People who died performing

Jon-Eric Hexum was an actor and model, born in the 50’s in New Jersey. He played various roles in American television programs before landing his big lead role in the series ‘Cover Up’ in 1984, in which he played a model turned weapons expert and CIA agent. As with most shows that include guns, the prop .44 Magnum was loaded with blanks, however, it is reported that Hexum was unaware that this prop gun would still shoot out paper wadding which was used to seal gun powder in the shell. During the shooting of a scene where he was to empty the gun of real bullets and load it with blanks, a technical problem meant the scene was delayed, and Hexum fell asleep. Upon waking he realized the scene still wasn’t done and began playing with the gun. It is reported he was playing Russian roulette with the gun, which was loading with 3 empty cartridges and 2 blanks. He put it to his head and said “Let’s see if I’ve got one for me” before pulling the trigger. While the paper wadding didn’t penetrate his skull, it hit with enough force to dislodge a quarter-size piece of skull and propel it into his brain. The accident happened on 12 October, 1984, and, despite 5 hours of surgery, Hexum died 6 days later – he was declared brain dead due to the massive bleeding in his brain. His mother flew his body to San Francisco to be harvested for organ transplants before he was buried.

 Brandon Bruce Lee was the son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, and was born in 1965. During his relatively short career, he walked in his father’s footsteps and starred in many kung fu and action films throughout the 80’s and 90’s. In 1992, he landed the starring role in ‘The Crow’ – a film based on an underground comic book about an undead musician. On March 31, 1993, the crew were filming a scene in which Lee’s character, Eric Draven, finds his girlfriend being beaten and raped by thugs. As he walked onto set, an actor playing one of the thugs was supposed to shoot at Lee with a gun loaded with blanks. Because of various tamperings with the gun, and the blanks being used (the extent of which is still not fully understood), the gun was left with enough primer to push the bullet cartridge out of the gun. Although at a speed much slower than a proper bullet, from close range, it could still prove dangerous. The malfunction went unnoticed and Lee was hit in the abdomen as the bullet traveled through his body and lodged in his spine. The scene was immediately cut and an ambulance called, though it is believed his heart stopped beating on the way to the hospital. Despite a six-hour operation, and 60 pints of blood transfusions, Brandon Lee died at 1:04pm. He was just 28 years old. He was buried next to his father in Washington.

Dimebag Darrell (real name Darrell Lance Abbott) was an American guitarist famous for being a founding member of the metal bands Pantera and Damageplan. Born in 1966, throughout his music career he was praised and widely regarded as “one of the most influential stylists in modern metal”. He was killed on stage while performing with Damageplan, on December 8th 2004, by an ex-marine called Nathan Gale. Gale shot Abbott 5 times, including once in the head, before turning on others and shooting a further 10 shots. He killed 3 more people, including an employee of the arena, and Damageplan’s head of security – both of whom tried to wrestle the hand gun from his hands, and an audience member as he tried to perform CPR on Abbott. He also wounded 7 others. He was killed by a policeman who approached him from behind, as he had a hostage in a headlock, and he was shot in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun. A nurse tried to revive Darrell but he was dead by the time paramedics arrived.
The reasons for Gale’s attack have been debated. An initial motive that was theorized was that Gale was angry at the breakup of Pantera and blamed Abbott for this, or that, apparently, Pantera had stolen a song written by Gale. Another theory suggested Gale was a paranoid schizophrenic and was convinced Damageplan members were reading his mind and stealing his thoughts. Darrell Abbott was buried in a KISS casket, with Eddie Van Halen’s Charvel Hybrid VH2 guitar.

 Owen James Hart was a Canadian wrestler, born in 1965, who won multiple titles during his career, most notably during his time at the WCW, and the WWF. He started his wrestling life in Japan, wrestling for the NJPW (new Japan pro wrestling) circuit, and gained popularity throughout his time in America. He was most memorable for his relationship with his brother, Bret, and his feud with Jerry Lawler, as well as winning his tag team title with Yokozuna. Hart died on May 23rd, 1999, during his arrival to the ring for an Intercontinental Championship match with The Godfather, during the Over-The-Edge pay-per-view event. He was supposed to be lowered into the ring on a harness, where he would be dropped a meter or so from the surface for comedic effect. Tragically, his harness malfunctioned and released Hart too early. He fell 78 feet (24 meters) into the ring and landed chest first on the top rope before being propelled into the middle of the ring. He was able to sit up for a short while after the accident, before losing consciousness. He was rushed to hospital, but pronounced dead on arrival. Hart had died from internal bleeding, due to a severed aorta.

Tommy Cooper was a welsh-born, British prop comedian and magician, famous for the red fez he always wore, and the persona he crafted of a magician whose tricks always go wrong. Cooper died on April 15, 1984, as he performed live on television for a variety show entitled “Live from her Majesty’s”. During a sketch in which he was to pull numerous objects from a gown, just after his assistant helped him put the gown on, Copper collapsed and sat against the curtain while the audience and his assistant laughed, thinking it was an impromptu part of his act. He then fell backwards onto his back, creating more laughs. However, as the minutes passed, it was apparent that something had actually gone wrong, and it wasn’t part of his act. Another curtain was closed to hide where he had fallen, and other acts carried on on the front of the stage. People backstage tried to resuscitate him but couldn’t. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Westminster hospital, from a heart attack. He was 63 years old. Controversy later arose from the fact the video of him collapsing was posted on YouTube. It can be found by searching ‘Tommy Cooper death’.