Actors Whose Deaths Are Still Unexplained
Hollywood is often seen as a world of glitz, glamour, and superstardom, where actors enjoy the best that life has to offer. But not all actors live to enjoy the fruits of their fame and fortune, their lives cut short due to illness ... and sometimes murder. Some of Hollywood's brightest have been struck down too soon, but while many have a clear cause, some of those shocking deaths have left lingering questions about what exactly led to their last moments.
This includes not only unexplained deaths too quickly dismissed as the result of drugs or alcohol, but also chilling murders that remain unsolved, with no suspect ever found. Many of these cases have left fans and investigators alike searching for answers even decades later, and despite the passage of time, the intrigue surrounding their deaths endures. They've prompted wild speculation, crazy conspiracy theories, and loads of back alley gossip.
For some, these unexplained deaths are a fascinating look at the seedy underbelly of the movie industry. For those who knew them, though, it's a disturbing reminder that even the richest and most famous among us can become victims, too. Let's take a look at those actors whose deaths remain unexplained.
Elizabeth Short
Not only is the murder of Elizabeth Short one of the most grisly deaths in Hollywood history, but it's also one of the most famous unsolved murders in American history in general. The 1947 killing of the 22-year-old actress began with the discovery of her body in a Los Angeles suburb. Witnesses initially believed it was a mannequin because her body had been cut in half at the waist. As horrific as that was, it was the total lack of blood at the scene that baffled police.
Short was nicknamed "The Black Dahlia" by the press, inspired by the 1946 film "The Blue Dahlia" and Short's choice of black fashion. A joint investigation by the LAPD and the FBI initially focused on suspects with surgical knowledge given the lack of blood, with students at the nearby University of Southern California Medical School interviewed. Unfortunately, no serious person of interest was ever identified, though the case was made even more mysterious when a letter was mailed to police, ostensibly from the killer. The fingerprints found on the letter couldn't be identified.
Over the years, "The Black Dahlia" case has been the subject of endless conspiracy theories, with some believing it may have been connected to the infamous Cleveland Torso Murders the previous decade. Some 30 years later there was interest in a potential suspect in those killings that at least one detective thought was involved in Short's murder, but the suspect died before any action could be taken.
George Reeves
Though George Reeves wasn't the first actor to play Superman on screen (that would be Kirk Alyn), he was the first to do so on television and helped introduce the character to millions. One might even argue that without Reeves and the 1952 series "The Adventures of Superman," the character might never have become as world-renowned as he is today. The series also made Reeves a superstar, and yet just a year after it ended, he was dead.
Discovered in his apartment fully nude, with a fatal bullet wound to the head, George Reeves' death has confounded authorities and fans alike for decades. Initially, his death was deemed a suicide, and not just because of the physical circumstances, but because his own fiancée had made comments shortly before his death that he was going to end his own life. Others who knew him, including his mother and his business manager, insisted that Reeves wouldn't have killed himself, while other evidence suggests that he may have been murdered.
Reeves had recently been involved in a torrid love affair with actor Toni Mannix, the wife of Hollywood producer Eddie Mannix. But Eddie was well-known as a thug, and even thought to be connected to the mob. It's believed that Eddie actually approved of his wife's affair (he had his own extramarital consort, too) but was enraged by Reeves breaking his wife's heart, leaving her in favor of his then-fiancée Lenore Lemmon — who, according to some theories, may have also fired the shot that killed Superman.
Jack Nance
It's not uncommon for an actor to owe their whole career to a single director, and Jack Nance is one of them. He got his big break in 1977 when he starred in the independent surrealist drama "Eraserhead" from director David Lynch. From there the actor and director worked together many more times, including a role for Nance in the original "Twin Peaks." But after completing work on Lynch's 1997 film "Lost Highway," Nance turned up dead. To this day, nobody knows exactly what happened.
On December 29th, 1996, Nance was found dead in his apartment by friend and screenwriter Leo Bulgarini. His body was slumped on the floor of his small bathroom, and it was determined that he died of blunt-force trauma to the head. Some believed he had fallen and possibly hit his head on the sink, because he'd suffered a pair of strokes in the previous two years. But there were other circumstances suggesting he may have died from injuries sustained in a physical altercation.
Earlier that evening, Nance had apparently gotten into a fight with a pair of men outside his apartment, according to Bulgarini, who had inquired with Nance about a black eye he was sporting. When this information came to light, police scoured the area for the two suspects that Nance had described, but found nothing. As legend has it, though, Nance may have predicted his own fate, often telling friends that his ill temper would one day lead to his death.
