
Patsy Cline, 30 (1932-1963): The acclaimed female vocalist found success as a country music star, but her musical influence has stretched far beyond that specific genre. Her strong, infectious voice crooned such hits as 'Walkin' After Midnight' and 'I Fall to Pieces' before she died in an airplane crash at age 30.
Aaliyah, 22 (1/16/79-8/25/01): Aaliyah, born in Bed-Stuy and raised in Detroit, was the walking definition of street cool in the late 1990s. She only cut three albums - 'Age Ain't Nothin' But a Number,' 'One In a Million' and 'Aaliyah,' released just weeks before she died in a plane crash in the Bahamas.
Brad Renfro, 25 (7/25/82-1/15/08): Renfro was pegged as a coming star after his role in the 1996 film 'Sleepers,' which followed similar praise for 'Tom and Huck.' He went on to act in 'Ghost World,' 'Bully' and 'The Jacket.' He also did some TV, including 'Law & Order.' But he was one of those teenage stars who seemed to peak before 20 - not losing the talent, but losing his focus in a haze of drugs. Renfro died of a heroin overdose.
Jimi Hendrix, 27 (1942- 1970): Hendrix's single name - either one of them - is still synonymous with the wild, unleashed power of the electric guitar. He found things there that no one else had found, and while he had a basically shy nature, being on-stage brought out a side of him that for many fans still defines the utter freedom of rock ‘n' roll. There is some mystery surrounding his death, but the official cause was listed as asphyxiation after inhaling his own vomit while intoxicated.
Karen Carpenter, 52 (1950-1983): At the age of 19, Karen and her brother Richard signed a record deal as the soft rock duo the Carpenters who reached overnight success in 1970. An acclaimed drummer, Karen was mostly known for her angelic voice. However, after suffering from the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, Carpenter died of heart failure in 1983.
Selena, 23 (4/16/71-3/31/95): There was nothing self-destructive about Selena, who had built herself an extraordinary career and at the age of 23 was widely known as 'The Queen of Tejano Music.' Born in Texas to Mexican parents, she built a multi-national following that included platinum sales and a Grammy award. Selena was murdered by an obsessed fan.
Bruce Lee, 32, (1940-1973): The martial arts artists died three weeks before the 1973 premiere of 'Enter the Dragon.' Although 'Game of Death' and its sequel 'Game of Death II' would be released later, they are based on footage shot before Lee made 'Enter the Dragon.'
Brandon Lee, 28 (1965-1993): Brandon Lee never really got to know his father Bruce, who died when Brandon was 8. But Brandon picked up the acting gene, and made a success of his own career, largely through the martial arts door. Lee was accidentally shot and killed while filming 'The Crow.'
Kurt Cobain, 27 (2/20/67-4/5/94): 'Grunge' was a loving term slapped onto a style of music, much of it coming from Seattle, because terms like 'punk' and 'new wave' had already been used. But there was nothing especially grungy about the music of Nirvana, the three-man band Kurt Cobain fronted and for which he wrote most of the music. Cobain shot himself in his Seattle home.
River Phoenix, 23 (8/23/70-10/31/93): River Phoenix, one member of a large and successful acting family, told people he hated the movie business - how it worked, what it did to people, what it did to creativity. He kept getting bigger, though, despite these reservations. He died of a drug overdose.
Chris Farley, 33 (1964-1997): The 'Saturday Night Live' alum was often compared to the late John Belushi, and died of a drug overdose much like his idol. The 'Tommy Boy' actor died five months before the release of his final film, 'Almost Heroes.'
Ian Curtis, 23 (1956-1980): British-born Ian Curtis was a loner and a strange kid, a combination that has turned out a lot of rock ‘n' rollers. His band was Joy Division, a quartet that took its name from the "sexual slavery division" of a Nazi death camp in a 1950s novel. It achieved a significant British and later worldwide cult following. Curtis hanged himself in his house in England.
John Ritter, 54 (1948-2003): The "Threes Company" star died in September 2003, after suffering an aortic dissection, two months before the release of his final film, 'Bad Santa.'
Freddie Prinze, 22 (1954-1977): Prinze was really known for one TV series, "Chico and the Man," but that was enough to make him a major source of Latino pride, since not many had gotten that kind of chance or executed it so successfully. But while Prinze was married and outwardly doing well, he suffered from depression. Prinze shot himself and died of a gunshot wound to the head.
John Candy, 43 (1950-1994): The comedic actor died of a heart attack while shooting "Wagons East," shown above, in 1994. Rising to fame on the Canadian comedy show, "Second City Television," Candy reached American audiences starring alongside Tom Hanks in "Splash." From bit parts to starring roles, Candy touched a slew of comedic films throughout the '80s and early '90s, most notably "Spaceballs" and "Uncle Buck."
Janis Joplin, 27 (1943-1970): Janis was known as the white girl who sang the blues. A lot of white girls have sung the blues, of course, some of them just as well as the insecure girl from Port Arthur, Texas. But few of them seemed to live the blues quite as thoroughly as Janis. Joplin died of a drug overdose.
Otis Redding, 26 (1941-1967): People who knew Otis Redding still say he was one of the nicest guys ever to walk through the music business, and while some would say there's little competition for that title, it remains true that everybody loved the Georgia man with the soft touch and a voice that could propel freight trains. Redding died in a plane crash.
Frankie Lymon, 25 (1942-1968): It's been argued that Frankie Lymon was rock ‘n' roll's first teen idol - that is, someone who actually a teenager when he became an idol. Frankie was 13 when he and his Harlem vocal quintet, appropriately called the Teenagers, recorded "Why Do Fools Fall In Love." Lymon died of a drug overdose.
Sharon Tate, 26 (1943-1969): Sharon Tate was a drop-dead-gorgeous actress who had surprised a lot of movie-goers with her acting skills in less-than-classic films like "Valley of the Dolls." After starring in "The Fearless Vampire Killers," she married its director, Roman Polanski, and was eight months pregnant with their first child when she was brutally - and infamously - murdered by Charles Manson.
Hank Williams, 29 (1923-1953): There's no plainer way to put it: Hank Williams was the finest country musician in the history of country music. It takes nothing from Jimmie Rodgers or George Jones or any other masterful performer to say that if it all needed to be summed up in one man and his work, that man would be Hank. He died of drug-related heart failure.
Jean Harlow, 26 (1911-1937): Jean Harlow was the blonde bombshell of her era. She would have been the blonde bombshell of almost any era. She made dozens of films in that contract era, with titles like "Red-Headed Woman," "Platinum Blonde" and "Wife Vs. Secretary." Secretary." The funny thing was, she was a good actress, with splendid comic timing. Harlow died suddenly, and tragically of renal failure.
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