10 Actors Who Tragically Ended Their Lives

Although their lives seem exciting and appealing, and though their screen personas have brought joy and wonder to the rest of us, the lives of film, television, and stage actors are not always easy. In some cases, failed relationships, deaths in the family, or health problems may drive them to an early grave—at their own hands. Inspired by the recent suicide of the beloved Robin Williams, this list is a collection of 10 other beloved actors who tragically ended their lives.

1 Charles Boyer

This acclaimed French actor with the instantly recognizable face was the absolute picture of success. Boyer’s career spanned over 50 years and some 80 films, and he garnered four Academy Award nominations. But it was the 1930s and 1940s that were his golden times. Classic films like The Garden of Allah, Algiers, Love Affair, and the thriller Gaslight captured his sensuous appeal as a romantic leading man and a talented thespian.

Although he was born in a small French town in 1899 and didn’t know a word of English, Boyer refused to allow that to stifle his creativity. He made a name for himself in French cinema beginning with his first film, L’Homme du Large, and later moved to Hollywood to further his career. Over the years, he starred opposite voluptuous beauties like Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Bette Davis, and many more.

Boyer was known not only for his films, but also his television appearances, his advocacy for French-American relations, and for inspiring the legendary animated character Pepe le Pew. He retired from his career in the 1970s to take care of his first and only wife, Pat Paterson, who was afflicted with cancer at the time. Her death in 1978 proved too much for Boyer to handle, though, and he ended his life two days after by ingesting a lethal dose of barbiturates.

2 Brad Davis

With a torturous start in life at the hands of a sexually abusive mother and an alcoholic father, Brad Davis learned destructive habits early in life. However, acting was his dream, and after winning a music talent contest in his teenage years, he worked at Theatre Atlanta and later studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Art.

After appearing in theater productions, soap operas, television movies, and the mini-series Roots, he won acclaim with his film debut, 1979’s Midnight Express, for which he won a Golden Globe Award along with several other nominations. He also starred in the drama Querelle, a landmark film for the gay community.

His adult career, however, was marred by his arrests and wild behavior, with accounts of him shooting framed portraits of himself, spreading his own feces on hotel walls, and, in one instance, ripping his shirt off at a Hollywood party and shouting, “Who’s got the drugs?” After reportedly sobering up from his long-time struggle with alcohol and cocaine abuse, Davis learned that he had AIDS, most likely either due to his drug abuse or alleged bisexual lifestyle. Frightened of having people discover his affliction, he ended his life with the aid of some close friends.

3 David Rappaport

Standing at just 119 centimeters (3’11”) tall, the English actor David Rappaport was one of the finest dwarf actors of his generation. Although obviously much shorter than his contemporaries, he was a recurring actor in television shows like L.A. Law and The Wizard, and a knockout in films like The Bride and the comedy classic Time Bandits, in which he acted alongside Sean Connery and John Cleese. He was even chosen to appear in Star Trek: The Next Generation in a role that can be seen on the Season 3 Blu-ray collection.

However, over his lifetime, he claimed that he battled depression because of intolerance and prejudice due to his appearance. In an interview, he confessed, “I look at boring people every day, and I say, ‘God, I wish I could be like that,’ but my lot is to be unique, special, so I have to put up with it.”

After a failed suicide attempt in March 1990 by inhaling automobile exhaust, he succeeded that May in Laurel Canyon Park, where the police found his body after he shot himself.

4 Brian Keith

Born in New Jersey to a family of actors, it didn’t take long for the acting bug to bite Brian Keith. His film debut was at the age of three, and while he lent himself to radio and stock productions, he decided to serve with the United States Marine Corps beginning at the age of 19. Although he was awarded an Air Navy medal for his service, Keith’s true calling was always acting. Back on home ground, the robust, gruff actor started off on Broadway in plays like Mister Roberts, and it didn’t take long for major studios to notice him.

Starting in 1953 with a career that would last some 35 years, Keith went on to star in a host of wildly popular sitcoms and TV shows such as Family Affair, Hardcastle and McCormick, and the eponymous The Brian Keith Show. His film career also left little to be desired, as the adaptable actor portrayed anything from family men to cowboys to detectives and starred in classics like The Wind and the Lion and The Parent Trap.

Unfortunately, he was later diagnosed with cancer and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his California home in 1997.

5 Steven Keats

When speaking about television and film of the 1970s, it would be remiss not to mention Steven Keats, a talented actor of both mediums who was raised in Brooklyn, although both of his parents were Jewish immigrants from Denmark. After an education at the Yale School of Drama and Montclair State College, and after serving with the Air Force in Vietnam, he decided to try his hand at acting. His Broadway debut was in 1970 with Oh! Calcutta.

It was his later performances in films like Hester Street, Death Wish, and The Gambler that caught the attention of the public and brought him acclaim. His Emmy-nominated performance in the miniseries Seventh Avenue in 1977 as ruthless clothing entrepreneur Jay Blackman, though, was perhaps his finest work.

Despite his success in film and television, his three failed marriages and other unknown conditions left him in a dejected state, and in May 1994, he was found dead from suicide in his Manhattan apartment.

6 Richard Farnsworth

Starting out as a humble stunt man and continuing in that field for 30 years, doubling for giants like Henry Fonda and Roy Rogers, this brilliant yet unassuming man finally turned to acting at the ripe age of 57. Although already an older man, he took his work seriously and eventually received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1978’s Comes a Horseman. Although he established himself after that in other major roles in films like The Grey Fox and Tom Horn, his greatest achievement was portraying real-life Alvin Straight in The Straight Story, for which he received an Academy Award.

During that time, however, Farnsworth had been diagnosed with terminal bone cancer and found himself unable to walk. He was later partially paralyzed after a surgery. At the age of 80, frustrated and depressed, Farnsworth wrote a suicide note and shot himself in his home.

