The majority of the celebrities of the 80's are still alive and many of them still have careers and are touring, etc. Who isn't with us anymore though? Some I can think of:

Laura Branigan
Teena Marie
Whitney Houston
Rick James
River Phoenix
Boner from Growing Pains
Falco
Princess Diana
Freddie Mercury
The singer from Mi-Sex
Michael Jackson

Billy Bryans (Parachute Club) 1947-2012 Lung Cancer
Kenny MacLean (Platinum Blonde) 1956-2008 Heart condition
Stuart Adamson (Big Country) 1958-2001 Suicide
Michael Hutchence (INXS) 1960-1997 Suicide
Jeff Parcaro (Toto) 1954-1992 Toxic Shock brought on by a chemical based weed killer
Melanie Appleby  (Mel and Kim)  1966-1990 Leukemia
Nick Ashford (Ashford and Simpson) 1942-2011 Throat Cancer

Rock Hudson died from AIDS  October 2, 1985.

Scott Smith (Loverboy) 1955-2000 was swept off his boat by an 11 metre high wave off the coast of San Francisco.  His body was never recovered.

Rob Pilaitus (Milli Vanilli) 1964-1998 Suicide

Patrick Swayze (Actor Dirty Dancing) 1952-2009 Pancreatic Cancer

Boner from Growing Pains
The singer from Mi-Sex


Those are odd names for people

The majority of the celebrities of the 80's are still alive and many of them still have careers and are touring, etc. Who isn't with us anymore though? Some I can think of:

Laura Branigan
Teena Marie
Whitney Houston
Rick James
River Phoenix
Boner from Growing Pains
Falco
Princess Diana
Freddie Mercury
The singer from Mi-Sex
Michael Jackson
Didn't know about "Boner" dying. Sorry to hear that whenever that happened. I remember Laura Branigan dying in June 2004. Falco died in 1999 or 2000.

Scott Smith (Loverboy) 1955-2000 was swept off his boat by an 8 metre high wave off the coast of San Francisco.  His body was never recovered.

Rob Pilaitus (Milli Vanilli) 1964-1998 Suicide

Patrick Swayze (Actor Dirty Dancing) 1952-2009 Pancreatic Cancer
I don't know what happened there but I would guess he committed suicide because he couldn't handle being known as part of Milli Vanilli and the whole lip-synching charade that happened.

Paul Hester (drummer of Split Enz and Crowded House) 1959 - 2005 suicide
Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley (drummer of Hanoi Rocks) 1960 - 1984 car crash
Ron Tabak (lead singer of Prism) 1953 - 1984 bike accident
Phyllis Hyman (singer) 1949 - 1995 suicide
Ray Combs (host of Family Feud) 1956 - 1996 suicide
Brad Delp (lead singer of Boston) 1951 - 2007 suicide
Greg Guidry (singer) 1950 - 2003 suicide
Kevin Wilkinson (drummer of China Crisis) 1958 - 1999 suicide
Heather O'Rourke (star of Poltergeist) 1975 - 1988 cardiac arrest
Dominique Dunne (co-star of Poltergeist) 1959 - 1982 murder
Kiel Martin (Det. John LaRue on Hill Street Blues) 1944 - 1990 lung cancer
Rene Enriquez (Lt. Ray Calletano on Hill Street Blues) 1933 - 1990 pancreatic cancer
Don Simpson (film producer) 1943 - 1996 cardiac arrest

I don't know what happened there but I would guess he committed suicide because he couldn't handle being known as part of Milli Vanilli and the whole lip-synching charade that happened.


It could be why but then again, I kinda think people who commit suicide tend to have deep-seated issues.

I don't know what happened there but I would guess he committed suicide because he couldn't handle being known as part of Milli Vanilli and the whole lip-synching charade that happened.


What I got out of the story was that people wouldn't let him get past Milli Vanilli.  He wanted to be Rob Pilaitus but people wouldn't forget.  I guess it would be hard to get past that kind of a scandal.

What I got out of the story was that people wouldn't let him get past Milli Vanilli.  He wanted to be Rob Pilaitus but people wouldn't forget.  I guess it would be hard to get past that kind of a scandal.


