People Are Talking About The Most Shocking Celebrity Deaths That Don't Get Enough Attention
Recently, Reddit user lammastide posed the question, "Which lesser-known celebrity death really affected you/do you think about often?" to the people of r/popculturechat. Here were their devastating responses:
Warning: Mentions of child abuse, assault, domestic violence, and murder.
1."Nelsan Ellis aka Lafayette from True Blood. That show was huge at the time, and somehow after it ended, I didn't really see him in anything else. I think he did a great job with that character for its time, and I've wanted to see more of him in other roles before his untimely death at apparently only 39. I'm not sure what else he was struggling with (only read about alcohol) or if he had any other medical history, but his passing was really sudden to me."
"I was really looking forward to an amazing career from him. I only own two Funko Pop vinyl figures, and Lafayette is one of them."
What happened: Ellis died on July 8, 2017 of heart failure related to alcohol withdrawal at the age of 39. According to a statement from his family, Ellis, who had "suffered with drug and alcohol abuse for years" had been attempting to "withdraw from alcohol on his own, but had a blood infection that caused his kidneys to shut down, his liver to swell, and his blood pressure to drop."
2."Adrienne Shelly is mine. I loved her so much and dragged my mom to see Waitress opening weekend because of her (and my childhood crush on Keri Russell)."
"I rented Waitress 15 years ago at a Redbox and was really charmed with this little indie film. I did my usual IMDb search and was heartbroken to see Shelly's passing and the way she passed. It's pretty striking to see the legacy she left behind considering Waitress was a little indie movie that's now so much more."
What happened: Shelly, an actress, writer, and director, was murdered on Nov. 1, 2006. Although initially suspected to be a suicide (as Shelly had been found hanging), it was finally discovered that she'd actually been killed by a 19-year-old construction worker, Diego Pillco. According to reports, Pillco had been attempting to steal money from her office when she surprised him, he panicked, strangled her, and then hung her body to make it look like a suicide.
3."Dominique Dunne. Murdered by her abusive boyfriend who all but got away with it. The injustice burns me."
What happened: On Oct. 30, 1982, Dominique Dunne was attacked and strangled by her ex-boyfriend, John Thomas Sweeney, who had a history of being possessive and physically abusive. Dunne fell into a coma and was put on life support, but later died on Nov. 4, 1982, at the age of 22. Sweeney was charged with second-degree murder, but ultimately found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. After only serving three years, Sweeney was released from prison.
4."Lee Thompson Young, I loved The Famous Jett Jackson. I was heartbroken when he died. His mental health issues were so disheartening."
"I knew him from Rizzoli & Isles. I was so sad when I heard he’d died and the funeral episode in the series had me in floods of tears, knowing the truth about his death."
What happened: Young died by suicide of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, on Aug. 19, 2013, in North Hollywood, California. He was 29 years old. According to the autopsy, at the time, he was taking lithium and quetiapine fumarate to treat depression, but no "illicit substances" were found in his body.
5."Christina Grimmie. She was shot by a crazed 'fan' in the meet and greet line after her concert. I used to watch her videos alllll the time in middle/high school, and I was devastated when she was killed right as she started releasing her own albums. I really think she would have been big, but now we will never know. I think about her a lot."
What happened: Christina Grimmie was a singer and YouTuber who reached millions of subscribers. She was eventually a contestant on The Voice, ultimately finishing third in Season 6. On June 10, 2016, after a performance at The Plaza Live in Orlando, Florida, Grimmie was shot in the head and chest and killed by a man named Kevin Loibl while signing autographs. Loibl then shot himself. No motive was ever given.
6."Mia Zapata's murder always upsets me. That some fucking loser piece of shit raped and killed her makes me so angry. She was a fucking amazing frontwoman in an emerging music scene and would have absolutely gone on to be massive. Enormous loss."
What happened: Zapata, lead singer for the Seattle punk band The Gits, was murdered on July 7, 1993. She was 27 years old. According to an autopsy report, she was beaten and strangled. The perpetrator, Jesus Mezquia, was not caught until a decade later when DNA evidence, collected after a 2003 arrest in Miami, tied him to the crime. Mezquia died in 2021.
7."Every couple of days I think about Naya Rivera and how she died. It always makes me feel strange."
