#famous suicides
On 14 May 2017, 81-year-old Peter W. Smith committed suicide in a hotel near the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He left a carefully prepared file of documents, including a suicide note in which he said he was in ill health and a life insurance policy was expiring.
Smith had been implicated in the HIllary Clinton email scandal, where, after then-candidate Donald Trump urged Russia to find Clinton’s “lost” emails, he had assembled a team to try and locate them. Smith had a history of doing opposition research, the formal term for unflattering information that political operatives dig up about rival candidates, and had focused much of his work on the Clintons.
Smith stressed in his suicide note that his reasons were “RECENT BAD TURN IN HEALTH SINCE JANUARY, 2017" and timing related “TO LIFE INSURANCE OF $5 MILLION EXPIRING.”
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Considered one of the most powerful women in China’s history, Jiang Qing (19 March 1914 – 14 May 1991) began acting at the age of 18. Using the stage name Lán Píng, she appeared in numerous films and plays and married the actor/director Tang Na in 1935. A public scandal erupted in 1937 when Jiang moved in with Zhang Min, a married man who led a theatrical troupe. Tang Na attempted suicide twice before the couple’s divorce in 1937.
In August 1938, she became secretary of the archives of the Communist party’s Military Commission, placing her in close proximity to 44-year-old Mao Zedong. Mao was divorcing his wife, and he and the 24-year-old Jiang soon began living together and by late 1938 she announced that she was pregnant.
In April 1969, Jiang became the first woman ever elected to the 21-member Politbureau, and as Mao’s health deteriorated in the 1970s, she exerted more control. When Mao died in September 1976, Jiang Qing and 3 others (the Gang of Four) tried to maintain control over China and on 5 October formally announced that Jiang should be named party chair. The Gang of Four was arrested the next day. The Chinese media began referring to Jiang as the “White-boned Demon.”
The Gang of Four were put on trial and convicted. Jiang received a suspended death sentence. She was released from prison in 1988 and placed under house arrest. Diagnosed with throat cancer in early 1991, the 77-year-old Jiang Qing hanged herself in her hospital room on 14 May 1991. Her obituary in the Chinese media made no mention of her political status, or that she was ever married to Chairman Mao.
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In December 1990, 42-year-old Margot Kidder was seriously injured in a car accident on the set of the television series Nancy Drew and Daughter which left her partially paralyzed. She was unable to work for the next 2 years, resulting in significant financial difficulties (she reportedly went nearly $1 million in debt),
Kidder had been diagnosed as bipolar in 1988, and the accident, lack of work, and financial stress (and her refusal to take medication) exacerbated her mental health issues. In 1996, Kidder disappeared for 4 days while having a manic episode and was placed in psychiatric care, where Kidder said she was finally able to “accept the diagnosis.”
Kidder continued to be public about her diagnosis and progress and in 2001 she was awarded the Courage in Mental Health Award from the California Women’s Mental Health Policy Council for her “public dialogue on mental illness.”
On 13 May 2018, the 69-year-old ended her life by overdose.
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Glen Sherley was an inmate at Folsom Prison in 1968 when Johnny Cash performed there. In fact, Sherley was in the front row when Cash sang Sherley’s song “Greystone Chapel.”
“The night before I was going to record at Folsom prison,” Johnny Cash said, “I got to the motel and a preacher friend of mine brought me a tape of a song called “Greystone Chapel. He said a convict had written it about the chapel at Folsom. I listened to it one time and I said, ‘I’ve got to do this in the show tomorrow.’ So I stayed up and learned it, and the next day the preacher had him in the front row. I announced, ‘This song was written by Glen Sherley.’ It was a terrible, terrible thing to point him out among all those cons, but I didn’t think about that then. Everybody just had a fit, screaming and carrying on.”
Sherley was released from prison in 1971, and Cash was waiting for him at the prison gates. Cash tried to help Sherley, and hired him, but Cash became concerned about Sherley’s behavior and his threats of violence, that he fired him.