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe is the quintessential starlet, a model and actress in the Golden Age of Hollywood who dazzled on the screen and made the press and the public swoon with her every move. She is also among the few true superstars to die under mysterious circumstances, and her death sent shockwaves through the industry in 1962. It was the wee morning hours of August 4th when Monroe's housekeeper knocked on her bedroom door because the light was still on. When she didn't receive a response, she feared the worst and called her psychiatrist, Ralph Greenson.
Born Norma Jean Mortenson, Monroe had been under the doctor's care for some time and had struggled with drug addiction. When Greenson arrived, he found Monroe unconscious, and she was officially declared dead at around 3:50 a.m. by her personal physician, who had also been summoned. While empty bottles of prescription pills were found near her, an accidental overdose was ruled out, and a later investigation deemed that suicide was the likely cause of death.
In the years to follow, however, multiple witnesses said they'd been pressured to give statements that were less than truthful, part of a cover-up that involved U.S. President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy. Rumors swirled that Monroe had been having controversial affairs with both that could have damaged their political careers — and that she needed to be silenced.
William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor made a name for himself as an actor and director in the early days of cinema, during the silent era. Sadly, he's most famous today for being the victim of a mysterious homicide that has still never been solved. Found dead on his stomach in his swanky Los Angeles bungalow, he'd suffered a gunshot wound to his chest, but there was no evidence of who might have shot him.
What made the case even more unusual was that by the time police arrived to examine the crime scene, there was already a commotion in his home, with frantic studio executives tossing paperwork into Taylor's fireplace. Although a man claiming to be a doctor incorrectly announced on the scene that the cause of Taylor's death was a stomach hemorrhage, the identity of the alleged doctor was never determined. Evidence later surfaced that Taylor had been having an affair, and reports of a strange individual leaving his home that night began to spread. A mysterious set of keys found at the scene — which did not open anything on the property — was also never explained.
Even more perplexing, investigators later learned that William Desmond Taylor wasn't even his real name: He'd once been William Deane Tanner, and had been involved in several business ventures prior to his Hollywood career. Despite a long list of potential suspects, nobody was ever charged and there is still no consensus on who might have done the deed.
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood was a major star in the 1950s and '60s, appearing in several iconic films including "West Side Story" and "Rebel Without a Cause." Her 1981 death was a shock to Hollywood that has puzzled fans, investigators, and criminology experts for more than 40 years. On the surface, it seemed like a tragic accident, but there's enough evidence to hint at foul play and perhaps even a possible suspect. But nobody has ever been brought to trial for her murder, and those involved remain mum.
While filming the movie "Brainstorm," Wood took a break and went on a boating trip with her husband Robert Wagner and her costar Christopher Walken. At some point, Wood went overboard and drowned, but the coroner's stated time of death at around midnight made Wagner's first call to authorities at 1:30 a.m. somewhat suspicious. To make matters worse, when her body was finally recovered, certain marks on her body seemed to suggest that there had been some kind of physical struggle or altercation. Some chalked it up to her fighting to get back aboard the yacht after falling into the water, but this was never proven beyond a doubt.
Since the night of Wood's death, many have come to believe that Wagner was hiding something from investigators. Reports later surfaced from witnesses that he and Wood had been engaged in a heated argument before she went missing, but in the four decades that have passed, no action has been taken and Wagner has never faced charges.
Bob Crane
Best known for fronting the hit wartime sitcom "Hogan's Heroes" in the 1960s, Bob Crane was a huge TV star in his day. But less than a decade after the show ended, Crane was found murdered. It was 1978, and the actor had just made an appearance on "The Love Boat." Yet when his body was discovered, police at the scene struggled to identify him.
Found shirtless, with severe wounds to his head and face, Crane appeared to have been strangled by an electrical cord. But the actor's death also highlighted his sordid personal life, even if it wasn't a secret to those who knew him. Crane was an collector of X-rated photography and adult films, and he was also involved in making pornography himself. When he was found dead, investigators believed that this abnormal hobby may have played a role in ending his life.
Crane had become close to a man named John Henry Carpenter, and the two began filming their sexual exploits with various women together. Then, following a reported falling-out between the two men, Crane was murdered, and his son Robert believed strongly that Carpenter was the killer. But while Carpenter did face murder charges, he was eventually cleared due to lack of evidence in 1994.
Virginia Rappe
Virginia Rappe was a silent film star and model in the 1910s, though her career and life were cut short when she was just 30 years old. The circumstances surrounding her death, though, are curious and also involve another star, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who was the prime suspect in her apparent rape and murder.