7 Sammee Tong

Born in San Francisco, Tong was educated in Hawaii before embarking on a career in Hollywood. Starting in the 1930s, he appeared in uncredited bits in many films, although he was credited with roles in classics like It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. In 1959, he appeared along with John Forsythe as a regular on his first television show, Bachelor Father. Known for his fondness for comedy, the Chinese entertainer also toured nightclubs as a singer and a comedian.

After some 25 years performing in films and on television, while starring alongside Mickey Rooney in the sitcom Mickey, Tong was found dead in his home with an empty bottle of sleeping pills close to his body and the note, “I have taken my own life. No one is to blame.” Other than the assumed dissatisfaction with his life, no motive for his self-inflicted drug overdose could ever be determined.

8 Freddie Prinze

The father of Freddie Prinze Jr. and one of the funniest stand-up comics of his time, Prinze broke ground for Hispanic actors like no one before him. Best loved for his performance in the 1970s television show Chico and the Man, he also performed for president Jimmy Carter and cracked up Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show.

The man who had made $2 an hour as an usher for Broadway suddenly had a bright future ahead of him. However, although he had signed contracts with NBC and Caesar’s Palace that would’ve secured him over $7 million and was negotiating with film studios like Warner Bros. and Universal, his addiction to cocaine and Quaaludes and his impending divorce depressed him. On January 28, 1977, in Los Angeles, Prinze wrote a suicide note, put a gun in his mouth, and sent a .38-caliber bullet through his head.

9 Spalding Gray

Praised as the greatest American storyteller of his generation as much for his unique style of writing and acting as his ability to touch an audience with insightful and profound comments about life, Spalding Gray made theatrical monologues popular with his performances of such classics as Monster in a Box and Swimming to Cambodia, both of which were adapted to film. He also starred in supporting roles in many classic comedy films, such as Kate and Leopold, King of the Hill, and Beaches.

It was in Ireland in 2001 that the car Gray was in collided with a van, crushing his hip and shattering part of his skull. After the accident, Gray struggled with depression. Whether it was due to brain damage, tragic events like his mother’s suicide, or something else entirely remains unknown. He began to talk about suicide, and even attempted it several times, although some that believe it was a viewing of Tim Burton’s Big Fish that finally convinced him to attempt the big one. On January 10, 2004, Gray allegedly jumped off the Staten Island Ferry. His body was found two months later.

10 George Sanders

With his sophisticated mannerisms, charming persona, and silky, deep voice, it didn’t take long for George Sanders to take Hollywood by storm as the villainous and smarmy scoundrel, which he showcased wonderfully in films like Rebecca, All About Eve, and The Picture of Dorian Grey. He even lent his voice to Shere Khan in the animated film The Jungle Book.

Even after garnering much acclaim, receiving an Oscar, and romancing several female celebrities, Sanders was not known for his happiness. In his autobiography, he wrote, “I am a disagreeable person. I am a hateful person.” He also remarked that women should be beaten and were worth very little, advocating a 25 percent tax for actresses so they wouldn’t make as much as male actors. Late in life, he was afflicted by an incapacitating stroke that affected his speech, along with several other health problems.

In 1972, Sanders checked into a hotel in Spain and overdosed on prescription drugs, leaving behind a suicide note that read in part: “Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored.”

Dorothy Stratten Death (February 28, 1960 - August 14, 1980)

Dorothy was born on Feb. 28, 1960 Vancouver, British Columbia as Dorothy Hoogstratten. When she was just 3, her father abandoned the family, which at the time consisted of Stratton, her mother, Nelly, and a younger brother, John Arthur. The mother remarried and had another daughter, Louise. The union didn’t last long and ended in divorce.

Teenage Stratten didn’t seem destined for magazine goddess fame. She was awkward, fretted about being plain and having “big hands,” and passed her time writing poems, often about loneliness and death.

Stratten started working at the Canadian Dairy Queen when she was 14 and stayed there for years. When barely 17, she was spotted working in the restaurant by shady "entrepreneur" Paul Snider, nine years her elder. Snider saw the beautiful girl's face and knew immediately he could turn her into a star. Turns out he was right. But unfortunately for Dorothy, he was right.

Snider had also grown up in Vancouver. After failing in legitimate jobs, he became a pimp, playing the role perfectly in a mink and black Corvette, wrote Teresa Carpenter in a Pulitzer Prize-winning article on the case that ran in the Village Voice in 1980.

For a time, Snider continued to try to earn his keep in the world’s oldest profession in Los Angeles, tooling around in a gold limousine. When he finally realized he wouldn’t make it as a flesh peddler, he headed back north, stepped into the Dairy Queen, and began wooing the wholesome beauty behind the counter.

Then, in a move that might seem bizarre for a young man in love, he hired a photographer to take nudes of his new girlfriend and shipped them off to Playboy.

After beginning a relationship with the young blonde, Snider finally convinced her that she would be great as a Playboy model and that she could become rich and famous if she could get comfortable taking her clothes off for the camera. At first, the shy girl-next-door shrugged off the notion, but Snider, the greasy devil he was, finally convinced her to pose for his camera. After amassing a small personal collection of nude photos of Dorothy, Snider then sent them to Playboy Magazine in Los Angeles, specifically to the home of Hugh Hefner. Heffy like-y and after only two days of ogling her shots, called for the young Hoogstratten. Snider's plan was now set in motion, and unbeknownst to her, Dorothy's life was on a collision course with danger.

In seemingly no time at all, Dorothy, after changing her surname to Stratten, became quite the hot ticket around 'ol Hef's mansion. This didn't set too well with Snider however and he soon decided he wanted a piece of the action, since he was, after all, the one that sent Dorothy's pics to Hefner in the first place. Snider would introduce himself to Hefner as Dorothy's manager, but the magazine magnate could see right through Snider's oily facade and came to loathe the guy.