"That one was so horrible and shocking, especially because her kid was with her and she managed to save him and not herself."
What happened: Naya Rivera was a singer and actor best known for her work in the series Glee. On July 8, 2020, Rivera died of accidental drowning while out boating with her son, Josey, at Lake Piru in Los Padres National Forest, California. According to police reports, Josey said he and Rivera had been out swimming when she helped him climb back into the boat, but could not get in herself.
8."Anton Yelchin's death. It was such a bizarre random accident ending the life of a wonderful actor. I've liked him in everything I saw him in, and I still sometimes think about the work he could have done."
What happened: Yelchin died on June 19, 2016, after his Cherokee rolled back down the driveway at his LA home, and then pinned him between a mailbox and security fence.
Yelchin's parents ended up filing a lawsuit with Fiat Chrysler (the makers of the Jeep Grand Cherokee). That Cherokee model apparently was among 1.1 million vehicles recalled just two months earlier because "regulators said its gear shifters were confusing drivers, causing the SUVs to roll away unexpectedly and leading to dozens of injuries."
According to the lawsuit, Yelchin was not only crushed but "lingered alive for some time, trapped and suffocating until his death." Yelchin's parents, Viktor and Irina Yelchin, reached a confidential settlement with Fiat Chrysler in 2018.
9."Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes for me. I watched the documentary she was working on before her death, and it haunts me. She was an incredible artist with so much damn potential that we never got to see realized."
What happened: Lopes, best known as a member of the hugely popular R&B group TLC, died on April 25, 2002, in a car accident in Honduras. She was 30 years old. A lot of her trip to Honduras, including the fatal crash, had been filmed and was subsequently turned into the VH-1 documentary, Last Days of Left Eye.
10."Judith Barsi breaks my heart every time I think of her. She was the voice of Ducky in The Land Before Time and Anne-Marie in All Dogs Go to Heaven. Just so sad."
"Her death is incredibly disturbing. Poor baby."
What happened: Judith Barsi was a rising star in Hollywood, landing roles in many TV shows like The Twilight Zone and Growing Pains, and films like Jaws: The Revenge (1987), The Land Before Time (1988), and All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989). However, her home life was chaotic and traumatic. Her father, József Barsi, was highly abusive toward Judith and her mother, Maria Virovacz Barsi. He even threatened to kill himself and his family on many occasions. József Barsi eventually killed Judith and her mother in July 1988 in a double murder-suicide.
11."I just learned of Kirsty MacColl's freak accident death while diving in Mexico with her kids, and it's also horrifying, from the accident itself to the way the Mexican government handled it. It's so sad and will probably stick with me for a while."
What happened: MacColl was an English singer-songwriter who died on Dec. 18, 2000, in a boating accident while on vacation in Mexico. It was reported that a speedboat hit her while she was out in the water with her two sons. They had apparently been swimming in an area specifically reserved for swimmers.
12."Peaches Geldof dying the same way her mother did. And her babies being found next to her body."
What happened: Geldof, a popular English TV personality and daughter of musician Bob Geldof, died on April 7, 2014 of a heroin overdose. Her mother, Paula Yates, also died of a heroin overdose in 2000.
13."Jonathan Brandis. I had the biggest crush on him as a teenager. SeaQuest DSV was my favorite show. It was heartbreaking to hear he had passed."
What happened: Brandis died by suicide on November 12, 2003, at his home in Los Angeles. According to reports, a friend had called police to report the incident on November 11. Paramedics arrived and transported Brandis to Cedars Sinai where he eventually died from his injuries.
14."Phil Hartman. He was such a funny guy. His comedic timing was chef’s kiss."
What happened: Popular actor and SNL alum, Phil Hartman was shot and killed by his wife, Brynn Hartman, on May 28, 1998. Brynn then drove to a friend's house to confess to the killing. The friend, Ron Douglas, drove back with her where he called 911 after seeing Hartman's body. Brynn eventually locked herself in the bedroom and died by suicide via gunshot.
15."Elizabeth Wurtzel, author of Prozac Nation and other books speaking candidly about mental illness and addiction. She was a trailblazer along with Susanna Kaysen when it came to bravely giving a voice to mental illness in a time where it was taboo to speak about it. She passed February 2020, and I still think of her often."
