Posted
Thursday April 24, 2007; 1:18 p.m.
The Legendary Dead Live On
Just who were these famous faces and why are their stories so compelling?
By Jessica Jardine
Haunted Hollywood
LOS ANGELES -- Hollywood has some of the most bizarre, macabe and downright fascinating stories involving death than probably any other city in America. Beyond the endless sunshine and beautiful faces there seems to be no end to the disturbing ways some very famous faces ended up dead in Tinsletown.
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One of if not the most famous murder case in the history of Los Angeles involved Betty Short or "The Black Dahlia" who was murdered in 1947. |
One famous deats that has probably spawned more books and films than any other is that of Betty Short, or the Black Dahlia. Many see her death as the ultimate symbol of misfortune for those who chase their dreams to "make it" in Hollwood as Short had been attempting to become an actress at the time of her death. Her body was found in a vacant lot in Hollywood, severed at the waist with an especially grisly gash on her face from cheek to cheek. The gruesomeness of her death combined with the now-famous photos of Ms. Short smiling with hope of someday being famous created a sensation when she died in 1947 that has lasted to this day. Just last year, legendary filmmaker Brian De Palma released his film, "The Black Dahlia," starring Scarlett Johanssen and Josh Hartnett only passing along the mystery of Ms. Short's death to a new generation.
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Marlyn Monroe's death continues to be one of the most long-lasting legends as some believe she did not, in fact, die of an overdose in 1962. |
Marilyn, Marilyn, Marilyn...
Actress and icon Marilyn Monroe's death is also one for the history books. Though her death was ruled a suicide many have insisted she was, in fact, murdered because of her ties to President Kennedy or, perhaps, others who could wield power. She apparently overdosed on sleeping peela in 1962 inside her Spanish-style, Brentwood home of San Vicente. Her face has since become one of the most recognizable in all of history, having spawned legions of imitators and obsessed fans over the years, as well as becoming a marketing tool of immeasurable proportions.
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Mobster Bugsy Siegel was gunned down in Hollywood while sitting in his home in 1947. |
Mobster Bugsy Siegel is oftentimes credited as being one of the founders of Las Vegas, only adding to the city's repuation for outlandish and wild behavior. Siegel's death occured late one night in 1947 as he sat in a home just off Sunset Boulevard. The killer fired a .30-caliber rifle through an window, killing Siegel. Of course, it's also important to notw that no one would ever dare call Ben "Bugsy" Siegel by his now-famous nickname to his face, unless you expected severe repercussions. Siegel, along with many others have become Hollywood legends in their death.
Whether wide-eyed starlets dying unexpectedly in a car crash, like Jayne Mansfield, or the infamous and grisly slaying of actress Sharon Tate who was killed along with others at her home in the Hollywood Hills by the Manson Family, all have become part of Hollywood legend through their deaths.
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Starlet Jayne Mansfield was beheaded in a car wreck in 1967. She is buried at the Hollywood Forever cemetery. |
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Actress Sharon Tate Polanski was murdered by the Manson Family at her home in 1969 while pregnant with director Roman Polanski's child. |
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