There are plenty of famous sad stories from Hollywood, but some of the most tragic ones have been almost entirely forgotten.
The road near Ossining
It’s hard to picture now, but there was a time when Hollywood wasn’t even Hollywood yet. It was when Florence La Badie was around. She was a name during the silent-film era, and she worked for Thanhouser, making loads of pictures. She had all the makings of a star.
Tragically, though, a car accident in August 1917 put those dreams to bed. Literally. She didn’t die immediately in the accident, but she was seriously injured and only lived for a couple of months after. La Badie died on October 13 from septicemia. She was 29 years old.
The New Year’s accident
Everything seemed to be going right for Susan Peters, and it looked like she was going from success to success. She got an Oscar nomination for Random Harvest, for starters. New Year’s Day 1945 put an end to all of that success, however.
During a freak hunting accident, a rifle went off, and Peters was shot. Luckily, she survived. But the accident left her completely paralyzed from the waist down and meant that her acting career was basically over. Her health declined over the years until she died at age 31 in 1952.
The long fall
A story like Barbara Payton’s feels very Hollywood, and rightfully so. She was acting next to major names and receiving tons of studio praise one minute, but the very next, it was all over. Public scandal. Addiction. Arrest. Money problems.
All of these contributed to her brutal exit from the movie business, and worst of all, it wasn’t exactly a quick process, either. It took several years. Sadly, by 1967, she had moved back to San Diego with her parents and was suffering heart and liver problems. She died aged 39.
The house in Pacific Palisades
Beauty and a real screen career aren’t enough, apparently. Carole Landis had it all, including comic timing, but her private life was a completely different story. She was found dead in her Pacific Palisades home in July 1948 at only 29 years old.
According to reports, she was in a relationship with actor Rex Harrison shortly before her death. Harrison was married to Lilli Palmer at the time. It was his refusal to leave his wife for Landis that apparently led to her suicide.
The rumor that followed her
Lupe Vélez didn’t know peace, even in her death. When she was alive, she was promoted as the ‘Mexican Spitfire’ and boxed in as an exotic beauty on the silver screen, becoming one of the first major Mexican actresses in Hollywood.
Vélez unfortunately committed suicide in December 1944 while pregnant. A later urban legend claimed that she had accidentally drowned in the toilet after slipping on the bathroom tile, but it’s not true. Her real death was sad enough.
The $2 detail
Dorothy Dandridge was another starlet who made Hollywood history. She was the first Black woman to be nominated for the Best Actress Oscar after her performance in Carmen Jones. But behind-the-scenes, her life was one problem after another.
Her career and finances declined massively, and by 1965, she allegedly had a little over $2 in her bank account. It was mostly due to numerous lawsuits. Dandridge died from an accidental overdose during the same year.
The meeting she never left
Twenty years old is too young for anyone to die, least of all Dorothy Stratten. She had been nominated as Playboy’s 1980 Playmate of the Year and had begun taking on some acting roles. You might recognize her from Peter Bogdanovich’s They All Laughed.
Stratten’s estranged husband, Paul Snider, ended her dreams, though. She had been trying to separate from him and decided to meet him in Los Angeles. Snider shot Stratten before turning the shotgun on himself.
The door in West Hollywood
Celebrity stalking wasn’t something people used to take seriously, but Rebecca Schaeffer’s horrific murder changed that. Schaeffer had begun making a name for herself after appearing in My Sister Sam and Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills.
But in July 1989, a man named Robert John Bardo came to Schaeffer’s West Hollywood apartment. He had been stalking her for a few years. Bardo got Schaeffer’s address through DMV records and shot her at point-blank range.
The comeback that didn’t happen
Alma Rubens was a name people knew during the 1910s. She’d made close to 60 movies, after all. Sadly, like in many Hollywood stories, substances became a major issue for Rubens, and they started destroying her life. Her work and reputation declined. So did her health.
She was 33 years old in January 1931 and had already become seriously ill after being arrested for possession. Rubens developed both pneumonia and bronchitis, leading to her falling into a coma. She never woke up.
The silent house
It’s true. Gail Russell really did look like she was born to be in old movies, and it’s all thanks to her fragile, almost shy look. No wonder she had a starring role in films like The Uninvited. Russell went on to star in several films between 1945 and 1951.
But alcohol became a major problem for her behind-the-scenes, so Paramount dropped her. She was planning a major comeback during the early ‘60s. However, in 1961, she was found dead in her Westwood home after suffering from years of chronic alcoholism.
The hotel suite
You may know Virginia Rappe’s name from the Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle case. But she was so much more than that. Rappe had worked as both a model and an actress during the silent film era, shortly before the headlines took over.
Rappe had attended a party at Arbuckle’s suite in September 1921. The exact details of what happened next are a little unclear. However, one thing’s for sure, and it’s that she died a few days later due to an infection from a ruptured bladder. Arbuckle was acquitted of her murder.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
