Celebrities killed under alcohol or drug related circumstances


      Celebrities are listed by year of death


      1849

      Edgar Allan Poe



      Born: January 19, 1809
      Died: October 7, 1849
      Cerebral edema following a drinking binge

      1903

      "Calamity Jane"
      Martha Cannary Burk


      Born: May 1, 1852
      Died: August 1, 1903
      Pneumonia following a bout of
      heavy drinking

      1955

      Charlie "Bird" Parker



      Born: August 29, 1920
      Died: March 12, 1955
      Worn out by drugs and alcohol

      1963

      Dinah Washington



      Born: 1924
      Died: December 14, 1963
      Overdose of sleeping pills and alcohol

      1967

      Brian Epstein



      Born: 1935
      Died: August 27, 1967
      Overdose of sleeping pills and alcohol

      1969

      Brian Jones



      Born: February 28, 1942
      Died: July 3, 1969
      Drowned in his swimming pool while
      drunk and on drugs

      1973

      Gram Parsons



      Born: November 5, 1946
      Died: September 18, 1973
      Heart failure from
      tequila & morphine overdose

      1978

      Terry Kath



      Born: January 31, 1946
      Died: January 23, 1978
      Accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound

      1980

      John Bonham



      Born: May 31, 1948
      Died: September 25, 1980
      Asphyxiated on vomit after 40
      shots of vodka

      Bon Scott



      Born: September 7, 1946
      Died: February 18, 1980
      Choked on his own vomit
      while intoxicated

      1983

      Dennis Wilson



      Born: December 4, 1944
      Died: December 28, 1983
      Accidental drowning while drunk

      1984

      Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley



      Born: December 2, 1963
      Died: December 8, 1984
      Killed in a head-on collision while
      riding in a car driven by singer
      Vince Neil. Neil is charged with drunk
      driving and vehicular manslaughter

      1986

      Phil Lynott



      Born: ?
      Died: January 4, 1986
      Heart failure after being transferred
      from a clinic for a drinking and
      drug addiction

      1987

      Jaco Pastorious



      Born: December 1, 1951
      Died: September 21, 1987
      Beaten to death
      by a nightclub bouncer trying
      to enter a club in a
      disheveled condition

      1988

      Andy Gibb



      Born: March 4, 1958
      Died: March 10, 1988
      Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart
      muscle)which was weakened by many
      years of drug and alcohol abuse

      1991

      Steve Clark



      Born: April 23, 1960
      Died: January 8, 1991
      Alcoholism

      1992

      Sam Kinison



      Born: December 8, 1953
      Died: April 10, 1992
      Struck head-on by a teenaged drunk driver

      Stefanie Sargent



      Born: June 8, 1968
      Died: June 27, 1992
      Alcohol and drug overdose

      1993

      River Phoenix



      Born: August 23, 1970
      Died: October 31, 1993
      Overdosed outside of the famed Viper Room

      1996

      John Panozzo



      Born: September 20, 1947
      Died: July 16, 1996
      Gastrointestinal hemmorage
      and Cirrhosis of the liver

      1997

      Townes Van Zandt



      Born: March 7, 1944
      Died: January 1, 1997
      Heart attack brought on by
      years of alcoholism

      Princess Diana


      Born: July 1, 1961
      Died: August 31, 1997
      Killed by a drunk driver while
      fleeing the paparazzi

      1998

      Rob Pilatus



      Born: 1966
      Died: April 2, 1988
      Drug and alcohol overdose

      1999

      David Strickland



      Born: October 14, 1969
      Died: March 23, 1999
      Suicide, after drinking a 6 - pack