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10 Celebs Who Died in Mysterious Ways
WatchMojo
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9/17/2024
These celebrity deaths are still shrouded in mystery. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be discussing cases of celebrities who perished under shadowy circumstances, or whose demise featured controversial talking points after the fact.
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00:00
25 years after Brian Jones' death, a new twist was added to his controversial story.
00:07
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be discussing cases of celebrities who perished
00:13
under shadowy circumstances, or whose demise featured controversial talking points after
00:19
the fact.
00:20
He hated her.
00:21
Bad, and he wanted the whole world to know it.
00:25
Casey Kasem.
00:27
That wraps up our special countdown of the top 10 songs of the year 1991, a prelude of
00:32
some of the great songs to come in this still young decade.
00:36
The long and strange story of Casey Kasem's illness and death could take up an article
00:41
all its own.
00:42
The legendary radio personality was diagnosed with a serious illness in 2007, and eventually
00:47
lost the ability to speak.
00:49
A contentious back and forth between Kasem's wife, Jean, and the children would follow
00:54
in the aftermath of this diagnosis.
00:56
A conservatorship was eventually granted to Carrie Kasem, a daughter with previous
01:01
wife Linda Myers.
01:10
More arguments over visitation rights would follow, while the DJ's wife Jean moved Kasem
01:15
from California to Washington state without any notification.
01:18
Finally, the Kasem children sued Jean for wrongful death and elder abuse, later settling
01:23
these suits.
01:25
Jean waited six whole months to enter her husband's body in Oslo, Norway.
01:34
Bobby Fuller The rock and roll singer and songwriter will
01:43
always be remembered for the versions of I Fought The Law he recorded with his group
01:48
The Bobby Fuller Four.
01:49
However, he'll also be known for his mysterious death.
01:53
The reasons for which continue to elude fans and authorities.
01:57
Fuller was found unresponsive in his car back in 1966, with small hemorrhage marks along
02:02
his face and body.
02:13
Initial reports pointed to self-destruction as the cause of Fuller's death, yet conspiracies
02:17
continue to abound as to whether or not this was true or a cover-up.
02:22
Years after his death, the cause was changed to accident, suggesting there's more here
02:27
than meets the eye.
02:34
Barbara Colby This relatively unknown but talented character
02:49
most memorable impact on the Mary Tyler Moore show, where she played a sex worker.
02:54
Barbara Colby's realistic and down-to-earth approach to the role was a notable breath
02:59
of fresh air when compared to the often exaggerated performances seen at the time.
03:14
This perhaps spoke to Colby's dedication to improving her craft.
03:18
As evidenced by her frequent visits to city acting classes.
03:21
However, it was outside one of these very classes where Colby was gunned down in a shooting
03:27
that's yet to be solved.
03:29
Reports suggest that the actress didn't know her attackers, yet she also wasn't robbed.
03:34
Could this have been a completely random incident, or was she targeted?
03:48
Dr. Hang S. Knorr
04:01
This Cambodian physician wasn't a trained actor prior to his Academy Award-winning performance
04:06
in 1984's The Killing Fields.
04:09
Yet it was Dr. Hang S. Knorr's experience living under the real-life Khmer Rouge regime
04:14
of Pol Pot that made his performance so compelling.
04:18
Knorr was the first performer of Asian descent to win the Best Supporting Actor award, and
04:23
he parlayed this experience into further acting gigs after escaping to the United States.
04:36
Knorr also did humanitarian work in the aftermath of his success, yet he was tragically gunned
04:41
down outside his home on February 25th, 1996.
04:46
Gang violence and robbery have both been offered up as reasons for Knorr's killing, while
04:51
others believe that the actor was specifically targeted due to his political beliefs.
05:04
George Reeves
05:13
The 2006 film Hollywoodland remains a compelling look into the mysterious death of George Reeves,
05:19
the first Superman.
05:21
The actor's tenure as the Man of Steel back in the 1950s earned him love and acclaim,
05:26
but it also limited his options.
05:28
Rumors swirled around Reeves' supposed oppression due to personal finances and lack of creative
05:33
opportunities.
