# This is a crappy list of "bizarre" celebrity deaths - we can do better! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 6, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795 "2013-07-06T16:49:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/181 "2013-07-16T23:28:50Z")
I think this qualifies as bizarre: > **[ABC News – Breaking News, Latest News and Videos](https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/storynew?id=113971&page=1#.UeXWro1wr7M)** > > Your trusted source for breaking news, analysis, exclusive interviews, headlines, and videos at ABCNews.com ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/182 "2013-07-17T00:25:41Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Didn’t something similar to Tommy Cooper’s death happen when Redd Fox died? Sort of. [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,285162,00.html](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,285162,00.html) ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/183 "2013-07-17T04:18:55Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I saw a movie or TV show not long ago that mentioned the suicide of the starlet in Los Angeles as the only thing she’s remembered for, but for the life of me I can’t think of what the title was! :smack: Sounds like a reference to Peg Entwistle, remembered mainly for jumping to her death from the ‘H’ in the Hollywood sign. > **[Peg Entwistle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peg_Entwistle)** > > Millicent Lilian 'Peg' Entwistle (5 February 1908 – 16 September 1932) was a British stage and screen actress. She began her stage career in 1925, appearing in several Broadway productions. She appeared in only one film, Thirteen Women, which was released posthumously. Entwistle gained notoriety after she jumped to her death from atop the 'H' on the Hollywoodland sign in September 1932, at the age of 24. > Born Millicent Lilian Entwistle in Port Talbot, Glamorgan, Wales, to English parents Emil... ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/184 "2013-07-17T04:32:38Z")
Four pages and no Jim Morrison? He died in a Paris bathtub. No autopsy was performed, because no foul play was considered. Official cause of death was heart failure; speculation is unintentional heroine overdose. We’ll never know. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/185 "2013-07-17T06:08:15Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > Sounds like a reference to Peg Entwistle, remembered mainly for jumping to her death from the ‘H’ in the Hollywood sign. > > [Peg Entwistle - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peg_Entwistle) No, it was the death of Lupe Velez, described in post #62. I just think the timing of the movie/TV show is an odd coincidence, and I wish I could remember which one it was. As for William Holden, IIRC he fell while drunk in his apartment and bashed his head on a coffee table. They didn’t find his body until several days later. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/186 "2013-07-17T06:13:31Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Joe Flynn’s (Captain Binghamton on _McHale’s Navy_) wife died in 1974 when she dropped a glass milk bottle, slipped on the milk and cut her throat on the shards. And Joe drowned in his own swimming pool. It would seem “Old Leadbottom” was an ironically apt moniker for the good Captain… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/187 "2013-07-17T06:19:51Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > No, it was the death of Lupe Velez, described in post #62. I just think the timing of the movie/TV show is an odd coincidence, and I wish I could remember which one it was. Found it. It was the pilot episode of _ **Frasier** _, of all things: [_Frasier’s single life has been upset by his father moving in with him_] **Roz:** Ever heard of Lupe Velez? \*\*Frasier: \*\*Who? **Roz:** Lupe Velez, the movie star in the '30s. Well, her career hit the skids, so she decided she’d make one final stab at immortality. She figured if she couldn’t be remembered for her movies, she’d be remembered for the way she died. And all Lupe wanted was to be remembered. So, she plans this lavish suicide - flowers, candles, silk sheets, white satin gown, full hair and makeup, the works. She takes the overdose of pills, lays on the bed, and imagines how beautiful she’s going to look on the front page of tomorrow’s newspaper. Unfortunately, the pills don’t sit well with the enchilada combo plate she sadly chose as her last meal. She stumbles to the bathroom, trips and goes head-first into the toilet, and that’s how they found her. \*\*Frasier: \*\*Is there a reason you’re telling me this story? **Roz:** Yes. Even though things may not happen like we planned, they can work out anyway. **Frasier:** Remind me again how it worked for Lupe, last seen with her head in the toilet. **Roz:** All she wanted was to be remembered. Will you ever forget that story? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/188 "2013-07-17T06:36:12Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I’ve always thought the death of Jon-Erik Hexum was due to the episode of _ **Hill Street Blues** _ that had aired a couple of weeks earlier, in which Howard Hunter had attempted suicide with his .44 Magnum and survived with only powder burns to his temple. Important story point: Someone (I think it was JD LaRue) suspected that Howard was contemplating suicide because of a scandal that had come to light and substituted blanks for his live rounds while he was in the showers at the station. (Howard apparently never bothered to check his pistol and couldn’t tell its difference in weight.) Hexum may have gotten the wrong impression from that rather dumb episode. Yes indeed, a blank round is powerful enough to kill you, especially if the gun is pointing at your head! ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/189 "2013-07-17T11:30:51Z")
[ > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The remains of 19th century utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham, whose death was conventional, are brought out for meetings of the College Council of University College London, where he is recorded as “present but not voting”. Sadly, this isn’t true. As was revealed last week, when he did attend a meeting: > [@](#): > > The ‘spiritual founder’ of University College London can usually be found in a cabinet in a university corridor. > > But he was moved earlier this week to mark the last council meeting attended by retiring provost Sir Malcolm Grant. > … > One of the many myths surrounding him is that he attends every UCL council meeting and is always recorded as ‘present but not voting’. > > UCL curator Nick Booth said: ‘It’s a brilliant story. It has everything: a dead body, academic eccentricity, reanimation of a corpse, ancient tradition. What’s not to love? Except, unfortunately, it’s a myth, one of the many legends that have built up around the “old radical” that he would have enjoyed.’ ]([http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/12/181-year-old-corpse-of-jeremy-bentham-attends-ucl-board-meeting-3879586/](http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/12/181-year-old-corpse-of-jeremy-bentham-attends-ucl-board-meeting-3879586/)) As you can see from the photos, he’s in very good shape for a dead man. ---
**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:** [July 17, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/190 "2013-07-17T12:33:58Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > **Death by Glass** > > Joe Flynn’s (Captain Binghamton on _McHale’s Navy_) wife died in 1974 when she dropped a glss milk bottle, slipped on the milk and cut her throat on the shards.. . . . With all due respect, you got a cite for this? Flynn himself died in 1974. I couldn’t find anything on his wife. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/191 "2013-07-17T12:50:37Z")
Kirby Grant, star of “Sky King”, died in a car crash in Florida while on his way to see a launch of the space shuttle _Challenger_, and to be honored by NASA for inspiring so many astronauts. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/192 "2013-07-17T14:12:06Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > [Sadly, this isn’t true. As was revealed last week, when he did attend a meeting:](http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/12/181-year-old-corpse-of-jeremy-bentham-attends-ucl-board-meeting-3879586/) > > As you can see from the photos, he’s in very good shape for a dead man. Makes me wonder exactly how much of Jeremy Bentham is inside that wax shell … remember that poor woman in Florida? She got preserved and wax coated by someone who was much less talented as an artist and his wax effort looked horrific. [article,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Tanzler) not really a grody picture. [grody pictures](http://www.angelfire.com/magic/scotlass/voncosel.html), really, don’t click if you are grossed out. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/193 "2013-07-17T14:40:20Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Four pages and no Jim Morrison? > > He died in a Paris bathtub. No autopsy was performed, because no foul play was considered. > > Official cause of death was heart failure; speculation is unintentional heroine overdose. > > We’ll never know. Considering how Morrison lived, I’m not seeing how this is bizarre at all. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/194 "2013-07-18T01:13:17Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > With all due respect, you got a cite for this? Flynn himself died in 1974. I couldn’t find anything on his wife. Flynn had a heart attack while exercising in his swimming pool, if memory serves. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2013, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/195 "2013-07-18T02:00:08Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > With all due respect, you got a cite for this? Flynn himself died in 1974. I couldn’t find anything on his wife. It was reported by Paul Harvey (uh oh!) ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/196 "2013-07-18T02:41:15Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > It was reported by Paul Harvey (uh oh!) And now you know…the rest of the story…maybe…OK, probably not. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/197 "2013-07-18T13:14:11Z")
Famous atheist Madelin Murray O’Hare disappeared-her fate was unknown, until her remains were found in a well…how did she get there? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/198 "2013-07-18T14:07:34Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Famous atheist Madelin Murray O’Hare disappeared-her fate was unknown, until her remains were found in a well..how did she get there? IIRC the ex-con she hired killed her when she wouldn’t reveal the stash of gold coins they thought she had. She was notoriously abusive, and hired ex-cons because they would put up with it in order to stay employed. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/199 "2013-07-18T14:26:50Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Famous atheist **Madelin Murray O’Hare** disappeared-her fate was unknown, until her remains were found in a well..how did she get there? \[Madelyn Murray O’Hair](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madalyn_Murray_O'Hair).\ ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795/200 "2013-07-18T15:03:36Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Famous atheist Madelin Murray O’Hare disappeared-her fate was unknown, until her remains were found in a well..how did she get there? God alone knows. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-crappy-list-of-bizarre-celebrity-deaths-we-can-do-better/662795.md?page=11)