Famous suicides

Deus Ex Machina

I'm of a morbid disposition, so inevitably I found myself perusing wikipedia's entries which regard the subject of suicide. The most interesting page I found was this: a list of famous people who committed suicide. It's nuts how many successful and famous people killed themselves.

As sad as it is, there was solace in the article too. Like many people I am often despondent about my achievements, always wishing for more despite reaching many of my goals. The number of professional athletes, successful writers, actors, politicians etc who were so down that they decided to make their own quietus clearly indicates that no matter what heights you reach, there's a good chance that they won't bring you happiness. As a person who often falls into the trap of believing that my happiness is predicated on my achievement or non achievement of goals, it was heartening to think that perhaps it's ok to be happy without always striving to some crazy goal.

Interesting list anyway, regardless of your take on it.

TheZohanS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgbBLKet14E

Mr Trade In

I am out of uni sick at the moment, when I go back in September there is a module call the History of Suicide, the lecturer who teaches it is one of the best in the place. It is an interesting subject. If you look at the list of celebrities who have died aged 27, many from suicide it's baffling.

Mr Trade In

TheZohan wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgbBLKet14E

Hello Grampa My Old Friend has a nicer ring to it.

yeahimhere

Isokelekel (17th century), semi-mythical conqueror of Pohnpei Island in the Carolines and father of the cultural system of modern Pohnpei, tied his penis to a bent palm tree and let go, ripping it off. He bled to death.[100][101][102]

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

What a way to go

Sunnyisland

It has on that list Mohamed Atta (2001), 9/11 attacks. Is that sort of death classed as a suicide ?

Mr Trade In

realies wrote: »

It has on that list Mohamed Atta (2001), 9/11 attacks. Is that sort of death classed as a suicide ?

9/11 is commonly referred to as a suicide attack, therefore the hijackers did commit suicide.

im invisible

some other interesting ones

Alan Turing (1954), English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst and computer scientist, eating an apple laced with cyanide

Scott Nearing (1983), American political activist and conservationist, by self-starvation at 100 years of age

René Favaloro (2000), Argentine cardiac surgeon (created technique for coronary bypass surgery), gunshot to the heart.

Peg Entwistle (1932), English-born American actress, leapt to her death from the "H" in the Hollywood Sign

mattjack

Mr Trade In wrote: »

I am out of uni sick at the moment, when I go back in September there is a module call the History of Suicide, the lecturer who teaches it is one of the best in the place. It is an interesting subject. If you look at the list of celebrities who have died aged 27, many from suicide it's baffling.

To add a slightly differant side to that, In my own family my gt grandfather,grandfather ,a cousin and two distant relatives all died at 27.Until my cousin died, my fathers generation was the first group not to have a death in it at 27.Its actually a morbid family joke we have.

admiralofthefleet

david caradine - dirty fecker

I guess this would be considered as a famous suicide?

The above link shows an image of a woman that leaped to her death and landed on a car. While there is no noticeable gore, some people might find it disturbing, so.. yeah.

Deus Ex Machina

Deleted User wrote: »

I guess this would be considered as a famous suicide?

The above link shows an image of a woman that leaped to her death and landed on a car. While there is no noticeable gore, some people might find it disturbing, so.. yeah.

She's just sleeping.

Sunnyisland

Virginia Woolf (1941) English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories; suicide by drowning.

Never knew this till now.

44leto

Marlyn Monroe is not in the list, so she must have been killed by thee Kennedy's.

Deus Ex Machina

im invisible wrote: »

some other interesting ones

Apparently a big part of the reason why Turing killed himself was the "hormone treatment" he was receiving as part of his sentence for being as gay as Christmas. He was growing a nice big set of double Ds. A horrific way for anyone to go, but one of history's true crimes by virtue of the fact that he was such a genius and did his country and the world such a service in his cracking of the Enigma code.

SafeSurfer

Rezso Seress

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48cTUnUtzx4

Sindri

realies wrote: »

Virginia Woolf (1941) English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories; suicide by drowning.

Never knew this till now.

I thought she died by turning on the gas in her kitchen and securing the doors around her with towels so her children didn't die?

ronnie3585

Deus Ex Machina wrote: »

She's just sleeping.

In that person shaped dent.

Gi joe!

Deleted User wrote: »

I guess this would be considered as a famous suicide?

The above link shows an image of a woman that leaped to her death and landed on a car. While there is no noticeable gore, some people might find it disturbing, so.. yeah.

That photo really is fascinating, how she managed to end up looking like that from that kind of fall. With my very morbid personality, I have seen a lot of aftermaths of suicide, and let me tell you, the results are far from looking this peaceful!

