Saturday, July 8, marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of Zhan Sagadeev, the leader of one of the most underrated Russian groups- “E.S.T.” He died at the age of 41 under strange circumstances: the official version of the investigation is suicide, but the musician’s friends believe that Sagadeev’s death was violent. remembers the cult performer and other artists whose passing still remains a mystery.

Jean

Moscow team "E.S.T." (“Electroconvulsive therapy”) was more than “Russian Motorhead,” as it was sometimes called. A mixture of hard rock and riotous Russian chanson could make “E.S.T.” a real folk group, like “Gaza Strip”, “King and Jester” or “Leningrad”, but something went wrong: either Sagadeev’s music turned out to be too radical for the masses, or the group simply could not develop the initial success.

Zhan Sagadeev, the son of orientalist Arthur Sagadeev, assembled a team in 1986, and at first the group could not complain about the lack of popularity: touring Europe in the wake of perestroika, recording an album in Germany, performing at the most crowded festival in the history of Russia Monsters Of Rock in Tushino in 1991, which attracted more than 600 thousand spectators. Metallica, AC/DC, Pantera and Black Crowes played at that festival.

In the mid-1990s, when most Russian metalheads were not going through the best better times, "E.S.T." suddenly they became the kings of television: millions of Russians every day saw the video for the chilling alcoholic ballad “No, do you hear, no.”

But, when in the early 2000s the heroes of perestroika metal - "Aria" and others - began to pack stadiums again, a younger generation of heavy bands appeared, "E.S.T." due to a strange course of circumstances, they went into the shadows.

On the night of June 4, 2009, Jean’s wife discovered his body in the apartment. According to investigators, the musician committed suicide, but none of his relatives support this theory, claiming that Sagadeev was killed by an unknown guest. He led a life quite consistent with his intoxicated music, and casual drinking buddies in the artist’s apartment were not uncommon.

Video: FreudKruger / YouTube

Talkov

Video: Igor Talkov / YouTube

Ordanovsky

The leader of one of the first Soviet rock bands, “Russians,” Georgy Ordanovsky went missing in early 1984. The Russians played fiery hard rock, and by the time the Leningrad Rock Club was formed in 1981, they were already considered living classics. At a concert at the Summer Theater of the Leningrad Central Park of Culture and Culture in May 1982, the group so excited the audience with their music that the police detained almost half the audience. Ordanovsky disappeared on January 13, 1984 near the village of Semrino, where he went with friends to meet his old New Year. He was 30 years old.

At first, the musician’s friends were not impressed of great importance his disappearance. It was expected that he would definitely appear for the concert, which was scheduled for January 21. But Ordanovsky did not appear. Without losing hope, friends came up with various explanations. For example, there was a version that the police took the musician and shaved his head, and now the rocker lay low, growing his precious hair. When they grow back, they will come back. Another version is that Ordanovsky went to a distant monastery. But there was no real news from the musician. He was declared dead by a federal court in 2001.

Video: Diana Aguirre / YouTube

Edwards

Richard Edwards, guitarist for the British band Manic Street Preachers, disappeared in a similar manner. He disappeared on February 1, 1995 - on this day Edwards and the band's frontman were supposed to fly on a promotional tour of the United States.

Edwards was a difficult person - he loved to cut his hands and burn himself with cigarettes. In interviews, he spoke candidly about his struggle with depression. Nevertheless, he was a principled opponent of suicide: “I never had such an intention. I'm stronger than this. I might be a weak person, but I am able to endure pain,” Edwards said in an interview.

Shortly before his disappearance, the musician was in a psychiatric clinic. The missing Edwards was declared dead in absentia by investigators. However, in subsequent years, there were people who claimed to have seen the musician in Goa, Lanzarote and other exotic places.

Yanka

Yana, or more commonly Yanka Diaghileva, is a tragic figure in Russian music. She was 24 years old when her body was found in the Siberian Inya River. Last time Yanka was seen on the evening of May 9, 1991. She came to her father’s dacha near Novosibirsk and went for a walk. After several days of absence (some friends decided that she simply wanted to be alone), they began to look for her. A journalist got involved in the case, and a week after Ianka disappeared, they found him. The official version is that she drowned as a result of an accident. Some people think it was suicide.

“Yanka did not commit suicide. This is an established fact. Katya Borisova, who wrote a book about Yanka, and I are now thinking about how to publish these facts. Sad story is this: Yanka drowned in the river, and her body was found many days later. Only one person saw her in the morgue, Sergei Litavrin, a great friend of Yanka. He identified her body. The pathologist said the death was violent. Firstly, there was a wound on her head, and the signs determined that it was inflicted before her body hit the water. And secondly, there was no water in the lungs, which indicates that the person was already dead before falling into the water,” said Siberian musician Vadim Kuzmin (Cherny Lukich), who knew Yanka.

