Kind of Disturbing

Home

Chris Benoit, wrestler for WWE. Chris killed himself June 24, 2007 after murdering his wife, Nancy, and 7-year-old son, Daniel. Heavy steroid use and brain damage was blamed for Benoit's mental state.

Jonathan Brandis, an actor famous for starring in seaQuest DSV. On November 12, 2003, Brandis died from injuries he suffered after hanging himself. Brandis did not leave a suicide note, although friends were quoted as saying he was lonely and depressed about his lagging career. One friend admitted that Brandis drank heavily, and had even mentioned that he might kill himself. He was also said to be upset when his appearance in Hart's War, a role he hoped would be his comeback, was cut from the film.

Cheyenne Brando, daughter of Marlon Brando. In 1990, Cheyenne's boyfriend and the father of her unborn child, Dag Drollet, was shot dead by Cheyenne's elder half-brother Christian Brando at their father's Mulholland Drive property in Los Angeles. Shortly after giving birth to a son she named Tuki, Cheyenne tried to take her own life by overdosing on sleeping pills, she was formally diagnosed with schizophrenia, became isolated from her former friends, and lost custody of her son to her mother. In 1995, at the age of twenty-five, Cheyenne committed suicide at her mother's house by hanging herself.

Kurt Cobain, leader of Nirvana. Kurt killed himself with a shotgun blast on April 5, 1994. He was found three days later. He left behind rocker wife Courtney Love and their daughter Frances Bean.

Ray Combs, host of "Family Feud" from 1988-1994 and stand up comic. Combs show was considered a success and he got a lot of work on the stand-up circuit. When the show went off the air, Ray was involved in a horrific car crash, had a business dispute with a partner, separated from his wife and six kids, and had trouble getting more TV work. After one failed suicide attempt, Combs succeeded by hanging himself with bed sheets while staying at a psychiatric hospital in 1996.

Ryan Patrick Halligan, an Essex Junction, Vermont teenager. Ryan who died by suicide at the age of 13 after excessive bullying from his classmates in real life and cyber-bullying online. His death led his father, John P. Halligan, to lobby for laws to be passed in Vermont to improve how schools address bullying and suicide prevention.

Donny Hathaway, an Grammy Award-winning American soul musician. After his first single "The Ghetto, Part I" (1970), Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music." His collaborations with Roberta Flack took him to the top of the charts and won him the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the duet "Where Is the Love" in 1973. At the height of his career, Hathaway began to suffer from severe bouts of depression. It was found that he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and was known to have taken up to 14 pills two to three times a day to control this disease. On January 13, 1979, Hathaway was found dead on the sidewalk in front of the Essex House in New York City, where he had been living. His body showed no signs of struggle, and the glass from the window in Hathaway's room had been removed; investigators determined Hathaway had committed suicide.

Margaux Hemingway, a successful model and actress. The granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, the acclaimed writer, Margaux's face graced just about every magazine known to man, but she was never comfortable with her celebrity. After failed marriages, and heavy drinking Margaux, like her grandfather before her (and three other Hemingways), decided to take her own life and in 1996, she overdosed on pills and was found dead in her studio apartment in Santa Monica. Margaux's death and Ernest's death occured on the same day, July 2.

Phyllis Hyman, an R&B singer. Hyman won a legion of fans with her deep, sexy voice and jazzy stylings in the late 70s. By the 80's, in the musical "Sophisticated Ladies" on Broadway, which earned her a Tony nomination. She got into a contractual battle with Arista records in the mid 80s which put her career on a down turn. By the early 90s, she was dealing with alcohol abuse, weight gain, depression over the deaths of her mother and grandmother within one month of each other. In 1995, she took an overdose of sleeping pills.

Richard Jeni, a comedian and actor. Jeni appeared on The Tonight Show more than any other stand-up comedian, dating back to when the program was hosted by Johnny Carson. On March 10, 2007, Jeni was found by his girlfriend with an apparent self-inflicted handgun wound to the face. He was quickly transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he died. He was 49.His family later stated that Jeni had been diagnosed with severe clinical depression coupled with fits of psychotic paranoia.

Brian Keith, actor most famous for starring in the 1960s sitcom "Family Affair." Keith suffered from emphysema and lung cancer, despite having quit smoking ten years earlier. Keith was found dead in his home of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on June 24, 1997, two months after his daughter Daisy had committed suicide.

Frankie Lymon, lead singer of the group The Teenagers. The Teenagers' first single, 1956's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", was also their biggest hit. After Lymon went solo in mid-1957, both his career and those of the Teenagers fell into decline. Lymon eventually fell into heroin addiction, and died in 1968 at the age of 25 of a heroin overdose.

