# Deaths that sort of define a person **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 13, 2023, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999 "2023-07-13T19:14:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2023, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/181 "2023-07-14T20:32:31Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I instantly recognized Tom Mix’s name as a cowboy movie star. I had no idea how he died until I read your link. I became aware of Mix’s death because of the reference in one of Farmer’s _Riverworld_ books, where someone says something about how people were grubbing after the money that had been spilled on the ground, rather than doing anything about the crash. Before that, I had only a vague idea that he was a movie actor. As far as JFK’s death, if it weren’t for Ruby offing Oswald a couple days later, there likely would not have been any conspiracy therories about it. That’s what actually makes it different. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/182 "2023-07-14T20:58:55Z")
I’m nominating Rasputin. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2023, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/183 "2023-07-14T21:05:28Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Sharon Tate had no notable roles, if Polanski had become smitten with her she would have never had any. Disagree. She was reasonably well known thanks to Valley of the Dolls and her Playboy spread. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2023, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/184 "2023-07-14T21:09:24Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Like Hemingway. Maybe I’ve heard how he died before, but if you’d asked me, I wouldn’t have known the answer. This very much surprises me. His suicide was a huge part of his legacy. I knew of it long before I knew what he’d written. I think the fact that you’re younger has something to do with this. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2023, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/185 "2023-07-14T21:23:27Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I suspect the assassination overshadows the rest of his life even more for people younger than me. I’m not sure. I think the assassination is getting less of a big deal over time (as other posters have said it was completely unique at the time, now it’s just another high profile death that was caught on camera) whereas the historical events he was pivotal in are still considered a massive part of history particularly in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2023, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/186 "2023-07-15T00:00:04Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > [Jim Fixx](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Fixx) I’d dispute this one. Sure, the irony of his death was notable, but I suspect more people remember him for making road-running a popular sport. > [@snowthx](#): > > Payne Stewart, the golfer who was killed in an airplane incident. I don’t think many remember his golf career, but the circumstances of his death are remembered FWIW, I remember him as “the last golfer to wear plus-fours unironically”. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2023, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/187 "2023-07-15T00:35:41Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > > [@puzzlegal](#): > > > > Like Hemingway. Maybe I’ve heard how he died before, but if you’d asked me, I wouldn’t have known the answer. > > This very much surprises me. His suicide was a huge part of his legacy. I knew of it long before I knew what he’d written. I think the fact that you’re younger has something to do with this. I had to read some of his works in high school. But, perhaps because it was high school, his death never came up. I suspect I’m not unique in that experience. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2023, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/188 "2023-07-15T02:18:26Z")
Another sports/runner: Terry Fox. He was running across Canada for cancer awareness, but had to cut his journey short near Thunder Bay, which has one of the many statues of him across the country. > **[Terry Fox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Fox?wprov=sfla1)** > > Terrance Stanley Fox CC OD (July 28, 1958 – June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated due to cancer, he embarked on an east-to-west cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Although the spread of his cancer eventually forced him to end his quest after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 mi), and ultimately cost him his life, his efforts resulted in a lasting, worldwide legacy. The ... ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2023, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/189 "2023-07-15T04:41:27Z")
Were any of them called “Toothpick Charlie?” ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2023, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/190 "2023-07-15T04:48:43Z")
I wasn’t expecting that. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2023, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/191 "2023-07-15T06:18:39Z")
> [@saucywench](#): > > Were any of them called “Toothpick Charlie?” No, it was a different movie about the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2023, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/192 "2023-07-15T06:52:10Z")
I meant in real-life, not reel-life.😁 The guys you listed were the real guy’s names. I wondered if one of them had the nickname “Toothpick Charlie.” ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2023, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/193 "2023-07-15T08:14:40Z")
[Thomas Midgley Jr. - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Midgley_Jr). Thomas Midgley Jr invented leaded gasoline and the first CFCs. He was one environmental disaster away from the hat trick, and probably had more to do with the really nasty widespread pollution than any other single person. But that was his life. He died as many people in the 20th Century lived: The inadvertent victim of an invention he created to make life better. In his case, he contracted polio, was left disabled, and invented a system of ropes and pulleys to get himself out of bed, and that invention strangled him. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2023, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/194 "2023-07-15T12:54:02Z")
Natalie Wood. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2023, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/195 "2023-07-15T13:45:06Z")
Perillos—inventor of the Brazen Bull (a particularly gruesome ancient torture device). According to legend, Perillos (a bronze craftsman) made the BB for his master, Phalaris (not a nice man). He thought this would curry favor with his master, perhaps gain him his freedom! Well, cruel as Phalaris was, even _he_ thought Perillos’s device was evil incarnate. So, he asked Perillos to climb into the bull and do a sound check on the acoustics (screams from the tortured supposedly sounded like a bleating bull—how charming). Well, when Perillos climbed in, Phalaris locked the door and roasted him. What a practical joker! Didn’t kill him, though. After roasting a while, Phalaris took Perillos out, then threw his charred body from atop a nearby hill. _That_ killed him. I’m going to take a stab in the dark and guess, as Perillos was plummeting down the hill, he wished he had brought Phalaris a bouquet of flowers instead. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2023, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/196 "2023-07-15T17:03:37Z")
I’ma add Jeff Buckley to the list. A promising musician whose unfortunate drowning overshadows much of his career. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2023, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/197 "2023-07-15T20:47:37Z")
It’s really too bad this stunt didn’t kill him: > But health hazards associated with the fuel generated negative headlines so in October 1924, Midgley called a press conference to show how harmless tetraethyl lead was. > He poured tetraethyl lead over his hands, sniffed and inhaled the vapour from a bottle of the fuel for 60 seconds and said: “I could do this every day without getting any health problems whatsoever.” > However, soon after, he was diagnosed with serious lead poisoning and it took more than a year for him to recover. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2023, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/198 "2023-07-15T20:48:56Z")
_That_ would have been the sort of death to define a person. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/199 "2023-07-15T20:58:31Z")
Seems to me that the sort of lead poisoning that infected Bonnie & Clyde would be far more definitional. Then again, it was a more lead-filled era. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2023, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999/200 "2023-07-15T21:53:13Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > As far as JFK’s death, if it weren’t for Ruby offing Oswald a couple days later, there likely would not have been any conspiracy therories about it. You grossly underestimate how eager some people are to make dumb theories. Look up the [crisis actor conspiracy theories](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/21/crisis-actors-deep-state-false-flag-the-rise-of-conspiracy-theory-code-words) some time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaths-that-sort-of-define-a-person/986999.md?page=11)