Accidental Celebrity Overdoses

The death of Heath Ledger in January was very unexpected. Ledger was not known for his wild lifestyle or drug use, yet the description of him being found face down on the floor of a New York apartment with pills in the room was sadly familiar. The toxicology reports confirmed another Hollywood star taken by accidental overdose. The drugs found in his body included doxylamine and diazepam and were meant for treating anxiety, insomnia, depression and flu. Ledger is the latest in a list of actors and actresses who have died from drug use. These are not the stars who take their own lives, but victims of accidental overdose.

There seems to be something about Hollywood and the lifestyle that comes with it which claims the lives of so many of it’s stars. Why would such a rich young man depend on so many prescription drugs to get him through the day?

At 28, Oscar winning Ledger was only beginning his acting career, and his two year old daughter makes his death all the more tragic. When someone who lives the glamorous and successful life that others aspire to dies from drugs, it makes us realise that the excess and stress of the industry is far more dark and consuming than many of us realise.

Perhaps one of the most well known actresses to die in similar conditions was Marilyn Monroe. She was the Golden Globe winning sex symbol who starred in movies such as Some Like it Hot and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Monroe spent most of her childhood in in foster care, and married at the age of 16 to avoid further time in care. She featured in the first Playboy and began her acting career by playing dumb blondes, and was admired for her comic timing.

On August 5 1962, she was found dead by her housekeeper in her home in California. The cause of death was accidental overdose, from Nembatol and Chloral Hydrate, which are sedatives. It was thought that it could have been suicide, bit there was not enough evidence to prove it. There are also many theories that she may have been murdered, but the truth remains a mystery. She was 36.

Judy Garland, known as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, was another actress who died from accidental overdose. Her first performance was at the age of two, when she performed songs with her sisters at her fathers theatre company. The sisters continued to perform together and had a few roles in movies. She was signed to MGM, where she was surrounded by beauties such as Ava Gardner and Elizabeth Taylor, who made her feel ugly in comparison. She was very insecure, and the studio made her wear a rubber disk to reshape her nose. She was also given amphetamines and sleeping aids to keep with the pace of making films. She was cast for The Wizard of Oz at the age of 16. She had a number of successful films, but suffered a breakdown and attempted suicide. She made a comeback and starred in many more roles, but on June 22 1969, she was found dead in her rented house in London. It was an accidental overdose, and the sleeping pills had been ingested over a long period of time, ruling out suicide. She was 47.

John Belushi was a comedian, actor and musician. He was on Saturday Night Live alongside Chevy Chase., and was best known for his roles in Animal House and The Blues Brothers. He was good friends with Dan Aykroyd , and was known to take drugs. He had numerous projects that he was working on at the time of his death. The role of Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters was written with him in mind, but he never got to play it.

On March 5 1982, he was found dead in his room in the Chateau Marmont in LA. On the night he dies he had been with a group of people, including Robert de Niro and Robin Williams, who all took drugs. The official cause of death was from a speedball, an injection of heroin and cocaine. He was 33.

River Phoenix was another young star taken by drugs. He stared in Stand by Me and Indiana Jones and the last Crusade. He was nominated for both Academy Awards and Golden Globes. As a child, his parents were members of a cult, The Children of God. His parents encouraged his acting and he reluctantly accepted his success, happy to be the breadwinner of his family. He was shy and hated publicity, as trait shared with Ledger who was known to have a tense relationship with the paparazzi. He was a vegan and even bought acres of the rainforest in Costa Rica to save it from development.

In 1993, he was in LA working on a film, dark Blood which was almost finished. On October 30, he was in The Viper Room. He was seen in the bathroom taking drugs with his friends. He took a snort of heroin, and soon began to shake and vomit. A friend gave him a Valium in an attempt to calm him. His brother and girlfriend took him outside, where he had a seizure. A cameraman called an ambulance. He was brought to hospital, but died less than an hour later. Blood tests found lethal levels of cocaine, heroin and crystal meth in his body. He was 23, and was meant to be starring in Interview with a Vampire.