Hoffman was not the first (nor will be the last) actor to have passed away during the filming of a movie. Here is a list of actors who have died during filming of a movie or television series:
The star of
Brokeback Mountain and
The Dark Knight died in 2008 after a drug overdose, about a third of the way through filming on
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Subsequent to Ledger's death, three different actors (
Johnny Depp,
Colin Farrell and
Jude Law) took over Ledger's role and the movie was released later that year.
George Reeves died of a controversial gunshot wound in 1959 before starting filming on a new season of
The Adventures of Superman. One would think that when the actor playing Superman died, so goes the show. But the producers made a suggestion to the actor who played cub reporter, Jimmy Olson (
Jack Larson) that the series "could continue as 'Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen,' with more focus on Larson continuing his character, playing opposite a 'Superman' who would be a composite of stock shots of George Reeves and a look-alike stunt double to be filmed from behind. Larson rejected the distasteful idea out of hand, and the series was truly over" (Wikipedia).
After struggling with depression and drug use, Freddie Prinze died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1977 while filming
Chico And The Man. His character on the show moved to Mexico, and the show continued on for one season after his death.
Winner of two Emmy awards for his portrayal of Sgt. Phil Esterhaus in
Hill Street Blues, Michael Conrad died of urethral cancer in 1983 during the fourth season. It was thought his role could not be filled by anyone and so a new duty Sergeant (Sgt. Jablonski) was cast to take his place. Conrad's character suffered a heart attack while having sex with another character, Grace Gardner.
Natalie Wood died in a controversial boating accident in 1981 before completing work on
Brainstorm. Even though nearly all of Wood's major scenes were completed, the studio nearly cancelled the project upon her death. All the sets were locked and frozen on all the stages. No one could get in or out without special permission while negotiations took place. The movie was released two years after her death and was completed by rewriting the remaining scenes and the use of body doubles.
Wisecracking Det. Lennie Briscoe from
Law & Order was portrayed by veteran actor Jerry Orbach who died in 2004 after battling prostate cancer for 10 years. At the time of his death, he was working on the spin off
Law & Order: Trial by Jury, but only appeared in the first 2 episodes. His character's disappearance was never explained in
L&O: TbJ, but other
Law & Order franchises mention the demise of the character.
Famously, Marilyn Monroe died of a drug overdose in 1962 before she could finish filming
Something's Got to Give, a remake of
My Favorite Wife. The movie was never finished. Twentieth Century-Fox overhauled the entire production with mostly new cast and crew and released the differently titled
Move Over, Darling, starring
Doris Day,
James Garner, and
Polly Bergen, 16 months later.
Interesting fact: had the original movie been completed and released, Monroe would have been the first mainstream star to appear nude in a movie.
Emmy winner, Nancy Marchand died of lung cancer in 2000 while starring as Tony Soprano's manipulative mother on
The Sopranos. As a result, her character's death was written into the third season story line of the show.
English actor, Oliver Reed died of a heart attack in a bar in 1999 before completing work on the
Russell Crowe epic film
Gladiator. Several of his scenes in the movie had to be completed using CGI techniques and, in one place, a mannequin. Interestingly, in the original script, Reed's character Proximo was supposed to live.
Son of martial arts film star,
Bruce Lee, Brandon Lee was killed in 1993 in an accidental shooting on the set of his first feature film,
The Crow. The movie was still released, with rewrites, a stunt double, and special effects being used for the last few scenes Lee had yet to complete.
John Spencer died of a heart attack in 2005 while starring on
The West Wing. In the show, his character, Leo McGarry, also died of a heart attack on election night. Spencer's name remained in the opening credits for the remainder of the show's run.
After collapsing on the set of
8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter in 2003, John Ritter was rush to the hospital, but died of an aortic dissection later that night. The show, retitled
8 Simple Rules, continued for another season with
David Spade and James Garner as replacements. Ritter's character was killed off.
Comedian and actor, Redd Foxx suffered a heart attack in 1991 on the set of
The Royal Family. "According to Joshua Rich at Entertainment Weekly, 'It was an end so ironic that for a brief moment cast mates figured Foxx -- whose 70s TV character often faked heart attacks -- was kidding when he grabbed a chair and fell to the floor'" (Wikipedia). The producers decided not to continue with the remaining episodes, but put the show on hiatus in order to rework the storyline. But ultimately, the show was a failure without Foxx and was subsequently cancelled.
In 1977, Diana Hyland was cast to portray the wife/mother in the ABC series
Eight Is Enough. She appeared in only four episodes before falling ill with breast cancer. Her character was written out of the show and she died 12 days after the first episode aired. At the start of Season 2, Tom Bradford was identified as a 'widower' for about a year, but with no mention how his wife dies.
Jon-Erik Hexum died in 1984 after an unintentional self-inflicted blank cartridge gunshot wound to the head on the set of the television show
Cover Up in which he played the male lead. The show continued production with a new actor, but was canceled after the first season.
Horror film legend, Bela Lugosi had a heart attack in 1956 while filming
Plan 9 from Outer Space. Director
Ed Wood hired his wife's chiropractor, Tom Mason, as a stand-in for Lugosi, even though Mason was taller than Lugosi and bore no resemblance to him.
Am I the only one who missed the lovable 'Coach' from
Cheers? Colasanto died in 1985 of a heart attack while starring on the hit sitcom as Coach Ernie Pantusso. The character was killed off and actor
Woody Harrelson took over the dimbulb bartender role the next season.
The Second City alum,
John Candy
died of a heart attack in 1994, while on location in Mexico filming
Wagons East!. His few remaining scenes were either not filmed, or were filmed using a stand-in, then re-written not to involve him.
A truly tragic tale. Vic Morrow died in an on-set accident in 1982 while filming
Twilight Zone - The Movie. Morrow and two child actors (who were working illegally) perished gruesomely when a helicopter lost control. Three different cameras that were rolling caught the footage. Arguably, this accident is the worst movie set disaster. The movie was still released with Morrow's section included, but rewritten to remove that scene.
While filming the movie
Dark Blood, River Phoenix died of a drug overdose in 1993
. The film was not completed due to the death of Phoenix shortly before the end of the project and remained unfinished for 19 years. In 2012 and 2013, it was shown at a few film festivals, with
George Sluizer providing narration for the roughly four to six missing scenes.
Larry Hagman died of complications of acute myeloid leukemia in 2012 while filming the
Dallas reboot. His iconic character J.R. Ewing was killed off on the show with a bit of a twist in which J.R. hires someone to kill him but managed to get another character blamed for murder. Never a fan of
Dallas, he will also be Major Tony Nelson to me.
In 1998 before production began on a fifth season of
NewsRadio, Phil Hartman was killed by his wife. Hartman's death is addressed in the first episode of the fifth season, where his character is revealed to have died of a sudden heart attack. He also voiced several characters on
The Simpsons, all of which were retired after his death. Classy move!
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