The Hollywood Book of Death The Bizarre, Often Sordid, Passings of More than 125 American Movie and TV Idols

by Parish, James

• ISBN13: 9780809222278
• ISBN10: 0809222272
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-11-19
• Publisher: McGraw Hill

Summary

The death of a celebrity is often as fascinating as--and sometimes more fascinating than--a star's actual life. From the grisly end of Sharon Tate at the hands of the Manson family and the mysterious demise of Bob Crane to the peaceful passings of Lucille Ball and George Burns,The Hollywood Book of Deathis a captivating and appealingly packaged volume of more than 125 television and movie stars' final curtain calls. Arranged in an encyclopedic approach by manner of death, these well-researched accounts include details of celebrities' colorful lives and unusual deaths, their funerals, and the intriguing aftermath. With more than 100 rare photographs and a special "necrology" index of more than 6,000 stars and directors, along with a section revealing where Hollywood personalities are resting in eternal sleep, this enthralling reference promises to be on every film and television buff's "Top 10" gift list.

Author Biography

James Robert Parish, a former entertainment reporter and publicist, is the author of more than 90 books. A well-known authority on show business, he appears frequently as an expert on A;E's "Biography" and E! Television's "Mysteries and Scandals," as well as numerous other network and cable television documentaries.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	xi
Accidental Deaths	1	(46)
Nick Adams
Sonny Bono
Jeff Chandler Laird Cregar
Linda Darnell
James Dean Eric Fleming
Janet Gaynor
Buck Jones Grace Kelly
Ernie Kovacs
Brandon Lee Carole Lombard
Jayne Mansfield
Audie Murphy
Rick (Ricky) Nelson
Will Rogers Jr.
Trinidad Silva
Alcohol and Drugs	47	(44)
John Barrymore
John Belushi Montgomery Clift
Bobby Driscoll Chris Farley
W. C. Fields
Judy Garland John Gilbert
William Holden
Veronica Lake
Barbara La Marr
Bela Lugosi River Phoenix
Wallace Reid
Gail Russell
In Obscurity	91	(26)
Jean Arthur
Agnes Ayres
Theda Bara Edwina Booth
Clara Bow
D. W. Griffith Hedy Lamarr
Florence Lawrence
Mary Pickford
Martha Raye
Norma Shearer
Murders	117	(26)
Dominique Dunne
Phil Hartman
Sal Mineo
Dr. Haing S. Ngor
Ramon Novarro
Rebecca Schaeffer
Tupac Shakur
Carl ``Alfalfa'' Switzer
Sharon Tate
Natural Causes	143	(110)
Bud Abbott
Jim Backus
Lucille Ball Suzan Ball
Louise Beavers
Amanda Blake
William Boyd
George Burns and Gracie Allen
John Candy
Lou Costello Joan Crawford
Brad Davis
Sammy Davis Jr.
Marlene Dietrich
Nelson Eddy Redd Foxx
Clark Gable
Greta Garbo
John Garfield
Betty Grable
Edmund Gwenn
Susan Hayward
Rita Hayworth Audrey Hepburn
Rock Hudson Madeline Kahn
Michael Landon Liberace
Maria Montez
Warner Oland Anthony Perkins
Susan Peters
Tyrone Power
Gilda Radner
Kate Smith Lana Turner
Rudolph Valentino Loretta Young
Robert Young
Puzzling Deaths	253	(36)
Russ Columbo
Bob Crane
Albert Dekker
Mario Lanza
Bruce Lee Marilyn Monroe
Elvis Presley
George Reeves
Jean Seberg
Natalie Wood
Suicides	289	(114)
Pier Angeli
Pedro Armendariz
Don ``Red'' Barry
Scotty Beckett
Clara Blandick
John Bowers
Charles Boyer Capucine
Dorothy Dandridge Peter Duel
Peg Entwistle
Richard Farnsworth
Jon Hall
Rusty Hamer Jon-Erik Hexum
Carole Landis
Dana Plato
Freddie Prinze
George Sanders Romy Schneider
David Strickland
Lupe Velez
Herve Villechaize
Gig Young
Appendix A
Necrology of Notable Hollywood Actors and Directors	339	(48)
Appendix B
Where Notable Hollywood Actors and Directors Are Buried in the United States	387	(16)
Bibliography	403	(10)
About the Author	413