Exactly.  At the time lawsuits by fans were coming at them left, right, and centre.  I think Rob moved to his native Germany to get away from that but unfortunately the fans couldn't get past the fact that it wasn't them singing on the album and the fact that they didn't sing a single note on their album.
I think that was a stupid mistake on their part to expose themselves and say hey! We're a pair of frauds.  :P None of the stuff that happened afterwards would have happened.  :(

Those are odd names for people


I don't know who's idea to give someone a stage name like "Boner"?  ;D

I don't know what happened there but I would guess he committed suicide because he couldn't handle being known as part of Milli Vanilli and the whole lip-synching charade that happened.


or it could've been drug-related

What I got out of the story was that people wouldn't let him get past Milli Vanilli.  He wanted to be Rob Pilaitus but people wouldn't forget.  I guess it would be hard to get past that kind of a scandal.


I guess he was afraid of being known as one half of Milli Vanilli.

Samantha Smith, child peace activist (died 25 August 1985)

or it could've been drug-related
Yeah he did have a problem with drugs and that was after Milli Vanilli.

I don't know who's idea to give someone a stage name like "Boner"?  ;D


His name is actually Andrew Keonig.  He was the son of Walter Keonig.  He hanged himself from a tree in Stanley park in BC in 2010.

His name is actually Andrew Keonig.  He was the son of Walter Keonig.  He hanged himself from a tree in the park in BC in 2010.


I've been to that park.

Those are odd names for people


Mi-Sex were a Aussie band (or New Zealand ... but we claimed them) in the 80's. They had moderate success.

I think out of all the 80s deaths, the one that bothers me the most is probably Dominique Dunne's. I think it's a shame that her "boyfriend" strangled that poor girl. And she was so tiny compared to him. It really is a tradgedy that such a young woman, with such a bright career ahead of her being cut down like that

I've seen some of her work on Youtube and TV and she really was a brilliant, beautiful actress.

--Why are so many of the other stars committing suicide. I see that ALOT as the cause of death of the people on this thread.  :o

I think out of all the 80s deaths, the one that bothers me the most is probably Dominique Dunne's. I think it's a shame that her "boyfriend" strangled that poor girl. And she was so tiny compared to him. It really is a tradgedy that such a young woman, with such a bright career ahead of her being cut down like that

I've seen some of her work on Youtube and TV and she really was a brilliant, beautiful actress.

--Why are so many of the other stars committing suicide. I see that ALOT as the cause of death of the people on this thread.  :o


I actually never heard of her, so I looked it up. So very sad. :( It's a shame, that she had to die because of her ex's psychological issues. I heard he's a chef and he has been working in Seattle and northern California for the past 25 years, both places I'm quite familiar with. I hope I never end up eating any food made by his hands.  ::)

I think out of all the 80s deaths, the one that bothers me the most is probably Dominique Dunne's. I think it's a shame that her "boyfriend" strangled that poor girl. And she was so tiny compared to him. It really is a tradgedy that such a young woman, with such a bright career ahead of her being cut down like that

I've seen some of her work on Youtube and TV and she really was a brilliant, beautiful actress.

--Why are so many of the other stars committing suicide. I see that ALOT as the cause of death of the people on this thread.  :o


Rebecca Schafer is another sad one.  She was murdered on the front step of her house by a derranged fan who later turned his affection towards Marcia Cross the atorney who prosecuted him.
Then there was Selena who was murdered by the president of her fanclub whom her father was starting to suspect was stealing from her fanclub.

Yeah he did have a problem with drugs and that was after Milli Vanilli.


and now there's only Fab Morvan.

Rebecca Schafer is another sad one.  She was murdered on the front step of her house by a derranged fan who later turned his affection towards Marcia Cross the atorney who prosecuted him.
Then there was Selena who was murdered by the president of her fanclub whom her father was starting to suspect was stealing from her fanclub.


