by Patrick H. Moore
Far too many supremely talented actors, singer and musicians have died of drug overdoses. Whether it’s Whitney Houston, Judy Garland, Michael Jackson or Jimi Hendix, the list is long, and the unfortunate thing is, there are more future OD victims waiting in the wings (although they’re not yet aware of it), destined to take their place among those who got high one time too many. The following list is far from complete but should serve as a representative selection of the “great ones who got away”.
Whitney Houston
Although my edgier friends may laugh at me for admitting this, I have always loved Whitney Houston, and that’s without really being a fan or even knowing her body of work. Just hearing her songs by accident here and there on the radio was enough to give me the chills as her majestic voice would climb the scales of longing. I had heard that she was a devoutly religious woman and was surprised when she hit the skids, lost her voice and took on the characteristics of an addict.
Whitney Houston drowned in a Beverly Hills bathtub on February 11, 2012 at the age of 48 after apparently falling into a deep sleep. The autopsy detected cocaine and prescription medication, including Xanax and the muscle relaxant Flexeril. According to some sources, her hotel room was littered with twelve different prescription bottles.
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including R&B, soul, jazz and reggae. Her 2006 follow-up album, Back to Black, led to five 2008 Grammy Awards, tying the record at that time for the most awards by a female artist in a single night, and made Winehouse the first British female to win five Grammys, Best known for her prophetic number, “Rehab”, after years of abusing drugs and alcohol, Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning on July 23, 2011. Her album Back to Black posthumously became the UK’s best-selling album of the 21st century. In 2012, Winehouse was ranked 26th on VH1′s 100 Greatest Women In Music list. The BBC has called her “the pre-eminent vocal talent of her generation.”
Judy Garland
No matter how old (or young) you are, you’ve probably seen Judy Garland scampering around the Land of Oz with her faithful trio of magical friends. My favorite scene is when she douses the Wicked Witch of the West with a bucket of water and quenches her cackle forever. And then, of course, there’s the sentimental scene at the end when she clicks the heels of the ruby slippers three times and chants: “There’s no place like home.” Ms. Garland, who just happened to be Liza Minnelli’s mother, died in the traditional manner reserved for troubled actors — from overdosing on sleeping pills in her London hotel in 1969. She was 47.
Michael Jackson
I could never really decide if I liked Michael Jackson’s dancing — perhaps a little too herky-jerky for my taste — but I consider “Billy Jean” to be one of the all-time great pop songs. Plus, I loved the fact the the King of Pop was weird as hell. I’m obviously not referring to the accusations of child abuse, but rather to his peculiar ways — the endless plastic surgeries, the reclusive lifestyle and the love of exotic animals.
Sadly, on June 25, 2009, on the eve of an attempted comeback tour, Jackson died from an overdose of the the powerful anesthetic propofol. His prescribing physician, Dr. Conrad Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter and went to trial and lost. Murray received a four-year sentence and was recently released from custody.
Brittany Murphy
According to some sources, Brittany Murphy, who had a memorable supporting roll in “Clueless” with Alicia Silverstern, and was co-lead with Dakota Fanning in the delightful “Uptown Girl”, died from prescription drug intoxication, anemia and pneumonia on December 20, 2009 at the age of 32.
Although Ms. Murphy is arguably not an artist of the same stature as the others on this list, and was an actor, not a musician, I greatly enjoyed watching her movies with my daughter when she was little.
There have been unsubstantiated rumors, however, the her real cause of death was heavy metal poisoning at the hands of a mysterious assailant — charges that are unlikely to ever be definitively proved or disproved.
Elvis Presley
Elvis apparently started using prescription drugs way back in the 1950′s while doing his two-year military stretch. Later in life, The King got severely hooked on painkillers, opiates and tranquilizers. He purportedly died of a heart attack at the age of 42 on August 16, 1977, possibly as a result of the strain the massive quantities of drugs he ingested placed on his heart. I remember reading in a “tell-all” book about Elvis that someone counted 4,000 needle marks on Elvis’ butt after his demise, and it is has been verified that he was receiving prescription Dilaudid, a powerful, injectable synthetic opiate from one of his “drug doctors” at the time of his death.
But the exact cause of Elvis’ death doesn’t really matter because as all true Elvis fans know, The King never really died, although he may have “left the building.”
Jimi Hendrix
Although Elvis was undoubtedly one of the great rock and roll stars of the 1950s, everything changed during the following decade, the illustrious 1960s. The world of rock expanded dramatically and, suddenly, the world of popular music morphed into something poor Elvis could hardly fathom.
One of the greatest guitarists of this era was James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix. He combined blues, funk, hard rock and even jazz into a heady mix of often maniacal sound that took the world by storm and caused him to be hailed as the king of electric guitar, something that bothered Eric Clapton mightily. Who can forget “Purple Haze”, “Foxy Lady”, and even Jimi’s great cover songs — his first hit, “Hey Joe (Where Ya Goin’ with That Gun in Your Hand) and his classic cover of Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower?”
Perhaps Hendrix burned too brightly — he died at the age of 27 on September 18, 1970 at the Samarkand Hotel in London. He ingested nine prescribed Vesperax sleeping pills and asphyxiated on his own vomit and red wine.