# Films with actors who died before completion of filming **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2010, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389 "2010-02-17T20:21:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/1 "2010-02-17T20:21:35Z")
In the [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=547124) about _The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus_, there was some discussion about the changes that had to be made after Heath Ledger’s death. As most know, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Ferrell took over portions of the role, and due to the surreal nature of the movie the character’s changes in appearance could be explained away. A couple of other famous examples: In 1982, Vic Morrow was killed by a crashing helicopter during the making of _Twilight Zone: The Movie_. Filming of his segment was almost complete, and only a few minor tweaks were needed to edit the story around the missing scene. Marilyn Monroe died in 1962 while filming _Something’s Got to Give_. The movie was already over-budget and behind schedule, mostly due to Monroe’s erratic behavior; the project was scrapped and the film was never released. What other films suffered the death of an actor, and how did it affect the final product? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/2 "2010-02-17T20:24:20Z")
Brandon Lee in “The Crow”. It happened near the end of shooting so they used stand-ins and some special effects to finish the film. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/3 "2010-02-17T20:25:06Z")
Brandon Lee was killed during the filming of **The Crow** during a mistake with staged shooting that ended up being fatal for him. The movie went on to do fairly well critically and commercially. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/4 "2010-02-17T20:25:44Z")
Oliver Reed died midway through _Gladiator_ (they added his death scene and contrived a bit of CG jiggery to shore in the gaps) Brandon Lee died on the set of _The Crow_ and similar smoke & mirrors tried to hide this in the unfilmed portions. Bela Lugosi died near the beginning of _Plan 9 from Outer Space_ so a guy with a cape obscuring his face (Ed Wood’s chiropactor) subbed for the remainder of the shoot. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/5 "2010-02-17T20:29:49Z")
Keanu Reeves died at the beginning of The Matrix, but fortunately they found a plank of wood that looked just like him. ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/6 "2010-02-17T20:30:24Z")
Bela Lugosi and Ed Wood’s Plan 9 from Outer SPace comes to mind > [@](#): > > Wood, in 1956, planned to follow Bride of the Monster with The Ghoul Goes West (a.k.a. The Phantom Ghoul), which would have been a combination of his two favorite genres: Horror and Westerns. The story was mainly a rehash of Bride of the Monster in a western setting (a synopsis of the screenplay was published in Filmfax no. 18, December/January 1989-90). Lugosi, recently out of rehab for morphine addiction, was to star as the undertaker/mad scientist. Gene Autry and Lon Chaney, Jr. were also attached to the project for a time. Wood could only raise enough money to shoot one day’s worth of silent test footage. A few random scenes were filmed of Lugosi at a funeral, in front of Tor Johnson’s house, and stalking about in his Dracula costume (possibly intended for The Vampire’s Tomb, another unrealized film). The scenes were filmed to show to prospective financial backers. Lugosi died soon afterward on August 16 and the footage became the seed for Wood’s next project. > > Plan 9 from Outer Space incorporated the final Lugosi scenes into a new story that combined horror and science fiction. Wood’s chiropractor, his face hidden behind a cape, doubled for Lugosi in several scenes. > **[Ed Wood | Plan 9 from Outer Space](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Wood#Plan_9_from_Outer_Space)** > > In late 1956, Wood co-produced, wrote, and directed his science fiction opus Plan 9 from Outer Space (his screenplay was originally titled Grave Robbers from Outer Space), which featured Bela Lugosi in a small role. (Although Lugosi died in August 1956 before production began, Wood used footage he had shot of Lugosi in 1955–1956.) The film also starred Tor Johnson, Vampira (Maila Nurmi), Tom Mason (who doubled for Lugosi in some scenes), and the Amazing Criswell as the film's narrator. Plan 9 pre... ---
**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:** [February 17, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/7 "2010-02-17T20:33:29Z")
John Candy in [Wagons East](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagons_East#Production) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/8 "2010-02-17T20:41:27Z")
Jean Harlow died in 1937 after about 90% of her role in **Saratoga** was completed. They shot her remaining scenes with a double for both her and for her voice. The movie did well, as people went to see her last performance. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/9 "2010-02-17T20:43:50Z")
Jean Harlow died just before _Saratoga_ was finished; she was rewritten out of a few scenes; others were filmed with a double in long shots or from behind. Edit: Psych! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/10 "2010-02-17T20:46:16Z")
Marty Feldman died during the shooting of _Yellowbeard_. IIRC, they shot a new scene in which his character died suddenly (probably filmed, in part, using a double). ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/11 "2010-02-17T20:49:04Z")
James Dean’s lines in Giant in the final banquet hall had to be read by another actor in post production. It’s Dean’s picture but either Dennis Hopper or Nick Adams said the words. That’s best regarded as hearsay, as I can’t come up with a cite that’s foolproof. Edited for this: [Giant](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_(film)) ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/12 "2010-02-17T20:52:13Z")
Natalie Wood died near the end of filming [Brainstorm](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainstorm_%281983_film%29), right before the final scene was to be shot, so after the uncompleted film sat around for a couple years, they made an ending using doubles (onscreen and voice). ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/13 "2010-02-17T20:53:37Z")
Bert Lahr died during the filming of “The Night They Raided Minsky’s” ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/14 "2010-02-17T21:01:44Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > In 1982, Vic Morrow was killed by a crashing helicopter during the making of _Twilight Zone: The Movie_. Filming of his segment was almost complete, and only a few minor tweaks were needed to edit the story around the missing scene. If [this info](http://www.twilightzonemuseum.com/media/movie/index.php) is correct, the original ending for that segment was significantly more than “a few minor tweaks.” ---
**Author:** ![Blut\_Aus\_Nord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Blut\_Aus\_Nord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blut_Aus_Nord)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/15 "2010-02-17T21:04:46Z")
Bruce Lee during Game of Death, which was remedied with horrible doubles and laughable editing. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/16 "2010-02-17T21:04:54Z")
_The Crow_ is definitely the creepiest of them all, considering the plot is about a murdered (shot, stabbed) rock star that returns from the dead to avenge his murder, and in real life, the actor portraying the undead rock star gets shot making the movie and dies. Crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/17 "2010-02-17T21:06:42Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > _The Crow_ is definitely the creepiest of them all, considering the plot is about a murdered (shot, stabbed) rock star that returns from the dead to avenge his murder, and in real life, the actor portraying the undead rock star gets shot making the movie and dies. > > Crazy. And you simulposted with someone talking about the death of that actor’s dad during a film. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/18 "2010-02-17T21:07:11Z")
Bruce Lee died having shot only 30 minutes of footage for “Game of Death.” They used a bunch of stand-ins and, according to IMDB, even a cardboard cutout and stills to complete the film, which was released about five years after his death. ETA: I see Chakra Nadmara beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![Corner\_Case](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/corner_case/32/234_2.png) [@Corner\_Case](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corner_Case)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/19 "2010-02-17T21:25:09Z")
[Heather O’Rourke](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001576/bio) completed filming _Poltergeist III_ and died soon after, but final editing and reshoots required a blonde stand-in. ---
**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:** [February 17, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389/20 "2010-02-17T21:54:51Z")
IIRC, Dorothy Stratten was murdered during filming of Peter Bogdonavich’s **They All Laughed**. Bela Lugosi was kinda-sorta making **Plan 9 from Outer Space** when he died. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-actors-who-died-before-completion-of-filming/529389.md?page=2)