Meanwhile, Dorothy's fame was soaring ever higher and higher. Her photo shoot at Playboy was a hit and she would eventually go on become the October '79 Playboy Playmate and word around the mansion was that she was being mentioned as becoming the Playmate of the Year and perhaps even the Playmate of the Quarter-Century.

Paul SniderBut Snider was feeling left behind.

As Dorothy's star grew brighter and brighter, Hefner decided to introduce her to some of the bigwigs of Hollywood's upper-crust, including filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich who was once a director of such huge movie hits as Paper Moon, What's Up, Doc?, and The Last Picture Show. And wouldn't you know it, Bogdanovich had just conveniently terminated a rocky relationship with another young, blonde aspiring actress, Cybill Shepherd who we all know was in Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show and eventually went on to to TV stardom with Bruce Willis in the popular ABC sit-com, Moonlighting.

Stratten and Bogdanovich would eventually become quite the item. He decided she was ready to hit it big in show business and that he was ready to give her a plum role. After all, she had already taken a bit role in Galaxina as a sexy robot. Bogdanovich wanted the world to see that his new girlfriend was more than just a sexy bimbo with big boobs.

In January 1980, Stratten returned to the pages of Playboy as the Playmate of the Year and was cast in a film more than a cut above her previous jobs. “They All Laughed” starred Audrey Hepburn and Ben Gazzara, and was directed by Peter Bogdanovich.

 “I could hardly believe that she existed, that she wasn’t a dream,” Bogdanovich would later write in “The Killing of the Unicorn.”

They began a romance during filming in New York in the spring of 1980. By the time Stratten returned to Los Angeles, she was ready to close the chapter on her first marriage — and Snider already had another tall pretty blonde he was living with and grooming for stardom.

The estranged couple agreed to meet on Aug. 14, 1980. Stratten thought it was to work out the details of their split. But Snider had other plans.

The director, who was about twice her age, fell hard for Stratten, immediately.

Meanwhile, Snider was absolutely turning green with jealousy. He still believed he was responsible for Dorothy's success and that he should also be recognized. But Dorothy was ready to move on from Snider and everyone was encouraging her to do so. But being the nice girl-next-door she was, it was hard for Dorothy, After all, she had actually married Snider earlier just to get him off of her back. Nice logic.

In August in 1980, Dorothy decided to meet with Snider one last time, so she could end this thing for good. She agreed to meet Paul at his apartment where the couple had once lived together. Dorothy traveled all the way from New York, where she was in the middle of filming They All Laughed, directed by none other than Peter Bogdanovich.

The next day, Snider's flat-mates had not heard a peep from the love birds. Finally, a neighbor checked in on them.

What that neighbor saw was horrifying. Lying in a face down position on the bed was Dorothy Stratten's nude body, covered entirely in blood, including bloody handprints across her bottom. A sizable clump of hair had been torn from her head and was clenched in Snider's hand. Her left pinkie finger was detached and missing. Oh, and one more thing - so was her entire face.

Next to Dorothy's bloody corpse was what was left of Snider's body. He had a gunshot between the eyes (which had left quite a gaping hole) and one of his eyes was dangling out of the socket. Naturally, his body was also nude. Would you think more highly of the guy if it weren't?

Both Dorothy and Snider were covered in a swarm of ants.

“Death of a Playmate” was the headline on a story in one L.A. newspaper the next day. Stratten was found dead in the apartment she had shared with Snider, half her face blown away by a blast from a 12-gauge shotgun. Snider was nearby, dead from a self-inflicted wound. She had been raped, but it was impossible to say for sure whether the act came before or after death.

One interesting thing that couldn't be explained at first was some strange mechanical device in the bedroom. Home-made looking. The coroner's office could only surmise that it was some kind of kinky "love contraption," or sex bench. It was later discovered by authorities that Snider had converted a weight bench into a sex device and hoped to eventually market it to the porn industry. Naturally, that too was a failure.

Though not confirmed by the coroner's office, many knowledgeable experts on the Stratten case speculate that Snider killed Stratten in the bedroom, strapped her lifeless body to the bench, then proceeded to have sex with her corpse for the next half hour or so. Once done with her, he tossed her lifeless body onto the bed and killed himself.

Dorothy Stratten was dead at 20.

In a sick twist that could only come from Hollywood, Peter Bogdanovich would eventually marry Dorothy's younger sister, Louise. But they separated in 2001 and would eventually divorce.

There have been two movies made about the tragic life and death of Dorothy Stratten: Death of A Centerfold which starred Jamie Lee Curtis as Stratten; and Star 80 which featured Mariel Hemingway as Stratten and Eric Roberts as Snider. Star 80's climatic murder scene was shot in the actual apartment where the real murder/suicide took place. We recommend this latter film.

Otis Redding Death (1941-1967)

Otis Redding was born in Dawson, Georgia, approximately 100 miles south of Macon, on Sept. 9, 1941. His family moved into a Macon housing project when Redding was three. He began singing in the choir of the Vineville Baptist Church. Now home to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, Macon is arguably the vital center of soul. Little Richard, James Brown and Otis Redding – three men who shaped American blues music in from the 1950s to the 1970s and beyond — all launched their careers here. Strangely, although he consistently impacted the R&B charts beginning with the Top Ten appearance of “Mr. Pitiful” in 1965, and he is remembered for producing some of the toughest, sweetest, most enduring soul music ever created, none of Redding’s singles fared better than #21 on the pop Top Forty.

There’s one noteworthy aspect to Redding’s life not often touched upon: No one has anything unflattering to say about him. No scandals lurking in the closet, no unsavory incidents of rampant egotism to shatter his clean image, no shafting of his sidemen on long road jaunts. Just a sincerely talented soul man who enhanced the lives of everyone associated with him but died much too soon.

