Weird celebrity deaths

By DAVID ODONGO

We are all afraid to die, well… most of us anyway. But if you were given an option of a messy death or quick painless death, we will all choose the painless quick death. But alas for some celebrities, they choose the weirdest way to die.

Bruce Lee

We all remember Bruce Lee from his movies Enter the Dragon and Way of the Dragon, in which he starred alongside Chuck Norris. Born in 1940, Bruce Lee went on to be one of the most popular and influential martial arts stars of all time.

He was just 32 when he died in 1973 after taking Aspirin to cure a headache. The painkiller contained a muscle relaxant, which was thought to be the cause of Lee’s death. For a man who lived his life the hard way, it’s weird to note that a painkiller killed him!

Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye was an extremely popular soul and R&B singer renowned for Sexual Healing. Born in 1939, he had a successful career, first with a group called the Monnglows in the 1950s and then a successful solo career.

He died in 1984 as a result of his father fatally wounding him with his gun. Gaye’s father shot him after an argument that started after his parents squabbled over misplaced business documents.

Gaye attempted to intervene, and was killed by his father using a gun that Marvin Jr had given him four months earlier. Marvin Gaye would have turned 45 the next day. Marvin Sr was sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Charges of first-degree murder were dropped after it was revealed that Gaye had beaten Marvin Sr prior to the killing.

Elvis Presley

The King, as he was known to all, passed away in less glorious fashion. He died whilst he was in the toilet on 16 August 1977; he was only 42. His staff found him choked on his own vomit.

A post-mortem revealed that his body contained a cocktail of ten prescribed drugs, which were taken in highly dangerous doses.

George Sanders

Oscar winning actor George (All About Eve) Sanders, onetime husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor, killed himself by drugs and booze, not that unusual.

What was unusual was his suicide note: Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool — good luck. Love, George"

Owen Hart - WWF wrestler

He died while performing a stunt in the wrestling ring. He was being lowered into the ring by a cable, when he fell 24 metres to his death, snapping his neck.

Hart had performed the stunt only a few times before and was worried about performing the stunt at Kemper due to the height involved.

The Hart family sued the WWF citing dangerous and poor planning and got paid $18 million.

Marc Vivien FoÈ

Vivien FoÈ was a promising Cameroonian footballer at the peak of his sporting career. He played for West Ham, Lyon and was on loan to Manchester City when he died.

But during the 2003 Confederations Cup tournament, whilst playing against Colombia, FoÈ collapsed on the pitch unexpectedly with no one around him.

He was given oxygen on pitch and was then carried off the pitch where medics attempted to restart his heart for 45 minutes.

Their efforts were in vain and FoÈ was pronounced dead. The autopsy indicated that his death was caused by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy – a hereditary condition known to increase the risk of sudden death during physical exercise.