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Suspicious Celebrity Deaths
by Jennifer Jordan
At a family dinner the other night, my dad informed my sisters and me that he was the father of Anna Nicole's baby..... sure Dad and Brad Pitt is leaving Angelina for me. While my father's statement was said in jest, it got me to thinking about the infatuation we as a culture have had with Anna Nicole since her death (and even before). If my father, a sixty-five year old man (sorry Dad, I mean a forty-five year old man) is abreast to the latest Anna Nicole news, then who isn't?
The jury, or rather the autopsy, is still out on exactly how Anna Nicole died. All we really know is that she died young and, it doesn't matter who you are, that's a tragedy. Anna's death could be the result of any number of things. Though foul play is not suspected, her death is suspicious and that's enough to make the ears of our culture perk up: not only are we obsessed with celebrities, but we become even more obsessed when they are involved in a suspicious death, their own or someone else's.
Anna is not the first celebrity to be involved in an untimely, strange death and, sadly, she probably won't be the last. Deaths laden in suspicion nearly seem to come with celebrity territory, packaged in the Styrofoam peanuts of stardom.
O.J. SimpsonO.J. Simpson was acquitted of the 1994 deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and a friend of hers, Ronald Goldman. For this reason, I can't say that O.J. is a murderer, but allow me to call this portion of my article: If He Did It.
Prior to becoming a murder suspect, O.J. was loved as a Hall of Fame running back, a Hertz spokesman, an actor, and a man with a million dollar smile. That all fell apart when he became the prime suspect in a brutal murder: it was a suspicion that led the police on the world's slowest high speed chase down a California highway.
Though a jury failed to convict him, the throngs of guilt still surround him and his name has become synonymous with the word "murderer." Hertz, doesn't it O.J.?
Some people believe he was acquitted because of his celebrity status, while others believe it was because of mistakes the prosecution made during the trial. Whatever the reasons for his acquittal during the criminal trial, they didn't stick in the civil trial. On February 5, 1997, O.J. was found guilty in a wrongful death suit and ordered to pay over 33 million dollars in damages. With pensions protected from seizure, he is rumored to still be able to live his acquired lifestyle leaving those who believe he is guilty angry and under the impression that the justice system is an oxymoron.
Robert BlakeFrom an Our Gang character to a Baretta icon to a murder suspect, Robert Blake is a man of many faces. In 2000, he married a woman named Bonnie Lee Bakley after tests proved that she was pregnant with his child. It was his second marriage and her - introducing the adage never a bridesmaid and always a bride - tenth.
In May of 2001, Bakely was murdered by gun shot in a car while waiting for Blake to return from the restaurant where they had just dined. Blake was eventually arrested for murder, not accused of actually pulling the trigger but of hiring the person who did. After going on trial, Blake was acquitted.
Like O.J. Simson, an acquittal in the criminal trial did not hold up in the civil suit. In late November of 2005, a jury agreed with the wrongful death suit filed against Blake. He was ordered to pay 30 million dollars. A few months later, Blake found himself filing for bankruptcy.
Rebecca Lucile SchaefferOnly 21 years old when she was shot and killed n 1989, Rebecca Lucile Schaeffer had a career that was just getting started. Best known for her role in the sitcom My Sister Sam, Schaeffer was shot by Robert Bardo, a 19-year-old who was a crazed fan. After stalking her for three years, writing letters and attempting to gain access onto the set of My Sister Sam, Bardo hired a private investigator to find her place of residence. The PI was able to locate it through DMV records.
Bardo dressed up as a flower delivery man and approached Schaeffer's doorway. When she answered, he shot her once in the heart. He was arrested the next day.
The death of Schaeffer set the ball in motion for California's anti-stalking laws. It also helped change the law regarding the release of information through the DMV.
Natalie WoodA child-turned-adult-actress, Natalie Wood was the face of a generation. Known for her roles in Rebel Without a Cause and West Side Story as well as her dating life - a life that saw her court the likes of Elvis, Raymond Burr, Warren Beauty, and Dennis Hopper - her death was also not void of drama. Even today, mysteries still remain.
In 1981, at the age of 45, Wood drowned while onboard a yacht with her husband, Robert Wagner, and Christopher Walken. No one knows for certain what happened and the reports varied. One theory suggests that Wagner and Walken got into a disagreement and, while they argued, Wood fell overboard. Though a witness on shore reported hearing Wood cry for help - as well as the two men reasurring her that they were coming - Wagner, Walken, and the man piloting the yacht all said they never heard anything.
Wood was legally drunk at the time and this likely compromised her ability to swim. Bruises were also found on her body, but these were ambigious, possibly being a result of her fall.
Brandon Bruce LeeThe son of the greatest martial artist of all time, Brandon Lee, just like his father, met an untimely death. In 1994, while filiming the movie The Crow, Lee was shot by a gun that was supposed to be a harmless prop. Instead, a bullet was lodged in the revolver. When the trigger was pulled - as written in the script - the reverberation of the blanks cause the bullet to propel, ultimatley shooting Lee in the abdomen. Despite a five hour attempt to save him, Lee was pronouced dead at the age of 28. The footage of his fictional-turned-real death scene was destroyed but the movie was eventually finished.
Some people suspect that Lee was a victim of foul play; the freak accident that claimed his life just seemed a little too far fetched. Others, however, believe that his death was part of the Bruce Lee curse. Bruce Lee also died young, suffering from brain swelling at the age of 32.
About the Author
Jennifer Jordan is a senior editor for iturbocharge.com. Possessing an infatuation with pop culture - and a little bit of stalking - she keeps up on the latest news of the musical world.
Gunsmoke clip * "Get out of Dodge"
When Matt incarcerates a man (that intends to kill him) without a legal reason, he finds himself at odds with the town of Dodge and a mob led by the prisoner's employer.
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