Last Days

There are certain celebrities who have achieved notoriety not only because of the way they lived, but because of the way they died.

For John Belushi, fame and fortune opened doors to a hedonistic lifestyle, whereas River Phoenix found it hard to reconcile his ethical beliefs with his celebrity status, using drugs as a means of escape. Addiction seemed to fuel Hunter S Thompson’s creativity, although his hard living ultimately led to depression and suicide.

Many stars were plagued by demons from childhood. Natalie Wood was pushed into the limelight before she was old enough to make her own choices. Marvin Gaye’s troubled relationship with his father eventually led to his untimely death and heroin addict Sid Vicious was following in his mother’s footsteps.

What all of these famous figures have in common is the strange and tragic circumstances of their deaths, circumstances which still attract attention and speculation.