Actors We Have Lost To Car Accidents

lsaul — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 23:41:05 +0000

Whether it’s coincidence or something that just comes with the territory, actor car accident deaths are not hard to come by. Honestly, what is it about famous people and dying young and/or tragically? And in Porsches? On the other hand, after digging a little deeper into some of the more famous deaths behind the wheel, it really isn’t always the famous-actor-behind-the-wheel’s fault. Just usually.

James Dean

This rebel without a cause is about as iconic as they come. At onl 24 James Dean had already solidified his place in cinema history (though it is arguable that his tragic and early demise may have something to do with his place in the pantheon). Dean’s infamous crash occurred on September 30, 1955 while speeding his brand new Porsche 550 Spyder through Northern California en route to an auto rally. Surprisingly, no drugs or alcohol were to blame for this fatal accident–just another car making a a left hand turn in front of them, resulting in an near head-on collision. The other driver survived with minor injuries, while Dean as we know did not.

Ryan Dunn

Another Porsche-related accident, lesser-known Jackass Ryan Dunn crashed his 911 GT3 in the woods lining a Pennsylvania highway June 20, 2011, where it then burst into flames. Though it has yet to be confirmed, Dunn’s Tweet of himself pointing to a drink in his hand at the bar he was coming from also points pretty strongly to the fact he was drunk as well as speeding.

Jayne Mansfield

O.G. blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield was about as girlie as they came–her pink mansion in Beverly Hills even had a heart-shaped pool which, given her propensity for nude scenes and Playboy spreads, surely saw a good amount of skinny dipping. Along with keeping her busy on the big screen, her feminine wiles also put her out on the road, which unfortunately got the better of her on June 29, 1967. While traveling in a Buick from Biloxi to New Orleans, Mansfield’s driver rear-ended and went under a tractor trailer, instantly killing her along with the others riding in the front seat.

Sam Kinison

Did you know Sam Kinison was in training to be a preacher before he turned to stand up comedy? That’s why he screamed so much. He did offend a lot of people (impressively enough even those accustomed to the offensive like Howard Stern could only take so much Kinison) but when it comes down to it, his death was a tragic one. Just five days after getting married, Kinison and his new wife were plowed into by 17-year-old drunk driver on April 10, 1992 near Needles, California. Mrs. Kinison survived.

Linda Lovelace

SPOILER ALERT: It’s all a dream in the end. Or was it? Anyway, there’d be no point in recounting the plot of The Wizard of Oz, not just one of the most famous dream movies but one of the most famous movies of all time – literally everyone has seen it. And as dream movies go, the plot if pretty linear – Dorothy lands in Munchkinland, and has to achieve a series of tasks before she can get out. Still, having a dream in which you see a brand new set of colors as Dorothy does would have to be pretty startling.

8 1/2

Here’s a dream movie about a movie being made by a guy who is often dreaming in the movie about his movie. Or is he? Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2 is a dream movie about the dream we all share – that dream called “cinema.” And a pretentious sentence like that is as good a way as any to end the entry on 8 1/2.

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

This surrealist comedy from the master of the surrealist comedy, Luis Bunuel, uses the form of the dream movie to take satirical shots at the upper class. You know, people who go to dinner parties only to never actually get to eat, deal cocaine, murder each other, etc. It also features multiple sequences in which bizarre stuff happens, only to have a character wake up from a dream, which makes this a pure dream movie from start to finish.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

This isn’t so much a “dream movie” as it is a “nightmare movie.” The nightmare in question is one Freddy Krueger, a violently deceased child killer who haunts the dreams of the children of those who killed him. “What’s the big deal?” You might be asking. Well, if he kills you in the dream, you die in real life! Pretty cool, right?

Inception

When you saw the title of this article, there’s an 87 percent chance that the first dream movie you thought of was Christopher Nolan‘s Inception. Inception proved that dream movies can still be financially successful, provided there are plenty of gravity-defying fight scenes and kickass shootouts. In case you were dreaming when the movie came out, it’s about a band of criminals wh break into the subconscious mind and implant ideas into the person’s dreams, in a process known as “inception.” The end result is a lot of, well, gravity-defying fight scenes and kickass shootouts. And unlike The Wizard of Oz, no one knows if it was all a dream or not.

Dream movies will be a popular genre for as long as people are fascinated by dreams. So, forever. The above dream movies are simply five of the most popular – there are many more at your local video store, library, or Netflix account, so get going, won’t you? These dream movies aren’t going to watch themselves, and you have a pop quiz that you didn’t study for in five minutes!

Screen Junkies » lsaul

Actors We Have Lost To Car Accidents