Actors Who Were Tragically Murdered

One of the appeals of acting is the chance to simulate thrills and danger without actually risking one's life. With some high-profile exceptions, such as the death of Brandon Lee on the set of "The Crow" or the casualties from the helicopter accident of "The Twilight Zone," actors can regularly simulate violence and death and head home at the end of a shooting day without issue. Any danger is managed – increasingly so in later years — and for those on set, there is a clear divide between dark fantasy and the humdrum routine of everyday life.

But the make-believe nature of movies and television doesn't extend to private life. There, where there are no cameras, crew, and safety equipment, actors can fall into unlucky circumstances, dangerous relationships, and brutal encounters. Over the history of cinema, to the shock of friends and colleagues, several actors have met tragic ends at the hands of killers.

The following article includes allegations and descriptions of domestic abuse, addiction, suicide and mental health issues. If you or anyone you know needs help with these issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website. If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

Multiple TV shows valued Phil Hartman as a performer in the 1980s and 90s. After switching from graphic design (per Turner Classic Movies), Hartman broke into comedy as a member of The Groundlings and a collaborator of Paul Reubens in the creation of Pee-wee Herman. His wide range made him a fixture on "Saturday Night Live" for eight years, and he voiced several popular side characters on "The Simpsons." After leaving SNL, a star vehicle all Hartman's own came in the form of the sitcom "NewsRadio."

Behind the scenes, Hartman was popular with his peers for his fatherly manner, and perceived as a model for a successful marriage in show business. But his union with Brynn Omdahl, his third wife, was troubled. While they both reveled in being parents and remained married for over ten years, their bond was strained by Omdahl's misuse of drugs and alcohol. She sent threatening messages to one of Hartman's ex-wives, and for his part, Hartman was often away with work and could be emotionally withdrawn in the face of trouble.

Accounts vary on the state of Hartman's marriage just before the end of his life. But on May 28, 1998, he was killed in his bed by Omdahl, who was later found to have alcohol and cocaine in her system. After telling a friend what she had done, Omdahl died by suicide.

On January 27, 2023, Jefferson Machado was reported missing from his home in Brazil. Originally from Santa Catarina, Machado was once a journalist, reporting on gossip for various magazines. He transitioned into show business, tackling various jobs in various rungs of the profession. TV, music videos, and live events kept him busy with production and art department duties until his break came as an actor in 2022, when he was cast in the soap opera "Reis."

Machado's family became aware he was missing when they saw the state of his eight dogs; two were dead, one was lost, and the rest were neglected. While reported lost in January, he was officially declared missing on February 9. Nearly four months later, the Machado family attorney, Jairo Magalhaes Pereira, issued a statement that Machado had been found, but the news was not good. "Preliminary information indicates that the actor's body was found in a trunk, buried in a hole of considerable depth," the statement read (via Facebook). The trunk had been covered with cement, and there were indications that Machado had been strangled. At the time of Pereira's statement, no suspects were named in the killing.

Rebecca Schaeffer was a rising star in the 1980s. Her sitcom, "My Sister Sam," only lasted two seasons on CBS, but it brought her a measure of fame. She was poised to close the decade with an audition for "The Godfather Part III." But Schaeffer never had the chance to read for a part in that film. On July 18, 1989, she was murdered by a stalker. Robert John Bardo, an obsessively devoted fan of "My Sister Sam," became fixated on Schaeffer. He hired a private detective to track down her address through the DMV, engaged her in a short conversation with an autographed picture in hand, and then came back to shoot her. Schaeffer was just 21 years old.

Her death came on the heels of the murder of John Lennon and the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan. Being so young, and in her own doorway when she was killed, her case badly shook Hollywood. The Screen Actors Guild lobbied for new privacy laws, and those in the public eye became more aware of potential dangers and unstable fans. Bardo's trial was an early example of how the media would cover celebrity-connected trials in the 1990s. His prosecutor, Marcia Clark, went on to prosecute the O.J. Simpson case. Bardo was sentenced to life in prison in 1991, a sentence he is still serving as of June 2023.

Sal Mineo caught two breaks early in his career; he understudied and later performed as the Crown Prince during the initial run of "The King and I" on stage, and he co-starred with James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause" in 1955. The film brought Mineo legions of fans and an Oscar nomination. When Dean died tragically young, Mineo inherited his mantle of cinema's leading troubled teen. He gained experience and another Oscar nod through his collaborations with Paul Newman, but as he entered the 1960s, Mineo found good roles few and far between.

While unsatisfied with film and television projects, Mineo found a fresh challenge on the stage in 1976. He was coming home from rehearsals for a popular comedy on February 12 when he was attacked outside his apartment in West Hollywood. Eyewitnesses reported a white man with brown hair fleeing the scene, leaving Mineo with a deep stab wound he soon died from.

Initial investigations looked into Mineo's prison reform work and his private life. No arrests were made for two years, at which point delivery man Lionel Ray Williams was arrested in Michigan for bad checks. He allegedly boasted about killing Mineo, and his wife told police that Williams was bloodied that February night in 1976. But Williams was a Black man, and some observers — including Mineo's family — retained doubts about his guilt even after his conviction.

In reporting on Susan Cabot's death, the Los Angeles Times compared her to "Sunset Boulevard's" Norma Desmond. Her biggest claims to fame as an actress were a run of B-movie westerns in the 1950s and a romance with King Hussein of Jordan. But Cabot's career faded relatively quickly, and though she kept herself financially stable through real estate and car restoration, her private life deteriorated as she aged. She spent her last years as a recluse, endured episodes of mental health, and remained a controlling and erratic force in the life of her son, Timothy Scott Roman. Roman was raised in an often squalid home environment and was given several strong and controversial drugs, partly to counter his dwarfism.

On December 10, 1986, Cabot was beaten to death with a weight-lifting bar in her home, and Roman was charged with the crime. He initially maintained his innocence, claiming that a burglar wearing a ninja mask had killed his mother. But with police evidence suggesting otherwise, his defense focused on his unusual upbringing's effect on his behavior and mental health. Roman later admitted that there was no burglar, but maintained he didn't remember killing Cabot. A verdict wasn't reached until 1989; Roman was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

Within China, Bai Jing was a popular star of action films, including "Kung Fu Wing Chun," and performed in children's plays and musicals. She was also alleged to be involved in an elaborate divorce scheme against her husband, billionaire Zhou Chenghai, who left his first wife for Bai and put a considerable sum of money behind her work (per China.org). Rumors within the Chinese film industry held that Bai was involved with a triad figure, and that the two of them robbed Zhou of ¥20 million. To get even more out of Zhou, the pair were said to have hired a prostitute to seduce him, giving Bai grounds for a large divorce settlement. Such schemes were blamed for the death of Zhou's mother.

Those who knew and worked with Bai disavowed the rumors, but it wasn't disputed that Bai and Zhou were in an unhappy relationship marked by fighting. For her part, Bai reportedly told friends that Zhou was unfaithful and abusive. The marriage tragically ended on February 28, 2012, when Zhou stabbed Bai to death in their home before killing himself. Bai's colleagues were shocked, but domestic abuse is a widespread issue in China; per Week in China, up to a quarter of women suffered abuse around the time of Bai's death.