It's sad what has happened to them.  :(

Jeff Buckley (1966-1997) Suicide by drowning
Jeff Healey  (1956-2008) Cancer
JJ Jackson MTV VJ (1941-2004) Heart Attack

Jimmy McShane: Baltimora (1957-1995) (AIDS)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r0n9Dv6XnY


Larry "Bud" Melman  (1921-2007)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95Ia-1PgQd8
I liked the old Letterman show because it was a little weird!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f4/Laurabranigannew.jpg/220px-Laurabranigannew.jpg
Laura Branigan 1957-2004: Brain anyneurism

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/83451/Jim+Henson.jpg

Jim Henson voice of Kermit the Frog, Ernie, and others on Sesame Street
1937-1990 Untreated Staph infection

Corey Haim.

Corey Haim.


True :(

BTW Welcome to the boards don't think I've seen you on here :)

Robert Heyges: 1951-2012 Heart Attack
Ron Palillo:  1949-2012 Heart Attack
Eunice Kennedy Schriver: 1921-2009 Cancer
Ted Kennedy: 1923-2009 Brain Cancer

Donna Summer
Whitney Houston

Morgan Paull 1944-2012: Stomach Cancer
Brock Peters  1927-2005: Pancreatic Cancer

Are we not forgetting the greatest 80's icon of all?
President Ronald Reagan 1911-2004 (Alzheimer's Disease)

Meanwhile, for the list...
Ernest Borgnine (Airwolf) 1917-2012 (renal failure)
Andy Griffith (Matlock) 1929-2012 (heart attack)
Sally Ride (first U.S. woman in space) 1951-2012 (cancer)
Michael Crichton (author of The Andromeda Strain, Sphere, Jurassic Park) 1942-2008 (cancer)
Peter Tomarken (Press Your Luck) 1942-2006 (plane crash)
Estelle Getty, Beatrice Arthur, Rue McLanahan (3 of the 4 Golden Girls) 2008,2009,2010
Larry Hagman (Dallas) 1921-2012 (cancer)
Robert Palmer (Addicted To Love) 2003 (heart attack)
Benjamin Orr (The Cars) 2000 (cancer)
Mel Torme (Night Court) 1999 (cause unknown)
William Windom (Murder, She Wrote) 1924-2012 (cause unknown)
Clarice Taylor (The Cosby Show) 1916-2012 (old age)
David Angell (writer for Cheers) 2001 (9/11)
Jani Lane (Warrant) 2011 (drugs?)
Alaina Reed (227) 1948-2011 (cancer)
Jim Varney (a.k.a. Ernest P. Worell), 1949-2000 (cancer)
Carroll O'Connor (In The Heat Of The Night) 2001 (cause unknown)
Harry Morgan (M*A*S*H & AfterMASH) 1916-2011 (old age)

Your Pal,
Doc
:(

Oh I didn't know Sally Ride was dead. How sad  :(

Oh I didn't know Sally Ride was dead. How sad  :(


Yes she died in May of last year of pancreatic cancer. :(

Are we not forgetting the greatest 80's icon of all?
President Ronald Reagan 1911-2004 (Alzheimer's Disease)

Meanwhile, for the list...
Ernest Borgnine (Airwolf) 1917-2012 (renal failure)
Andy Griffith (Matlock) 1929-2012 (heart attack)
Sally Ride (first U.S. woman in space) 1951-2012 (cancer)
Michael Crichton (author of The Andromeda Strain, Sphere, Jurassic Park) 1942-2008 (cancer)
Peter Tomarken (Press Your Luck) 1942-2006 (plane crash)
Estelle Getty, Beatrice Arthur, Rue McLanahan (3 of the 4 Golden Girls) 2008,2009,2010
Larry Hagman (Dallas) 1921-2012 (cancer)
Robert Palmer (Addicted To Love) 2003 (heart attack)
Benjamin Orr (The Cars) 2000 (cancer)
Mel Torme (Night Court) 1999 (cause unknown)
William Windom (Murder, She Wrote) 1924-2012 (cause unknown)
Clarice Taylor (The Cosby Show) 1916-2012 (old age)
David Angell (writer for Cheers) 2001 (9/11)
Jani Lane (Warrant) 2011 (drugs?)
Alaina Reed (227) 1948-2011 (cancer)
Jim Varney (a.k.a. Ernest P. Worell), 1949-2000 (cancer)
Carroll O'Connor (In The Heat Of The Night) 2001 (cause unknown)
Harry Morgan (M*A*S*H & AfterMASH) 1916-2011 (old age)

