Throughout the years, people have been propelled into stardom for their skills in comedy, singing, acting, and so much more. This views as a glamorous job, but behind the scenes, these celebrities devote their entire lives to their craft. Many celebrities are so busy performing. They don’t have time for relationships, hobbies, or even taking time to rest and care for themselves. Most celebrities know they’ll spend their lives performing, they don’t normally expect to lose their lives doing what they love. In today’s video, we looked at some of the celebrities who tragically died during the middle of their performances.
Celebrities may seem to have easy jobs, showing up on stage and belting out songs or soliloquies. But these long hours often take a toll on their bodies, as well as their personal relationships. Unfortunately, a select few celebrities have even learned that their jobs are risky enough to have tragic ends. Throughout history, exhaustion from working long hours, onstage accidents, and in some cases, violence are all deadly consequences.
Sadly, even singers, actors, and comedians are liable to suffer injuries and even death. In today’s video, we’re going to take a look at some celebrities who devotes so much time to their art that they tragically die in the middle of a performance! Make sure you stick around because we’re going to reveal how one devote actor tragically dies and leaves his pregnant wife to cope all on her own!
Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power III is the son of esteemed actor Tyrone Power Sr.. He is famous to his friends and family simply as Fred. His father’s bloodline fills with Irish actors, and Tyrone Power determines to carry on his family’s legacy since young. After graduating high school, he studied acting under his father’s wing.
Relatively quickly, he became a celebrated theatrical performer and later became a popular Hollywood actor, as well. He often played romantic lead roles as well as swashbucklers. Some of his most famous films include The Black Swan, The Mark of Zorro, and Nightmare Alley. In 1958, he was working on the film, Solomon and Sheba. He was already 75% finished with most of his scenes and was filming one of his last scenes in November.
He and his longtime friend and co-star, George Sanders, were filming a dueling scene together. In the middle of the scene, however, Tyrone Power suffered a massive heart attack and dies later that night. He is just 44 years old. His wife, Deborah Power, was already seven months pregnant with their son and was left tragically widowed.
Harry Einstein
Harry Einstein was a famous comedian and character actor with a penchant for performing Greek dialect comedy. Professionally, he was often known as Harry Parke or Parkyakarkus, a pseudo-Greek pun on the phrase “Park your carcass.” Between 1936 and 1945, his comedy becomes famous and he appears in a total of eleven films. His character Parkyakarkus, or a close variant of it. Then, in 1945, he began his own radio show called Meet Me at Parky’s, which aired for a total of three seasons. It featured his character, Nick Parkyakarkus, a Greek chef who ran his own restaurant.
Sadly, Einstein struggled with heart disease for many years, which limited his activity levels, so he mostly attended roasts instead of acting in films. In 1958, he attended a roast for Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. But right after he finished delivering his roast, he collapsed into the lap of fellow actor and comedian Milton Berle. He died later that night from a heart attack.
Leonard Warren
Leonard Warren was a legendary baritone opera singer who was renowned for his vocal range and power. On March 4th, 1960, he performed in the show La forza del destino. He began performing an aria, whose opening line was “Morir, tremenda cosa,” which translates to “to die, a momentous thing.” After finishing the aria, however, he fell down, face forward, and began crying for help. He died at that moment of a massive heart attack. He was only 48 years old.
Alan Marshal
Alan Marshal was born in Australia, the son of two actors. When he was just three years old, he began appearing in a number of Australian films, including The Mystery of the Black Pearl and The Strangler’s Grip. Then, in 1914, when he was five years old, his parents moved to America to further their careers. At age 15, Alan Marshal began performing on Broadway. After being discovered by a talent scout, he was cast in a variety of Hollywood films as well as television shows.
His last performance was in the production Sextette, where he acted alongside Mae West in Chicago. He suffered a huge heart attack during the show but managed to finish the production. Later, however, he was discovered dead in his hotel. He was just 52 years old.
Joseph E. Howard
Joseph E. Howard was a legendary composer, lyricist, and singer, and he helped compose numerous Broadway plays and even helped to write the hit song “Hello! Ma Baby.” His career began as a singer when he was just 11 years old, and he continued to work in theatre and music for eight decades. After a long and prolific career, however, he died while singing the song “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” during the curtain call of a performance at age 91.