Hugh O'Connor, actor and son of the late Carroll O'Connor. Hugh co-stared with his father on the show "In the Heat of the Night" and they shared a bond until Hugh's out-of-control drug use drove a wedge into the relationship. A despondent Hugh shot and killed himself at the age of 33 in 1995, on his third wedding anniversary. His father crusaded against drugs and drug dealers almost until the day he died in 2001 at the age of 76.

Rob Pilatus, one half of the superstar music group Milli Vanilli. The duo was famous for the songs "Blame it on the Rain" and "Girl You Know It's True" and even won the Grammy for best new artists. But scandal hit when it was revealed the duo was lip synching to other artists. The Grammy was revoked and Pilatus never lived down the scandal. After major bouts of depression and a failed comeback, Pilatus became heavily involved in drugs and even served time for robbery. In 1998, a then 32-year-old Pilatus was found dead in a German hotel having overdosed on booze and pills.

Dana Plato, an actress. Plato became famous playing the role of Kimberly Drummond in the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes. Her career declined after her departure from the show and she appearanced in low-budget films, including some softcore pornography. Plato began having drug and alcohol problems early in life. In 1988, Plato's mother died from scleroderma. In 1990, her marriage ended and she lost custody of her son. In 1991, Plato ended up in Las Vegas with no work. She worked at a dry-cleaning store and robbed a video store. She was arrested minutes later. On May 7, 1999, Plato appeared on The Howard Stern Show, where she told Stern and Robin Quivers that she was engaged that she had been sober for more than ten years by that point, and was not using any drugs, with the exception of prescribed painkillers. The next day, Plato was found dead of an overdose from Vanadom and Vicodin. She was 35. Both Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges have said they do not believe she intended to kill herself, and that they believe it was an accidental overdose.

Freddie Prinze, star of NBC's hit "Chico And The Man," (with co-star Jack Albertson) and stand up comic. Freddie committed suicide on Jan. 29, 1977, at the age of 22. Heavy Quaalude use was blamed for his depression. Superstud Freddie is the father of actor superdud Freddie Prinze, Jr.

George Reeves, an actor. Reeves was best known for his role as Superman in the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman. According to the Los Angeles Police Department report, between approximately 1:30 and 2:00 a.m. on June 16, 1959, George Reeves died of a gunshot wound to the head in the upstairs bedroom of his Benedict Canyon home. The police report states, "[Reeves was]... depressed because he couldn't get the sort of parts he wanted." He was 45 years old.

Savannah, porn star. Savannah starred in more than 100 pornographic films during her career. One of the most high-profile porn stars of her time, she achieved notoriety within her short (1990–1994) career due to her on-screen presence and personal life. Around 2 a.m. on July 11, 1994, Savannah drove herself and a friend, home from a night of partying. One block from her home, she drove her Corvette into a fence, suffering lacerations to her face and breaking her nose. She sent her friend out to walk her dog. Savannah then shot herself in the head with a 9 mm handgun she kept in her home. After almost 11 hours in a coma, she died at 11:20 a.m. on July 11, 1994, at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Burbank, California. Police investigators concluded that she was deeply depressed due to several factors, including her drug use, financial difficulties, and failed relationships. The accident in which she sustained injuries that might have seriously hurt her career, police theorized, was the final factor that led her to take her own life. She was 23.

David Strickland, an actor on the amiable sitcom "Suddenly Susan." In 1999, he had a co-starring role in the Ben Affleck-Sandra Bullock movie "Forces of Nature." When most of his movie role hit the cutting room floor, Strickland, who was bipolar, became despondent said friends. He went to Las Vegas shortly after the movie premiered, drank heavily, and hanged himself using hotel bed sheets. He was six months shy of turning 30.

Herve Villechaize, starred as Tattoo on the hit ABC series "Fantasy Island" (1978-83). He was known for the signature line "Da plane, da plane!" After being fired from the show (he asked for more money and the producers said no), the 3'11? Villechaize started drinking and became depressed. At the age of 50, in 1993, he shot and killed himself in the backyard of his North Hollywood home.

Wendy O. Williams, punk rocker with a penchant for shocking her audience. While music and fronting the band the Plasmatics was important to the Grammy-nominated Williams, making a statement was also high on her list of priorities. She would think nothing of smashing expensive equipment, TV's, cars, etc., on stage. Williams shot herself, near her house in woods she liked to stroll, one month shy of her 49th birthday. In part, her suicide note read: "I don't believe that people should take their own lives without deep and thoughtful reflection over a considerable period of time."

More...

Bizarre Celebrity Suicides
Compilation of some imaginative suicides.