Back to what the OP was saying, I completely agree. The fact that so many people, who seemed to have it all, and then ending it out of the blue, reflects our inherent vulnerability as humans and our struggle to deal with the human condition. Look at the recent tragedy of footballer Gary Speed, who was living an apparently charmed life. He gave literally no indication of what he was about to do.

Others, like Bill Zeller, who left a heart wrenching note to explain his motive, give us a look into the mind of someone capable of committing such a shocking act.

(Warning, not pleasant reading at all)
http://gizmodo.com/5726667/the-agonizing-last-words-of-bill-zeller

Cork boy 55

disgusting thread IMO

GoldenTickets

Sindri wrote: »

I thought she died by turning on the gas in her kitchen and securing the doors around her with towels so her children didn't die?

That was Sylvia Plath.

Don Booker

Leon Jackson. 1970-2009.
RIP.

beeroclock

Deus Ex Machina wrote: »

Apparently a big part of the reason why Turing killed himself was the "hormone treatment" he was receiving as part of his sentence for being as gay as Christmas. He was growing a nice big set of double Ds. A horrific way for anyone to go, but one of history's true crimes by virtue of the fact that he was such a genius and did his country and the world such a service in his cracking of the Enigma code.

Yep agree 100% with your comments

All the books ive read which mention the man say there was no official record of suicide as far as I know and I think his mother even tried to deny it, but I dont think there is any doubt whatsoever he died by his own hand

Mercurius

I don't see Nick Drake on the list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gO7uemm6Yo

I guess the black eyed dog called out his name once too often.

beeroclock

Cork boy 55 wrote: »

disgusting thread IMO

Given how taboo a subject this is (suicide not the famous people bit!) I think its ok to talk about this but I can see where you are coming from. For me the more suicide is dragged into the light in this country the better.

spurious

Gi joe! wrote: »

Others, like Bill Zeller, who left a heart wrenching note to explain his motive, give us a look into the mind of someone capable of committing such a shocking act.

(Warning, not pleasant reading at all)
http://gizmodo.com/5726667/the-agonizing-last-words-of-bill-zeller

Sad stuff - all the moreso seeing that it was written over a long period. He had planned it for a long time.

Wibbs

Gi joe! wrote: »

That photo really is fascinating, how she managed to end up looking like that from that kind of fall. With my very morbid personality, I have seen a lot of aftermaths of suicide, and let me tell you, the results are far from looking this peaceful!

Looks like he car acted as a crumple zone, so the energy of impact though just enough to be instantly fatal* was absorbed and dissipated into and by the collapse of the car. Imagine the forces involved to make that woman shaped deep dent on the car. An old car too where the steels were generally a lot thicker than the average today. If she'd hit the path, the vast majority of the impact energy would have bounced back up through her. Instant goo.



*It might have been a close run thing. Tens of G's the other way and she may have even survived though horribly injured. There were two blokes washing windows on a platform right at the top of a new york(IIRC) skyscraper. The cables let go and it fell all the way down. One guy left the platform and died, the other hung on all the way down and survived. The platform got caught between two walls and folded around the guy absorbing the impact to a survivable level, though he was well fooked up.

44leto

Cork boy 55 wrote: »

disgusting thread IMO

Yeah it really should be locked, it is a well known that suicides in the general population go up when someone famous commits the act. In away it either encourages them or inspires some people to also commit suicide.

http://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=celebrity%20suicides%20clusters&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FCopycat_suicide&ei=hEIkT_btC5GyhAfF4fiABQ&usg=AFQjCNEAdLyHTYhnSyJWiHIrf1oOdAGy6A&cad=rja

Toby Take a Bow

Mercurius wrote: »

I don't see Nick Drake on the list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRz3voOjxQo

I guess the black eyed dog called out his name once too often.

That really doesn't sound like Nick Drake.

One of the most disturbing footage I've seen of a suicide (not sure if it was a fake) was of that American politician killing himself in front of the cameras.

Mercurius

Toby Take a Bow wrote: »

That really doesn't sound like Nick Drake.

My bad. I didn't check it.

Deus Ex Machina

Toby Take a Bow wrote: »

Mercurius wrote: »

I don't see Nick Drake on the list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRz3voOjxQo

I guess the black eyed dog called out his name once too often.

That really doesn't sound like Nick Drake.

One of the most disturbing footage I've seen of a suicide (not sure if it was a fake) was of that American politician killing himself in front of the cameras.

Bud Dwyer, it's as real as fuçk.

Lawrence1895

Dissection's Jon Nodtveidt is on the list...well...he surely knew, what he did...

