Scary, Wacky and Crazy Deaths on TV and Film Sets

Actors and performers who died in scary, wacky and crazy ways while working on TV and film sets.

Brandon Lee

Image via Wikipedia

Son of martial arts favorite Bruce Lee, Brandon Lee was 28 years old and starring in the feature film The Crow in 1993 when he was killed while filming a scene. The scene called for Lee’s character to be shot at as he walked into a room. The special effects crew of the film was running late and made a grave error with the gun used during the scene. While the gun was loaded with blanks, through crew error a squib bullet remained in the gun. When the gun was fired at Lee during the scene the force of the blank charge was enough to propel the squib bullet out of the gun and into Lee. Though the bullet traveled at a much slower speed than a normal bullet would it still had enough impact to mortally wound Lee, who died a few hours later in the hospital after receiving 60 pints of blood.

Owen Hart

Owen James Hart was a professional wrestler for the World Wrestling Federation or WWF. In 1999 he was performing in a WWF pay per view special and was hooked up to a harness some 78 feet above the ring. He was to be lowered down into the ring for a dramatic entrance to his match against The Godfather. The harness had a quick release latch so Hart could release himself when near the ring to play up the drama. Apparently while moving around and trying to get comfortable with the harness and his costume cape, Hart accidentally triggered the quick release latch too early as he was being lowered and he plunged the 78 feet. He slammed into the top rope about one foot from the nearest turnbuckle and was thrown into the ring by the force. He tried to sit up and then fell back and promptly died from internal bleeding caused by blunt chest trauma.

Christine Chubbuk

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Chubbuck was a morning talk show host in Florida. On July 15, 1974 she opened her show reading from a script and at the end of the script she said, “In keeping with Channel 40’s policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts, and in living color, you are going to see another first — attempted suicide.” Chubbuck then drew a handgun from under her seat and shot herself behind her right ear on live television. Thinking it was a prank, the producer of the show rushed out to chew out Chubbuk but soon realized it was real. Chubbuck was rushed to the hospital where she died 14 hours later.  

Redd Foxx

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Redd Foxx was a comedian best known for his role of Fred Sanford on the TV sitcom Sanford and Son. Famous for his fake heart attack scenes on the show in which he would grab his chest and shout he was coming to join his deceased wife Elizabeth, Foxx suffered a fatal heart attack in 1991 on the set of his new TV sitcom The Royal Family. Apparently crew members thought Foxx was joking with them and re-creating his famous heart attack scene as he was prone to do but this time Foxx collapsed on the ground which he never did. He never regained consciousness and died shortly after.

Tommy Cooper

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Cooper was a Welsh magician and prop comedian and a giant of a man at 6′ 4″. He was known for intentionally getting magic tricks wrong to make his audiences laugh. In 1984 while performing live on the UK variety show Live From Her Majesty’s, Cooper suffered a massive heart attack and collapsed. The audience thought it was part of his act and kept laughing. When it became apparent Cooper was in serious trouble the director cut away for an unscripted commercial break and someone on the set grabbed Cooper by the feet and dragged him behind the curtains where he received CPR. Apparently Cooper could not be removed from the stage except by paramedics or police who were called. The live TV show continued on and reportedly people could still see Cooper’s size 13 feet protruding from under the curtain. When the paramedics arrived Cooper was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Paul Mantz

Source (Screenshot of plane Mantz was flying when killed)

Mantz was a famous movie stunt pilot. During the filming of the 1965 movie, The Flight of the Phoenix starring Jimmy Stewart, Mantz was flying an unusual plane built just for the movie when he skimmed a small desert hillock which caused the plane to lose altitude. Mantz responded by gunning the throttle to gain altitude but the plane could not handle the stress and split into two. Mantz was killed instantly as the cockpit nosed into the ground. The FAA report on the incident noted that Mantz had consumed alcohol prior to the flight and the resulting impairment to his “efficiency and judgment” contributed to the accident.

Tyrone Power

Image via Wikipedia (Tyrone Power duelling Basil Rathbone in Mark of Zorro)

In 1958 while filming a dueling scene with George Sanders on the set of the film Solomon and Sheba, Tyrone Power suffered a massive heart attack and died en route to the hospital. He was just 44 years old. He had shot over 75% of the movie at the time of his death and Yul Brynner was brought in to film the rest of Power’s scenes. Some of the dueling prior to the heart attack remains in the movie.

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