The death of Brownstone singer Charmayne “Maxee” Maxwell from a freak accident involving a wine glass is nothing if not tragic, and a reminder to all of us that life as we know it is, indeed, too short.
As freaky as Maxee’s sudden death was, she isn’t the first (or the only) celebrity to lose his/her life as a result of a freak accident. Here’s our list of celebrities who perished in a strange, unusual, and unfortunate way.
—
Photo: YouTube
15. Sonny Bono
The name may not mean anything to you today, but at one time, he was known as one-half of the duo of Sonny & Cher (yes, thatCher). Many rock’n’roll experts believe that, without Sonny, there would be no Cher (since he discovered her). In any event, in 1998, the singer-turned-Congressman was skiing with his family in Nevada when he struck a tree without warning. He died as a result of his injuries.
14. Jeff Buckley
In the 1990’s, the name Jeff Buckley rang many a rocker’s bell. He wrote pensive, sensitive lyrical masterpieces rife with aching eroticism and esoteric pain. The son of 1960’s singer-songwriter Tim Buckley, Jeff’s life reached an untimely end when he accidentally drowned in a river on April 29, 1997.
13. David Carradine
One of many great actors in the Carradine family, he was the man that brought Kung Fu to television audiences with his show of the same name. Despite an illustrious acting career, he was found dead in a Bangkok hotel room in 2009, naked and slumped in a closet with cords binding his genitals to his neck. To this day, people don’t know if his death was a result of suicide, accident, or the resultant heart attack that came from being discovered.
12. Jayne Mansfield
Nowadays, more people are familiar with her daughter Mariska Hargitay (better known as Sgt. Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU), but in the 1960’s, you couldn’t go anywhere without people buzzing about the escapades of blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield. Whether it was her scandalous affairs, outrageous publicity stunts, or dabbling in Satanism, Mansfield knew how to make headlines. That all came to an end when she was killed (and decapitated) as a result of a freak car accident. Interestingly enough, Mariska was also in the car accident that decapitated her mother…but she has no memory of the accident, and she escaped the wreck relatively unharmed.
Photo credit: WENN.com
11. Brandon Lee
The son of legendary karate master & actor Bruce Lee, Brandon Lee was on his way to a respectable career of his own when he was shot and killed during the filming of the movie that would be his breakout hit, The Crow. It was later discovered that a fragment of a live bullet was left lodged in the gun that was intended to shoot blanks for his scene.
10. Grace Kelly
This Hollywood actress turned Princess of Monaco (her title, at the time of her death, was Her Serene Highness) met an untimely fate in 1982 when, while out driving with her troubled daughter Princess Stephanie, she faulted on a curve known as the Devil’s Curse and crashed to her death. Princess Stephanie survived the crash, and she is said to be troubled by her mother’s death to this day.
9. Tennessee Williams
The acclaimed, troubled playwright choked to death on a medicine bottle cap in 1982.
8. Sal Mineo
The former heartthrob and James Dean’s co-star in Rebel Without a Cause died as a result of being stabbed. What made this death “freaky” was the fact that he was only stabbed once, but due to freaky timing, the stabbing pierced his heart and he literally hemorrhaged to death.
7. Michael Hutchence
The lead singer of the rock band INXS was a sex symbol in his prime, likened to Jim Morrison of The Doors. But as a result of a freak accident in the early 1990’s, he was prone to bouts of depression and was frequently suicidal. He died as a result of an accident: he was trying to choke himself to bring himself to orgasm, and instead accidentally choked himself to death.
6. Aaliyah
Despite the mockery that was the recent movie of her life, there is still something to be said for the reverence that Aaliyah holds in the pop culture consciousness. Unfortunately, she died too young in 2001, when a freak accident with the plane she was riding in killed her and seven other people. It was later discovered that the pilot fraudulently obtained his license, and there was nearly a ton of cargo on the plane (which far exceeded the plane’s limit).
Photo credit: YouTube
5. Michael Jackson
The King of Pop’s tragic life was cut short in 2009 as a result of Propofyl poisoning. What made this death freaky is the fact that the reaction Jackson had to the drug, even when combined with the other drugs he was taking at the time, was an unusual and rare adverse affect.
Photo credit: WENN.com
4. Natalie Wood
Like her other two Rebel Without A Cause co-stars, actress Natalie Wood met her fate in a freaky way. She died of an accidental drowning in 1981.
3. Phil Hartman
Those of us who came of age in the 1980’s remember where we were when this happened: Saturday Night Live comedian Phil Hartman died at the hands of his wife in a murder-suicide that left their young children orphaned.
2. Marvin Gaye
The greatest R’n’B singer of all time died in 1984, when he was shot to death by his own father over (of all things) misplaced documents.
Photo credit: WENN.com
1. Donda West
Dr. Donda West isn’t a celebrity per se, but it’s her freaky death that led to the creation of the pop culture zeitgeist cult surrounding her infamous son, Kanye West. On November 10, 2007, Dr. West died as a result of unforseen complications arising from the elective plastic surgery she had in Brazil. Her death was the turning point in Kanye’s career and life, and some say he never recovered from her demise.
Photo credit: WENN.com
Talk to Bernadette Giacomazzo on Twitter at @berngiacomazzo and on Instagram at @kbprfirm.
