Gruesome Celebrity Deaths

Mr. Presley – Memphis’ favourite son, Elvis the Pelvis, the King of Rock and Roll - the dirt-poor Tupelo boy who became the most famous singer to grace the planet. Famous for his voice, his jumpsuits and a catalogue of blues, rock, soul and gospel classics that live on long after he did. Sadly, he was also famous for his love of fried peanut butter sandwiches and ingestion of copious amounts of prescription drugs. Elvis’ passing was mourned the world over when he died on August 16th, 1977. The King had checked out whilst sitting on the throne, and was found on his bathroom floor, dead from a massive heart attack at the criminally-young age of 42…

Celebrated dancer Isadora Duncan is considered by many to be the mother of Modern Dance. Feted throughout Europe in the early twentieth century, she achieved both success and notoriety after moving to Paris in 1900. She also achieved notoriety for her particularly gruesome passing. The controversial hoofer was particularly fond of wearing flowing scarves, and one fateful day, she chose to go for a drive with a handsome Italian mechanic whilst wearing one. As they drove off, Isadora’s enormous scarf became entangled around one of the vehicle's open-spoked wheels and its rear axle. As the car gathered speed, she was strangled and then dragged out onto the road, and her body was dragged along for several yards. She was killed instantly.



Pictures of the Australian rock band INXS’s front man, the snake-hipped, floppy-haired love god Michael Hutchence, adorned many an infatuated teenager’s bedroom wall back in the 80s. But the singer broke a thousand more hearts, not least that of his partner, the similarly ill-fated Paula Yates, when he ended his days in an inglorious fashion in Sydney in 1997. His lifeless, naked body was discovered hanging on the back of a room in the city’s Ritz-Carlton hotel, and poor Michael entered the annals of rock stars dead before their time. The exact cause of death was unclear – although the official verdict was one of suicide, members of Hutchence’s family insisted that he’d departed this Earth as a result of autoerotic asphyxiation.






American TV and film actor Vic Morrow had a career history stretching back nearly 30 years when he appeared as the lead in the John Landis-directed Twilight Zone – The Movie in 1982. The father of Hollywood actress Jennifer Jason-Leigh was playing the role of a bigot taken back in time and placed in various situations where he would be persecuted as a victim. Whilst playing a Vietnamese man about to be killed by U.S. soldiers, horrifyingly, art didn’t just imitate life, it extinguished it. Morrow and two child actors were running from a pursuing helicopter when the aircraft lost control, crashed on top of them, decapitated Morrow and one of the children - and crushed the other.


Glam Rock superstar Marc Bolan was one of the most recognisable stars in music at the time of his death. The T-Rex singer/songwriter’s unique look and stage presence helped usher in the glam rock era, and his back catalogue of hits hogged the airwaves throughout the 70s. By the time the 16th September 1977 rolled around, he’d overcome a cocaine habit, released the album “Dandy In The Underworld”, got together with U.S. singer Gloria Jones, and produced a son, Rolan. Sadly, any happiness was short-lived. As the couple returned from a night out in Berkley Square, their purple Mini, driven by Jones, careered off a hump-backed bridge in Barnes, West London, and hit a tree. Bolan was killed instantly. Ironically, the singer had never learned to drive, fearing a premature death…


Known as The Crocodile Hunter, wildlife expert Steve Irwin was an Aussie icon. The Melbourne-born conservationist moved to Queensland as a child and grew up to run the family business, Australia Zoo. He achieved small screen fame when he starred in a series of internationally-broadcast documentaries with his wife Terri. She was left devastated when Steve headed off to film in the Great Barrier Reef in 2006 and was killed in a freak accident on camera. He was filming some shallow water shots when he snorkeled too close to a stingray, and was fatally pierced through the heart by the ray’s spine in front of his friend, cameraman John Stainton.


The ‘Mexican Spitfire’ Lupe Velez met with an ignominious end when she shuffled off this mortal coil at the age of 36 back in 1944. Although she’d previously romanced Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller and western king Gary Cooper, the actress had sadly been impregnated by a less chivalrous gent who had ruthlessly cast her aside after she mentioned he was about to become a daddy. The distraught screen star took a massive amount of drugs in order to end it all, but found that the pills only made her nauseous and so headed for the lav in order to expunge the overdose. Unfortunately for her, she tripped and ended up face down in the toilet bowl, where she was discovered, drowned, by her maid the next day.

Sonny Bono achieved worldwide fame as the male half of husband and wife pop duo Sonny and Cher back in the 1960s. Most famous for the 1965 hit ‘I’ve Got You Babe’, Bono also forged a career as a record producer, actor and politician, even ending up as the Mayor of Palm Springs at one point. Unfortunately, his expansive repertoire of skills didn’t extend to being a champion skier, and the 62-year-old ended his days on the slopes of the Heavenly Ski Resort in Nevada. His body was found in a narrow, wooded area between two ski runs and it was decreed that Sonny had hit a tree and died of massive head injuries…

Brazilian racing legend Ayrton Senna retains the dubious honour of being the last Grand Prix driver to be killed whilst driving a Formula One car. An international star known for his ruthless driving style, Senna was leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix when he reached the Tamburello corner. His car left the track, hit the concrete retaining wall at around 135 mph and Senna was fatally injured in front of millions of TV viewers. With his blood on the race track, an overhead helicopter flashed images of the dying driver around the world as rescue workers frantically administered medical attention. After his death at Imola, the Tamburello turn was changed into a left-right chicane and the Brazilian government declared three days of national mourning for their fallen sporting hero.