As in all these stories, we will not know the real cause of death and the circumstances surrounding it.

Video: iv143 / YouTube

Brian Jones

Jones was the man who brought The Rolling Stones to life. It was he who gave an advertisement that he was assembling a new team, to which keyboardist Ian Stewart responded first, and then Keith Richards. It was Jones who encouraged his friends to experiment with sound; he was a lover of non-trivial arrangements and exotic instruments. Without Jones, The Rolling Stones turned into a predictable band, repeating essentially the same techniques from album to album.

Although none of The Rolling Stones early years was not a champion healthy image life, Jones' drug addictions began to strain his colleagues. Jones, in turn, was stressed by The Rolling Stones themselves - he began to think about parting with the team and starting a solo project. According to rumors, Brian wanted to form a supergroup, inviting, in particular, Jimi Hendrix. In 1967, Jones' girlfriend left him for fellow Stones member Keith Richards, which only complicated relationships within the team.

On June 8, 1969, the Stones invited their friend to leave the group “by at will", which he did the next day. On the night of July 3, Jones' body was found at the bottom of the swimming pool at his Hartfield estate. Police ruled the death an accident. Later, the musician’s lover of that period, Anna Wolin, wrote a book, “The Murder of Brian Jones,” in which she accused Frank Thorogood, a builder who was renovating the estate, of the crime. On the night of his death, many of Jones's belongings disappeared from the house, including his work records and rare tapes of The Rolling Stones.

In the novel Elementary Particles, the French writer claims that Jones was eliminated by his former bandmates Mick Jagger and.

A supporter of the version of the artist’s murder is also the cult musician Genesis P-Orridge, the leader of Psychic TV, who insists on re-conducting the investigation. To attract attention to his idea, he released the song Godstar dedicated to Jones in 1985. The video for this song irritated the members of The Rolling Stones: where P-Orridge sings: “Where are your laughing friends? They stole your fame, they never told the truth,” the video shows the faces of Jagger and Richards. According to the artist, British Radio 1 apologized to him for not being able to broadcast this track because The Rolling Stones demanded it, threatening otherwise to take all their immortal compositions off the air.

Video: BookerBird66 / YouTube

– Sveta Gogol

In this article, we will tell you about ten famous witnesses whose unexpected deaths have led to the emergence of new conspiracy theories.

1. DavidWhirleyml.

On September 11, 2001, commander of the 113th Fighter Wing at Maryland Air Force Base, David Whirley Jr. received orders from the Secret Service to send planes to protect the White House and the Congressional building. Since then, Whirley has been a key witness in the 9/11 case and has been named in many reports.

On June 22, 2009, Whirley and his wife Ann boarded a subway car, which was hit by another train minutes later. It was the worst accident in the history of the Washington Metro. Whirley and his wife were among the nine killed.

2. Dwight Dixon

Witness to shooting in North Philadelphia

On April 29, 2008, an altercation occurred between drug dealer Dwight Dixon and former star US National Football League by Marvin Harrison. The case ended with a shooting, after which Dixon accused Harrison of shooting him with two guns at the same time. As a result of the shootout, three people were injured. Dixon was wounded in left hand. One of the victims initially claimed that he did not know who exactly shot, but after a few days he changed his testimony and pointed to Harrison. It later turned out that five bullets were actually fired from the football player’s pistol.

A few months later, Dwight Dixon was shot and killed in his own car. The killer was never found.

3. Barbara Olson

Was among the passengers on American Flight 77 Airlines

Barbara Olson was a lawyer, writer and commentator on conservative American television. Since 1994, she has been investigating the Clinton administration. She was interested, for example, in Clinton's illegal pardons of 140 people in the final hours of his presidency.

On September 11, 2001, Barbara was among the passengers on a hijacked American Airlines plane from Virginia to Los Angeles. After the plane was hijacked, she called her husband twice, providing details. This plane crashed into the Pentagon building. 64 passengers died, including Barbara Olson.

4. Milton Cooper

Witness to a meeting of representatives of naval intelligence

Milton Cooper served in the Air Force, Navy, Vietnam and the Secret Service. Cooper's name is widely known in connection with publications devoted to his ufological research and revelations related to government activities. He was convinced that the government was hiding data about alien technology. Cooper conducted his own investigation into the assassination of John Kennedy, proving that the latter died at the hands of his driver. In June 2001, three months before the Twin Towers bombings, he warned of an impending terrorist attack.

