Larry Hagman, known for his roles in ‘Dallas’ and ‘I Dream of Jeannie,’ developed liver cancer and cirrhosis of the liver in the 1990s due to decades of drinking, and underwent a life-saving liver transplant. Including Jack Kerouac, Billie Holiday, Richard Burton, Peter Cook, and Errol Flynn, this list shows the celebrities who, for whatever reason, couldn’t fight the addiction and lost their lives to the disease. Female silent movie star Julia Burns and Barbara Payton are also just a few of the famous women who died of alcholism. After several trips to the hospital for various things (usually liver-related), I couldn’t keep going the way I was. Thanks to the support of my wife and family, I checked myself into a treatment center and was in there for almost 40 days.
Jessica Simpson became sober so she could be present for her children.
Dabney Coleman, the veteran character actor who played the villainous boss in 9 to 5 and won an Emmy for his supporting role in the TV film Sworn to Silence, died May 16 at 92. His career spanned nearly seven decades, starting with appearances on TV shows like The Outer Limits, The Fugitive, and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in the ’60s. His screen credits included Buffalo Bill, On Golden Pond, Tootsie, WarGames, The Muppets Take Manhattan, You’ve Got Mail, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Yellowstone. Richard M. Sherman, who worked with his late Robert to pen such tunes as “A Spoonful of Sugar,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” and “It’s a Small World (After All),” died on May 25 due to an age-related illness. From there, they wrote music for dozens of projects at the studio, including The Sword in the Stone, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, The Jungle Book, The Aristocats, and most notably, Mary Poppins.
Famous Alcoholics
- Keith LeBlanc, the drummer and record producer who worked with some of the most prominent musicians of the 1980s and ’90s, died April 4 from an undisclosed illness.
- “Still in denial, I brought in my workaholic ways in detox and secured a job when I was discharged so instead of inpatient, I thought I could do it with outpatient.”
- She rose to fame in 1989 on the popular TV series Ikolm’ Edwa Yadwa.
- Mixing illicit, prescription or over-the-counter medications can be dangerous, and patients should always rule out drug interactions with their healthcare provider.
After 90210, Gail went on to star in the short-lived primetime soap Savannah from 1996 to ’97, and landed in the daytime soap Port Charles (a spin-off of General Hospital) in 1999, replacing Michael Dietz as Dr. Scanlon. Gail stayed in the role for 216 episodes and then worked sporadically through the early ’00s. Wayne Kramer, the guitarist who co-founded the proto-punk rock band MC5, died Feb. 2 at the age of 75 from pancreatic cancer. Born Wayne Kambes in Detroit in 1948, Kramer founded MC5 alongside Fred “Sonic” Smith. MC5 gained a following for its energetic performances and left-wing political platform, at one point performing for eight hours straight at the infamous protest against the Vietnam War at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. MC5’s live album Kick Out the Jams and studio album Back in the USA were both heavily influential on the blossoming punk subgenre, and the group helped mentor other prominent bands like the Stooges.
Dolores O’Riordan (Alcohol Abuse)
I have two INCREDIBLE parents that allowed me to live a perfect childhood. Soap star Bill Hayes — who starred on “Days of Our Lives” alongside his real-life wife, Susan Seaforth Hayes — died on Jan. 12, a rep for the show told People. He died https://ecosoberhouse.com/ after undergoing surgery for a spinal infection, his longtime fiancée, Amanda Serrano-Ganios, revealed on X. The surgery was successful, but he suffered a fatal heart attack the following day as he was recovering in a New York hospital.
It’s unclear whether Rowlands’ other daughter, Zoe Cassavetes, was there when she died. Aprea also appeared in “Full House” playing the father of John Stamos’ character, Jesse Katsopolis. The eponymous talk show host is survived by his wife of 44 years, Marlo Thomas, and his children. Obi’s death comes five years after he lost both of his legs in a hit-and-run crash. The actor’s death was confirmed via Facebook by his sister, Nkem Ndefo, on Aug. 31.
Tyler Christopher was ‘beloved,’ says ‘General Hospital’ executive producer
Gustafson would go on to work as the animation director for Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox and lead the claymation sequences in A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas. “I admired Mark Gustafson, even before I met him. A pillar of stop motion animation — a true artist,” Guillermo del Toro wrote in tribute to the animator on X. “He leaves behind a titanic legacy of animation that goes back to the very origins of claymation and that shaped the career and craft of countless animators,” del Toro continued. “He leaves friends and colleagues and a historic filmography.”
Richard Burton
When I hit rock bottom, I scrolled through the PGA TOUR’s mental health resources and tried to figure out who to call. I shut my laptop, picked up my phone, and sent two players from the TOUR a DM on Instagram because they’ve been open with their struggles. It took me three days to understand that I was never going to drink again. I spent the rest of the time trying to figure out who Steve is, and why he drank.
- Marla Adams, the Daytime Emmy-winning actress known for playing Dina Abbott Mergeron on the long-running CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, died April 25 at 85.
- Gelder appeared on the HBO drama many times as the brother of Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), and the uncle of Lena Headey’s Cersei, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s Jaime, and Peter Dinklage’s Tyrion.
- Roos worked as a casting director on a litany of famous films, like George Lucas’ American Graffiti.
- In his memoir, the “Friends” star revealed that his recovery journey included 6,000 AA meetings, at least 15 stints in rehab, and dozens of detoxes.
Celebrities Who Have Struggled with Alcohol Addiction
Steve Lawrence, the Grammy- and Emmy-winning entertainer who dazzled audiences as a nightclub and concert singer with his late wife, Eydie Gormé, died March 7 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Lawrence got his start in show business as a teenager, after winning a talent competition on Arthur Godfrey’s CBS show, but his career truly blossomed after he crossed paths with Gormé. With and without Gormé, Lawrence celebrities who died from alcohol released dozens of albums in his lifetime, earning acclaim for hits like “Go Away Little Girl.” As an actor, Lawrence’s credits included a Broadway stint as Sammy Glick in What Makes Sammy Run? Gormé and Lawrence made several records and television specials, for which they won an Emmy and a Grammy. While also pursuing solo projects and gigs, the duo continued performing together until Gormé’s death in 2013.