When he left his final recording session in Memphis, Otis Redding intended to return soon to the song he’d been working on—he still had to replace a whistled verse thrown in as a placeholder with additional lyrics that he’d yet to write. In the meantime, however, there was a television appearance to make in Cleveland, followed by a concert in Madison, Wisconsin. On its final approach to Madison on December 10 in 1967, however, the private plane carrying soul-music legend Otis Redding would crash into the frigid waters of a small lake three miles short of the runway, killing seven of the eight men aboard, including Redding. “Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay” would be released in its “unfinished” form several weeks later, with Redding’s whistled verse a seemingly indispensable part of the now-classic record. It would soon become history’s first posthumous #1 hit and the biggest pop hit of Redding’s career.

In the six months leading up to his death, Otis Redding had gone from one great success to another. In June, Aretha Franklin had taken a cover version of his song “Respect” all the way to #1 on the pop charts. Later that same month, the adulation of the young audience of rock fans at the Monterey International Pop Festival had transformed him into an icon of the blossoming counterculture thanks to his blistering, now-legendary live performance there. But if Otis Redding was only beginning to gain momentum within the largely white mainstream in 1967, he was already a giant in the world of soul music.

During a period in the mid-1960s when the Beatles and Motown ruled the pop charts, Otis Redding established himself as arguably the most exciting singer on the roster of Memphis-based Stax/Volt Records—itself arguably the most exciting soul and R&B label of the era. Singles like "I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” and “I Can’t Turn You Loose” (both 1965) were among Redding’s numerous top-20 hits on the R&B charts in that era, as were his soulful renditions of "(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1966) and “Try A Little Tenderness” (1967). It was the latter song, rendered in the impassioned style that was by then familiar to soul audiences, that brought down the house at Monterey just a few months before his death at the age of 26 on this day in 1967.

Soul singer Otis Redding had acquired his own plane to make touring less hectic, but the twin-engine Beechcraft H18 would prove his fatal undoing. At around 3:30 p.m. on a foggy Sunday afternoon, December 10, 1967, the plane, which encountered a storm en route from Cleveland to a concert in Madison, plunged into the frigid depths of Lake Monona. Redding, 26, and four members of his Bar-Kays band were killed. The musicians were headed to The Factory nightclub, scheduled to perform at 6:30 p.m.

The crash killed six others, everyone on board except for trumpeter Ben Cauley (bassist James Alexander had luckily avoided the flight altogether). On the cusp of achieving pop superstardom, Redding, best known for his hit, “(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay,” recorded just three days earlier and released after his death, was dead. The tune was Otis’ first posthumous release and his biggest-selling single ever, topping both the R&B and pop charts on its way to going gold. Engineers tastefully overdubbed the sound effects, the mournful cries of seagulls, the singer’s lonesome whistling, after Otis’ death.

About 4,500 mourners, including a dazzling array of soul giants such as James Brown, Solomon Burke, and Wilson Pickett, crowded Macon’s City Auditorium for Redding’s funeral, a week later.

On December 3, 1997, thirty years later, hundreds of people showed up to the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center to Georgia-born soul singer and songwriter. They’d never met the man, but they loved his music, and came to express their appreciation of the full impact of Otis Redding as a soul pioneer who inexorably altered the rhythm & blues landscape – and, ultimate, all of pop music- with his gritty, lustrous vocal, sexy, slinky lyrics and unforgettable songs.

Cauley, who hadn’t visited Madison since the crash, received a standing ovation. He told his audience how he’d awakened early that Sunday four decades ago and headed to the Cleveland airport for the trip to Madison. That day, he said, Redding told him he’d just finishing recording the supremely meditative “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.” A few hours later, Cauley was flung out of the plane on impact. As he floated in the icy waters of Lake Monona, clinging to a cushion, he watched the rest of the plane’s passengers — including the man he once described as “…a groovy cat, like an older brother” — drowned.

When his short speech was finished, Cauley sang some of the songs that might have been on the bill at The Factory, including a trumpet-laced version of Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.”

Silk Smitha - The mystery of India’s biggest sex symbol

The sheer mention of this name increased the heart rate in thousands of men, and envy and disgust to thousands of women in the darkest era of Indian cinema, the over-the-top and sleazy 80’s. And to this day, her sultry personality, her mesmerizing eyes and her irreverently sexy aura hasn’t left our memories even 18 years after her mysterious death in 1996. Such was her legacy that it even spawned Vidya Balan’s most successful movie till date, The Dirty Picture and numerous adaptations in regional cinema.

Some loved her, some hated her, and some loved to hate her. But she will never be forgotten.

When we look back on ‘Silk’ Smitha’s short yet fiery roller-coaster of a life, from being a gutsy young girl in a remote village in Andhra Pradesh to becoming the biggest sex symbol this country has ever seen.

Before ‘Silk’, Early life:

She was born in 1960, to a couple of poor parents in the non-descript village of Somavarappadu, Andhra Pradesh as ‘Vijayalakshmi’.

‘Letting go’ was not a strange concept to her

Due to her family’s financial constraints, she left school after the fourth grade. Not too much later, her parents married her off at a considerably young age. And when her husband and in-laws started ill-treating her, she fled to Madras to live with an aunt, and pursue her dreams.

From Vijayalakshmi to Smitha

Before the ban on female make-up artists, Vijayalakshmi started out as one herself for a D-grade artist. It was at this time when director Vinu Chakravarthy was awestruck by her raw beauty, and saw potential in her. He took her under his wing, got his wife to teach her English and even arranged dancing lessons for her. Vinu felt that she needed a new name, a new identity. On a late summer afternoon, Vijayalakshmi became ‘Smitha’.

And from Smitha to ‘Silk’ Smitha

Her first major role came in the form of a bar dancer in Vandichakkaram(1979). In the film, the regular drunks at the bar called her Silukku, which roughly translates to ‘oomph’ in Tamil, much to her character’s disdain. Little did she know, ‘Silukku’ would become ‘Silk’, a name that the world would have on its lips for a long time to come.

