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List: Well-known celebrity suicides – Metro US

List: Well-known celebrity suicides

Kurt Cobain Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana, took his life in 1994.
Credit: Getty Images

Robin Williams is the latest in an eclectic list of influential artists who have tragically chosen to take their own lives.

Film & TV:

• Tony Scott (1944-2012), director of “Top Gun” and “True Romance” — The successful filmmaker, producer and brother of Ridley Scott had a unique directing style that heavily influenced modern blockbusters.
• Lee Thompson Young (1984-2013), actor, star of “Friday Night Lights” and “The Famous Jett Jackson” — The former Disney Channel star was in the midst of production on the series “Rizzoli & Isles” when he took his own life.
• Jonathan Brandis (1976-2003), actor, star of “The NeverEnding Story II” and “seaQuest DSV” — The former teen idol had trouble adjusting to life as an adult actor and was said to be despondent that his role in the upcoming “Hart’s War” had been cut from the film.
• Herve Villechaize (1943-1993), actor, star of “Fantasy Island” and “The Man with the Golden Gun” — The diminutive star had been very open about his earlier battles with depression and attempts at suicide, but despondency over long-term health problems eventually got the better of him.

Music:

• Kurt Cobain (1967-1994), Nirvana front-man — Cobain’s suicide came shortly after an overdose and a suicide attempt a month earlier following months of rigorous touring for the album “In Utero.”
• Michael Hutchence (1960-1997), INXS front-man — Hutchence led one of the most popular Australian bands of all time before taking his own life in a Sydney hotel room at the age of 37.

Literature:

• Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005), journalist, author of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” — The infamous wild man and early Rolling Stone correspondent famously opted to take his own life once illness and a hip replacement had rendered him unable to walk again.
• Spalding Gray (1941-2004), playwright and actor, author of “Gray’s Anatomy” and “Swimming to Cambodia” — The neurotic New York fixture famously battled depression and bipolar disorder for years and had attempted suicide two years prior to his death.

Fashion:

• Alexander McQueen (1969-2010), designer — A beloved fixture in the couture world, celebrated British designer McQueen’s death was mourned on many a red carpet.
• L’Wren Scott (1964-2014), model and designer — The former celebrity stylist was well known for chic and stark looks on the likes of Madonna and Angelina Jolie and for dating Rolling Stones front-man Mick Jagger until the time of her death.