What happened: Wurtzel died on Jan. 7, 2020, from metastatic breast cancer. She was 52 years old. According to the New York Times, "Ms. Wurtzel had a double mastectomy in 2015. After her diagnosis, she became an advocate for BRCA testing — something she had not had — and wrote about her cancer experience in the New York Times."
16."Grant Imahara, his death was a big one for me. He was still so young."
What happened: Imahara, an engineer, roboticist, and TV host of MythBusters, died on July 13, 2020, from a sudden brain aneurysm. He was 49 years old.
17."Chi Chi DeVayne. The moment I saw her on Drag Race, I loved her. She was so talented, so beautiful in drag and out, and just so sweet and charismatic. I followed her so closely during her battle with scleroderma, and she died in August 2020, so there wasn't much else to focus on besides the BLM marches and staying home otherwise. It felt so futile, watching her try to seek donations so she could get medical care (seriously fuck US 'healthcare'), seeing her beautiful face grow thinner and more sickly by the day. I think about her all the time. She was truly a gorgeous person inside and out, and the world [will] be so much less lovely without her in it."
What happened: DeVayne (Zavion Davenport) died on Aug. 20, 2020, of pneumonia at the age of 34. According to reports, she'd been hospitalized for a week before her death and also admitted in July for suspected kidney failure. As mentioned above, DeVayne lived with scleroderma, which is a condition where the body’s immune system attacks organs, blood vessels, and tissues.
18."Jeff Buckley. I’ve always loved his music, but when I was a teenager and found out that he was dead, it totally reached new proportions. I used to sit in my room and cry to his music, thinking that we had a connection beyond this simple thing called ‘life.’ I also had a ridiculous crush on him."
What happened: Buckley died on May 29, 1997 of an accidental drowning in the Mississippi River. He was 30 years old. Although there were no witnesses to his actual death, it was reported that he'd waded into the water, fully clothed, and according to authorities "likely dragged down by the river’s undertow and that he was furthermore weighed down by his boots."
19."Brad Renfro, a great actor in Bully and Sleepers who died too soon."
"He was huge at one point, but by the time of his death, he had really fallen off the face of the Earth, as far as Hollywood was concerned. He was just one of many child actors who was never prepared to deal with fame or money, and it also seems likely (given the time period and various projects he was involved with) that he probably either experienced abuse or was at least exposed to very inappropriate or toxic relationships with the adults around him.
I thought I was in love with that boy, but when I watch his performances today, I still think that he could have been huge. He was an intensely good actor, and it was all natural."
What happened: Renfro died on January 15, 2008 of an overdose of heroin and morphine. According to the Hollywood Reporter, paramedics had been called to his home at 9 a.m., and he was pronounced dead by the coroner at noon.
Renfro had a history of struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. In a highly-publicized 2005 incident, Renfro was arrested in Los Angeles's Skid Row for allegedly trying to buy heroin. And then in 2006, "he spent 10 days in jail after pleading no-contest to driving while intoxicated and pleading guilty to attempted possession of heroin," according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Renfro was finally laid to rest in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee a week later. The Knoxville News-Sentinel reported that "more than 600 people attended the funeral and closed-casket viewing at the Stevens Mortuary in North Knoxville, where a simple arrangement of red, white, and yellow flowers sat next to the casket along with a photograph of the star in his younger, happier days."
20."Stephen 'tWitch' Boss. That hit me HARD. I used to watch So You Think You Can Dance religiously, and he was one of my favorite contestants ever. Then he became an all-star, met his wife on the show, and was a judge for a season or two…such an incredibly talented dancer."
What happened: Boss died by suicide on Dec. 13, 2022, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a motel in Encino, California. He was 40 years old. A toxicology report revealed there were no drugs or alcohol in his system at the time.
21.Finally, "IDK if this counts as 'lesser known,' but I wish we knew what happened to Brittany Murphy. I have so many questions. Like, how does a young rich woman just die from pneumonia? And then her husband five months later, too? I don’t think we’ll ever know the answers."
What happened: Murphy died on Dec. 20, 2009, from pneumonia combined with anemia and "multiple drug intoxication" from prescription and over-the-counter medication. She was 32 years old. It was also reported no illegal drugs were found in her system at the time.
Murphy's husband, Simon Monjack, also died of acute pneumonia and severe anemia just five months later on May 23, 2010. He was 40 years old.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
