12 People Who Died Performing

7/30/2019 12 People Who Died Performing

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9 Paul Mantz

Stunt pilots live on the edge of life and death all

the time, but Paul Mantz managed to survive a

long career as a stunt pilot and racing pilot

champion. It was during the filming of The Flight

of the Phoenix, in 1965, that Mantz died, whileattempting a very low flight over a desert site in

Arizona. According to reports, Mantzs plane

struck a small hillock and he lost control. After

trying to save the aircraft, it split in two and

nosed into the ground, killing him instantly.

Officials have blamed alcohol consumption before

the stunt as the reason his judgment and

efficiency were not as they should have been. The

final credit in The Flight of the Phoenix says, It

should be remembered that Paul Mantz, a fine

man and a brilliant flier, gave his life in the making of this film

8 Karl Wallenda

Karl Wallenda was a German daredevil born in

1905, and the founder of The Flying Wallendas

an international dare devil circus act. He was

most famed for his wire walks, which he would

perform between two very high structures

without a safety net, particularly in his later years.

In 1978, at age 73, he died while attempting to

cross between two towers of a ten story hotel in

Puerto Rico. While crossing the gap, winds ofaround 30 miles per hour were enough to cause

Wallenda to lose his balance and fall 121 feet to

his death. He was quoted as saying, Life is being

on the wire; everything else is just waiting.

7 Leslie Les Harvey

Leslie Harvey, born in 1945, was a Scottish

guitarist for many bands during the 1960s and

1970s, most notably Stone the Crows. Before

their formation in 1969, however, Harvey played

with the band Cartoone as they toured the

United States supporting Led Zeppelin. On 3 May

1972, while performing with Stone the Crows at

the Swansea Top Rank Ballroom in Wales, he

touched an unearthed microphone with wet

hands and was electrocuted. The shock killed

him.


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6 Eric Morecambe

John Eric Bartholomew, OBE was an English

comedian who, together with Ernie Wise, formed

the award-winning comedy duo Morecambe andWise. He took his stage name from the seaside

town of Morecombe, in which he grew up. He

became a famed presenter and comedian

throughout the years, co-hosting the hugely

popular The Morecambe and Wise Show, which

hit a record 28 million viewers on one of their

Christmas Specials. Throughout his career he

suffered 2 heart attacks, before succumbing to the

third on 28 May, 1984. He was appearing at a

comedy show at the Roses Theater in Tewkesbury,

and, due to his huge popularity, returned to thestage six times after the end of his show. After his

sixth return he announced Thats your lot! before

leaving the stage. After walking off-stage, he joked Thank goodness thats over, before collapsing. He was

pronounced dead at 4am the next morning. He was 58.

5 Jon-Eric Hexum

Jon-Eric Hexum was an actor and model, born in the 50s in

New Jersey. He played various roles in American television

programs before landing his big lead role in the series Cover

Up in 1984, in which he played a model turned weapons

expert and CIA agent. As with most shows that include guns,

the prop .44 Magnum was loaded with blanks, however, it is

reported that Hexum was unaware that this prop gun would

still shoot out paper wadding which was used to seal gun

powder in the shell. During the shooting of a scene where he

was to empty the gun of real bullets and load it with blanks, a

technical problem meant the scene was delayed, and Hexum

fell asleep. Upon waking he realized the scene still wasnt

done and began playing with the gun. It is reported he was

playing Russian roulette with the gun, which was loading with

3 empty cartridges and 2 blanks. He put it to his head and said

Lets see if Ive got one for me before pulling the trigger.

While the paper wadding didnt penetrate his skull, it hit with

enough force to dislodge a quarter-size piece of skull and

propel it into his brain. The accident happened on 12 October, 1984, and, despite 5 hours of surgery, Hexum

died 6 days later he was declared brain dead due to the massive bleeding in his brain. His mother flew his

body to San Francisco to be harvested for organ transplants before he was buried.


