> [@Gordon\_Urquhart](#): > > “I’m sorry, son, but you must have (him) confused with someone else. (His) name is Roger Murdock. (He’s) the co-pilot.” I think he’s the greatest, but my dad says he doesn’t work hard enough on defence. And he says that lots of times, he doesn’t even run down court. And that he doesn’t really try… except during the playoffs. ---
**Author:** ![Sterling\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/34 "2017-08-28T18:21:27Z")
Tell your old man to try draggin’ Walton and Lenaier up and down the court for 48 minutes! I mean… ahem… Are there any non-comic examples of this? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/35 "2017-08-28T20:47:38Z")
> [@Sterling\_Archer](#): > > Are there any non-comic examples of this? The closest I can think of is _The Leftovers_ (which took itself _extremely_ seriously). Several famous people were mentioned as having vanished on The Day. But that’s not “killed” and I’m not sure if any video footage of the disappearances were shown (to qualify as having been ‘on camera’). I seem to remember that no actual disappearances were shown, but maybe someone else who liked the show better than I did will remember more accurately. In general you can see why a celebrity might agree to be killed in a comedy–it’s a way of proving they have a sense of humor. But to be killed as him-or-herself in a drama…that feels a little overly _personal_. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/36 "2017-08-28T20:56:38Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Bill Murray in Zombieland. I was going to post this in three years when this comes around again. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/37 "2017-08-28T22:15:33Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Not _exactly_ what you had in mind but Stephen King wrote his own death into one of the “Dark Tower” books. More in keeping with OP’s premise, and still featuring Stephen King: King wrote the short story “[Weeds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weeds_(short_story))”, about a New Hampshire hick farmer named Jordy Verrill who kills himself after being mortally infected by an alien plant organism he released from a meteorite. Then, for the 1982 film _Creepshow_, he starred as his hero in the filmed adaptation of that short story (titled “[The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creepshow#.22The_Lonesome_Death_of_Jordy_Verrill.22)”) as the second segment of the film. So he wrote a character who killed himself, and then acted that character on film, including the final fatal act of shooting himself in the head with his shotgun. Maybe that’s more in line with OP’s idea? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/38 "2017-08-31T20:35:09Z")
Just tracked down the Bob Hope special I alluded to before. It was actually entitled “Joys.” I think it started out as a “Jaws” parody, in which all the celebrities were being killed off one by one- not by a shark but by a masked psycho. It turns out the killer is Johnny Carson, who’s eliminating everyone who could conceivably be a guest host (or guest) on “Tonight.” [https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=the&p=749&item=B:07257](https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=the&p=749&item=B:07257) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/39 "2018-06-14T02:40:07Z")
On the old SCTV, there was a recurring show called ‘Celebrity blow-up’. The hosts, Big Jim McBob and Billy Sol Hirok would have guests on, then blow them up. Most of the guests were SCTV members doing impersonations, but once in a while they would blow up a real celebrity. The ones I recall were the Boomtown Rats, and I think Ian Thomas. But my vague memory says there were a couple more. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753/40 "2018-06-14T06:10:36Z")
Bill Murray in Zombieland. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-killed-on-tv-or-movies/794753.md?page=3)