# What artists have died at the very height of their success? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 27, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201 "2009-06-27T21:53:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/81 "2009-06-29T04:10:38Z")
> [@mack](#): > > Sadly Jaco was pretty much an outcast due to his mental health problems, and had been so for a while when he was killed. I understand that he was infamous for his erratic behavior and drunken antics, and had trouble finding people who wanted to perform with him for the last couple of years of his life… Sad, as everyone seems to agree about how very talented he was when he was at the top of his game. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/82 "2009-06-29T04:11:58Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > What, you think his best paintings were done while he was in the bunker surrounded by the Russian army?😉 He was obviously just a frustrated, temperamental artist, due mainly because he sucked. Has Christopher Reeve been mentioned yet? I think he would count even if it did take him a very long time to die. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/83 "2009-06-29T04:35:19Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Patsy Cline was at her peak when she was killed in a plane crash in 1963. She was only 31, had several crossover hits and even headlined in Vegas the year before she died. She was like Elvis – she could sing anything – pop, gospel, country, rockin’ stuff. Yep, I wish she would have stayed around a little longer. ☹ Hemingway committed suicide in his 60s. He was probably good for another book or two. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2009, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/84 "2009-06-29T04:43:44Z")
> [@Tixenfleaz](#): > > I wonder if Karl went “whooosh” before he died. 😃 It wasn’t his being at the height of his success that killed him. It was the lack of height! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/85 "2009-06-29T05:15:17Z")
[Jimmie Rodgers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmie_Rodgers_(country_singer)), the “Father of Country Music” was struck down in his prime by tuberculosis. Humorist [Will Rogers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Rogers) perished at his peak in a plane crash. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/86 "2009-06-29T11:24:10Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > It wasn’t his being at the height of his success that killed him. It was the lack of height! 🙂 He was definitely on the way down, I’ll agree with that. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/87 "2009-06-29T11:50:13Z")
D. Boone of the Minutemen. Killed by a drunk driver after IIRC Double Nickels on the Dime came out. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Spoonful\_of\_Awesome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@A\_Spoonful\_of\_Awesome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Spoonful_of_Awesome)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/88 "2009-06-29T12:00:02Z")
I almost feel silly mentioning this one. Since nobody brought him up before now I gotta think there’s a reason, but I’d put **Douglas Adams** on this list. Yes, you can argue that HHG was his masterpiece but he himself was never satisfied with the final book and there were rumors that he was penning yet another addition. And _The Salmon of Doubt_, a new Dirk Gently book, was masterfully underway at the time of his passing. Somehow I don’t think he’d hit his peak just yet. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/89 "2009-06-29T12:19:20Z")
I was going to put in another vote for Nick Drake, but he actually had three years’ mental decline between releasing the haunting _Pink Moon_, and his death in 1974. ---
**Author:** ![Dublin11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Dublin11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dublin11)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/90 "2009-06-29T13:01:21Z")
What about Natasha Richardson? Seems to me she was doing pretty well for herself when she died. ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/91 "2009-06-29T13:05:57Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > . . .Chet Baker, Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, Diz, Red Norvo, Ali Farka Toure. . . … and Esbjorn Svensson. We miss you Esbjorn. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/92 "2009-06-29T14:52:37Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Chet Baker died at age 58, Miles Davis at 65, Dizzy Gillespie at 75, Red Norvo at 91 and Ali Farka Toure at 66. While some artists do great work late in life, I don’t think I’d consider these to be examples of artists who died at the height of their success. Possibly. Toure was producing some of his best work when he died, however. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/93 "2009-06-29T16:13:45Z")
Federico García Lorca. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/94 "2009-06-29T16:24:36Z")
Marilyn Monroe, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/95 "2009-06-29T16:35:28Z")
Divine. After decades of cult status, he was on the verge of breaking into mainstream stardom with “Hairspray”. He died one week after the film’s release. ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/96 "2009-06-29T16:38:12Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Marilyn Monroe, anyone? She’d been in decline for the last couple of years of her life, her last finished movie, The Misfits, was not a success (and she was apparently in horrible shape and behavior during its filming. Dinah Washington is arguably similar - no doubt she died too young, but she was at least two years removed from her biggest successes. Not quite the very height of her success. If Jonathan Larson could have held on a few weeks, he might have qualified… ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/97 "2009-06-29T17:07:08Z")
Oh, dear lord. Did I forget Bill Hicks? Greatest comedian ever. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/98 "2009-06-29T17:11:01Z")
Speaking of comedians, [Mitch Hedberg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_Hedberg). ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/99 "2009-06-29T17:49:13Z")
It could be argued that Buddy Holly was past his peek when he died. ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201/100 "2009-06-29T18:09:21Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > It could be argued that Buddy Holly was past his peek when he died. Not at all; Buddy was just _beginning_ to peak. He was only in the music biz, in the technical sense, for less than 2 years and became one of the most influential artists _ever_. Had he not gotten his ticket punched at just 23, he would’ve been bigger than Elvis. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-artists-have-died-at-the-very-height-of-their-success/501201.md?page=6)