In the early ’90s, “Saturday Night Live” saw the introduction of bright young comedians like Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, and Molly Shannon onto the prime-time stage. But at the center of it all was Chris Farley, whose wild-eyed persona became the stuff of legend. He alone was often reason enough to tune in, and he became the de facto star of the show for many. But within just a few short years, Farley was on the outs, dumped from the cast alongside Sandler and others after the 1995 season. The following table outlines the death of notable celebrities and athletes who have had drugs or alcohol implicated in their deaths.
Chris Farley
She raised public awareness of addiction by confessing to her long-time battle with alcoholism in the 1970s. When she finally recovered, she established the Betty Ford Center to help others overcome substance and alcohol abuse. British singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her apartment in London in 2011. The artist, who had a history of substance abuse, died of alcohol poisoning. According to findings, the singer’s blood alcohol content when she died was five times the legal limit. Phoenix was unresponsive when emergency personnel arrived and was declared dead when he arrived at the hospital.
Serious Effects of Drug Addiction on Family Members
The novel’s protagonist, Jack Torrance, is a recovering alcoholic and writer who becomes the winter caretaker of the isolated Overlook Hotel. The rapper, whose real name was Russell Tyrone Jones, was having difficulty breathing and complained of chest pains earlier in the day, according to his spokesperson. They come into our homes (electronically, anyway) every week or more, and you feel like you know them. In November 2019, Christopher “underwent life-saving craniotomy surgery” after hitting his head against a bathtub while experiencing alcohol withdrawals, he told Bloomberg Law. In May 2023, Christopher was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication at the Hollywood Burbank Airport after police officers found him sleeping on the floor, according to the Los Angeles Times. He was also arrested on suspicion of public intoxication in Indiana in 2019.
River Phoenix (birth name : River Jude Bottom)
According to those who knew Bonham, he often missed his home life while on tour with his band, Led Zeppelin, and often turned to drinking to drown out his sadness. On September 24th, 1980, Led Zeppelin started rehearsals for their North American tour. Bonham stopped for breakfast on the way there, where he drank four quadruple screwdrivers (vodka with orange juice). He continued to drink throughout rehearsals and after 12-hours of drinking, was put to sleep on his side by his assistant. Bonham was found unconscious the next morning, and after an attempt to wake up, they realized he had passed in his sleep from inhalation of vomit. 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.
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. Suffering from chronic insomnia, Ladd would induce sleep with sleeping pills and rye. In 1964, at the age 50, Ladd suffered a cerebral edema caused by an acute overdose of alcohol, barbiturates, and tranquilizers containing depressants.
- Decades later, she was played by Halle Berry in her breakout role in the 1999 television movie “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.”
- From an early age, the actor had been plagued by problems with drugs and alcohol, entering rehab when he was just 15 and again when he was 19.
- He was also known to have been a heavy drinker, even by Rockstar standards.
- In 2015, he described how alcohol affected virtually everything in his life, “I wouldn’t have been able to have access to myself or other people, or even been able to take in other people, if I hadn’t changed my life.
- A coroner’s report two months after his passing revealed the cause of Cloud’s death to be an unintentional overdose of cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and benzodiazepines.
Actors Who Tragically Passed Away From Overdoses
Many targets of McCarthy were blacklisted from working in the government and in Hollywood. There have been years of investigation and several arrests, but no one has ever been charged in connection with the death. Barrymore – real name Michael alcoholism Parker – was the king of British television in the 1980s and 1990s with shows including Strike It Lucky, My Kind Of People and Kids Do the Funniest Things.
Fellow musician (and frequent touring partner) Elton John begged Joel to get treatment for alcoholism. In an early 2011 issue of Rolling Stone, John is quoted as saying that Joel needed to check into “tough” rehab, and that alcoholism was getting in the way of his life and career. The beloved star of the “Harry Potter”movies has struggled, like many other child actors, growing up in show business. While celebrities that died from alcohol his character Harry was innocent and heroic, for Daniel Radcliffe, real-life challenges started affecting him, namely his addiction to alcohol.