Most of the people on this list were already celebrities before they died, but we’re also going to take a look at one person who turned her own death into such a spectacle that she became a celebrity because of the way she died! Make sure you stick around, because we’re going to reveal how a humble local news anchor, Christine Chubbuck, ended up getting on the national news because of her death. And if you’re enjoying this video so far, please take a moment to like this video, and don’t forget to subscribe to our channel for more!
Al Kelly
Abraham Kalish, best known by his stage name, Al Kelly, was born on December 18th, 1896. He became well known for his vaudeville comedic performances, as well as for his specialty in double-talk, where he would mix nonsense words into real sentences to sound smarter. Later on in life, he worked alongside comedians Willie Howard, Ernie Kovacs, and several others. He also appeared on The Soupy Sales Show several times while it was being filmed in New York.
On September 7th, 1966, Al Kelly was attending a roast at The Friars’ Club in New York City. It was one of his favorite venues, and he was well known for attending and performing there. While he was sitting in the audience, however, he suffered a heart attack and died in the middle of the performance. A memorial service was held the very next day, and it was filled with fellow performers and longtime fans.
Spade Cooley
Spade Cooley was a man of many talents and was famous as a big band leader, Western swing musician, and actor. His career was going well, but in 1961, he beat his second wife, Ella Mae Evans, to death in front of their daughter, Melody. He was nearly sentenced to execution, but after pleading insanity, he was sentenced to life in prison instead.
After serving nine years in prison, he was granted a 72-hour furlough, where he was allowed to perform at a benefit concert. His heart and health were failing, however, and during the concert, Cooley reportedly wasn’t feeling well. Then, while he was backstage during intermission, Cooley suffered a heart attack and died. While he wasn’t exactly missed, considering how horribly he butchered his wife, he was a talented performer who could have done so much more with his life had he chosen a different path.
Kenneth Horne
Kenneth Horne was a British businessman and comedian. He was best known for his work on a variety of BBC Radio shows, including Beyond Our Ken, Round the Horne, and Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh. Even though much of his work took place between the 40s and 60s, he is still considered one of the most popular comedic radio show hosts in Britain.
In 1958, Kenneth Horne suffered from a stroke, and he had to slow down his career to maintain his health for a while. Still, he had big plans with other radio hosts, and after Beyond Our Ken wrapped up, he began to work on Round the Horne. The show lasted for four seasons, and plans were being made for a fifth. Those plans were cut short, however, by tragic circumstances. On February 14th, 1969, Kenneth Horne was asked to host the annual Guild of Television Producers’ and Directors’ Awards. He died of a heart attack partway through the show.
Leslie Harvey
Leslie Harvey, also known simply as Les Harvey, was a Scottish guitarist who performed alongside his brother, Alex Harvey. Les Harvey was in several bands, including the Alex Harvey Soul Band, The Blues Council, and Cartoone. Most famous, however, was the band Stone the Crows, which he founded alongside his brother in 1969.
Before founding Stone the Crows, Les Harvey joined the band The Blues Council, which separated in 1965 after tragedy struck. Their touring van crashed, killing two of the members. Sadly, this wasn’t the only tragedy that would befall Les Harvey.
Stone the Crows performed for three years, but in 1972, Les Harvey began to sing into a microphone that wasn’t earthed. He was electrocuted and tragically killed in the middle of the performance.
Christine Chubbuck
Most of the tragic deaths featured in this video happened to people who were already celebrities. Christine Chubbuck, however, only became a celebrity after her horrifying death. Chubbuck worked as a news reporter in Florida. In her thirties, she was depressed because she didn’t have many friends and had an even harder time developing romantic relationships. She was hopelessly in love with one of her fellow news reporters, but she later found out that he was involved with a different news reporter at the studio.
On July 15th, 1974, Christine Chubbuck insisted she open the Suncoast Digest newscast, even though she had never read for it before. The other employees allowed her to read it. Everything started out normal until she said “TV 40 presents what is believed to be a television first. In living color, an exclusive coverage of an attempted suicide.” Then she shot herself on live television, becoming the first person in history to do so. She was only 29 years old, and her death serves as a sad reminder of what can happen when mental illness and depression are left untreated.
In today’s video, we looked at some of the celebrities who tragically died during the middle of their performances. Were you more shocked to learn about Christine Chubbuck’s suicide, which turned her into a celebrity after her death, or about Leslie Harvey, who was unexpectedly electrocuted during a live performance? Let us know in the comments below, and don’t forget to subscribe to Facts Verse for more!
