He died in 1969 after being brought to the hospital when, while drinking whiskey, he began vomiting blood. The following table outlines the death of notable celebrities and athletes who have had drugs or alcohol implicated in their deaths. In 2010, Rafferty was put on life-support due to multiple organ failure, finally succumbing to liver failure at the age 63. A staple of film noir and Westerns, Alan Ladd enjoyed a great deal of success in the 1940s and 1950s in such film classics as The Blue Dahlia and Shane.
I’m A Celebrity star leaves behind huge sum after death aged 64
- Here are four such world-renowned individuals who waged a battle with the bottle.
- We support every client no matter where they are in their recovery journey and understand that sometimes it takes a few tries to find the right program.
- If things continue the way they’ve been going, he may well be leaving the jungle a fully-fledged national treasure.
- She was quoted as saying “My makeup wasn’t smeared, I wasn’t disheveled, I behaved politely, and I never finished off a bottle, so how could I be alcoholic?
- In subsequent years he experienced a ‘mental crisis’, which then saw him be diagnosed with clinical depression and attempt to take his own life.
Toxicology tests revealed she had five times the legal drink-drive limit. While alcoholism can affect anyone from any type of career, we often see musicians especially vulnerable to addiction. Several different facets contribute to the higher than normal alcoholic musicians. These can include mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression, performance anxiety, workplace and cultural pressures to drink and party, pressures of fame, and pressures of touring, just to name a few. Sadly, there is a long list of famous musicians whose lives were cut short early because of alcohol abuse. The famous comedian abused cocaine and alcohol early in his career, but quit when friend and fellow comedian, John Belushi, died of a cocaine and heroin overdose in 1982.
List of deaths through alcohol
Probably now known best as Drew Barrymore’s grandfather, John Barrymore was a pioneer in early Hollywood. But the Barrymore family isn’t only famous for acting; they were famous for putting them back, and John was no exception. US Senator Joseph McCarthy was infamous for the anti-Communist House Un-American Activities Committee hearings he led in the 1950s.
Musicians Who Died of Alcoholism
The 50-year-old Sullivan’s Travels (1941) actress passed away in 1973. Her death was caused by severe hepatitis and acute renal damage. The coroner’s inquiry found that Bonham had been on a drinking binge the day before he died, and accounts indicate that he began the day with 16 vodka shots for breakfast.
The tragic loss of a renowned celebrity or athlete to a drug or alcohol-related death is an event that often leaves many unanswered questions. Famous and much-loved celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Heath Ledger have been the victims of such unfortunate circumstances. While many deaths may be due to misuse of illegal substances, these drugs are not always illicit – and an overdose may not always be intentional. How to Help an Alcoholic in Denial A lifetime of alcoholism lead to his death from hepatitis and complications from drinking in 1995.
Big Mama Thornton was a blues and R&B singer and songwriter, the first to record Leiber and Stoller’s “Hound Dog,” which was written for her. Thornton’s “Ball and Chain” was later made famous by Janis Joplin. Her longstanding alcohol abuse led to her death in 1984 of liver failure at the age of 57. Gene Clark was a gifted songwriter and singer, famous for co-founding the Byrds in 1965. He suffered from anxiety and other possible mental health problems, self-medicating himself with alcohol and drugs.
Drugs and alcohol took their toll on Morrison, and his performances were greatly affected. On July 3, 1971, he was found unresponsive in a tub in Paris. No autopsy was performed, but it is believed he passed from a drug and alcohol overdose. Richard Burton was a Welsh actor as famous for his personal life and hard living as he was for his acting. Married twice to Elizabeth Taylor, Burton’s excessive drinking was legendary, as was his volatile relationship with Taylor.