She brought back the dead, and buried the dying

In a brief period, Silk had become the queen of erotica, with her item numbers and ‘special’ performances set the screens on fire, the audience hungry for more and the cash registers running. It’s believed that shelved films that were lying in the cans for years were brought back from the dead, with a simple addition of a Silk Smitha song. On the other hand, she also inadvertently destroyed the careers of many a starlet who were on their way to oblivion anyway.

She was a sex siren, nonetheless, but she shut her critics up every now and then

Many bigwigs in the industry, even after exploiting her for their own success, panned her for being a sellout and that she wouldn’t last long. And while never refused the glamorous roles offered to her for the sake of a few producers and directors, she stuck it back to her critics with nuanced performances like in Alaigal Oivathillai and Moondram Pirai. She always wanted to be a character actor, and working with her favourite directors Bharathiraja and Balu Mahendra gave her those rare chances to expand her horizons.

She was highly misunderstood by most people

Like how our society is even today, Silk was often met with preconceived notions and was written off by many dailies and magazines of those days as a rude, disrespectful and curt. In reality, the people who really knew her loved her for her surprisingly plain, generous and honest personality. One incident that got her a lot of bad press was her refusal to perform at MS Viswanathan’s party in Singapore, following which MSV and his family abandoned her there and left for India. Her firmly-rooted principles were often misjudged, and got her into trouble every now and then.

She knew that she would never last as a glamorous heroine

After having done around 200 films, she still believed that her image would not last forever. To find her true calling, she turned a film producer in the mid-90’s and set out to invest everything into her new ambition.

Her sudden death shocked many, and haunts a few to this very day

On September 23, 1996, Kannada actor Ravichandran, a close friend of Silk, was busy shooting and found out that she had frantically tried to reach him. He tried to speak to her, but the call never got through due to poor connectivity. But he sensed that evening that she might have been wanting to tell him about something that troubled her.

The very next day, Ravichandran along with the rest of the world was shocked to hear that Silk had taken her own life. Though no one knows for sure, Silk was going through many problems which might have caused this decision: financial issues, disillusionment in love and severe depression. Like a burning star, Silk was all of just 35 years of age when she left us.

Rose Siggins 43 dies with Sacral Agenesis Disorder

'American Horror Story' Star Rose Siggins 43 died saturday morning on 12 December 2015 in Denver, Hospital. 

She had gone in for a kidney stone surgery on Monday and never came out of the hospital alive. Rose had contracted an infection, which spread through her body and ultimately became fatal. Rose was born with a rare genetic disorder called sacral agenesis and we're told she suffered from kidney and pancreas issues her whole life.

She was born with a rare genetic disorder known as sacral agenesis in which her legs were deformed and the feet pointing in opposite directions. The condition causes abnormal fetal development of the lower spine.

Siggins' legs were amputated.

She had gone on to have a normal childhood, get married and have two children: a son, Luke, and a daughter, Shelby Cecilia.

 A Gofundme page has been setup to cover final expenses and the continuing support of her children.

Silk Smitha (2 December 1960 – 23 September 1996)

Silk Smitha, the sultry actress and B-grade movie queen from South India, has a rags to riches story. Silk Smitha’s real name was Vijayalakshmi, she was born on December 2, 1960. Her active period where she flourished as an item girl and seductress was between 1979 and 1996.

Silk Smitha also known as Silk Sumitha, was born in a poor family, in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh. Due to financial problems in the family, she had to drop out of school in fourths standard itself. She blossomed to grow as a sultry looking girl and she was constantly propositioned and physically ‘exploited’ by men, which is why Vijayalakshmi’s parents married her off at a very young age. However, the ill-treatment from her husband and in-laws made Silk Smitha leave her husband’s home and move over to Madras where she lived with her aunt.

Silk began her career as a touch-up girl to B-grade actresses in B-grade films and then got break in small character roles. Vinu Chakravathy, a director chanced up her in a flour-mill and found that she had potential for bigger things. He renamed Vijayalakshmi as ‘Silk’; his wife taught her English. The girl proved to be a fast learner and she even took dancing lessons from another teacher.

In 1979, Silk Smitha got a role in a Malayalam film called ‘Inaye Thedi’; her sex appeal found her a lot of takers who wanted to star as a cabaret dancer or vamp in their films. Soon, she began to get typecast in these films. In the same year in 1979, Silk got her major role in a Tamil film called ‘Vandi Chakkaram’ and the movie was a superhit. The character that she played was also called ‘Silk’, so Vijayalakshmi as she was known to everyone, changed her name forever to ‘Silk Smitha’. But her sensous appeal and dusky skin gave her only movies where she was to play the seductress, the vamp or the cabaret dancer, limting her choice in roles.

Silk Smitha began to drop her clothes to get more attention and attention she did get, as she became most men’s secret fantasy in the 80s as she flourished rapidly in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam cinema. Her dance numbers and bold sequences had men eating out of her palms, so much that they would buy tickets only to watch Silk Smitha. She was indeed a hot property who would outshine the heroine too. Silk Smitha truly was the first red-hot item girl, but then critics dismissed her as a cheap actress. Most of her subsequent movies had the softcore appeal while in some she would be a cheap version of a desi-Bond girl wearing bikinis and strutting her stuff .

Silk Smitha’s signature rolling of tongue, biting of her lower lip, looking at her lover in a trance-like manner through hazy, sultry eyes and her voluptuous figure had the junta rushing to the movies with a pretext of watching the film, while the real reason was to check her out. Silk Smitha would charge as much as Rs. 50000 per dance sequence and she would do two or even three sequences in a day. There was even a movie called Silk, Silk , Silk where Silk Smitha played a triple role. In less than 10 years of her entry, Silk Smitha had done 500 films which included A, B and C grade films.