Your Pal,
Doc
:(


Estelle from Dimensia
Bea from Cancer
and Rue from a stroke

Also from M*A*S*H*

Larry Linville 1939-2000 Peumonia and complications from cancer surgery
McLean Stevenson 1927-1996 Heart Attack
Wayne Rogers 1933-2015  Peumonia

Ernie Mr Dressup Coombs 1927-2001 Stroke
Mr Fred Rogers Mr Roger's Neighborhood Stomach Cancer
Jim Henson 1937-1990 Untreated Staph Infection (Not of a flu as previously stated on the website.)
Richard Hunt 1951-1992 A.I.D.S.
Jerry Nelson 1934-2012 Emphsyma

Can't forget Joe Strummer (the Clash)

John Belushi 1949-1982 Drug Overdose from being injected with a speedball. (His brother Jim is still very much alive.)

John Belushi 1949-1982 Drug Overdose from being injected with a speedball. (His brother Jim is still very much alive.)


he died on my birthday, March 5th. :(

I thought Jim Henson died of pneumonia. Very sad indeed, if only he had got treatment earlier, he'd probably still be making new Muppets for us.  :\'(

I've had pneumonia actually and it's pretty terrible. I'm glad my brother urged me to get treatment or I could have suffered Jim Henson's fate.

I thought Jim Henson died of pneumonia. Very sad indeed, if only he had got treatment earlier, he'd probably still be making new Muppets for us.  :\'(

I've had pneumonia actually and it's pretty terrible. I'm glad my brother urged me to get treatment or I could have suffered Jim Henson's fate.


Yes he did.  They say that if Jim had taken his illness seriously he would still be alive.  But he didn't believe in western medicine I recall.

Robert Heyges: 1951-2012 Heart Attack
Ron Palillo:  1949-2012 Heart Attack

Two stars from the same show died the same year.

Dana Plato (Different Strokes)
Nell Carter (Gimme a break)
Dolph Sweet  (Gimme a break)

Two stars from the same show died the same year.

Dana Plato (Different Strokes)
Nell Carter (Gimme a break)
Dolph Sweet  (Gimme a break)


Gary Coleman 1968-2010 Brain hemorage after a fall
Tyler Lambert (Dana Plato's son) 1984-2009 Suicide
Fred "Rerun" Berry 1951-2003 Complications of Diabetes
Sherman Helmsley 1938-2012 Natural Causes
Isabelle Sandford  1917-2004 Cardivasular disease
Roxie Roker 1929-1995 Breast Cancer
Franklin Cover 1928-2006 Peumonia
Paul Benedict 1938-2008 Natural Causes
Mike Evans 1949-2006 Throat Cancer
Carol O'Connor 1924-2000 Heart Attack
Hugh O'Connor 1962-1995 Drug induced Suicide
Howard Rollins: 1950-1996 Lymphoma

I thought Jim Henson died of pneumonia. Very sad indeed, if only he had got treatment earlier, he'd probably still be making new Muppets for us.

Don't forget Richard Hunt who died 2 years later of AIDS.

Two stars from the same show died the same year.

Dana Plato (Different Strokes)
Nell Carter (Gimme a break)
Dolph Sweet  (Gimme a break)


Dana if had gotten better she would've still been alive but she wound up a druggie.  ::)
Nell Carter died 10 years ago from diabetes.
Dolph Sweet died May 1985

Dana if had gotten better she would've still been alive but she wound up a druggie.  ::)
Nell Carter died 10 years ago from diabetes.
Dolph Sweet died May 1985


Oh yeah I agree.  She was asking the courts, and anybody who would listen to her, for help for her problems and nobody was listening to her.

For the two from the same show died the same year (2012), I meant Robert and Ron from Welcome Back Kotter

Oh yeah I agree.  She was asking the courts, and anybody who would listen to her, for help for her problems and nobody was listening to her.


