From beloved child stars to entertainment legends, we explore the heartbreaking stories of famous personalities who faced financial hardship in their final days. Despite their earlier success, these stars struggled with various challenges including substance abuse, mismanagement, and health issues that led to their unfortunate circumstances.
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00:00The breadth of Sammy's career should make people realize who he was.
00:06I don't know if we'll ever see that again.
00:08Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be discussing tragic instances where beloved or successful entertainment personalities
00:14passed away under impoverished or necessitous circumstances.
00:18With all his problems, he was a very human individual, and he was a good friend.
00:25Gary Coleman.
00:26The dark side of Hollywood has been much documented over the years, including stories from the set of the sitcom Different Strokes.
00:33I've never seen a black goldfish before.
00:35That's okay, he never saw a rich white man before either.
00:38Three of the show's young cast members endured various difficulties over the years,
00:41with both Dana Plato and Gary Coleman passing away while under financial stress.
00:46The latter filed for bankruptcy in 1999, citing many different people as being responsible for his fiscal straits.
00:52You were fleeced.
00:54Pretty much.
00:55Who walked away with Gary Coleman's millions?
00:59You know, even after the lawsuit was concluded, I still don't know.
01:05I don't know where $18 million went.
01:08Coleman admitted his own money mismanagement as a partial cause for his insolvency,
01:12but also accused his management team, as well as his adoptive parents, for problems that led to the actor's eventual poverty.
01:18Gary Coleman, who as a boy provided so much amusement, so many laughs on the hit show Different Strokes, died today in a Utah hospital two days after suffering a brain hemorrhage.
01:29He was just 42 years old and he battled illness throughout his life.
01:33Harry Nielsen.
01:34There can be a lot of reasons why a successful artist finds themselves in debt.
01:38Everybody's talking at me, can't hear a word they're saying.
01:45Harry Nielsen was one of those generational songwriting talents admired by many, influencing even more throughout his career.
01:52However, the everybody's talking singer also struggled with substance use.
01:56His creative output became sporadic by the time the 90s rolled around.
02:00His business manager, who was his accountant, who he had trusted implicitly and who had control over all of his money, embezzled virtually all of his money.
02:10During this time, Nielsen discovered that someone he'd hired to mind his finances, Cindy Simms, had been stealing from him the whole time.
02:17It's been alleged that Harry Nielsen and his wife only had approximately $300 in the bank at the time of his discovery.
02:23It was, um, an incredible blow to him.
02:28And I don't think he ever recovered.
02:29The singer passed away without receiving any restitution from Simms.
02:33Charlie Parker.
02:34It's truly a tragic loss that the jazz legend Charlie Parker only managed to see his 34th year before his death from multiple causes in 1955.
02:46A doctor-prescribed opiate for injuries Parker sustained in a 1936 car accident resulted in a lifelong struggle for the icon.
02:53Parker's mental health also suffered after losing his daughter to pneumonia.
02:57His career faltered with unreliable and erratic bookings.
03:00The jazz icon's finances saw a severe downturn because of all this misfortune, and Parker's physical health showed the strain.
03:07He had an addictive personality and it just, it did him in.
03:10A forensic specialist who performed an autopsy on Parker after his death, allegedly, and incorrectly, placed the body at between 50 and 60 years of age.
03:19Veronica Lake.
03:20Why are so many of us morbidly obsessed with how some of Hollywood's most beautiful people fall from grace?
03:25Things a little tough, huh?
03:27Wouldn't be sitting in an owl wagon for local color.
03:32They locked me out of my room.
03:35That's too bad.
03:36Well, things are tough everywhere.
03:38There's no denying Veronica Lake's place as an icon of Golden Age glamour, yet her later years were tragically marked with a lot of suffering.
03:45Controversial clashes behind the scenes of her pictures led to Lake struggling to find work.
03:49She eventually turned to the realms of genre pictures of B-movie work during her later years, while also combating substance use disorder.
03:55Are you bitter about the way your career went?
03:58You've got to be joking.
04:00No, I'm not.
04:01No.
04:02You're not?
04:03No.
04:04Would you rather have done your life a different way if you had to...
04:06No.
04:07No.
04:08Wouldn't exchange it for anything in the world.
04:10Veronica Lake admitted to spending little time with her four children, and reportedly left behind little assets after her death from hepatitis and kidney injury in 1973.
04:19Erin Moran.
04:20The transition from child actor to adult actor can unfortunately be difficult.
04:24Erin Moran captured the hearts of many during her run on the classic sitcom Happy Days, as well as its spin-off, Joanie Loves Chachi.
04:31I'll call my folks.
04:32They're not gonna understand.
04:34Great!
04:35Great!
04:36Look, I owe you one, okay?
04:38All right, I owe you ten.
04:40Her career after this did see appearances in cult fare, like 1977's Grand Theft Auto and Galaxy of Terror in 1981.
04:47However, Moran struggled to find roles through the subsequent decades, and was forced to move in with her mother-in-law.
04:53Those are the facts, Balon.
04:54I don't guess.
04:56Erin Moran passed away in 2017, as a result of complications from throat cancer, closing the book upon a beloved Hollywood personality that tragically fell across some hard times.
05:05She may have had a charmed early life, but her later years were plagued by hardship.
