It’s always sad to hear about your favorite actor dying. It’s even worse watching an old movie, liking an actor and actress, only to find out that they’re already dead. So to spare you the disappointment here are some of the actors you probably didn’t know were dead. All of them are brilliant, no matter how short or long their career was. We recommend you watch their movies.
1. Brittany Murphy
Brittany was a talented actress that you might remember best from her role in Clueless, Girl Interrupted, 8 Mile, Love and Other Disasters. Her career looked promising, and it’s sad that she never really got to the top in Hollywood. She died in 2009 when she was only 32. The cause of her death was suspicious, she died of pneumonia and at the time of anaemic. She also has lost a lot of weight in the years leading up to it. Her husband died 5 months after her of the same causes. It was later suspected that one of the causes of their death could be the toxic mold in their home.
2. Heather O’Rourke
Heather O’Rourke is best known for her role in The Poltergeist. Who knew such a cute little girl could be so terrifying. The Poltergeist movie franchise has a weird history, as quite a lot of the people who worked on these movies had strange accidents and weird things happen to them. Heather starred in all three Poltergeist movies and died right after the third one was done. She died during surgery when she was only 12.
3. Harold Ramis
We all knew and loved Harold for his role in Ghostbusters, which he co-wrote and starred in. He’s also famous for National Lampoon’s Vacation and Stripes. He also directed the comedy masterpiece that is Groundhog Day. He died when he was 70, after a long struggle with an autoimmune disease. Only а few people knew he was sick, as he never really spoke about it.
4. Lisa Robin Kelly
Lisa is instantly recognizable. If you watched That ‘70s Show, you know her as Laurie. She struggled with substance abuse and alcoholism for years, in fact, that was the reason she left the show. She tried to get clean and even checked into a rehab, but it was too late. She died in her sleep at the age of 43.
5. Thuy Trang
Fans of Power Rangers will know exactly who Thuy Trang was. She played the part of the Yellow Ranger. After the show ended it looked like Thuy had a promising career ahead of her. She was getting roles in movies. However, she never really got to see how her career would turn out as she died in a car accident when she was 27.
6. Michael Clarke Duncan
Duncan’s acting career began later in his life and before that, he worked a lot of bouncer jobs and even worked as a bodyguard with many celebrities. You know him best as John Coffey from The Green Mile. He gave such a heartbreaking performance in that movie, it’s impossible to forget. He also had memorable roles in Daredevil and Armageddon. He died at 54 from a heart attack.
7. Andy Hallett
Andy was a brilliant voice actor, but you probably know him best as Lorne, the fabulous demon from Angel. He started out as an extra on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is how he got the part of Lorne in Angel later on. He died way too early at the age of 33 from congestive heart failure.
8. Glenn Quinn
Speaking of characters from Angel, remember Doyle, the charming Irishman who had a crush on Cordelia and suggested Angel start his agency? He was played by Glenn Quinn, who you also might recognize from his role on Roseanne. Glenn Quinn struggled with substance abuse for a long time and died from a drug overdose when he was 32.
9. Richard Griffiths
Richard Griffiths had a spectacular career, including roles in The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Hugo, Superman II, and countless others. However, most of us know him as Uncle Vernon in Harry Potter. He died in 2013 from complications after heart surgery. He was 65.
10. Ian Holm
Ian Holm will always be Bilbo Baggins from The Lord of The Rings in our hearts, but you probably also remember him as Ash, the robot in Alien. His role in The Fifth Element was quite memorable too. Ian was an incredibly good actor. He was one of the first actors to work with the Royal Shakespeare Group when it was founded. He had many great roles on stage and in film. He had Parkinson’s disease, and died in June 2020, at the age of 88.