What about the cast of Different Strokes?  ???

What about the cast of Different Strokes?  ???


Todd Bridges is still alive as well as Charlotte Rae, Mary Jo Calett,  and Conrad Bain.  :)

Todd Bridges is still alive as well as Charlotte Rae, Mary Jo Calett,  and Conrad Bain.  :)


No what I was asking was did Dana ask the cast of Different Strokes for her help out of drugs? ???

No what I was asking was did Dana ask the cast of Different Strokes for her help out of drugs? ???


No I don't think they ever did help her.  When she held up that video store in Vegas was the final straw.  That was when the judge threw the book at her and sent her to jail.  She pleaded with the udge to send her somewhere so that she could get the help that she needed but it ended up falling on deaf ear.

Bobby Debarge 1956-1995 Complications of AIDS.

Bobby Debarge 1956-1995 Complications of AIDS.


I think he was in the R&B group Switch?  ???

I think he was in the R&B group Switch?  ???


Yeah he was.  And he was in Debarge too with his brothers and sister.  :(

Yeah he was.  And he was in Debarge too with his brothers and sister.  :(


http://a3.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/014/Features/b1/de/a5/dj.yvngzgzc.170x170-75.jpg

http://a3.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/014/Features/b1/de/a5/dj.yvngzgzc.170x170-75.jpg


http://images.uulyrics.com/cover/d/debarge/album-20th-century-masters-the-millennium-collection-the-best-of-debarge.jpg

http://images.uulyrics.com/cover/d/debarge/album-20th-century-masters-the-millennium-collection-the-best-of-debarge.jpg


I think one of them had a rap CD few years ago. ???

I think El and Bunny are completely off the drugs.  James and Randy aren't because they left rehab before they completed their treatment.  They obviously didn't care about Bunny who was left in a rehab facility all by herself.  :( 

Now I can add Conrad Bain to this list since he died a few days ago. :P

So there are only 3 of the regular cast members that are still left alive

Todd Bridges
Mary Jo Calett
Charlotte Rae

And guest actors

Danny Cooksey
Shevar Ross
Jason Hervey
Janet Jackson
Rosalind Chao
Bobby Herbeck
Kim Fields

Etc etc.

Now I can add Conrad Bain to this list since he died a few days ago. :P

So there are only 3 of the regular cast members that are still left alive

Todd Bridges
Mary Jo Catlett
Charlotte Rae

And guest actors

Danny Cooksey
Shevar Ross
Jason Hervey
Janet Jackson
Rosalind Chao
Bobby Herbeck
Kim Fields

Etc etc.


That's right, and Todd Bridges is living a pretty good life now, has a wife and a kid and has been married for 15 years and is almost 48 years old.

Charlotte Rae does guest appearances here and there

Mary Jo Catlett also does guest appearances here and there now.

I think El and Bunny are completely off the drugs.  James and Randy aren't because they left rehab before they completed their treatment.  They obviously didn't care about Bunny who was left in a rehab facility all by herself.  :(
I saw a 1 hour episode of "Unsung" on Debarge in 2010 on  "TV One". They had a nice run there from 1982-1985 and then it fell apart. I like their music.

http://www.dorothystratten.com/Main_Menu/IMAG000.JPG

Dorothy Stratten was another sad case of domestic violence.  She was killed by her estranged husband on August 14th, 1980 in a murder/suicide.
She was lured back to his apartment where he shot her and then turned the gun on himself.  :(

http://www.dorothystratten.com/Main_Menu/IMAG000.JPG

Dorothy Stratten was another sad case of domestic violence.  She was killed by her estranged husband on August 14th, 1980 in a murder/suicide.
She was lured back to his apartment where he shot her and then turned the gun on himself.  :(


and I was reading that she posed for Playboy in 1979.  :o

and I was reading that she posed for Playboy in 1979.  :o


Yes she did and due largely to this board's no pornoraphy rule I can't post it here.  :(

Yes she did and due largely to this board's no pornoraphy rule I can't post it here.  :(



Boy,did she have some body. Wowzers!  :o

Boy,did she have some body. Wowzers!  :o


Yes she did.