Superstars Who Bid Adieu at a Very Young Age

Vighnesh Nagathan

Heath Ledger

There is nothing less than ‘unfortunate’ to describe the early expiry of this marvelous actor. Actor passed away before the release of Box office wonder The Dark Knight, in which he portrayed the villainous Joker with a class. Coincidentally, Joker turned out to be the most popular and critically acclaimed character of this good-looking actor. He was also posthumously awarded Academy award for the best supporting actor the same year. He also featured in prominent films including ‘10 things I hate about you’ and ‘The Brokeback Mountain’. This Australian actor was only 28 when he died of accidental overdose of prescribed drugs. Consider our misfortune, as he was just a week ahead of appointment with ace director Steven Spielberg at time of his demise.

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson is a name that needs no introduction. He was a cult symbol and popular Pop icon till his death. Jackson also was an eminent dancer, song writer, and philanthropist. The King of Pop died on June 25 2009, due to recurring side-effects of medicinal overdose. He has set and broke records by in Sale of his popular albums including Thriller, Bad, and Dangerous.

Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee’s name still stands tall in the martial arts world, making him the king in that arena. He made popular the Japanese martial art forms of Karate and Kung-fu in Hollywood films, thereby the world. He was a cultural and youth icon at the time. This Hong Kong actor inspired many a youth to practice martial arts and had made a huge social impact with his films. He died at the age of 32 due to “Cerebral Edema”.

Smita Patil

Smita Patil is regarded as one of the best actors Hindi film has ever produced. She was acclaimed at her times to be an excellent stage and film actress and has appeared in many parallel and main stream films. She was an eminent feminist and was married to Raj Babbar (also an actor). She is a winner of two national awards and was also honored with Padma shri. Her famous roles include Aakrosh, Chidambaram and Mirch Masala. She was just 31 when she died due to child birth complications. She appeared in over 75 films in her decade long career. Her son Prateik Babbar is an upcoming actor in Bollywood.

Madhubala

Madhubala, whose real name is Mumtaz, is one of the most talented and beautiful actress of all time. Venus of India, bid adieu to the world at a young age of 36 due to heart illness, which she was prone, from much earlier in her career. She was very popular among the masses and had garnered a classical status with her portrayal of Anarkali, in the path breaking Hindi film Mughal E Azam. She is compared to Marilyn Monroe for her iconic position in the film industry.

Jayan

Far down in south of India, in the Malayalam film industry there is still a fan following for Jayan. Jayan was a youth icon during his time for his style and fitness consciousness. He was popular for his macho image and action prowess in films. He died at an age of 41 at peak of his popularity while filming an action scene. He died following the crash of the helicopter to which he was hanging while filming the shot without a double. From then on, he attained a legendary status in Kerala. He is still a symbol of masculinity and machismo in current film industry.

James Dean

James Byron Dean was a cultural icon and popular film star when death stopped him at the age of 24. His famous films include East of Eden and Rebel without a cause. He is ranked eighteenth position in greatest American male actors of all time. He was only 6 films old when he died in in a car crash on September 30, 1955. He was the first actor to be nominated posthumously for best actor in Oscar awards.

Tupac Shakur

Tupac was one of the top rap artists and actors in America. He was popular and well known for using themes of violence and hardship in inner cities, racism, and other social problems in his raps. He was known with the stage name 2pac or simply Pac. He was attacked in Las Vegas metropolitan area while he was driving back from a Boxing match. He later died in hospital after 6 days, when he was at the age of 25.

Aaliyah Haughton

Aaliyah lost her life at young age when she was at brim of popularity as an actress, singer and supermodel. She met with death during an unfortunate plane crash, after her flight took off from Bahamas Airport. Along with her, seven associates and pilot (who was unauthorized) also lost their lives. It was later found that pilot had been using heroin and alcohol. Aaliyah is considered one of the milestone artists in the history of R&B genre music. This American sweetheart was aged 22 at the time of her death.

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe may not need introduction for the level of oomph she oozed on to the film world during her short life span. Still considered the sensual symbol of American filmdom and feminine beauty, she was a successful actress, singer and show girl of her times. She was famous for her off-screen pairings which also includes big names like John F Kennedy and Marlon Brando. She was found dead at the age of 36 while passing through bad times in her career. Her death is still considered a mystery. Her untimely demise is interpreted differently by many – as a probable suicide or accidental overdose of medicine or even a homicide.

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