But there was much more to Silk Smitha beyond her sex appeal, she was an accomplished actress too. Some of the best performances of Silk Smitha are in movies like Alaigal Oivathillai (1981) where she played the role of a neglected wife who is hurt by her husband’s infidelity. Writer Jerry Pinto says, “Watch Silk Smitha’s sequences and you will find a sense of lingering sorrow. It’s almost as if there were two Silk Smithas there: One watching her own self dance, detached and dispassionate about being put through these calisthenics.”,

Layanam (1989) is one of the most famous adult films in India and it starred Silk Smitha in her sizzling best. The movie was dubbed in many languages across the country including in Hindi as Reshma ki Jawani (2002). Most people know about Silk Smitha’s sensuous yet brilliant performance as a woman who has a huge crush on Kamal Hassan in Balu Mahendra’s Moondram Pirai, which was remade as Sadma. Silk Smitha had fulfilled her dream of working with A-grade stars, she had brushed with the best of male stars in her time, Shivaji Ganeshan, Rajnikanth, Kamal Hassan, Chiranjeevi and Mithun Chakraborthy.

Silk Smitha had a string of lovers and some of them were producers, directors and even A-grade actors who were besotted by her. Director Velu Prabhakaran confessed that he had an intimate relationship with Silk Smitha and had cheated on his girlfriend for her. Director Vinu Chakravarthy who was already married, had a secret relationship with Silk Smitha as well

Silk Smitha Death

Silk Smitha was found dead in her Chennai apartment, having committed suicide. The cause of her death is not known, it may have been her disillusionment of

Silk Smitha’s popularity began to wane by mid 90s. She had a live-in boyfriend who had promised to start her luxury life from scratch and lured her into producing films. If reports are to be believed, Silk Smitha’s two movies that she had produced flopped and she was in debt for Rs. 20 million while the third one was stuck due to loss of funds.

Silk Smitha could not reconcile to the fact that she was back to her impoverished day that she never wanted to go to, after she had reveled in luxury. She did get the odd film over, the last one beign a movie called Subaash, a Tamil film, that released two days before her death.

The police directed examining doctors to send a part of Silk Smitha’s body parts to forensic scientists to find out if there were traces of poison in her body, she might have been poisoned before hanging her by the fan; they felt. A post-mortem report on Silk Smitha revealed a large amount of bananas and chocolates in her stomach.

On September 23,1996, Smitha was found dead in her Chennai apartment, Saligramam, hanging by a rope from the ceiling fan of her bedroom. She had tried to turn int a film producer but financial problems, a disillusionment in an unrequited love and an alcohol dependency apparently led to depression. It is suspected that Smitha committed suicide by poisoning herself. She had left a suicide note in which she had written that she was frustrated with repeated failures in her life and so she was taking the extreme step.

Vinod Mehra (13 February, 1945 to 30 October, 1990)

Vinod Mehra born on 13th February 1945, at Lahore Pakistan, was an Indian actor, producer and director.

Vinod Mehra started his acting career as a child artist in the 50s and 60s. Mehra made his debut as a child artist in the 1958 film Raagni, playing the younger version of the character played by Kishore Kumar+. After playing a few more minor roles as a child, he started his film career as an adult in 1971 with ''Ek Thi Rita'', a smash hit based on the English play, 'A Girl Called Rita', along with Tanuja. He was one of finalists in the 1965 All India Talent Contest organised by United Producers and Filmfare from more than ten thousand contestants. He lost the contest to Rajesh Khanna and became male runner up of the contest. He made his debut as a leading hero in the hit film- Ek Thi Reeta  with Tanuja in the year 1975. He has acted in more than 100 films playing roles of hero, brother, father, friend, and lover. He was a fairly successful hero at the box office. He teamed up with leading stars such as Amitabh bachchan, Dharmendra and other super stars in many films and was known as a gentleman actor.

His first film as an adult was Ek Thi Rita (1971) which was a hit. This was followed by the film ''Parday Ke Peechhay'' opposite debutant Yogeeta Bali followed by ''Elaan+'' (with Rekha), ''Amar Prem'' (1972) and ''Lal Patthar'', though it was only Shakti Samanta's ''Anuraag'' (1972) with Maushmi Chatterjee, which established him as an actor. He went on to appear in over 100 films in his career spanning over two decades. He played the lead role in some of his earlier films but often acted in many multi-starrers as the secondary lead or played supporting roles such as a brother, friend, uncle, father and police officer. He worked with many actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, Sunil Dutt and Dharmendra. His frequent female co-stars included Rekha, Maushmi Chatterjee, Yogeeta Bali, Shabana Azmi and Bindiya Goswami.

Some of his prominent films were ''Nagin'', ''Jaani Dushman'', ''Ghar'', ''Swarg Narak'', ''Kartavya'', ''Saajan Bina Suhagan'', ''Jurmana'', ''Ek Hi Raasta'', ''Ye Kaisa Insaaf'' ''Sweekar Kiya Maine'' and ''Khud-Daar''. He received Filmfare Nominations as Best Supporting Actor for ''Anurodh'' (1977), ''Amar Deep'' (1979), and ''Bemisal'' (1982). He also played the leading role in a Punjabi film ''Maujaan Dubai Diyaan'' in 1985.

He turned producer and director with the film ''Gurudev'' in the late 1980s, with Sridevi, Rishi Kapoor and Anil Kapoor in the lead but the film was incomplete at the time of his death. Many of his delayed films were released after his death and dedicated to his memory such as ''Patthar Ke Phool+'' (1991 film), ''Insaniyat+'' (1994) and ''Aurat Aurat Aurat'' (1996). It was completed by director Raj Sippy and released 3 years after his death. Many of his delayed films were released after his death and dedicated to his memory such as Patthar Ke Phool (1991 film), Insaniyat (1994) and Aurat Aurat Aurat (1996).

Vinod Mehra was married to Meena Broca but the marriage broke and he later tied the knot with Bindiya Goswami. However this marriage too hit the rock and once more he was divorced. He took the plunge once more when cupid struck and he married Kiran who remained his legal wife till the time of his death. There were also speculations that he was married to the stunning diva Rekha.

He acted in some hits like- Lal Patthar, Amar Prem, Ghar, Kunwara Baap, Sabse Bada Rupaiya, Anurodh, Pyar Ki Jeet, Arjun Pandit, Ginny Aur Johnny, Zindagi, Insaniyat, and many other films. Vinod Mehra was a man of great poise and charm. A inherently introvert, he was known to be a man of few words. However his charm and acting acumen was truly appreciated.He died of a massive heart attack at the young age of 45, on 30th October, 1990 at Mumbai.

Guru Dutt (9 July, 1925 to 10 October, 1964)

He was born as Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone in Bangalore on July 9, 1925. His birth name was Vasanth Kumar Shivsankar Padukone. Guru Dutt did his schooling at Kolkata, where his father was an administrative clerk in Burmah Shell Company. Due to financial restraints, instead of going to college, Guru Dutt had joined the performing arts troupe of Uday Shankar who is elder brother of renowned Sitar Maestro Ravi Shankar. Guru Dutt joined the Uday Shankar India Culture Centre at Almora, Uttaranchal on a five year scholarship of Rs. 75 annually. After completing his studies at Almora Dutt moved to Mumbai where his uncle arranged a job under three year contract with Prabhat Film Company in Pune. Guru Dutt met two great actors Rehman and Dev Anand in Prabhat Film Company and they developed good friendship.

Guru Dutt made his debut in films with a small role as Sri Krishna in the film "Chand". Then he acted as well as assisted director Vishram Bedekar in the movie "Lakhrani". Prabhat Film Company collapsed in 1947 and Guru Dutt moved to Mumbai. In Mumbai Guru Dutt worked with two leading directors of that time- Amiya Chakravarthy and Gyan Mukherjee. Thereafter Dev Anand offered him a job as director in his new production company, Navketan. As director at Navketan his first film was "Baazi". Guru Dutt used close-up shots with 100mm lens camera in the film "Baazi", which later became famous as 'Guru Dutt Shots' in the Indian cinema. The film "Baazi" was an immediate success. Guru Dutt gave many super hit films as director as well as actor. Some of them were "Aar Paar", "Mr. & Mrs. 55", "Pyasa", "C I D", "Sailab", "Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam" and "Chaudhvin Ka Chand'. Guru Dutt took his last breath on 10th October, 1964, in his rented apartment at Pedder Road in Mumbai.He had his early education in Calcutta and later on had gone under basic training with dance maestro Uday Shankar for 5 years after which he joined Prabhat Studios in Pune. Before becoming a part of Indian Cinema, Guru Dutt had short stints with careers in choreography, telephone operator position and English writer.

It was here that he got a break as a choreographer with the film Hum Ek Hain (1946), the launch pad of friend and actor Dev Anand. There he worked as an assistant direct till he was given a break as director under Dev Anand's banner Navketan. At the age of 26 years he made his directorial debut film 'Baazi', which was a blockbuster movie. Soon after his successful debut all his directed films started becoming super hits. Film 'Jaal' in 1952, 'Baazi' in 1953, 'Aar-Paar' in 1954, 'Mr & Mrs 55' in 1955 were blockbusters in a row. After so many super hits people started considering him as a Midas director. He is credited with introducing Zohra Sehgal, Johny Walker and Wahida Rehman to the Indian cinema.

During this time Guru Dutt fell in love with singer Geeta Roy, with whom he met during the song recording of a song for film 'Baazi'. The two married in May 1953.

Guru Dutt and Geeta Dutt formed a perfect team. He knew exactly how to use her voice and he used it in ways, so that her inane generosity of spirit spilled over on the soundtrack in stunning romantic declarations. 'Hoon abhi main jawan', 'Jaa jaa jaa bewafa', 'Babu ji dheere chalna' and 'Yeh lo main haari piya' in Aar Paar (1954) were like prolonged outburst of harmonious sensations. Guru Dutt and Geeta Dutt were supremely talented and both were touching new heights of success with every release. Guru Dutt received great recognition in the countries of France, Japan and Germany, where his films are re-released to full houses.

Having so much success in career and love in personal life, Guru Dutt started his own production company in 1956. For his first film as a producer 'CID' he signed his friend Dev Anand. And also launched a new heroine Waheeda Rehman. 'CID' released and became successful. Its success changed his personal life too, as during its shooting Guru Dutt and Waheeda became close friends. Media highlighted their friendship more then film's success. Soon after 'CID' Guru Dutt signed Waheeda Rehman again for his another film ‘Pyaasa’. Rumors of his affairs with his new leading lady started surfacing, which left Geeta Dutt in shock. In 1957 ‘Pyaasa’ got released and it is said that at this point she got involved in an unsuccessful love affair with the tragedy king Guru Dutt. Finally situations between Guru Dutt and his wife worsened. Unfortunately, his married life was not happy and she finally left him. According to his brother Atmaram, Guru Dutt was "a strict disciplinarian as far as work was concerned, but totally undisciplined in his personal life". He smoked heavily, he drank heavily, and he kept odd hours. Guru Dutt's relationship with actress Waheeda Rehman also worked against their marriage. At the time of his death, he had separated from Geeta and was living alone.

This was the time when Guru Dutt’s fall started. Both his personal life and career was going through a bad phase. He was continuously been criticised for the type of films he was making. Not only this, slowly slowly Waheeda Rehman also distanced herself form Guru Dutt and their famous relationship started waning and ended. In his later films, whether its ‘Pyaasa’ or ‘Kaagaz ke Phool’, we can see the intensity and seriousness, which can be said was the result of his bitter experiences in personal life.

‘Pyaasa’ is said to be the master piece of Guru Dutt. It was the film which made him the real ‘GURU’ of the film industry. Not only in India but in France also ‘Pyaasa’ was the super hit.

After Pyaasa’s success Guru Dutt’s next was ‘Kaagaz ke Phool’, which was India’s first cinemascope film too. But this film failed at box office and critics rejected it saying pessimistic and self-indulgent movie. A dejected Guru Dutt never directed a film thereafter. Technically the film is perhaps his best. But he continued to produce films and act in both home and outside productions. ‘Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam’ (1962), a box office flop, is still regarded as one of Guru Dutt's most and artistic films.He also has his influence on his last box office success ‘Chaudhvin Ka Chand’. In 1964 he acted in his last film ‘Saanjh Aur Savera’ opposite Meena Kumari.

Guru Dutt also brought in some major technical revolutions in the grammar of the mainstream Hindi filmmaking, like, integrating film's songs into story and make story move forward through song itself. He used the effect of light and shade to create poetry and romance. His legacy is unmistakable and accepted by many leading directors of the day.

People remember Guru Dutt for the perfectionist and disciplinarian he was professionally. Unfortunately, his personal life was a total opposite of his professional life. He smoked heavily, he drank heavily, and he kept odd hours, which finally took its toll on his relationships and life itself.

Guru Dutt and their understanding of the cinematic artist of course were great, but in our country at an early age the young man's tragic death was the cause of his fame, not his unbeatable talent.

Just a day before he passed away and he seemed fit and fine. Regular shooting of his Baharein Phir Bhi Aayegi was on. Flustered by the sudden cancellation by one of the lead cast, Guru Dutt changed plans for next day. We went shopping in his car to Colaba and he bought garments for me and for his two sons Tarun and Arun. he reached his flat at Pedder Road around 6.30 pm where he resided minus his family. It was his ardent wish that his children should be with him every weekend. Adamant, Guru Dutt then had a long telephonic chat with singer-wife Geeta, but she refused to send the kids, as it was late at night. Which disheartened him. That's when dialogue-writer Abrar Alvi joined him for a creative brainstorming over booze and he asked his brother Devi, who was with him to leave them alone. It was next day on October 10, 1964 he died at a young age of 39 due to overdose of sleeping pills and alcohol – a deadly mix and committed suicide, though doubts still linger as if his death was accidental. Unfortunately, his wife Geeta Dutt herself died aged 41, due to excessive drinking which resulted in her liver damage. The last person to speak to Guru Dutt was Asha Bhonsle, who he had called up asking about his wife.

Filmography

Guru Dutt was one of the best filmmakers of Indian cinema, and is often remembered as a man born ahead of his time. He made his debut from the movie 'Chand'. 'Kaagaz Ke Phool', a film rejected by Indian audience has now been included among 160 greatest films of all time. Pyaasa is the other film listed by Time magazine’s “All-TIME” 100 best movies and the Sight &Sound Critics and Directors Pol. These two films have a cult following among contemporary cinema goers.Guru Dutt left many unfinished projects with his death. He would scrap a movie and re-plan it all over again whenever he was not satisfied with the way it was moving ahead. Baharein Phir Bhi Aayenghi, Picnic and Love and God were few among them.


Aar Paar (1954) was one of Dutt's commercial ventures, themed as a noir-comedy, about a street-smart cab driver romancing two women. A whole tramp-with-a-golden-heart concept was a hit with the audience and made the movie a very important one in Dutt's career. Pyaasa (1957)is rated as one of the best romantic tragedies of all times. None of the film pundits could predict the success of Pyaasa, which is ranked among the best films of Indian Cinema. The original casts decided by Guru Dutt were Dilip Kumar, Nargis and Madhubala in the lead roles, but these stars were not sure about the abilities of Guru Dutt and hence backed off. Finally he cast himself in the lead role, while Waheeda Rehman and Mala Sinha played the lady leads in the film. After opening to poor collection, the film gained popularity and momentum in the 8th week. This is the movie that gave the audience goose bumps with the song Ye Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaaye To Kya, where a bearded, beaten-down Dutt arrives at his own memorial service and denounces the world. This movie is rated as one of the best romantic tragedies of all times in India. Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) was a box office disaster when it released in 1959. This movie was a box office disaster when it released in 1959. It was only in the 80s that it got its due credit and got labelled a cult classic. Also, this film has a bit of an eerie resemblance to Dutt's real life; famous filmmaker, affair with an actor, driven to alcoholism, and then the tragic death. But we like to remember it for its heartbreaking story.

Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960) was a highly commercially successful film. A love triangle among two best friends and a pretty woman; a story line done to death. But Dutt pulled it off with a brilliance like none other, making Chaudhvin Ka Chand a commercially successful film in his career. Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam (1962) was an adaptation of Bimal Mitra's Bengali novel Shaheb Bibi Golam. Based on Bimal Mitra's Bengali novel Shaheb Bibi Golam, it is the story of a feudal lord, his lonely wife, and their lower-class servant. The movie swivels beautifully around the relationship between the three, ending on a happy note

His other achievement include Picnic, Sanjh Aur Savera, Suhagan, Bahurani, Bharosa, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Sautela Bhai, Chaudhvin Ka Chand, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Pyaasa, Mr. & Mrs. '55, Aar Paar, Suhagan, Baaz, Hum Ek Hain and Baazi. He was awarded 'Filmfare Best Film Award' for "Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam".

Guru Dutt, an unparalleled genius showman Indian Cinema has ever come across, was an enigma in his life and death. He showed exceptional movie making skills which combined, lyrical, artistic and conventional values in such a way that his movies touched both the masses and the critics in the same way at the same time. Guru Dutt is among the top 25 Asian Actors of all time rated by CNN. He also is included among the greatest film directors of all time by Sight & Sound. Many refer to him as Orson Welles of Indian Cinema. His characters were intense, brooding and desperate romantics and also socially conscious who wanted to see a change in the society. Unfortunately, this talented showman did not live his life to the full term, depriving Indian Cinema more of his commendable movies.