59 Famous People Who Died Before Age 40 HowStuffWorks

Ledger was in the middle of filming The actors who died young Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus when he died. The cause was listed as an accidental combination of sleeping aids and other prescription drugs. It was rumoured that Ledger became emotionally and physically exhausted after his psychotic portrayal of The Joker the year before, which may have been a contributing factor to his accidental overdose.

Cameron Boyce

“I was told that the cocaine and morphine levels were both high enough that either would have been lethal by itself,” a spokesman for the coroner told the Los Angeles Times. Welsh leading man Sir Stanley Baker was knighted shortly before his premature death in 1976. His severe features served him well in a variety of hard man leading roles, and from the 1950s, Baker established himself as a leading actor in British film. He appeared with a great cast in The Cruel Sea (1953), saved himself from a psychotic Patrick McGoohan in Hell Drivers, and played a police inspector in Liverpool in Violent Playground (1958). Perhaps his best-known role is the lead officer Chard in 1964’s Zulu – the film that gave Michael Caine his big break.

Jennifer Garner’s Pals Think Her John Miller Relationship May Be Struggling After a Difficult Year

He later admitted to having used heroin and methadone and was sentenced to three years’ probation. Renfro went to rehab in 2006, but in 2007 he violated his probation by not enrolling in a long-term drug treatment program, People magazine reported. He was found dead in a Los Angeles apartment Jan. 15 after a night of drinking, according to the Los Angeles county coroner. Rettig died in 1996, at the young age of 54; according to his obituary, it was ruled that he had died of natural causes in his home.

• His history of violence against women was presented at his trial, and was ultimately convicted of manslaughter.
• “It is with a profoundly heavy heart that we report that this morning we lost Cameron,” the Boyce family spokesperson told ET.
• The singer was taken to a hospital, but she had lost too much blood.
• Cameron Boyce did a little bit of everything during his short life.
• However, just as many young stars—once adored for their infectious catchphrases and precociousness—have fallen through the cracks of the industry.
• After Walker’s death, Fast and Furious costar Vin Diesel stated that the world lost an angel.

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• The mystery surrounding this Murphy’s untimely death was only deepened after Murphy’s husband, Simon Monjack, died under similar circumstances five months later in the same house.
• Yelchin was on his way to meet friends for a rehearsal the night he died.
• Before their own tragic deaths, both The Notorious B.I.G. and Anderson denied any role in his murder.
• According to his obituary, he was hospitalized after falling and suffering a brain hemorrhage.
• River Phoenix, the older brother of Joaquin Phoenix, was only 23 when he collapsed outside famed West Hollywood nightclub the Viper Room.
• Selena decided to confront Saldívar about the situation while collecting papers for tax purposes at a hotel in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The former pro basketball player died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, in January 2020. His 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, died in the accident, as did the seven other passengers onboard with them. The son of Joe Bryant, a former NBA player as well, the basketball pro played with the Los Angeles Lakers for all 20 seasons of his career, which included being an 18-time All-Star and 15-time member of the All-NBA Team.

In the classic horror film “Poltergeist,” Heather O’Rourke played Carol Anne Freeling, a little girl who learns to communicate with the beyond thanks to some supernatural television static. Dominique Dunne played Dana, Carol Anne’s older sister; mere months after the movie was released, Dunne was murdered by her boyfriend. In “Poltergeist II,” Carol Anne comes face to face with a creepy preacher named Kane, played by Julian Beck; he died shortly after that film’s release. So began the rumors of a “Poltergeist curse,” which was further exacerbated by speculation that actual skeletons were used in filming rather than props.

Yelchin was on his way to meet friends for a rehearsal the night he died. When he didn’t show up, the group came to his home and found him dead in the early morning. The actor’s bereaved parents reached a settlement in their wrongful death lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in March 2018.

John Belushi (1949 –

He’s memorably killed off alongside Leo McKern in the opening sequence of The Omen II. His final performance was in Liverpool-based soap opera Brookside, in which he played Davey Jones. In June 2016, the celebrated young star was killed by his own Jeep outside of his house when it unexpectedly rolled down his driveway and pinned the actor against a brick mailbox and a security fence at his home in Los Angeles.

Great British character actors who died too young

When 1982’s “Poltergeist” arrived—exposing viewers to a haunted house, spirits trapped inside a TV, and a little girl who could talk to them—audiences were transfixed. It was pure, otherworldly, yet somehow rooted in enough reality to trigger your deepest fears. Heather O’Rourke played the little girl, whose blonde hair, big blue eyes, and famous line, “They’re here,” bespelled watchers everywhere. In May 2010, Coleman suffered a hemorrhagic stroke caused by a head injury he sustained from a fall.

• The South African-born Nigel Green featured in countless British productions of the 1960s.
• They’d made a name for themselves, achieved fame and acclaim, and were in the process of taking their careers to the next level.
• Boyce died on July 6, 2019, at only 20 years old, before the release of the final “Descendants” film.
• 12 new images are released from Severance season 2, teasing an Innie journey to the outside world, and some surprising new Lumon employees.

Lee Thompson Young

Find more of our list of famous people who died before the age of 40 on the next page. Black Doves creator Joe Barton details the series of real-life events that inspired his upcoming Netflix spy series that stars Keira Knightley. Dean’s stardom was at its height when he was killed in a car crash in 1955.

But it was her debut album, “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number,” that got the attention of hip-hop heavyweights. One-third of the famed ’90s trio TLC, Left Eye was tragically killed in a car accident in Honduras on April 25, 2002. The rapper had been driving during a trip with her sister, Reigndrop, and two others when she swerved to avoid a truck. All four were thrown out of the windows, but Lopes was the only one fatally injured, having suffered severe head trauma and neck injuries. Her funeral was held in Lithonia, Georgia, and a documentary that she was working on at the time alcoholism was eventually released as The Last Days of Left Eye and aired on VH1 in 2007.