DEFTLEFTHAND

Deus Ex Machina wrote: »

Bud Dwyer, it's as real as fuçk.

I remember in the Kurt Cobain Biography 'Heavier than Heaven' it saying that Cobain got hold of the Budd Dwyer tape and would watch it over and over again obsessively. Sad really..

M cebee

Deus Ex Machina wrote: »

im invisible wrote: »

some other interesting ones

Apparently a big part of the reason why Turing killed himself was the "hormone treatment" he was receiving as part of his sentence for being as gay as Christmas. He was growing a nice big set of double Ds. A horrific way for anyone to go, but one of history's true crimes by virtue of the fact that he was such a genius and did his country and the world such a service in his cracking of the Enigma code.

I think the treatment affected his mental skills as well
according to the recent documentary

jammstarr

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

I remember in the Kurt Cobain Biography 'Heavier than Heaven' it saying that Cobain got hold of the Budd Dwyer tape and would watch it over and over again obsessively. Sad really..

I've watched that clip more than once. The amount of death footage online is scary.

Local-womanizer

Anybody see the documentary "The Bridge"?

Watched it the other night and found it fascinating. It gives a great insight into the minds of those willing to end their lives, not to mention how their families deal with their suicides.

It opened my eyes to suicide and what people truly go through and the hopelessness their loved ones feel.

jammstarr

Local-womanizer wrote: »

Anybody see the documentary "The Bridge"?

Watched it the other night and found it fascinating. It gives a great insight into the minds of those willing to end their lives, not to mention how their families deal with their suicides.

It opened my eyes to suicide and what people truly go through and the hopelessness their loved ones feel.

Found it on youtube - cheers for the suggestion.

up for anything

Looking through that list I came across this scumbag whose nephew committed suicide. Family or strangers, boys or girls, it didn't seem to make much difference to him. :mad:

El Guapo!

Chris Benoit was on that list too. I remember how shocked I was when I heard that news. Especially since it was a murder-suicide.

biko

Most famous? Socrates drinking hemlock, but I guess you whippersnappers are too young to remember.

Sindri

biko wrote: »

Most famous? Socrates drinking hemlock, but I guess you whippersnappers are too young to remember.

Most famous, either Jesus or Judas. Or definitely Dumbledore.

mikemac1

Friends of Emmet are a Dublin band based in LA

Coming Apart is a great song and about a young man who jumped off the bridge and survived.
The odds of surviving that fall and the freezing water are tiny but it happens sometimes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxAP8ns6mQg

Lyrics are fantastic

Mods I know this isn't music forum but I think it's appropriate for the thread

Deus Ex Machina

biko wrote: »

Most famous? Socrates drinking hemlock, but I guess you whippersnappers are too young to remember.

Does that really count, given the fact that he was setenced to do so for "corrupting" the youth?

goose2005

Wikipedia page wrote:

You can help by expanding it

Hope some famous person doesn't read that...

Zebra3

Adolf Hitler (1985); Austrian-born, Nazi Germany dictator, it's been speculated that he died by shooting himself in the mouth to avoid capture by the Mossad in Argentina.[98]

:pac::pac::pac:

The Princess Bride

Do you really think these people committed suicide because they were famous?

Or is there a chance it was because they were troubled?

They may have been famous,but famous people have to breathe,eat,sleep,wash etc...the same as us mere mortals.

Yes,their troubles might have been made worse because of their fame-
but they might not have been- we don't know,do we?

Mr Benevolent

Enda Kenny.

wendell borton

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_R._Price

Unable to accept the selfish reasoning for kindness found in his own mathematical theory of altruism

fruvai

Elliott Smith stabbed himself in the heart

saa

msthe80s wrote: »

Do you really think these people committed suicide because they were famous?

Or is there a chance it was because they were troubled?

They may have been famous,but famous people have to breathe,eat,sleep,wash etc...the same as us mere mortals.

Yes,their troubles might have been made worse because of their fame-
but they might not have been- we don't know,do we?

I'm not an expert, I'm still learning and it's interesting because like you were saying it might not be because of fame we don't know but to expand that idea further it might not be because troubled either.
Anyone talking openly about fame will at least say its not all its cracked up to be and seems extraordinarily stressful.

I was doing a suicide intervention course and we spent a good ten minutes talking about a scenario where a woman misses her bus, goes home and kills herself and we were talking about why, the class came to a decision that there must be something else, not necessarily as its not the situation the person is and they do not need to be troubled or struggling, they could be completely content and then kill themselves there wouldn't even need to be an incident or their lifestyle to provoke it.

tdv123

Marilyn Monroe?