Sherley then worked for a cattle company and faded from public attention.
On 11 May 1978, he killed himself with a gunshot to the head.
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In May 1939, 53-year-old John Gould Fletcher learned that he had received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his Selected Poems (1938). He was the first Southern poet to receive the prize, but despite the prestigious award and induction into the National Institute of Arts and Letters, Fletcher’s writing failed to find an audience. His last collection of poems, The Burning Mountain (1946), also failed to sell and he turned to an impressionistic history of his home state, but Arkansas (1947), attracted little attention out of the state.
Fletcher, who had struggled with depression in his life, grew increasingly despondent as his work failed to find an audience, and as his chronic arthritis (which had been diagnosed in 1936) worsened and on 10 May 1950, the 64-year-old Fletcher drowned himself in a shallow pond near his home in Little Rock, AR.
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In the early morning hours of 9 May 2010, Erica Blasberg sent a text message to her caddy that she would not be playing in a golf tournament scheduled for the next day. Her caddy sent a message asking Blasberg if she was okay, but did not get a reply.
The 25-year-old Blasberg was with 42-year-old Dr. Thomas Hess at an exclusive golf resort outside Las Vegas. The couple was seen in the bar at the hotel before Hess took Blasberg to her home in nearby Henderson.
Phone records show that Hess tried to contact Blasberg numerous times the next day (Sunday, Mother’s Day), eight times that morning and nine times that afternoon before going to her home in Henderson and finding her body.
Blasberg was in bed with a dust mask over her mouth and a plastic bag over her head, secured by rubber bands.
Hess removed the suicide note and pills. He did not know that Blasberg had been seeing a doctor for depression, or that Blasberg had been stockpiling medication.
In 2014, Hess went on trial for wrongful death, medical malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty, and was cleared of any wrongdoing in Blasberg’s death.
Blasberg’s suicide note was read at the opening of the trial on 7 May 2014, which read, “I’m sad and don’t want to be doing this right now. Sorry for all the people I’ve hurt doing this, but please understand how miserable and sad I am, and that I feel no way of escaping it.”
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Charles William Post suffered from stomach pains much of his life. He suffered at least 2 nervous breakdowns, which he thought were tied to his digestion.
Post spent time at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, operated by John Harvey Kellogg. In 1895 Post founded the Postum Cereal Co., which made products based upon the diet he learned from Kellogg, including Grape Nuts and Post Toasties.
While Post advertised that Grape Nuts could cure numerous stomach ailments, even appendicitis, Post himself continued to suffer from stomach pains.
In early March 1914 Post was rushed from his California home to Rochester, MN, where he operated on by the Mayo brothers. The surgeons thought the operation was successful at first, but his pain soon returned.
Post returned to California, where he was under constant nurse supervision.
On the morning of 9 May 1914, Post discussed his finances with his wife and sent her on an errand. He then told the nurse that he wanted to sleep and asked her to leave the room. A few minutes later, Post shot himself with a rifle he had hidden under his bed.
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Although not as well-known as some of his contemporaries, Graham Bond played an important role in British music of the 60s and 70s. He played saxophone and keyboards, and was one of the early users of the Hammond organ/Leslie speaker combination, and one of the first to play a Mellotron on record.
Bond struggled with mental illness from a young age, and after his band broke up in 1967, he suffered severe depression and mental disorders worsened by drug use.
In 1968, Bond became involved with Diane Stewart, who shared his interest in the occult. He entered a hospital to deal with his drug addiction and afterward his music career was back on track. But only briefly.
His career and his marriage collapsed around the same time, and Bond returned to drugs. After a month in prison and a subsequent period spent in a mental institution in 1973, the 36-year-old Bond threw himself under the wheels of subway train on 8 May 1974.