05:09Bobby Driscoll.
05:10Bobby Driscoll.
05:11Many actors dream big, yet sadly never achieve their hopes of silver screen success.
05:16Bobby Driscoll will always be remembered for his voicing of Peter Pan back in 1953, after signing a contract with Walt Disney.
05:22My stories?
05:24But they're all about you.
05:25Of course.
05:26That's why I like them.
05:27I tell them to the lost boys.
05:29The latter, unfortunately, let Driscoll go from his contract after puberty, and the young actors struggled to find roles.
05:35Substance use also followed Driscoll throughout his life, resulting in multiple arrests and incarcerations.
05:41Work occasionally found Bobby Driscoll, but financial recovery did not.
05:44Well, I come by it honest.
05:46Who said you didn't?
05:47The actor's remains were found in a New York tenement.
05:50These actually went unidentified for over a year, eventually being interred on Heart Island's Potter's Field.
05:55Andy Gibb.
05:56It wasn't just the Bee Gees that made parents Hugh and Barbara Gibb proud.
06:04Andy Gibb achieved success in the entertainment industry, performing as a singer and actor from the late 60s into the 80s.
06:10Nothing is higher than a mountain, love is bigger than water.
06:16Unfortunately, Gibb also struggled with substance use and battled depression after a breakup with actress Victoria Principal.
06:23This icon of the disco era declared bankruptcy in 1987, and tragically died at only 30 years of age, with a yearly reported income of only $8,000.
06:31I sort of went downhill, and my followings, my records, just everything, nobody wanted to touch me.
06:38Bela Lugosi.
06:40This case for one of horror cinema's most celebrated icons is a bit different than most.
06:44I am Dracula.
06:46Bela Lugosi wasn't really in want of work.
06:49He continued to act in productions right up until his death in 1956, but the Dracula star was unfortunately never one to put any of his paychecks in the bank.
06:57Lugosi's substance use was well documented.
06:59He enjoyed a lavish Hollywood lifestyle, often living beyond his means.
07:04He savored the best wines, smoked the finest cigars, and dined at expensive restaurants.
07:11But a scant year after his triumph in Dracula, Bela was forced to file for bankruptcy.
07:17His final will and testament left only minor real estate property, along with $1,000 in cash.
07:22It was ultimately Bela Lugosi's cinematic legacy that would retain much more value.
07:26From his capes and props, to the personality rights, to his idiosyncratic portrayal of Count Dracula.
07:32Anything I can do, I'm glad.
07:34Corey Haim.
07:35One of the biggest tragedies about the loss of a young actor is this notion of performers like Corey Haim never being able to blossom into their full potential.
07:43Dad.
07:43Yeah.
07:43Do you think that there's any way you could tell me for sure if I could borrow mom's car Saturday night?
07:47Here's the deal, lass.
07:48First get your license, and we'll talk.
07:51There's no denying the prowess displayed by Haim in films such as Lucas and The Lost Boys, but Haim's substance use struggles eventually led that once promising career into a downward spiral.
08:00Where the hell are you from, Krypton?
08:03Phoenix, actually.
08:04But lucky me, we moved here.
08:08The actor admirably attempted rehabilitation at multiple points in his life, but Haim's lack of medical insurance resulted in a severe amount of debt.
08:15This, combined with a back tax bill, allegedly approaching $200,000 at the time of his passing, cast a large shadow over Corey Haim's death in 2010.
08:23But the autopsy ultimately found that the 38-year-old died from pulmonary congestion, a tragic end for the young man who once said, quote,
08:32I want people to think I am just really, really good.
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08:51Sammy Davis Jr.
08:52The dissolution of Sammy Davis Jr.'s marriage to actress Mae Britt resulted in a wandering period for the Rat Pack personality.
08:59I am looking forward to going back to the legitimate theater.
09:03I'm not putting down nightclubs, the theater isn't around and so forth.
09:08I'm just ready for it.
09:09I'm psychologically ready.
09:11I'm mentally ready.
09:12Lifestyle experiments with Satanism became the norm for Sammy Davis Jr., alongside an extensive appetite for substances and sex.
09:19It was throat cancer that ultimately claimed the entertainment legend's life in 1990, with Davis' estate at the time retaining an estimated worth of around $4 million.
09:28Davis was the compliment entertainer, but his hectic lifestyle took a toll.
09:33Davis unfortunately owed over $5 million to the IRS, however.
09:37It was this bill that came passed down to his widow, AltaVise.
09:39It took seven years for AltaVise Davis to finally come to terms with her husband's debt, after a bit of financial fundraising assistance from Sammy Davis Jr.'s famous friends in the industry.
09:48Sammy had a party every night.
09:50Sammy was Sammy.
09:51He was bigger than life, and he was funny.
09:55He was smart.
09:56He was curious.
09:58He was loving.
09:59He was self-destructive.
10:01How important is financial planning and foresight to you?
10:03Let us know if you feel comfortable to do so in the comments.
10:07Everybody wanted a piece of me.
10:08Everybody wanted a piece of the show.
10:10Everybody wanted to be a producer.
10:12Everybody wanted to be a consultant.
10:15Everybody wanted a piece.
10:17I want to see you next time.