12.Heath Ledger
Teenage heartthrob, Heath Ledger, was best known for his roles in “10 Thing I Hate About You,” “Brokeback Mountain,” and “The Dark Knight.” A few months after finishing his iconic role as the Joker in “The Dark Knight” and in the middle on filming “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Ledger passed away from a prescription drug overdose. While the untimely death of the beloved actor put a damper on the opening of the Batman movie, the actor received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
11.Steve Irwin
The beloved animal advocate from down under died while filming the documentary, “Ocean’s Deadliest.” The famous “Crocodile Hunter” was stung multiple times in the chest by an 8-foot stingray. The crew tried to save him, but he passed before they could get help. His daughter, Bindi Irwin, has continued his legacy as an Australian adventurer.
10.John Ritter
John Ritter was best known for his roles in the ABC’s series “Three’s Company” and “8 Simple Rules.” Sadly, during filming for an episode for “8 Simple Rules” Ritter collapsed on set without warning. He was rushed to the hospital with a tear in his aorta, but passed away later that night. The show continued for another season with David Spade as a replacement.
9.Jon-Erik Hexum
The actor died on set of the CBS series “Cover Up” in 1984 due to an accidental gunshot wound. During a filming delay Hexum picked up a pistol loaded with blanks, said, “can you believe this crap?” then pulled the trigger. The impact from the shot fractured his skull, causing massive bleeding in his brain. The 26-year-old actor passed away later in the hospital.
8.Paul Walker
Actor Paul Walker was best known for his starring role in the “Fast and Furious” franchise. It is horrifically ironic that the car-racing movie star died in a car crash last year. Filming of “Fast and Furious 7” was halted out of respect for Walker’s family.
7.Brandon Lee
Martial arts legend, Bruce Lee, seemed to be invincible, but the same cannot be said about his son, Brandon Lee. While filming a scene for the movie, “The Crow” Lee’s character was supposed to be shot. The stunt gun used contained pieces of an actual bullet, which hit Lee in the abdomen. He passed away later that day from the awful stunt accident.
6.Vic Morrow
One scene in “The Twilight Zone: The Movie” called for a helicopter and fireworks, which turned out to be a deadly combination for actor, Vic Morrow. During filming, one of the fireworks exploded causing the helicopter to crash, killing Morrow as well as two child actors. The movie was released a year later and performed very poorly at the box office.
5.Philip Seymour Hoffman
Hoffman was lauded as "perhaps the most ambitious and widely admired American actor of his generation," by The New York Times. He was in the midst of filming "Mockingjay," the two-part finale of "The Hunger Games" franchise. He died of an apparent overdose with the majority of his scenes filmed, though some crucial scenes still to be shot.
4.John Jordan
John Jordan was known for his director work for “You Only Live Twice,” “Catch 22,” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” It was during production of “Catch 22” that the stubborn director refused to wear a harness while filming on board a plane flying over the Gulf of Mexico. Jordan ended up getting sucked out of an open plane door and falling over 2,000 feet into the Gulf.
3.John Candy
.John Candy spent his career making others laugh. The 80s and early 90s were filled with films such as "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles", "Uncle Buck", and "Spaceballs" that kept moviegoers in stitches. He died of a heart-attack the evening he finished filming the last scene of his final movie, "Wagons East," the tale of western settlers who longed for the comforts of civilization.
2.Art Scholl
Scholl was an airplane pilot who performed plane stunts during movies. He was filming a stunt for the movie, “Top Gun” when his plane spun out of control and crashed into the Pacific Ocean. The reason such a skilled pilot lost control was due to the weight of the camera equipment. Rescue crews were not able to find the plane or Scholl after the crash.
1.River Phoenix
River was in the middle of filming "Dark Blood" when he was found dead of an apparent drug overdose; the movie was initially scrapped but was released in 2012 with narration covering the missing segments that were never filmed. River was an up-and-coming actor known for his performances in "Stand by Me", "My Own Private Idaho", and as young Indiana Jones in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."