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On 7 May 1999, Dana Plato appeared on the Howard Stern Show, where she recounted her life as a child star, her struggles with drugs and alcohol, and her high-profile criminal arrests (including armed robbery). While Stern was sympathetic, Plato encountered much abuse from callers (including one who called her an “ex-con lesbian drug addict with mental problems”).
After the show, Plato and her fiance, Robert Menchaca, traveled from New York to Moore, OK to visit Menchaca’s mother for Mother’s Day.
At some time on 8 May, Plato told Menchaca that she was going to lie down in the couple’s RV. A number of hours passed before Menchaca checked on her. When he did, Plato was dead from a drug overdose. Menchaca took a number of pictures of the dead 34-year-old former child star before the police arrived.
While the official conclusion was suicide, many believe that Plato’s death was accidental, that in her drugged state she forgot how many pills she had taken, and kept taking them until she reached a fatal dose.
On Mother’s Day 2010 (6 May), almost 11 years to the day of his mother’s death, Plato’s 25-year-old son, Tyler Lambert, killed himself with a gunshot to the head. A friend of the family told reporters that Lambert “wanted to be with Mom.”
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On 6 May 2007, former magazine editor and style-maker Isabella Blow announced to her weekend guests that she was going shopping. She was later discovered by her sister on the floor of the bathroom. She had ingested weedkiller. According to her sister, Blow said, “I’m worried that I haven’t taken enough.” She was rushed to the hospital and died the next day.
According to her husband, Detmar, the 48-year-old Blow had attempted suicide 7 times in the previous 14 months, including an overdose with sleeping pills and jumping from an elevated roadway in London (which resulted in 2 broken ankles). Detmar’s father had committed suicide also by drinking weedkiller 30 years earlier.
Isabella Blow had discovered designer Alexander McQueen, and had helped negotiate his deal with Gucci, and was reportedly depressed that McQueen had left her behind. “Everybody else got contracts, and she got a free dress,” a friend said.
Married since 1988, Isabella and her husband separated in 2004 after he began having an affair. The couple reconciled after Isabella was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. According to her husband, Blow was diagnosed with mental illness and told him, “I’m fighting depression and I can’t beat it.”
In 2010, Alexander McQueen also killed himself.
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23-year-old Bobby Sands was convicted of illegal gun possession and sent to prison in 1977. He had been a member of the Provisional IRA (Irish Republican Army) since he was 18 and had already served 3 years in prison (also for the possession of illegal guns).
Sands and other IRA prisoners demanded that they be treated as political prisoners and not as criminals. They issued a number of demands (including the right not to wear a prison uniform, right not to do prison work, the right to associate with other prisoners, and the right to receive one visitor a week) and in March 1981 began a hunger strike. Sands was the first to go on strike, with 22 others joining at planned intervals (which they thought would maximize the publicity and protect each striker from ending his strike to save the life of another).
In April, Sands was elected to Parliament (the youngest ever). The British government quickly passed a law banning prisoners from being candidates.
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher refused to negotiate with the hunger strikers, and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland stated, “If Mr. Sands persisted in his wish to commit suicide, that was his choice.”
After 66 days without food, Bobby Sands died on 5 May 1981. Rioting broke out in Northern Ireland. More than 100,000 people attended Sands’ funeral. Thatcher responded by saying, “Mr. Sands was a convicted criminal. He chose to take his own life.“
By the time the hunger strikes ended on 3 October, 9 people had died. All but one of the prisoners’ demands (the right not to do prison work) had been granted.
The 7 months of the hunger strike was one of the deadliest in Northern Ireland, and Sands’ death increased recruitment in the Provisional IRA.
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Dennis Crosby, like his younger brother, Lindsay, struggled with alcoholism and a complicated relationship with their father, Bing. Lindsay killed himself with a shotgun in 1989.
On 4 May 1991, 2 weeks after his divorce (and 1 day after Bing’s birthday), Dennis also killed himself with a shotgun.
