I’m trying to think of celebrities who have killed people, either deliberately or accidentally. The only stipulations here are that the celebrity in question is not famous for being a criminal (people with a criminal past qualify,) and that the death did not happen in a military context. Someone like John Kerry is out, as is anyone who is famous specifically for being a soldier.
I have one already:
Matthew Broderick: killed someone in an auto accident.
John Landis, as director — wasn’t he held responsible for the death of Vic Morrow?
I suppose you could also dig up any celebrity starlet who’s ever had an abortion, but why?
Laura Bush, same.
Alice Walton (daughter of Sam), too. I’m not really sure if she counts as a celebrity.
Drummer Jim Gordon wasn’t exactly a front-rank celebrity, but he was well known for his work with Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, and Joe Cocker. He’s currently doing life for killing his mother.
OJ Simpson
Robert Blake
There is a fairly well-known writer named Anne Perry who was convicted of killing a friend’s mother as a teenager. Horrible crime.
Oscar winner Gig Young killed his wife and himself.
Which is, incidentally, the situation that Kate Winslet’s big-screen debut, Heavenly Creatures, was based on.
Ha! Car accident Schmar accident!
Charles S. Dutton, quite a talented actor, killed a guy in a knife fight. Served time for murder, then began his acting career after being released from prison.
That’s right…forgot about that.
TV & film actor Charles S. Dutton (Roc, Alien[sup]3[/sup]) served hard time for stabbing a guy to death before he was famous.
Nope, he was acquitted. Even though he was clearly guilty of, at least, reckless endangerment of two underage, undocumented child actors no less!
John Wilkes Booth was a major stage celebrity of his time.
Possibly [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_InceWilliam Randolph Hearst. Basically, if Thomas Ince was murdered (and it’s unclear as to whether he was shot or not), then he had to have been killed by some celebrity.
I don’t know if pro boxers fit the OP, but you do have Emile Griffith, who killed Benny “Kid” Paret in the ring. I once interviewed Griffith and kept thinking, “This guy killed a man.”
When she was 17, Laura Bush ran a stop sign, struck another car, and killed her boyfriend.
Boxer Duk Koo Kim was knocked out by Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini and never regained conciousness. Investigators found a noted that Kim had written to himself before the fight that said “Kill or be killed.”
And of course, Aaron Burr.
Claudine Longet killed Spider Sabich, her lover.
Hockey player (and current Edmonton Oilers Coach) served time for vehicular manslaughter.
Don King:
-Shot a guy who was attempting to rob one of his gambling houses (in 1954). That was ruled justifiable homicide.
-apparently he also stomped to death an employee who owed him $600. He was originally convicted of second degree murder but that was dropped down to nonnegligent manslaughter. In wikipedia this one says citation needed.
William S. Burroughs shot and killed his girlfriend in a drunken game of “William Tell.”
Jack Abbott, who had a brief celebrity writing career (“In The Belly Of The Beast”) as Norman Mailer’s protege, fatally stabbed a waiter in New York after his release from prison (where he’d been serving time for another killing).
Mailer’s famous comment (about the risk to society involved in getting Abbott released from prison): “Culture is worth a little risk”.
What about Lead Belly?
Oh, and there’s a famous person I’m thinking of, it’s right on the tip of my tongue (er, mind, I guess in this case), who accidentally shot and killed someone by accident-his brother, or a friend or someone.
Dammit, it’s really bothering me now!
OH! Adlai Stevenson, according to Wiki’s List of Famous People responsible for a death (That were famous for something else OTHER than killing someone, basically)
Damn, poor guy.
Some of them:
Rebecca Gayhart-hit and run accident, killed a nine-year-old boy.