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4 Brandon Lee

Brandon Bruce Lee was the son of martial arts legend

Bruce Lee, and was born in 1965. During his relatively

short career, he walked in his fathers footsteps and

starred in many kung fu and action films throughout the

80s and 90s. In 1992, he landed the starring role in

The Crow a film based on an underground comicbook about an undead musician. On March 31, 1993, the

crew were filming a scene in which Lees character, Eric

Draven, finds his girlfriend being beaten and raped by

thugs. As he walked onto set, an actor playing one of

the thugs was supposed to shoot at Lee with a gun

loaded with blanks. Because of various tamperings with

the gun, and the blanks being used (the extent of which

is still not fully understood), the gun was left with

enough primer to push the bullet cartridge out of the

gun. Although at a speed much slower than a proper

bullet, from close range, it could still prove dangerous.The malfunction went unnoticed and Lee was hit in the

abdomen as the bullet traveled through his body and

lodged in his spine. The scene was immediately cut and

an ambulance called, though it is believed his heart

stopped beating on the way to the hospital. Despite a six-hour operation, and 60 pints of blood

transfusions, Brandon Lee died at 1:04pm. He was just 28 years old. He was buried next to his father in

Washington.

3 Dimebag Darrell

Dimebag Darrell (real name Darrell Lance Abbott)was an American guitarist famous for being a

founding member of the metal bands Pantera and

Damageplan. Born in 1966, throughout his music

career he was praised and widely regarded as

one of the most influential stylists in modern

metal. He was killed on stage while performing

with Damageplan, on December 8th 2004, by an

ex-marine called Nathan Gale. Gale shot Abbott 5

times, including once in the head, before turning

on others and shooting a further 10 shots. He

killed 3 more people, including an employee of

the arena, and Damageplans head of security

both of whom tried to wrestle the hand gun from

his hands, and an audience member as he tried to

perform CPR on Abbott. He also wounded 7

others. He was killed by a policeman who

approached him from behind, as he had a

hostage in a headlock, and he was shot in the

head with a 12-gauge shotgun. A nurse tried to

revive Darrell but he was dead by the time

paramedics arrived.

The reasons for Gales attack have been debated. An initial motive that was theorized was that Gale was

angry at the breakup of Pantera and blamed Abbott for this, or that, apparently, Pantera had stolen a song

written by Gale. Another theory suggested Gale was a paranoid schizophrenic and was convinced


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Damageplan members were reading his mind and stealing his thoughts. Darrell Abbott was buried in a KISS

casket, with Eddie Van Halens Charvel Hybrid VH2 guitar.

2 Owen Hart

Owen James Hart was a Canadian wrestler, born

in 1965, who won multiple titles during his career,

most notably during his time at the WCW, andthe WWF. He started his wrestling life in Japan,

wrestling for the NJPW (new Japan pro wrestling)

circuit, and gained popularity throughout his time

in America. He was most memorable for his

relationship with his brother, Bret, and his feud

with Jerry Lawler, as well as winning his tag team

title with Yokozuna. Hart died on May 23rd, 1999,

during his arrival to the ring for an

Intercontinental Championship match with The

Godfather, during the Over-The-Edge pay-per-

view event. He was supposed to be lowered intothe ring on a harness, where he would be

dropped a meter or so from the surface for

comedic effect. Tragically, his harness

malfunctioned and released Hart too early. He fell

78 feet (24 meters) into the ring and landed chest

first on the top rope before being propelled into

the middle of the ring. He was able to sit up for a

short while after the accident, before losing

consciousness. He was rushed to hospital, but

pronounced dead on arrival. Hart had died from internal bleeding, due to a severed aorta.

1 Tommy Cooper

Tommy Cooper was a welsh-born, British prop comedian and

magician, famous for the red fez he always wore, and the persona

he crafted of a magician whose tricks always go wrong. Cooper died

on April 15, 1984, as he performed live on television for a variety

show entitled Live from her Majestys. During a sketch in which

he was to pull numerous objects from a gown, just after his

assistant helped him put the gown on, Copper collapsed and sat

against the curtain while the audience and his assistant laughed,

thinking it was an impromptu part of his act. He then fell backwards

onto his back, creating more laughs. However, as the minutes

passed, it was apparent that something had actually gone wrong,

and it wasnt part of his act. Another curtain was closed to hide

where he had fallen, and other acts carried on on the front of the

stage. People backstage tried to resuscitate him but couldnt. He

was pronounced dead on arrival at Westminster hospital, from a

heart attack. He was 63 years old. Controversy later arose from the

fact the video of him collapsing was posted on YouTube. It can be

found by searching Tommy Cooper death.

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12 People Who Died Performing