Cooper himself was accused of several crimes, including tax evasion and fraud. He was shot while attempting to arrest him. The police report stated that he "threatened with a weapon local residents, intimidating them."

5. KennethJohannemann

Witness the destruction of the World Trade Center

Kenneth Johannemann worked in one of the twin towers as a janitor. At the time of the September 11 tragedy, he was near the elevator and, in his own words, heard loud sounds of explosions coming from the basement - a few seconds before the plane crashed into the building and immediately after that. His words coincide with the testimony of another janitor, William Rodriguez.

In August 2008, Johannemann shot himself. In his suicide note, he explained his action by saying that he had lost his home.

6. Gary Webb

Witness in cocaine trafficking case

American journalist and laureate Pulitzer Prize Gary Webb gained widespread fame after a series of articles devoted to the CIA's connection with the Nicaraguan Contra movement, which was involved in the drug trade in Los Angeles.

Webb died at mysterious circumstances from two bullet wounds to the head. The official investigation ruled the journalist's death a suicide.

7. Ramin Purandarjani

Witness to crimes in Kahrizak prison

Ramin Pourandarjani worked as a doctor in Kahrizak prison in southern Tehran. He had to deal with prisoners who had obvious signs of torture on their bodies. The doctor openly accused the prison management of torture, violence and even murder of prisoners, who were forced to pass them off as natural deaths.

Purandarjani, who was only 25 years old, died in prison in July 2009. Government media reported that the doctor died of a heart attack.

8. Lee Bourse Jr.

Witness murders Kennedy

Lee Bowers Jr. was a key witness in the JFK assassination case. At the time of the shots, he was at a point from which he could see the parking lot, the grassy slope and the western part of the book depository. He talked about seeing two strangers on the grassy slope and described them.

On August 9, 1966, Bowles was driving his new car on business when he suddenly lost control and crashed to his death.

9. Barry Jennings

New York City Housing Authority official Barry Jennings was on the 23rd floor of the North Tower at the time of the attack. He subsequently gave several interviews, and his evidence does not fit the official version. For example, he told how, shortly before the terrorist attack, he entered the office, and it was empty, although there was steaming coffee on the tables, and everything indicated that there had just been people here. In addition, Jennings claimed that he heard explosions before the collapse, and that the floor of the lobby through which rescuers led him out was littered with corpses.

Jennings was found dead on August 19, 2008, two days before the official report on the investigation into the September 11 attacks was released. The cause of death is unknown.

10. David Kelly

Witness in the case of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq

David Kelly was a British scientist and biological weapons expert. He served as a UN weapons inspector and traveled to Iraq about forty times. Kelly believed that the British government was exaggerating the threat from Iraq. On June 15, 2003, The Observer published an article citing Kelly as a source. It stated that there was no evidence of the existence of clandestine laboratories producing biological weapons could not be found.

On July 15, 2003, Kelly was forced to explain himself to the parliamentary commission on foreign affairs. Two days later he disappeared, his body was found in a wooded area about a mile from own home. An autopsy revealed that the doctor took 29 painkillers. There was a cut wound on the left wrist. After an investigation, Kelly's death was ruled a suicide.

The famous American writer Sidney Sheldon, who decided to conduct an independent investigation, found out that the suicides of Sharif and Dazibai were not the only ones. A mysterious pestilence attacked English specialists working on the problem of UFOs and stellar weapons:
...January 1987. Avtar Sing-Gida has gone missing and been declared dead.
...February 1987. Peter Pippel is crushed to death by his car in the garage.
...March 1987. David Sands committed suicide by driving his car at high speed into a cafe.
...April 1987. Mark Wisner hanged himself.
...April 1987. Stuart Gooding - killed.
...April 1987. David Greenhalgh - fell from a bridge.
...April 1987. Shani Warren - drowned himself.
...May 1987. Michael Baker - died in a car accident.

In total, according to Sheldon, in a short period of time, more than twenty of their colleagues followed Sharif and Dazibai into the other world. To be more precise - 23 people.

Can this be considered a mere coincidence? And if this is not an accident, then what? The most incredible hypothesis, the existence of alien aggression in this regard, attempts by another mind to subjugate human race. At first glance, this version borders on science fiction.

But don't rush to conclusions. From the archives of the Phenomenon association:

The first officially recorded case of receiving mysterious signals from space dates back to 1889. This happened in Nikola Tesla's Colorado laboratory.

