10 Celebrities Who Died Right In Front Of Their Fans
By
Sumaika Ghani in
Entertainment
On 9th August 2016
The hardest thing to write about is death. It is hard not to let it get to you, and to readers we are sure that it can be hard to read about it as well. Regardless, the topic still fascinates us. It’s interesting that no matter how much death occurs in the world on a daily basis, it is usually a celebrity death that affects people the most. That celebrity could be local, national or international. It does not matter. We may read about genocide in some far off country, but until the television brings back images and stories of the individuals that died, many of us turn a blind eye. People seem to sympathize with celebrities, as they become attached to them, especially the celebrity’s loyal fans who might feel a stronger bond with them.
When the death is unexpected and comes too soon it becomes much harder. Many people say that a good death is one in which the person passes away doing what they loved the most. Logically it might not make a big difference to the person who died suddenly, but perhaps this is a comforting thought to the survivors. In the case of the deaths listed here, it might also be a comforting thought to the fans in attendance who witnessed the tragedy. Every death here was unexpected, a freak accident, or something that no one believed could happen. Each one occurred live in front of an audience, not in a rehearsal and not in a closed environment when a show was being recorded. Keep in mind that not every celebrity on this list is huge, many are local, but each celebrity listed had loyal fans who loved them when they were witnessing the tragedy.
#1. Yoshiyuki Takada
Japan's Sankai Juku dance company had garnered an international reputation for its stunning images of life and death. At the summer Olympics the previous year held in Los Angeles, the troupe had one of the most memorable displays with an outdoor presentation that suspended four dancers like spiders, headfirst, very high from the ground from a local pavilion. They instantly became a sensation touring everywhere in North America.
One can only cheat death so often and on September 30, 1985, tragedy finally struck. Yoshiyuki Takada, the 31 year old dancer, was hanging from his ankles, 80 feet from the ground from atop Seattle's Mutual Life Building when the rope parted. A thousand onlookers watched, perhaps hoping that a last minute restraint would stop the fall. The dancer never looked frightened holding a perfect tuck position until impact, perhaps not realizing himself what had happened. Initially people thought it was a mannequin but of course, the death was real.
#2 Ken Steadman
On September 20, 1996, after 6 or 7 years of incredibly hard work at developing his skills as an actor, Ken Steadman was on top of the world and his efforts were finally paying off. He had become a successful actor. He had done several movies, had received various parts on television shows like NYPD Blue, Malone's, Baywatch, and Babylon 5. His latest success was landing a guest star role on the TV series, "Sliders". Then in one instant his whole world ended and he died tragically in an accident while on location filming the Sliders episode called "Desert Storm".
Ken's role involved driving a dune buggy in the desert near Victorville. The actors and film crew were in their third day of filming and they were setting up for another action shot. While Ken was transporting the dune buggy between scenes that morning , the vehicle overturned and he was crushed, killing him instantly.
#3 Les Harvey
Les Harvey, guitarist for '70s blues-rock band Stone the Crows, died onstage in front of 1,000 fans on May 3, 1972 when he was electrocuted while tuning up for a show in Swansea, Wales.
The group, managed by Led Zeppelin's legendary Peter Grant and fresh off 1971's ‘Teenage Kicks' album, were just in the process of climbing the rock ladder when this tragic death reportedly caused by a poorly grounded microphone ended Harvey's life at the age of 27. The group broke up a short time later.
#4. Brandon Lee
31, March 1993. Brandon Lee, son of martial artist Bruce Lee, died while filming the movie The Crow. A prop gun had been squib loaded, causing the blank cartridge to propel the bullet into Lee and kill him. Contrary to urban legend, the footage of his death was not kept in the movie. Instead, they re-shot the scene using a different actor, whose death in the film was by a throwing knife.
#5. Owen Hart
On May 23rd, 1999, Owen Hart fell to his death from the rafters of the Kemper Arena right before his match at the Over The Edge pay-per-view. Hart was scheduled to repel down for a spectacular entrance however something terribly wrong occurred which led Owen to fall from the secure rope from an estimated height of 70 feet. TV viewers did not see the accident as a promo video was being aired at the time. Owen Hart, 33, is survived by his wife Martha, and his 2 small kids. He also left behind brothers and sisters, his parents, and a lot of close friends, who were his family while on the road with the Federation.
#6. Ty Longley
Ty Longley was the guitar player and vocalist for Great White when he was killed as part of The Station Nightclub fire on February 20, 2003. At the time, it was the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in American history, killing 100 people.
The fire was caused by pyrotechnics set off by the tour manager of Great White, which ignited flammable sound insulation foam in the walls and ceilings surrounding the stage.
#7. Mitsuhara Misawa
This is more proof that wrestling can be dangerous, which is why these athletes require a lot of practice before any move is staged live. Mitsuhara Misawa was not as well known in the western world but he was considered by many to be the greatest wrestler in the 90s. Hence a shock wave resonated everywhere, when at the age of 46, Mitsuhara Misawa died in the ring from a cervical spine injury while receiving a suplex from his opponent, Saito. Unlike Owen Hart, this was not some out of this world fancy move gone wrong. This move is performed hundreds of times around the world on a daily basis.
Misawa was teaming with Go Shiozaki against Saito and Bison Smith, on a live Pro Wrestling NOAH match in Hiroshima, Japan, when it happened. Unlike what the WWE did with Owen Hart, authorities immediately stopped the show at 8:45 pm while the wrestler was receiving CPR. The superstar had recently experienced back problems but never went to a doctor in order to see what was going on.
#8. "Dimebag” Darrell Abbott
Darrell Lance Abbott (August 20, 1966 December 8, 2004), also known as Diamond Darrell and Dimebag Darrell, was an American guitarist and songwriter best known as a founding member of two bands, Pantera and Damageplan, alongside his brother, Vinnie Paul. He was considered to be one of the driving forces behind groove metal.
Abbott was shot and killed by a gunman while on stage during a performance with Damageplan on December 8, 2004, at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio. He ranked No. 92 in Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Guitarists and No. 1 in the UK magazine, Metal Hammer.
#9. Sarah Guyard Guillot
Veteran acrobat and mother-of-two Sarah Guyard-Guillot, 31, fell to her death 94 feet feet from a vertical stage during the conclusion of the show, marking the first onstage fatality in Cirque du Soleil's 29-year-history.
'She ascended too quickly which caused the rope to come out of the sheave/pulley', said Teri Williams, spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Business and Industry.
#10. Christina Grimmie
Christina Grimmie, who came in third place in the NBC competition series' sixth season, died on June 11th, 2016 after being shot by a male suspect after her concert in Orlando, Fla. She was just 22 years old.
Though Josh Kaufman was crowned the winner of her season, Christina was a standout, with many predicting she would take home the win for her coach, Adam Levine.
Instead of escaping, the murderer shot and killed himself. The killer's friend confessed to police that Kevin was an obsessed fan who believed that he was meant to be together with the singer, and he had a plan that just might do the trick. Of course, no one knew what that plan was.
