Stars Who Died Of Alcoholism

He was previously married to “Desperate Housewives” actor Eva Longoria in 2002.

Lifestyle Quizzes

Well known for his addiction problems, drinking was just one piece of the puzzle. In 2011 Dunn was the driver of a car involved in a fatal car accident. These celebrities illustrate that alcohol is often used to self-medicate — to alleviate life’s stressors.

Never a critical darling, Kinkade sold millions of prints of his work. In 2012 Kinkade ODed from a combination of drinking and diazepam at the age of 54. Probably now known best as Drew Barrymore’s grandfather, John Barrymore was a pioneer in early Hollywood. But the Barrymore family isn’t only famous for acting; they were famous for putting them back, and John was no exception. US Senator Joseph McCarthy was infamous for the anti-Communist House Un-American Activities Committee hearings he led in the 1950s.

Leading man

The actor was found dead in 2023, with the cause of death later being revealed to be positional asphyxia due to acute alcohol intoxication. As the story goes, Reed, who was renowned for being a heavy drinker but who had apparently been off booze for months prior, got involved in a drinking match that ultimately killed him. When he did pass in 1984 at the age of 58, it was due to an intracerebral hemorrhage. His actual death was sudden, but his health had been declining for many years due to alcoholism.

William Holden

He died in 1969 after being rushed to the hospital when he started vomiting blood while drinking whiskey. His cause of death was a hemorrhage caused by cirrhosis. Gerry Rafferty was a Scottish singer and musician, famous for such hits as “Stuck in the Middle with You” (as a member of Stealers Wheel) and “Baker Street”. Born into a working-class family, Rafferty began drinking early in life, a habit that impacted his personal and professional lives. He suffered severe liver damage as the years went on, leading to his passing in 1995 at the age 57. Michael Elphick was a well-known British character actor, known for roles in The Elephant Man and Gorky Park.

He also had the lead in a non-Hammer horror, The Party’s Over (made 1963, released 1965), directed by Guy Hamilton. Perhaps Ford’s greatest legacy was the honesty she brought to the American idea of alcoholism. She was quoted as saying “My makeup wasn’t smeared, I wasn’t disheveled, I behaved politely, and I never finished off a bottle, so how could I be alcoholic? ” In other words, there are no stereotypical symptoms of alcoholism. Even being first lady of the United States doesn’t make you immune to alcoholism. Vincent Jackson was a professional football player who played in the NFL for 12 seasons.

These famous figures sadly couldn’t beat their demons

His most successful work was his semi-autobiographical road novel, On the Road, which extensively explored what the Beats called “the derangement of the senses”. Veronica Lake, with her iconic peek-a-boo blonde hair, was particularly well-known for playing film noir femme fatales in the 1940s. In real life, her drinking, most likely a form of self-medication for her issues with mental illness, led to her end in 1973 at age 50. Reed got his first significant role in Hammer Films’ Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960), again directed by Fisher. He went back to small roles for His and Hers (1961), a Terry-Thomas comedy; No Love for Johnnie (1961) for Ralph Thomas; and The Rebel (1961) with Tony Hancock. He played the role of Sebastian in the ITV series It’s Cold Outside, which was popular with teenagers, making him an idol for the first time.

He suffered a fatal, alcohol-related stomach hemorrhage on Christmas Day, 1946, at the age 66.
He was experiencing delirium tremens, a severe form of alcohol withdrawal, which led to an accident that landed him in the hospital with a fractured skull.
“When you become an addict at 9 years old, fast forward 40 years, at some point, you cannot survive it,” Christopher said.
Ryan Dunn was known as one of the daredevil stars of MTV’s Jackass.
In a July 2023 interview with Bloomberg Law, the actor acknowledged he had a “relapse” at the airport but was back in recovery.

John Cassavetes

Famous pop/rock musician Billy Joel has admitted to struggling with alcohol abuse in his adult life. Drinking has, apparently, gotten in the way of his career and personal relationships. Fellow musician (and frequent touring partner) Elton John begged Joel to get treatment for alcoholism.

He had gone to sleep in his car after a night of heavy drinking and suffered from acute alcohol poisoning.Unfortunately, there are many celebrities who ultimately succumbed to their drinking problem. Click through this gallery to see which stars sadly died as a result of alcohol abuse. Cassidy went on to have a successful career as a musician but his life was troubled behind the scenes.

When they met in 1980, she was 16 years old and he was 42.43 In his final years, Reed and Burge lived in Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. Reed appeared in The New Spartans (1975), then acted alongside Karen Black, Bette Davis, and Burgess Meredith in the Dan Curtis horror film, Burnt Offerings (1976). He was in The Sell Out (1976) and The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday (1976) with Lee Marvin. During this time, he appeared in some ITV Playhouse productions, “Murder in Shorthand” (1962) and “The Second Chef” (1962), and guest-starred in episodes of The Saint.

English actor Oliver Reed died of a heart attack during a break from filming ‘Gladiator’ (2000). In 1969, after one last night of drinking rye, Kerouac complained of stomach pains. He passed the next day from a hemorrhage caused by cirrhosis, at the age of 47.