# Once-Famous Stars Who Have Come To a Sad end **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 14, 2002, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711 "2002-11-14T13:30:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2002, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/61 "2002-11-16T20:09:48Z")
essvee wrote “emolson, puhleeze! Veronica Lake is a major major babe.” True, but a whore who’s been cut to look like Lana Turner is still a whore. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2002, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/62 "2002-11-16T22:51:06Z")
Did any celebrity come to a sadder end than John Belushi? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2002, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/63 "2002-11-16T23:21:04Z")
I’d say Chris Farley’s death was marginally sadder than Belushi’s. And then there’s [David Strickland](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Strickland,+David), who committed suicide in Vegas. He was on **Suddenly Susan** for a while. Maybe he got fired from that, but there must have been other contributing factors: I can’t see someone giving up **that** easily. (Andy Dick was with him on the pub crawl, but not in the room where he hung himself.) Speaking of Belushi, when his death is mentioned, I always remember two things. First is Dan Aykroyd, standing at the gravesite in his motorcycle gear (he rode his bike all the way down from Alberta or wherever he’s from, to get to the funeral, and had to be a pallbearer in that getup). His stance communicates such grief and regret :(. The other is the anecdote Robin Williams once told about how he found out. He’d been hanging out with Belushi for a while, and the night Belushi died, he’d been in his room at the Chateau Marmont for about ten minutes, but left because it was blatantly obvious that Belushi wanted to be alone-with-a-capital-A. The next morning, he’s on the Mork and Mindy set, at craft service. Pam Dawber came up to him, all doe-eyed, put her hand on his arm and said, “Oh, I’m so sorry about your friend.” Well, he hadn’t known, and just about choked on his coffee when she said “Belushi”. Being a lady, Dawber silently handed him the LA Times, and tiptoed away. Shame that Williams didn’t take a cue from that, although he did clean up eventually. FWIW, not that I care about Chevy Chase, but _he_ was immediately inspired to stop drinking because of that. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2002, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/64 "2002-11-16T23:48:36Z")
I think Fox should bring back Celebrity Boxing. That’s about as sad as I can think of. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/65 "2002-11-17T00:00:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rilchiam \* > \*\*Shame that Williams didn’t take a cue from that, although he did clean up eventually. FWIW, not that I care about Chevy Chase, but _he_ was immediately inspired to stop drinking because of that. \*\* From what I’ve read, what prompted Chevy to clean up was the drug-related death of his good friend Doug Kenney in 1980. Kenney was a writer and editor for _National Lampoon_, and in later years was credited as a seminal though little-known architect of 70’s humor. Doug, alone with Chris Miller and Harold Ramis, wrote _Animal House_. Doug played the role of Stork in the film (most memorable line: “Well, what the hell we s’posed to do, ya moh-ron?”) He and Chevy were vacationing together in the Hawaiian Islands, doing huge amounts of cocaine. Chevy left after a few days; the next day, Doug fell off a cliff in a drug-induced daze. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2002, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/66 "2002-11-17T00:31:42Z")
Drugs killed Kenney? Those bastards! ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/67 "2002-11-17T01:12:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by marinwood \* > \*\* > > Oh my God, do you mean the “Awinnn Buhhh” guy? This brings a new (and scary!) meaning to his “Got Milk?” commercial. \*\* Actually, NOT the same guy. I’m trying to IMDB the Aaron Buhh guy but that’s not him. And I’m not absolutely sure if Stephen Geoffreys is still doing porn or not, as I’m not a gay-porn-enthusiast; I had actually heard it was a limited-time thing, and he’s since moved on to…whatever you move on to from gay porn, I guess. :o ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/68 "2002-11-17T01:40:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CaptMurdock \* > \*\* > > From what I’ve read, what prompted Chevy to clean up was the drug-related death of his good friend Doug Kenney in 1980. Kenney was a writer and editor for _National Lampoon_, and in later years was credited as a seminal though little-known architect of 70’s humor. Doug, alone with Chris Miller and Harold Ramis, wrote _Animal House_. Doug played the role of Stork in the film (most memorable line: “Well, what the hell we s’posed to do, ya moh-ron?”) He and Chevy were vacationing together in the Hawaiian Islands, doing huge amounts of cocaine. Chevy left after a few days; the next day, Doug fell off a cliff in a drug-induced daze. \*\* Thanks for the info. :::Rilchiam scuttles away, properly humbled::: ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/69 "2002-11-17T03:09:26Z")
a really good site is [findadeath.com](http://findadeath.com). it can give us some lowdowns on the mighty falling. most of it pretty good. as you can imagine, it is about the dead ones. as for live ones, what’s the status of chevy chase? his stock certainly dropped. that talk show of his was pure-dee-crap! ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/70 "2002-11-17T04:37:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sampiro \* > \*\* > > Is that as in “this week”? I knew there was a raid on Pee-Wee’s (play)house a few months ago, but I never heard more about it. > Awful about Jeffery Jones- he’s one of my favorite character actors (Amadeus, The Crucible, Devil’s Advocate, Ed Wood). I hope he’s innocent as it otherwise destroys his contribution to film. \*\* I think it’s worth noting the “child” in question is 17. Yes, it’s still illegal, but- child pornography? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/71 "2002-11-17T04:56:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sampiro \* > \*\*John Astin is now a professor of drama and tours in a one-man show about Edgar Allan Poe ([www.astin-poe.com](http://www.astin-poe.com)). \*\* When I was just out of college 1981 I took his parent’s cordless phone in for service as a Radio Shack trainee. I thought I recognized him and asked him “are you in television” He smiled and told me who he was. Very nice man. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/72 "2002-11-17T05:05:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sampiro \* > \*\* > > He’s not dead, but Stephen Geoffreys, who played best friend Evil Ed in FRIGHT NIGHT and the nerd prototype in lots of “horny frat boys go to the beach” movies is now a hard core gay porn actor. > > \*\* Hey. Wait a minute. I know that guy. Ya want to hear a story? When I was in college I used to hang out at this bar in the East Village. One night Stephen Geoffreys wanders in. My friends and I think, cool, we’re hanging out with a celebrity. The group, of us drink quite a bit and eventually head back to Phil’s to crash in his living room, Stephen included. It’s the middle of the night and Phil wakes me up freaked out and trying to crawl onto the couch with me. Apparently he had just woken up a few minutes ago to find Stephen trying to put Phil’s dick in his mouth. An alarming circumstance for any heterosexual boy, but perhaps even more so when the guy is a vampire :D. So I reassured Phil of his heterosexuality (by way of a warm comforting hug) and we never saw Stephen again. Sad end? Kind of sad in general, that. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/73 "2002-11-17T05:24:35Z")
Troubled over this whole “Evil Ed is now a Porn Star” business, I looked up Stephen Geoffreys in Google, using his Porn name (Sam Ritter) and his real name. I just wanted to learn a little more about his sad tale, and maybe see what he looks like (just his _face_—I just wanted to see his _face!_) I always thought he was a sweet kind of character (I especially liked him in an old episode of “Amazing Stories”) and him turning out to be a porn star was the last thing I would have expected. [This article](http://www.papermag.com/magazine/mag_97/mag_mar97/dermody/dermody01.html) appears to be “clean” enough to link to here (no dirty pictures, etc.) Here are some excerpts: > [@](#): > > True, Geoffreys may have worn out his cinematic welcome. With his punkish hair, demented grin and high-pitched, constantly cracking voice, it’s a little like watching a young Michael J. Pollard on Special K. There was something sweet but annoying about him. In films like Fraternity Vacation (costarring a young Tim Robbins) and 976-EVIL, he pretty much plays the same goofy character. But other actors have managed to parlay an oddball screen persona into a lifelong career. Why, then, would one aspire to porno? Perhaps he feels it is his calling-like Mother Teresa with the lepers or Dr. Kevorkian with the terminally ill. and then: > [@](#): > > What’s even more mysterious is that the X-rated videos he has chosen to do are of such horrible quality, with lousy production values and a repulsive stable of costars. Aside from Geoffreys, who actually has a tough little body, most of the men are far from cute. The article also comments about how he always wears a hat or cap of some kind. I know the answer to that—I noticed that he was losing his hair, way back from something he did in the mid-late '80s. I guess he figures that a cap or hat is cheaper than hair plugs or a toupee. betenoir: Whoa—freaky story. Your poor friend Phil! I confess, I am learning way too much about this Geoffreys fellow, who I had always assumed had faded into obscurity after fizzling out in mainstream films. Who would have thought… During my Google search, I found one particularly disturbing page (I wouldn’t link to it now, even if I could remember the URL) where Geoffreys is showing off his _ahem_ “assets”. I quickly backtracked out of _that_ page, let me tell you, with the thought, “Scarred for life! I’m scarred for life!” Acck! ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/74 "2006-06-20T07:59:34Z")
Robert Vaughn is a regular on a fairly successful UK television show called [Hustle](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379632/). ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/75 "2006-06-20T09:09:17Z")
Aaaaghh! Zombie! ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/76 "2006-06-20T09:48:38Z")
[QUOTE=dantheman] And IIRC, Terry-Thomas died penniless.. a definite sad end to a most excellent comedian. [/QUOTE] Due to Parkinson’s Disease… ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Logan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Don\_Logan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Logan)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/77 "2006-06-20T13:35:04Z")
Barbara Payton went from bonking Frank Sinatra and Franchot Tone to a bloated alcoholic toothless prostitute who was slashed by a john in about ten years. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Logan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Don\_Logan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Logan)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/78 "2006-06-20T13:38:14Z")
And how did Amy Locane go from starring roles opposite Tommy Lee Jones, Jessica Lange, Matt Damon & Brendan Fraser to…nothing? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/79 "2006-06-20T13:46:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Consider WKRP in Cincinatti (The original) > > Only one of the stars has really gone on to a significant amount of other work, other than Tim Reid… What about Gordon Jump? He got a regular gig as the Maytag Repair Man, like Jesse White before him. He did mostly live theater after WKRP, I believe. He was out in Salt Lake City several times. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711/80 "2006-06-20T13:54:02Z")
Tom Sizemore seems like a prime recent example. Went from a steady and successful career of key supporting roles in a number of high-grossing movies to a precipitous decline into meth addiction, Heidi-Fleiss-beating, and amateur porn. Last I heard about him, he was busted using a _fake penis_ to provide a clean urine sample as a condition of his parole, he might wind up in prison someday, and his career is totally in the skids. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-famous-stars-who-have-come-to-a-sad-end/136711.md?page=5)