- Photo:
- Tarzan
- NBC
Ron Ely's son, Cameron Ely, fatally stabbed his mother, Valerie Lundeen Ely, at the couple's California home on October 15, 2019.
Cameron was then taken out by Santa Barbara police officers after he threatened them as they responded to a report of a family disturbance at the Ely house.
- Age: Dec. at 86 (1938-2024)
- Birthplace: Hereford, Texas, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Fuzheado
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY-SA 4.0
Oscar-winner Charlize Theron's heavy-drinking father was shot by her mother in self-defense in 1991.
- Age: 44
- Birthplace: Benoni, Gauteng, South Africa
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Tenebrae
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY-SA 3.0
Kelsey Grammer has had numerous tragic events occur throughout his life. In 1968, when he was just 13 years old, Grammer's estranged father was slain by a psychopath. His two half-brothers perished in a scuba-diving accident.
Then, in 1975, notorious serial killer Freddie Glenn abducted and killed Grammer's sister.
- Age: 65
- Birthplace: Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
- Photo:
- Photo:
- The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC BY 2.0
In 1997, Bill Cosby's son Ennis was shot during a suspected robbery when he was changing a tire on the side of the road.
- Age: 82
- Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
- D. Myles Cullen
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
In 1993, Michael Jordan's father pulled over along a North Carolina highway at a rest stop to take a nap. While he was sleeping, he was taken out by two teenagers.
His body was found in a swamp days later, while his car was found abandoned in a wooded area, stripped of everything valuable.
- Age: 57
- Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
- SSG Sun L. Vega
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
In 2008, Jennifer Hudson suffered a horrible family tragedy when her mother, brother, and nephew were all slain by her brother-in-law, William Balfour.
Balfour was separated from Hudson's sister Julia when he went on the violent spree.
- Age: 38
- Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Rebecca Dru
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC BY 2.0
Dylan McDermott's mother passed when he was just 5 years old. Her boyfriend, John Sponza, was the only witness to her shooting and claimed that she took her own life.
Years later, the case was reopened and ruled a murder based upon a reexamination of evidence. John Sponza became the primary suspect, but had already perished.
- Age: 58
- Birthplace: Waterbury, Connecticut, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Edwin Martinez
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC BY 2.0
In 2003, the eldest sister of Serena and Venus Williams, Yetunde Price, was slain while driving in a Los Angeles neighborhood.
Police believe that her boyfriend, who was in the passenger seat, was the intended target.
- Age: 38
- Birthplace: Saginaw, Michigan, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Dominick D
- Flickr
- CC-BY-SA 2.0
In 1986, two men killed Patrick Duffy's parents during a holdup in the Montana tavern that they owned.
- Age: 71
- Birthplace: Townsend, Montana, United States of America
- Photo:
In 1981, when he was 12 years old, Ice Cube's sister, Beverly Jean Brown, was slain by her husband.
- Age: 50
- Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
- Photo:
- Georges Biard
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY-SA 3.0
Roman Polanski's wife, Sharon Tate, was a famous target of the Manson Family in 1969.
At the time of her passing, she was pregnant and just two weeks away from giving birth to her and Polanski's child.
- Age: 86
- Birthplace: Paris, France
- Photo:
- Photo:
In 1983, Dave Navarro's mother, Constance, was slain in her West LA apartment. Her friend, Sue Jory, was also shot.
After Navarro appeared on America's Most Wanted in 1991, a viewer tip led to the arrest and conviction of Constance's ex-boyfriend, John Riccardi.
- Age: 52
- Birthplace: Santa Monica, California, USA
Mark Ruffalo
- Photo:
- gdcgraphics
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY-SA 2.0
On December 1, 2008, Mark Ruffalo's brother, Scott, was shot at his Beverly Hills condominium, with one report describing the incident as "execution-style." Scott passed on December 8, 2008. Police took two people into custody: a woman who was considered a suspect and a man considered a "person of interest."
One of the suspects reportedly told police that Scott Ruffalo harmed himself while playing Russian roulette. The case was considered closed after the woman, Shaha Mishaal Adham, passed in 2012.
- Age: 52
- Birthplace: Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S.
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Mark Coggins
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC BY 2.0
Author James Ellroy's mother was slain on June 22, 1958, when he was just 10 years old. She had gone out drinking one night and never came home.
Her body was discovered in bushes by an athletic field near the bar she left that night. She had been strangled. The case remains unsolved.
- Age: 72
- Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Meghan Roberts
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC BY 2.0
- Age: 44
- Birthplace: USA, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Glenn Francis
- Wikipedia
- CC-BY-SA 2.0
The Apprentice star Omarosa Manigault's father was slain when she was 7 years old.
Tragically, her brother Jack also passed in 2011 when the jealous ex-boyfriend of his girlfriend broke into their home and shot him as he slept.
- Age: 46
- Birthplace: Youngstown, Ohio, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
- George Pimentel
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
Glee actor Jake Zyrus's father was slain in 2011.
The incident stemmed from an altercation at a local grocery store.
- Age: 27
- Birthplace: Cabuyao, Philippines
- Photo:
In 1949, when he was just 3 years old, legendary guitarist Duane Allman's father was slain by a hitchhiker. His father, Willis Turner Allman, and a fellow Army officer offered the man a ride after hanging out and drinking with him throughout the evening.
It's believed the motive was robbery and Allman was shot when he tried to overtake the armed hitchhiker.
- Age: Dec. at 24 (1946-1971)
- Birthplace: Nashville, Tennessee
- Photo:
Malcolm X's father, Rev. Earl Little, was run over by a streetcar in 1931 in the Littles' hometown of East Lansing, Michigan.
Although the official incident report ruled that it was an accident, the Black community, including Malcolm and his brother, believed their father had been assaulted and then pushed into the path of a streetcar, possibly by members of a white supremacist group.
- Age: Dec. at 39 (1925-1965)
- Birthplace: USA, Nebraska, Omaha, North Omaha, Nebraska
- Photo:
- Shealah Craighead
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
Famed radio commenter Paul Harvey's father, Harry Aurandt, was slain by masked gunmen who approached he and his partner (both off-duty police officers at the time) in a rural area of Oklahoma.
- Age: Dec. at 90 (1918-2009)
- Birthplace: USA, Oklahoma, Tulsa
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Reckless Dream Photography
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC BY 2.0
Melvin Combs, the father of rapper and entertainment mogul Sean Combs, was struck down when the rapper once known as Puff Daddy was only 3 years old.
The elder Combs was involved in the drug world, which led to his untimely demise at the age of 33.
- Age: 50
- Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States of America
- Photo:
Caroline Kennedy's father, President John F. Kennedy, was famously assassinated in 1963.
Her uncle, Bobby Kennedy, was also struck down, in 1968, shortly after he won the California Democratic Primary.
- Age: 62
- Birthplace: New York City, Manhattan, USA, New York
- Photo:
- ABC Television
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
In 2001, actor Robert Blake's wife Bonnie Lee Bakley was shot while waiting in a parked car for Blake. Blake was charged with the crime.
Despite being acquitted on all charges, he was found liable in a civil suit for his wife's wrongful death.
- Age: 86
- Birthplace: Nutley, New Jersey, USA
- Photo:
COLLECTION20 LISTS
Celebrity TragediesDespite all of their riches and fame, celebrities' lives can be devastated by accidents, abuse, death, and other awful surprises.
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Fact-checked by:Jules Burke
19 MORE LISTS
Celebrity Tragedies
Despite all of their riches and fame, celebrities' lives can be devastated by accidents, abuse, death, and other awful surprises.
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