05:46
Reeves died of a gunshot wound on June 16th, 1959, yet there was an argument as to whether
05:52
or not the wound was self-inflicted.
05:54
The crime scene investigation was messy as well, thanks to the handling of bullet and
05:58
fingerprint evidence that could have potentially shifted Reeves' cause of death away from
06:03
self-destruction.
06:04
The fact that Reeves' demise occurred during a house party also resulted in conflicting
06:09
statements from guests.
06:21
Bob Crane
06:29
This star of the television hit Hogan's Heroes also received a film adaptation of his life
06:34
and death in the form of 2002's Autofocus.
06:37
That film offered speculatory evidence to a long-standing theory behind Bob Crane's
06:42
murder in 1978.
06:44
Said theory claimed that Crane's friend, John Henry Carpenter, was actually responsible
06:49
for the murder after the pair had a personal falling out.
06:58
Carpenter also allegedly assisted Crane in videotaping the TV star's numerous sexual
07:02
encounters.
07:03
Carpenter was arrested in 1992 and ultimately acquitted in 1994, yet there remain those
07:09
who insist the man got away with murder.
07:24
Brian Jones
07:31
The Rolling Stones are a rock and roll institution, so much so that many fans forget the tragic
07:37
death of a man often called the founder of the group.
07:40
The guitarist and songwriter was found in his pool, drowned at the young age of 27 back
07:45
in July 1969.
07:57
Yet there are many that claim Jones was murdered.
08:00
One consistent theory was that Jones was murdered over a financial dispute with a local
08:04
construction worker, Frank Thorogood.
08:06
The 2005 biopic dramatization, Stoned, leaned into this theory, while the official statement
08:12
at the time of Jones' demise remains, death by misadventure.
08:28
Elizabeth Short Most of the people on this list were celebrities
08:41
before their death, but it was Elizabeth Short's tragic demise that earned her celebrity status.
08:47
Known today as the Black Dahlia, Elizabeth Short was an aspiring actress who was killed
08:52
in Los Angeles in 1947.
08:54
Her murder is remembered today for its shocking violence, with Short's nude body grotesquely
09:00
posed, mutilated, and drained of blood.
09:03
The surgical precision of her wounds intrigued law enforcement, yet the wealth of misinformation
09:07
and tabloid titillation regarding the case impeded their investigations.
09:12
There were also instances of police ineptitude, such as when a prime suspect, embalming assistant
09:18
Leslie Dillon, was held against his will and not given the right to an attorney.
09:22
The case remains unsolved.
09:35
Sonny Bono This prolific songwriter and musician didn't
09:50
stop working after his personal and professional relationship with former wife Cher came to
09:54
an end.
09:55
Sonny Bono continued to write, record, and perform music, and even transitioned successfully
10:00
into the world of politics.
10:02
A successful bid for mayor of Palm Springs turned into a turn in the United States Congress,
10:07
where Bono served in the House of Representatives.
10:20
Bono tragically died in 1998 after hitting a tree while skiing, yet it was the behavior
10:25
of his fourth wife, Mary, that raised eyebrows.
10:29
Bono's widow, and eventual winner of his congressional seat, insisted that dependence
10:33
upon prescription medication led to his death.
10:36
This was not consistent with toxicology reports, which uncovered no evidence to support her
10:41
opinion.
11:07
Natalie Wood The career of Natalie Wood took off at a
11:17
very young age, and continued to thrive in the years prior to her tragic death in 1981.
11:23
The actress reportedly couldn't swim and was said to be terrified of the water.
11:27
This makes her demise all the more confusing, since it took place during a yacht excursion
11:32
with her husband, Robert Wagner, and friend, Christopher Walken.
11:43
Accusations were leveled at Wagner for years after Wood's death, with some pointing to
11:47
the tumultuous nature of their marriage as a motive.
11:50
Still, others want to know what, if anything, is being hidden by Walken, who officially
11:55
maintained that it was a tragic accident.
12:09
Who is your most missed celebrity?
12:11
What did you love about them?
12:12
Let us know in the comments.
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11:46
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