Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Brevity of Life

Below is a list of 60 famous people who died before the age of 40. 


Taken from:  http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/va-news-articles_2011-11-30?vaid=f222704b9650980c81ea4491dbac158e


The world was shocked and saddened when Princess Diana died in 1997 at the age of 36.



1. Jessica Dubroff (7)
Pilot -- Plane crash -- 1996

2. Heather O'Rourke (12)
Child actor -- Bowel obstruction -- 1988

3. Anne Frank (15)
Dutch-Jewish author -- Typhus in concentration camp -- 1945

4. Ritchie Valens (17)
Rock 'n' roll singer -- Plane crash -- 1959

5. Eddie Cochran (21)
Rockabilly musician -- Auto accident -- 1960

6. Aaliyah (22)
R&B singer -- Plane crash -- 2001

7. Buddy Holly (22)
Rock 'n' roll singer -- Plane crash -- 1959

8. Freddie Prinze (22)
Comedian/actor -- Suicide -- 1977

9. River Phoenix (23)
Actor -- Drug overdose -- 1993

10. Selena (23)
Mexican-American singer -- Homicide -- 1995

11. James Dean (24)
Actor -- Auto accident -- 1955

12. Otis Redding (26)
Soul singer -- Plane crash -- 1967

....Randy Rhoads (26)  (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) (26)
Guitarist for Ozzy.--1982.

13. Brian Jones (27)
British rock guitarist -- Drug-related drowning, possibly homicide -- 1969

14. Janis Joplin (27)
Rock/soul singer -- Heroin overdose -- 1970

15. Jim Morrison (27)
Rock singer -- Heart attack, possibly due to drug overdose -- 1971

16. Jimi Hendrix (27)
Rock guitarist/singer -- Asphyxiation from sleeping pill overdose -- 1970

17. Kurt Cobain (27)
Grunge rock singer/guitarist -- Gunshot and lethal dose of heroin, presumed suicide -- 1994

18. Reggie Lewis (27)
Basketball player -- Heart attack -- 1993

19. Brandon Lee (28)
Actor -- Accidental shooting on the set of The Crow -- 1993

20. Shannon Hoon (28)
Rock singer -- Drug overdose -- 1995

21. Hank Williams (29)
Country musician -- Heart attack, possibly due to an accidental overdose of morphine and alcohol -- 1953

22. Andy Gibb (30)
Singer -- Heart failure due to cocaine abuse -- 1988

23. Jim Croce (30)
Singer/songwriter -- Plane crash -- 1973

24. Patsy Cline (30)
Country music singer -- Plane crash -- 1963

25. Sylvia Plath (30)
Poet and author -- Suicide -- 1963


Alexander the Great

  (32) died in   

323 BCE aged 32 from Malaria, Possibly Poisoned


26. Brian Epstein (32)
Beatles manager -- Drug overdose -- 1967

27. Bruce Lee (32)
Martial arts actor -- Possible allergic reaction -- 1973

28. Cass Elliot (32)
Singer -- Heart attack brought on by obesity -- 1974

29. Karen Carpenter (32)
Singer and musician -- Cardiac arrest from anorexia nervosa -- 1983

30. Keith Moon (32)
Rock drummer -- Overdose of medication -- 1978


Bon Scott  
died in   

1980 aged 33 from Suffocation on His Own Vomit After Drinking Binge

hard-rock singer (AC/DC) Australian


31. Carole Lombard (33)
Actor -- Plane crash -- 1942

32. Chris Farley (33)
Comedian/actor -- Overdose of cocaine and heroin -- 1997

33. Darryl Kile (33)
Major League Baseball pitcher -- Coronary heart disease -- 2002

34. Jesus Christ (33)
Founder of Christianity -- Crucifixion -- A.D. 30

35. John Belushi (33)
Comedian/actor -- Overdose of cocaine and heroin -- 1982

36. Sam Cooke (33)
Soul musician -- Homicide -- 1964

37. Charlie Parker (34)
Jazz saxophonist -- Pneumonia and ulcer, brought on by drug abuse -- 1955

38. Dana Plato (34)
Actor -- Prescription drug overdose -- 1999

39. Jayne Mansfield (34)
Actor -- Auto accident -- 1967

40. Andy Kaufman (35)
Comedian/actor -- Lung cancer -- 1984

41. Josh Gibson (35)
Negro League baseball player -- Stroke -- 1947

42. Stevie Ray Vaughan (35)
Blues guitarist -- Helicopter crash -- 1990

43. Bob Marley (36)
Reggae musician -- Melanoma that metastasized into lung and brain cancer -- 1981

44. Diana, Princess of Wales (36)
British royal -- Auto accident -- 1997

45. Marilyn Monroe (36)
Actor -- Barbiturate overdose -- 1962

46. Bobby Darin (37)
Singer/actor -- Complications during heart surgery -- 1973

47. Lou Gehrig (37)
Major League Baseball player -- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) -- 1941

48. Michael Hutchence (37)
Rock singer -- Hanged, possibly suicide -- 1997

49. Sal Mineo (37)
Actor -- Homicide -- 1976

Felix Mendelssohn died in 1847 aged 38 from a Stroke composer German 50. Florence Griffith Joyner (38)
Olympian/sprinter -- Possible asphyxiation during epileptic seizure -- 1998

51. George Gershwin (38)
Composer -- Brain tumor -- 1937

52. Harry Chapin (38)
Singer/songwriter -- Auto accident -- 1981

53. John F. Kennedy, Jr. (38)
Journalist/publisher -- Plane crash -- 1999

54. Roberto Clemente (38)
Major League Baseball player -- Plane crash -- 1972

55. Sam Kinison (38)
Comedian -- Auto accident caused by drunk driver -- 1992

56. Anna Nicole Smith (39)
Model/actor -- Accidental prescription drug overdose -- 2007

57. Dennis Wilson (39)
Rock 'n' roll drummer -- Drowning due to intoxication -- 1983

58. Malcolm X (39)
Militant civil rights leader -- Assassination -- 1965

59. Martin Luther King, Jr. (39)
Civil rights activist/minister -- Assassination -- 1968

60.  Fats Waller (39) -  Pianist during the 1930s.