# Death as a Career Move **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 1, 2025, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988 "2025-03-01T19:19:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/81 "2025-03-03T15:13:01Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > > [@Superdude](#): > > > > Adding to that, Johnny Puke took Polaroids of himself with Allen’s body. > > Dead(Per Yngve Ohlin) talked about death and killing himself a lot. He was in the band Mayhem. He eventually did kill himself and his band mate found him. Instead of calling emergency services, he went and got a camera and took pictures, one of which ended up on a bootleg album cover. > > Rumors persisted for years that his band mate ended up making a necklace out of his bone fragments, but this was a myth. That album was titled _Dawn of the Black Hearts_, and you can find the album cover photo online. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/82 "2025-03-03T15:19:05Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Going to the doctor if you have a serious respiratory infection is far more likely to save your life than getting a concealed carry permit or a security system. This reminded me of Warren Zevon, who died shortly after being diagnosed with mesothelioma. As he said on his final appearance with David Letterman, “I may have made a slight tactical error in not seeing a doctor for twenty years.” Zevon did manage to crank out one more album which was released two weeks before he passed away. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/83 "2025-03-03T15:40:44Z")
The Mosley thing reminds me of someone who died similarly years ago but I can’t remember the name. Perhaps someone here can help me out? This guy was most visible in the US in the late 60s and maybe early 70s. He had been a bishop. Not sure if Catholic, Esp., or what. I’m not sure whether he voluntarily left or was defrocked. I seem to remember it had to do with anti-Vietnam activities of the vandalizing draft board offices sort. I read a book by him that was about/included some debunking of the [Bridey Murphy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridey_Murphy) thing. (So Google is useless since it returns a ton of pro-BM stuff. Yeah, let’s spread the thoroughly disproven crap, that’ll help.) He was on TV, being interviewed by Dick Cavett types often enough. He died maybe very early 70s. He was traveling in the West Bank. So possibly after the Six Day War. He went missing. He was later found dead in his underwear in the desert. Suspected that heat/dehydration caused him to wander off, ditch his clothes, etc. Ring any bells? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/84 "2025-03-03T15:44:55Z")
Bishop Pike. Philip K Dick’s book _The Transmigration of Timothy Archer_ is loosely based on his story. He was a very outspoken semi-heretical Anglican bishop who rattled a lot of trees. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/85 "2025-03-03T15:50:27Z")
[Rudolf Schwarzkogler,](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Schwarzkogler) 1940-1968: Austrian performance artist of blood-spattered pieces designed to shock his postwar traumatized generation. To paraphrase Mark Twain “rumors of my death from cutting off my own penis and bleeding out are greatly exaggerated.” ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/86 "2025-03-03T23:13:12Z")
Oh, right. Thanks a lot. Episcopalian bishop gone rogue. The book would have been _The Other Side_ about his attempts to contact his dead son via mediums. It’s available at Internet Archive. The Bridey Murphy thing is probably a misremembering thing. But the book and the topic both deal with afterlife stuff. (The book doesn’t even have a ToC let alone an index.) He twice wrote about the matter in the 50s when the Murphy thing came out. He and his 3rd wife were driving to Qumram in 1969. Didn’t take enough water. Got stuck. Started walking. He couldn’t go on. She did. She made it out. Search started. Took a while to find him. Seems to have never successfully contacted anyone via a medium. So death apparently impairs chatting up people. Note to self: Deserts are still hot and dry. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/87 "2025-03-03T23:22:50Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Because of the negligence involved (trust me, there’s a LONG back story) Morrow and those two children were actually murdered MHO. When I read about it, I was surprised Landis continued to have a successful career afterward. And of course I was also surprised he wasn’t convicted. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/88 "2025-03-03T23:39:23Z")
He came to our town of a thousand people in the mountains of west Bumfuck to dedicate a new church. My mom was star-struck. I was 2, so I have no memory of it. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/89 "2025-03-03T23:40:03Z")
Singer Kristy MacColl died pushing her 15-year-old son out of the path of a speed boat. Retired Detroit Tigers pitcher Mark “The Bird” Fidrych was working on his 10-wheel dump truck when his clothing got caught on a spinning shaft, choking him to death. Owner of the Segway Company Jimi Heselden died when he fell off a cliff while riding a Segway. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/90 "2025-03-04T00:13:36Z")
Susan Cabot, who appeared in a few movies, had an ongoing thing with the then-king of Jordan, which resulted in a love child. In 1986, there was apparently a heated disagreement between her and her son which [culminated](https://forward.com/fast-forward/391731/cia-archives-reveal-king-husseins-jewish-love-child-who-killed-his-mother/) in him beating his mother to death with a barbell. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/91 "2025-03-04T00:14:12Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Singer Kristy MacColl died pushing her 15-year-old son out of the path of a speed boat. Sounds a bit like Naya Rivera’s death, getting her 4-year-old son safely back into a boat but not having the strength to get back in herself. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/92 "2025-03-04T00:52:13Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Singer Kristy MacColl Minor correction: “Kirsty”, not “Kristy”. > **[Kirsty MacColl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirsty_MacColl)** > > Kirsty Anna MacColl (/məˈkɔːl/, mə-KAWL; 10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer-songwriter, daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl. She recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" and cover versions of Billy Bragg's "A New England" and the Kinks' "Days". Her first single, "They Don't Know", had chart success a few years later when covered by Tracey Ullman. MacColl also sang on a number of recordings produce... I always enjoyed her work. It is a danm shame that she’s better known for the injustice of her death than for her talent. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/93 "2025-03-04T00:53:24Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > she’s better known for the injustice of her death Was it unjust or heroic? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/94 "2025-03-04T01:02:37Z")
I daresay she’s best known for her with with the Pogues on FoNY, with her death being the second thing she’s best known for. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/95 "2025-03-04T01:07:13Z")
The lead singer for Boston, **Brad Delp** , put two charcoal grills in his bathroom, lit them, then locked himself inside the bathroom. Guitarist **Randy Rhoads** died when the Beechcraft Bonanza he was a passenger in crashed. The pilot was high on cocaine and doing stupid shit. ---
**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:** [March 4, 2025, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/96 "2025-03-04T01:13:26Z")
George Reeves is at least as well known for his accident/suicide/murder by gunshot at a party as for his role as Superman. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/97 "2025-03-04T01:20:57Z")
The speed boat that killed her was piloted by a rich drunk idiot who got off with a slap on the wrist. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/98 "2025-03-04T01:54:37Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > a rich drunk idiot who got off with a slap on the wrist. Specifically, by having a low-paid servant claim to have been driving. The punishments were all fines, proportionate to the employee’s pitiful wages, so the mulitibillionaire who was actually at the wheel paid less than $5000 for negligently murdering a mother protecting her child. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/99 "2025-03-04T02:27:47Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Singer Kristy MacColl died pushing her 15-year-old son out of the path of a speed boat. There was also a long court case with a dubious result (IIRC a rich dude clearly paid one of his lackeys to say he was driving the speed boat, and got away with it ☹ ) ---
**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:** [March 4, 2025, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988/100 "2025-03-04T02:58:53Z")
I think Jeff Buckley got a little boost in fame by dying early. > [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > I think he was better known for the schtick than for his actual music. And something else using most of those letters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-as-a-career-move/1014988.md?page=6)