Rappe's last days began when she attended a party being thrown by Arbuckle on September 5, 1921. Arbuckle later testified that he was the one who found Rappe in the bathroom, drifting in and out of consciousness, and he attempted to nurse her back to health with some water and ice. He and an accompanying friend, Maude Delmont, believed she was drunk, and attempted to place her in an ice bath before a doctor arrived and sedated her. Rappe was eventually admitted to a hospital, where she died four days later from a ruptured bladder.
Shockingly, further testimony from Delmont accused Arbuckle of sexually assaulting Rappe, and that because of Arbuckle's weight Rappe sustained internal injuries during the assault that led to her slow death. Arbuckle was arrested on murder charges, which were later changed to manslaughter. He protested his innocence and was eventually cleared after three trials, but questions still remain about just what led to the death of Virginia Rappe.
Tupac Shakur
Perhaps the biggest rap star of the early 1990s, Tupac Shakur ventured into films as well, starring in three back-to-back-to-back greats, "Juice," "Poetic Justice," and "Above the Rim." Unfortunately, his heavy involvement in the gangster rap scene brought a violent element to his life that tragically ended in his murder just a few years later. His death, and his quarrel with fellow rapper Notorious B.I.G., is among the most infamous industry feuds of all time, and there seems to be no question that this rivalry led to his fatal shooting in 1996. But nobody knows exactly who pulled the trigger.
It all went down the night of September 7th, 1996, after Shakur and record producer "Suge" Knight attended a boxing match in Las Vegas. Cruising down the Vegas Strip in Shakur's car, the pair were approached at around 11:15 p.m. by a white Cadillac. Someone in that vehicle pulled out a gun and started shooting, hitting Shakur four times and leaving him with wounds in his chest, arm and leg. Both men were rushed to the hospital, but while Knight eventually recovered from his own injuries, Shakur was taken off life support later that evening.
For decades, no real suspects were ever identified, but one witness, Yafeu Fula, turned up dead himself. In 2023, a man came forward and admitted that he was Shakur's killer, but later recanted. With the case unsolved for more than 30 years, it's possible that we'll never know who killed the superstar rapper.
Thelma Todd
A member of the cast of the original "The Maltese Falcon" in 1931, Thelma Todd was one of the biggest stars of her era, with a career encompassing dozens of movies. That's why it was such a stunning blow when she was found dead at the wheel of her own car, parked in a garage belonging to director Roland West, with whom she was romantically involved. The victim of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning, Todd was dressed up as if she was ready for a night on the town.
At first, investigators believed that she might have hit her head on the steering wheel and passed out while the car was running. Given the circumstances found at the scene, her death was ruled an accident. But other evidence suggested foul play. Circumstantially, Todd was said to have been the target of an extortion plot, leading some to believe Todd had taken her own life, unable to cope with the situation. But other forensic evidence seemed to indicate that she'd had a hose placed down her throat, which could have meant that it was murder.
When she was found, the keys were still in the ignition and yet there was still gas in the car's tank. Meanwhile, one witness said she'd seen Todd driving in the same car with an unidentified man the same day she died. Nearly a century later, plenty of questions about her death remain unanswered.
Brittany Murphy
Brittany Murphy had quite a varied career, achieving fame in 1995's "Clueless" and later landing roles in several classic dramas like "Girl, Interrupted" and "8 Mile." She also provided voicework in animation, appearing as Gloria in "Happy Feet" and playing Luanne Platter for 12 years on "King of the Hill." Her role on the Mike Judge animated series was cut short, however, when she died shortly before Christmas in 2009, at just 32 years old. It was a sudden death that has left her fans and her family mystified.
Sick with what appeared to be the flu, Murphy died on December 20, reportedly calling out to her mother that she was having trouble breathing. While rumors swirled that Murphy had been struggling with addiction, which many feared may have caused her death, her family denied she had any troubles with drugs. Officially, the coroner's report listed the cause of death as the combined result of pneumonia, the effects of anemia, and drug intoxication. No illicit substances were found in her body.
Adding further intrigue to Murphy's unexplained death was the fate of her husband, Simon Monjack, who died less than six months later in the same home, from similar causes. His mother believed strongly that the home they lived in may have been plagued with undetected toxic mold, but officials ruled this out as a possible cause of death.
If you or anyone you know is struggling or in crisis, has been a victim of sexual assault, or needs help with addiction issues, contact the relevant resources below:
- Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org
- Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
- Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).