These celebrity deaths are still shrouded in mystery. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be discussing cases of celebrities who perished under shadowy circumstances, or whose demise featured controversial talking points after the fact.
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00:0025 years after Brian Jones' death, a new twist was added to his controversial story.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be discussing cases of celebrities who perished
00:13under shadowy circumstances, or whose demise featured controversial talking points after
00:19the fact.
00:20He hated her.
00:21Bad, and he wanted the whole world to know it.
00:25Casey Kasem.
00:27That wraps up our special countdown of the top 10 songs of the year 1991, a prelude of
00:32some of the great songs to come in this still young decade.
00:36The long and strange story of Casey Kasem's illness and death could take up an article
00:41all its own.
00:42The legendary radio personality was diagnosed with a serious illness in 2007, and eventually
00:47lost the ability to speak.
00:49A contentious back and forth between Kasem's wife, Jean, and the children would follow
00:54in the aftermath of this diagnosis.
00:56A conservatorship was eventually granted to Carrie Kasem, a daughter with previous
01:01wife Linda Myers.
01:10More arguments over visitation rights would follow, while the DJ's wife Jean moved Kasem
01:15from California to Washington state without any notification.
01:18Finally, the Kasem children sued Jean for wrongful death and elder abuse, later settling
01:23these suits.
01:25Jean waited six whole months to enter her husband's body in Oslo, Norway.
01:34Bobby Fuller The rock and roll singer and songwriter will
01:43always be remembered for the versions of I Fought The Law he recorded with his group
01:48The Bobby Fuller Four.
01:49However, he'll also be known for his mysterious death.
01:53The reasons for which continue to elude fans and authorities.
01:57Fuller was found unresponsive in his car back in 1966, with small hemorrhage marks along
02:02his face and body.
02:13Initial reports pointed to self-destruction as the cause of Fuller's death, yet conspiracies
02:17continue to abound as to whether or not this was true or a cover-up.
02:22Years after his death, the cause was changed to accident, suggesting there's more here
02:27than meets the eye.
02:34Barbara Colby This relatively unknown but talented character
02:49most memorable impact on the Mary Tyler Moore show, where she played a sex worker.
02:54Barbara Colby's realistic and down-to-earth approach to the role was a notable breath
02:59of fresh air when compared to the often exaggerated performances seen at the time.
03:14This perhaps spoke to Colby's dedication to improving her craft.
03:18As evidenced by her frequent visits to city acting classes.
03:21However, it was outside one of these very classes where Colby was gunned down in a shooting
03:27that's yet to be solved.
03:29Reports suggest that the actress didn't know her attackers, yet she also wasn't robbed.
03:34Could this have been a completely random incident, or was she targeted?
03:48Dr. Hang S. Knorr
04:01This Cambodian physician wasn't a trained actor prior to his Academy Award-winning performance
04:06in 1984's The Killing Fields.
04:09Yet it was Dr. Hang S. Knorr's experience living under the real-life Khmer Rouge regime
04:14of Pol Pot that made his performance so compelling.
04:18Knorr was the first performer of Asian descent to win the Best Supporting Actor award, and
04:23he parlayed this experience into further acting gigs after escaping to the United States.
04:36Knorr also did humanitarian work in the aftermath of his success, yet he was tragically gunned
04:41down outside his home on February 25th, 1996.
04:46Gang violence and robbery have both been offered up as reasons for Knorr's killing, while
04:51others believe that the actor was specifically targeted due to his political beliefs.
05:04George Reeves
05:13The 2006 film Hollywoodland remains a compelling look into the mysterious death of George Reeves,
05:19the first Superman.
05:21The actor's tenure as the Man of Steel back in the 1950s earned him love and acclaim,
05:26but it also limited his options.
05:28Rumors swirled around Reeves' supposed oppression due to personal finances and lack of creative
05:33opportunities.
05:46Reeves died of a gunshot wound on June 16th, 1959, yet there was an argument as to whether
05:52or not the wound was self-inflicted.
05:54The crime scene investigation was messy as well, thanks to the handling of bullet and
05:58fingerprint evidence that could have potentially shifted Reeves' cause of death away from
06:03self-destruction.
06:04The fact that Reeves' demise occurred during a house party also resulted in conflicting
06:09statements from guests.
06:21Bob Crane
06:29This star of the television hit Hogan's Heroes also received a film adaptation of his life
06:34and death in the form of 2002's Autofocus.
06:37That film offered speculatory evidence to a long-standing theory behind Bob Crane's
06:42murder in 1978.
06:44Said theory claimed that Crane's friend, John Henry Carpenter, was actually responsible
06:49for the murder after the pair had a personal falling out.
06:58Carpenter also allegedly assisted Crane in videotaping the TV star's numerous sexual
07:02encounters.
07:03Carpenter was arrested in 1992 and ultimately acquitted in 1994, yet there remain those
07:09who insist the man got away with murder.
07:24Brian Jones
07:31The Rolling Stones are a rock and roll institution, so much so that many fans forget the tragic
07:37death of a man often called the founder of the group.
07:40The guitarist and songwriter was found in his pool, drowned at the young age of 27 back
07:45in July 1969.
07:57Yet there are many that claim Jones was murdered.
08:00One consistent theory was that Jones was murdered over a financial dispute with a local
08:04construction worker, Frank Thorogood.
08:06The 2005 biopic dramatization, Stoned, leaned into this theory, while the official statement
08:12at the time of Jones' demise remains, death by misadventure.
08:28Elizabeth Short Most of the people on this list were celebrities
08:41before their death, but it was Elizabeth Short's tragic demise that earned her celebrity status.
08:47Known today as the Black Dahlia, Elizabeth Short was an aspiring actress who was killed
08:52in Los Angeles in 1947.
08:54Her murder is remembered today for its shocking violence, with Short's nude body grotesquely
09:00posed, mutilated, and drained of blood.
09:03The surgical precision of her wounds intrigued law enforcement, yet the wealth of misinformation
09:07and tabloid titillation regarding the case impeded their investigations.
09:12There were also instances of police ineptitude, such as when a prime suspect, embalming assistant
09:18Leslie Dillon, was held against his will and not given the right to an attorney.
09:22The case remains unsolved.
09:35Sonny Bono This prolific songwriter and musician didn't
09:50stop working after his personal and professional relationship with former wife Cher came to
09:54an end.
09:55Sonny Bono continued to write, record, and perform music, and even transitioned successfully
10:00into the world of politics.
10:02A successful bid for mayor of Palm Springs turned into a turn in the United States Congress,
10:07where Bono served in the House of Representatives.
10:20Bono tragically died in 1998 after hitting a tree while skiing, yet it was the behavior
10:25of his fourth wife, Mary, that raised eyebrows.
10:29Bono's widow, and eventual winner of his congressional seat, insisted that dependence
10:33upon prescription medication led to his death.
10:36This was not consistent with toxicology reports, which uncovered no evidence to support her
10:41opinion.
11:07Natalie Wood The career of Natalie Wood took off at a
11:17very young age, and continued to thrive in the years prior to her tragic death in 1981.
11:23The actress reportedly couldn't swim and was said to be terrified of the water.
11:27This makes her demise all the more confusing, since it took place during a yacht excursion
11:32with her husband, Robert Wagner, and friend, Christopher Walken.
11:43Accusations were leveled at Wagner for years after Wood's death, with some pointing to
11:47the tumultuous nature of their marriage as a motive.
11:50Still, others want to know what, if anything, is being hidden by Walken, who officially
11:55maintained that it was a tragic accident.
12:09Who is your most missed celebrity?
12:11What did you love about them?
12:12Let us know in the comments.