Their difficulties in growing up in the Crosby household were detailed in a 1983 book “Going My Own Way,” by eldest son Gary, who portrayed Bing Crosby as an inattentive and cruel parent. Gary’s version of events was disputed by his brothers, especially Dennis’ twin, Philip. Their mother, like her sons, struggled with alcohol abuse.
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Robert Ford shot and killed Jesse James on 3 April 1882, with his brother Charlie watching. The brothers immediately turned themselves into the law and were charged with the murder of Jesse James, plead guilty, were sentenced to be hanged and then pardoned by Missouri Governor Thomas Crittenden (all on the same day).
Crittenden had made capturing Jesse James a priority, but was barred by law from offering a large reward. Sources indicate that he made a deal with Robert Ford to pay him $10,000 (about $250,000 in today’s money) to bring in the outlaw (Charlie Ford was already a member of the James Gang). The brothers claimed they were ever only paid a small fraction of the bounty.
After the killing of Jesse James, Charlie and Robert Ford toured from stage to stage re-enacting the killing in a show titled, The Brother’s Vow; or, the Bandit’s Revenge, which they performed hundreds of times for more than 2 years. Charlie played the role of Jesse James and became depressed from pretending to be shot night after night.
Charlie Ford developed an addiction to morphine, was in financial trouble, and diagnosed with tuberculosis when he took his own life on 4 May 1884 (newspaper accounts cite 6 May, but his grave is marked as the fourth).
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On 2 May 1991 Jerzy Kosiński attended a party at Gay Talese’s home in New York City. According to Talese, “I had my arm around him, and we were laughing. The things we were talking about had a future tense to them. I saw him often in April and in recent months. There was nothing in his manner to show he was depressed.”
A.M. Rosenthal, another friend who attended the same party, had a different opinion. “He was more down than I’ve ever seen him. He was usually so lively, but he told me he had heart trouble, that he had a rapid heartbeat and that he was having difficulty breathing.”
The next morning, around 9 am on 3 May 1991, Kosiński’s wife found him dead in the half-filled bathtub with a plastic bag around his head. His suicide note read, “I am going to put myself to sleep now for a bit longer than usual. Call the time Eternity.“
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In January 1967, Dalida and her boyfriend Luigi Tenco appeared at the San Remo music festival. Dalida was already a star in Italy, and Tenco a newcomer. They performed the same song and announced they were going to be married. Tenco, however was devastated by his poor performance and insulted the judges and accused the festival of being rigged. He then killed himself in the couple’s hotel room.
Dalida tried to kill herself not long after, and while she survived, the tragedies in her life continued. In 1970, her ex-husband killed himself in their old apartment, shooting himself in the head. In 1975, her friend and fellow singer, Mike Brant, also killed himself, jumping from an apartment window. In 1983, her boyfriend of nine years, Richard Chanfray, put an end to his life as well as that of his new girlfriend by carbon monoxide poisoning.
On 3 May 1987, Dalida (born Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti) killed herself with a drug overdose. Her suicide note read: “Pardonnez-moi, la vie m'est insupportable.” (Forgive me, my life is unbearable.)“
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Clara Immerwahr was married to the German chemist Fritz Haber (awarded the Nobel Prize in 1918), who is also called the “father of chemical warfare” for his development of poison gas used in World War I.
Haber personally oversaw the use of the gas in warfare on 22 April 1915 during the Second Battle of Ypres, during which the German troops released 168 tons of gas on the French soldiers.
Haber returned home and on 2 May 1915, after an argument with his wife, the 44-year-old Clara shot herself in the heart with her husband’s service revolver. She was found by her 12-year-old son, Hermann, and died in his arms. There has been much speculation that her suicide was a direct response to her husband’s efforts in the war. The news of her suicide was reported 6 days later, in the small local newspaper:“the wife of Dr. H. in Dahlem, who is currently on the front, has set an end to her life by shooting herself.” She was 44.
Hermann Haber committed suicide in 1946.
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