Drop Dead Sexy

BY: PROVOKR Staff

“If a man can bridge the gap between life and death, if he can live on after he’s dead, then maybe he was a great man.”—James Dean

Hollywood glitz and glamour leads to celebrities becoming larger than life, veritable titans compared to regular folk. Unfortunately, even the biggest stars are only human and they can hurt, bleed, and die. The unexpected death of Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell last month reminded us that life is precious, that death can strike anyone, anytime, anywhere, and without warning. Let’s look back at some of the gods and goddesses who left this world long before they were supposed to. The purpose of this story isn’t to glamorize their deaths or trivialize the immeasurable sadness it brings to their friends, family, and fans, but to pay tribute to their talent and beauty.

Chris Cornell

The lead singer for Soundgarden and Audioslave died on May 18 at the age of 52, after years-long struggles with depression and addiction. In 2006, he sang “You Know My Name,” the theme song for the James Bond film, Casino Royale. He was the first (and so far only) American man to sing a 007 theme.

Jean Harlow

Jean Harlow‘s crypt in the Great Mausoleum of Glendale’s Forest Lawn Memorial Park reads simply: “Our baby.” Harlow was only 26 when she died in 1937. Unlike most of the other entries on this list, she didn’t die from a drug overdose, or a suicide, or murder, or anything so dramatic, though the tabloids of the time ran rampant with speculation of such; she had always been in poor health, from scarlet fever to septicemia (blood poisoning), but it was kidney failure which ultimately ended the short life of Jean Harlow. In tribute to her magnificent beauty, she was buried in the long, flowing nightgown she wore in the film The Libeled Lady. Her final picture, Saratoga, was released just two months after her death, and became one of the highest-grossing films of 1937.

Jim Morrison

One of the greatest poets of the 1960s, Jim Morrison shaped the development of the youth of the era. He died in 1971 in a hotel room in Paris. He was only 27, and had developed a nigh-crippling alcohol dependency. His cause of death was listed as “heart failure,” but no autopsy was performed.

Gia Carangi

Before there was Cindy Crawford, there was Gia Carangi. Widely regarded as the world’s first “supermodel,” her beauty and poise were unmatched, and she was a favorite of all the top fashion photographers. Unfortunately, her heroin addiction led to her fall from grace and subsequent death from AIDS in 1986 at 26. Her life was documented in the 1998 HBO film, Gia, starring Angelina Jolie as the troubled model.

James Dean

East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, and Giant. These three films cemented James Dean‘s status as a youthful leading man for all time. However, the world only got a taste of his talent, as the 23-year-old rising star was killed in a car accident on September 30, 1955. He had an avid interest in race car driving, and he was even a professional racer, though he wasn’t racing when he had his fatal accident. Rebel and Giant were both released posthumously, and the legend of James Dean began.

Sharon Tate

Although Sharon Tate was only a minor actor by the time of her murder in 1969, she became hugely famous because of the circumstances surrounding her violent and tragic death. A little after midnight on August 9th, Sharon, who was married to director Roman Polanski and eight-and-a-half months pregnant, along wth four others, was attacked and slaughtered by members of the Charles Mason family. She was 26.

Tupac

One of the most influential rappers of all time, Tupac Shakur‘s short and tumultuous life was riddled with violence and controversy. In 1995, he was shot five times during a robbery, but he survived; in 1996, when he was 25, he was shot four times in a drive-by attack. He spent several days in the hospital before dying of massive internal bleeding. A film based on his life All Eyez on Me, is due to be released on June 16.

Selena

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was a regular girl with an extraordinary voice whose music and memory are cherished by those who lament that she was only just on the cusp of truly breaking through to superstardom. In 1995, at the age of 23, she was gunned down in 1995 by the manager of her own fan club, who was embezzling money from the singer. Selena‘s posthumous album, Dreaming of You, is a timeless testament to her ability to blend Mexican and American styles into a sound that was uniquely her own. Selena‘s legacy was further cemented by the eponymous film based on her life, which in turn helped to catapult star Jennifer Lopez into the Hollywood A-List.

Paul Walker

The star of such films as The Fast and the Furious, Hours, and Varsity Blues, Paul Walker‘s pretty boy smile, California charm, and natural acting style made him one of the hottest stars in Hollywood. During a break in filming Furious 7, he was killed in an unrelated single-car collission, alongside his friend, Roger Rodas. He was 40 years old. The film was completed using his brothers, Caleb and Cody, as body doubles and through cutting-edge CGI effects. The final version of Furious 7, directed by James Wan, is a touching tribute to the talented actor who was cut down during the prime of his life and career.

Aaliyah

R&B singer Aaliyah Dana Haughton was just 22 when her plane went down in The Bahamas on August 25, 2001. Sadly, her promising career as an actor was just getting started. Already a successful singer–she was signed to a label when she was 12 and had released three hugely successful albums—she appeared in her first film, Romeo Must Die, in 2000, and had just completed the movie Queen of the Damned when she died. Everyone from Adele to Zendaya name Aaliyah as a major influence on their musical style.

Heath Ledger

Australian heartthrob Heath Ledger proved his dashing dreamboat status in movies like A Knight’s Tale and 10 Things I Hate About You, but also showed off tremendous talent in his later work, including Brokeback Mountain and his final completed film, The Dark Knight, in which he portrayed a visceral and anarchic version of The Joker. His performance, and the film, are regarded as genre-defining. In January of 2008, when he was 28, he died due to an accidental overdose of a number of prescription medications.

River Phoenix

River Phoenix was one of the breakout teen idols of his time, from his Oscar-nominated performance in Running on Empty to his whimsical turn as a younger version of Henry Jones Jr. in the high-octane adventure, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Phoenix was a performer whose acting range, even at an extremely young age, was understood in Hollywood to be utterly limitless. Alas, only a fraction of his true potential was ever known; on Halloween 1993, when he was only 23-years-old, he collapsed outside of the Viper Room in Hollywood and died of a drug overdose. He was rushed to the hospital, but it was too late.

Marilyn Monroe

If there’s a sex symbol for all time, there’s no doubt about it – it’s Marilyn Monroe. The star of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Some Like it Hot, and The Seven Year Itch is simply unmatched in the hierarchy of Hollywood leading ladies. Even today, more than 50 years after her death at age 36, she is mourned by millions of fans all over the world. We still get wistful every time Elton John‘s “Candle in the Wind,” written in memory of the starlet, plays on the radio.