15 celebrities who died horrifying deaths – This will get you misty (With Pictures)

5. Gwili Andre

Andre was born in Copenhagen at the turn of 20th century, and as she blossomed into a beautiful blond-haired, blue-eyed 20-year-old, she gained a lot of fame as a model in Denmark. However, depression-era American moviegoers didn’t think she was all that fly, so when she made the move to Hollywood in the early 1930s her dreams of being a star of the silver screen deflated like an old birthday balloon. Even though RKO put her in a couple of movies, she was basically regarded as the poor man’s Greta Garbo. Oh, and her acting was horrendous. An opinion that was validated by one reviewer who called Andre a “stiff, colorless and completely talentless performer.” Now, Press like this might hurt a normal actress, but it really hurt Andre. She bailed on Hollywood, moved back to Denmark with her son, got divorced and figured she’d give the fame she knew she was destined for one last chance to find her. She moved back to Los Angeles in the late 1950s, but despite her best efforts, was unable to get any jobs. Andre’s story came to a disturbing end on February 5, 1959, when she surrounded herself in publicity clippings she chopped out of the paper and lit a match. She burned to death right there in her Venice Beach apartment, going down in history as the first woman to die of bad Press.

4. Florence Lawrence

 

Despite having a ridiculous rhyming name, Florence Lawrence starred in over 300 films throughout her career in the early years of Hollywood. During a time when Hollywood never publicized the names of actors in fear of their potential fame leading to a demand for higher wages, Lawrence managed to be the first publicly named actor after receiving mountains of fan letters and subsequently became the world’s first movie star. However, in 1914 she was involved in an on-stage fire that got out of control resulting in her having some nasty burns and a fractured spine. To make matters worse, the studio wouldn’t pay for Lawrence’s medical expenses and she suffered continuously for the next few years and was even completely paralyzed for few months, all while her career was steadily declining. Still, she refused to let a few small speed bumps stand in her way and returned to Hollywood in the 1920s, but sadly only landed bit parts. It all came to a head on December 28, 1938, when Lawrence called in sick to MGM Studios and then proceeded to eat a hearty lunch made up of cough syrup and ant paste; the latter, if you’re unaware is a sweet little spread, thick in consistency, one part sugar/one part poison, typically used to attract unwanted ants and then kill them. She was pronounced dead at 2:45 PM but left behind an eery note to her housemate, Bob Brinlow, which read, “Dear Bob, Call Dr. Wilson. I am tired. Hope this works. Good bye, my darling. They can’t cure me, so let it go at that. Lovingly, Florence – P.S. You’ve all been swell guys. Everything is yours.”