Celebrities Who Overdosed On Drugs

By Editorial Staff in Entertainment On 17th December 2016
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#1 Chris Farley

SNL comedian and actor Chris Farley died in his Chicago apartment at the age of 33 in 1997. The cause of his death was a toxic mixture of heroin, morphine, and cocaine. He had partied the night before with a prostitute who just walked out after he passed out on the floor. He was found by a brother 9 hours later.

#2 River Phoenix

With a promising career ahead of him and numerous acclaimed roles already under his belt, River was just 23 when he passed away. He was set to perform with his friend, Flea, of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1993 at Hollywood's Viper Room nightclub when he snorted an overdose of cocaine and heroin in the bathroom. He collapsed on the sidewalk outside the club and after his brother Joaquin called 911 and sister Rain couldn't revive him, he died of drug-induced heart failure. The coroner's report stated that the cocaine was laced with toilet bowl cleaner and formaldehyde.

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#3 Micheal Jackson

The 'King of Pop' was found dead in his bed at the age of 50 in 2009. He died from a lethal dose of Acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication. His physician was later accused of his murder for prescribing the medications and injecting him with the lethal dose of propofol.

#4 Prince

Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose, the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office reported. The 57-year-old musician joins a lengthy list of celebrities who have died as a result of substance addiction. He is best known for his amazing musical talent, songwriting, and records like "Purple Rain," Raspberry Berret" and "Little red Corvette." Several bottles labels as hydrocodone were actually filled with fentanyl which friends say he took for pain. His death report states he was dying with AIDS.

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#5 Jim Morrison

At just 27 years old, the lead singer of the group The Doors, Jim Morrison, died from an overdose of heroin in 1971. The singer was found to have had at least four other drugs in his system withing 48 hours of his lethal heroin injection.

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#6 Whitney Houston

The Academy Award winner and Grammy winner shocked fans when she died from an overdose at the age of 49. A high dose of cocaine and alcohol led to her passing out and drowning in her Beverly Hills hotel room on February 11, 2012.

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#7 Marilyn Monroe

Still regarded as a 'suspicious' death, the legendary actress and Hollywood icon was found dead in her own bed on August 5, 1962, at her Los Angeles home. The cause of death was ruled an overdose from barbituates. There were differing opinions on the cause of death, prompting many conspiracy theories over the years.

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#8 Amy Winehouse

At the young age of just 27, the bluesy rocker from England was at the height of her career when she died from alcohol poisoning in her London condominium.

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#9 Judy Garland

Everybody loved Judy, and her role in The Wizard Of Oz will always be remembered. The superstar singer, dancer, and actress was found dead at age 47 by her fifth husband in the bathroom of their rented house in London in 1969. The coroner determined the cause of death was an unintentional overdose of barbiturates mixed with a high blood content of alcohol.

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#10 Corey Haim

He was a teen pin-up and promising young actor with a haunted past. The former child star was just 38 in 2010 when his mom called 911 to have him rushed to the hospital after he'd collapsed at their home in Burbank, CA. He was pronounced dead at the hospital and it was ruled an accidental overdose. Later, it was reported that Corey had used aliases to obtain prescription drugs in the month prior to his death. Corey Feldman, his co-star and best friend recently reported how the actor was "passed around" as a sex toy in the Hollywood circles and often given booze and drugs.

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#11 Dana Plato

Another tragic death of a once popular teen star. Dana played on the 80s sitcom Different Strokes and also on The Facts Of Life. She and her fiancé Robert Mechaca stopped to visit his mom in Oklahoma on Mother's Day in 1999. Dana overdosed on the painkiller Lortab along with Soma in her RV parked outside the Mechaca's mom's house. The sad passing occurred almost 11 years to the day Dana's son, Tyler, had killed himself with a gunshot to the head.

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#12 Philip Seymour Hoffman

The Oscar winner was found dead by a friend in February of 2014. The acclaimed actor was 46 years old when he overdosed on a mixture of cocaine, heroin, and amphetamines.

#13 Janis Joplin

She was just 27 when she was found dead in 1970, at the height of her musical career. The legendary "Me and Bobby McGee" singer's manager found her dead at her house in Hollywood. She died of an overdose of heroin and was wedged against a bedside table with a cigarette in her hand. Reports claim she had drank a full bottle of vodka as well and several marijuana 'joints' were located throughout her bedroom and home.

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#14 Anna Nicole Smith

Friends of the Playboy model and reality TV star tried to revive the 39-year-old with CPR when they found her unresponsive at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FLA. But they had no luck and Anna was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. Her death was ruled to be from combined drug intoxication, with the sleep drug chloral hydrate the major cause.

#15 John Belushi

The Animal House comedian was found dead in his room at the Chateau Marmont hotel in 1982 of a speedballa combined injection of cocaine and heroin. After his companion Cathy Evelyn Smith admitted to giving Belushi the fatal drug shot in an interview, she eventually pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and served 15 months in prison.

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#16 Corey Monteith

The Glee star and promising actor was just 31 when he was found dead in his Vancouver hotel room after taking a lethal cocktail of heroin and booze. Hotel video and electronic records indicated he returned to his room by himself in the early hours after a night out. Investigators ruled his death a suicide.

#17 Billie Holiday

The jazz singer, best known for standards like "Stormy Weather," and "Summertime," struggled with heroin and alcohol abuse during his career, including a 1947 arrest for drug possession. She served a year in prison. She died in the hospital in 1949 and the immediate cause of death was given as congestion of the lungs complicated by heart failure. The reason for the heart failure was listed as "unidentified narcotics in the system".

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#18 Sid Vicious

The bassist for the punk band The Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious was celebrating at various clubs the night of his 1979 release from New York's Rikers Island jail. He returned to his hotel and had some more fun before being found dead the next day. He died from an overdose of heroin. The dealer of the drug on that fateful night? His own mother!

#19 Jimi Hendrix

The now legendary rocker and guitarist was only 27-years-old when he was found dead in 1970. The autopsy report states that the musician died from choking on his own vomit after passing out from an overdose of barbituates. He was actually arrested a few months earlier for possession of drugs but go off by proclaiming they were planted on him.

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#20 Heath Ledger

In 2008, Batman's Joker was found unconscious in bed by his housekeeper, who first frantically called his friend, actress Mary-Kate Olsen, for help, then dialed 911. Paramedics couldn't revive the star and Heath, 28, was later ruled to have died from "acute intoxication" from the combined effects of six different prescription drugs.

#21 Mitch Hedberg

He was a very promising comedian with tons of material already making the world laugh. But Mitch Hedberg died before he could see how his talent would affect the world. He was just 37 when found dead from a heroin overdose at his New Jersey home in 2005.