Only the Good Die Young… 10 Entertainers Lost Way Too Soon!

American actress Marilyn Monroe on the set of Asphalt Jungle, directed by John Huston. (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “only the good die young". It sounds cliché but is, oh, so true! Over the years we have loved and lost many fine entertainers, suddenly, unexpectedly, and long before we were ready. We naively think of our idols as being superhuman and, therefore, “bulletproof". Nothing could be farther from the truth, though. Entertainers are people too. They are mortal beings and sometimes, because of their status, actually more vulnerable than others.

Celebrity entertainers aspire to charm us with their talents; it is their (show) business. That being the case, entertainers are always under extreme pressure to perform. Stardom seems glamorous to ordinary people but, to celebrities, it is a huge undertaking and all-consuming. At times, in reality, stardom is a life-changing trade-off… trading personal happiness for public notoriety. Celebrities put their fans ahead of their own well-being. Often, there is a breakdown because the circumstances were unforeseen, but other times because the pressure was too great.

When public icons fall victim to a tragic ending it affects fans, as a whole. Countless entertainment icons have lost too soon; including: