9. Brandon Lee
Via Biography.com
Brandon Lee was the son of late martial arts master, movie star, and overall life icon, Bruce Lee. He spent a brief part of his childhood living in Hong Kong until his father died at which point his mother, Linda Lee Caldwell, moved the family back to Los Angeles. He showed a strong interest in the dramatic arts, majoring in theater at Emerson College and then studied acting at Lee Strasburg Theatre and Film Institute. When he returned to California after graduating, he very admirably worked his way up in the industry despite being the son of a legendary A-lister. Lee started as a remedial script reader until (after being taught martial arts by his father’s best students) was asked to audition for Kung Fu: The Movie in 1986. Still, a big break is hard to come by, and Lee was stuck doing low-budget karate flicks until he was cast as the lead in 1992’s gritty film adaptation of the acclaimed comic book, The Crow. Knowing the movie would be a hit, the studio actually had Lee sign on to do two sequels, but alas the future of the franchise and its lead actor were cut short during the production of the first installment. Being the gothic, crime-fighting movie that it is, a particular scene in The Crow calls for Lee’s character to be shot at by various criminals, however, during the filming of one scene, the prop .44 Magnum revolver was accidentally loaded with actual bullets and when actor Michael Massee pulled the trigger he unintentionally fired a slug into Lee’s abdomen. He was rushed to the hospital, where, after six hours of surgery, was pronounced dead. Since his death was accidental no criminal charges were filed, but with his death, Hollywood lost yet another standout member of the Lee family.
8. David Carradine
Another martial arts superstar who bought the farm after a freak accident. However, Carradine’s death certainly highlights the word “freak” more than it does “accident.” Carradine became a household name after starring as the Shaolin Monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s hit television show, Kung Fu. Never heard of it? Well, if you’ve ever referred to anyone as “Grasshopper” in a shoddy Asian accent, I got news for ya; you’re referencing Kung Fu. More recently, Carradine came back into the public eye when he played Bill in Quentin Tarantino’s epic kung-fu bloodfest, Kill Bill, a role that earned him a Golden Globe nomination. In the eyes of the viewing audience, everything seemed to be going pretty damn good for the 72-year-old actor, but what that viewing audience didn’t know was that Carradine was into some pretty gnarly fetishes, so gnarly in fact, they eventually killed him. On June 3, 2009, Carradine was found dead, hanging naked by a rope in the closet of his hotel in Bangkok. At first, his death was labeled a suicide but after a couple of ex-wives spoke up about Carradine’s love of self-bondage, it became obvious his death was the cause of autoerotic asphyxiation, giving new definition to the phrase “safe sex.”
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