1921 Guillielmo Marconi received strange signals.

1928 The scientific press reported a mysterious "radio echo" from some object located outside the Earth's ionosphere.

1959 NASA specialists recorded signals from an unknown satellite of our planet.

1961 During the OZMA project to search for artificial radio signals in space, Dr. Frank Drake's group listened to the sector of the Tau Ceti star. Clearly coded impulses were captured. Here, however, the Pentagon intervened, declaring that scientists had caught a transmission from a classified military radio station...

Despite the military's explanations, the scientists did not calm down. Astronomers conducted two more search programs - OZMA-2 and OZMA-3. And every time “there was something.” But endless debates about whether it is “artificial” or “natural” have led nowhere.

In the archives of researchers of the so-called anomalous phenomena You can also find a lot of interesting evidence on this topic. In 1929, for example, signals from “aliens” were caught not by radio telescopes, but by ordinary radio at a wavelength of 75 meters.

Someone who called himself Nikomo, for a long time, alternately different languages read out the text of the appeal of the Coalition Observer Detachment /CON/ to the inhabitants of the Earth. Nikomo reported that a gravitational cyclone was drifting in the vicinity of our galaxy cluster, capable of destroying life on all planets, and called on humanity to join the Coalition so that it could help the Earth prepare for a dangerous phenomenon.

If this was someone's joke, then a very talented and educated person was having fun. This message contained information known today only to a limited circle of specialists.

Something similar happened on November 27, 1977 in England, southwest of London. On the territory of about 120 square kilometers There was a sudden disruption to television broadcasting. The image from the TV screens disappeared, and an unknown voice said that he was a representative of an extraterrestrial civilization, that humanity was following the wrong path, that earthlings needed to destroy the instruments of evil, and there was little time left for this...

The police, who were actively searching for the “alien,” loudly promised to soon present him to the public in court. And later, having not found anyone, she just spread her hands bashfully. London television specialists who participated in the investigation said that they could not even imagine how the joker managed to carry out his broadcast - the equipment required for this was too bulky and expensive. Of course, all this could be a clever hoax. But...

Suppose the unknown aliens moved from persuasion and warnings to active actions. Suppose someone learned that aliens were preparing to land on Earth. Suppose... And we tried to play this situation.

One of the Phenomenon experts called his police department: “Tomorrow the aliens start...” In response, without even listening to the end, they openly laughed. IN State Committee in emergency situations, we were advised with polite irony to put everything in writing. We have not tried to call the state security agencies, since we foresaw the reaction in advance. It turns out that we are defenseless against a possible alien attack?

After all, even if someone finds out about it in advance, no one will take such information seriously, except perhaps psychiatrists... “Alas, this is so,” says D. Azarov, a psychologist specializing in anomalous phenomena. “For some reason The prevailing point of view is that if aliens come to us, they will do so only in peace.

But ours own story teaches something completely different. Remember how the Spaniards once landed on the American continent. They were also convinced that they were bringing civilization to the wild Mayan tribes, implanting it with fire and sword. And, mind you, it didn’t bother the invaders at all that there were a pitiful handful of them against an entire people... Another reassuring myth is about our missiles, capable of protecting against any cosmic invasion.

For some reason, even intelligent people imagine it according to the scenario developed by H.G. Wells - balls /UFOs/ falling from space onto a heathland, monsters on tripods, armed with heat rays /blasters/... Primitive! If someone decides to conquer the Earth, they will act secretly and carefully. I can offer, as a joke, the hypothesis that aliens have already begun to conquer us.

Consider the following facts: A few decades ago, scientists Stermer and Van der Pol discovered a mysterious radio echo from signals sent into the sky, as if some body were reflecting them to Earth with different periods. And an expert on the problems of “EC” / extraterrestrial civilizations / R. Bracewell suggested that this is the “work of the hands” of an alien probe secretly orbiting our planet. Further research could neither confirm nor refute this idea.

But what if it's true? Let's imagine the possible further actions aliens who decided to conquer the Earth. Troops secretly land from the mother ship on "saucers" and set up several secret bases... Under the guise of people, aliens infiltrate key positions in earthly organizations in order to gradually, indirectly guide our civilization along the path they need.

At the same time, to be on the safe side, they must achieve a categorical ban on the publication of any information on unidentified flying objects. Those facts that do leak into the press must be subjected to official ridicule.

It would be nice to create a group at the Academy of Sciences that would explain UFO flights and other “miracles” associated with the activities of aliens by purely earthly reasons. It is also necessary to prohibit the development of programs like " Star Wars"so that people cannot use space weapon from external aggression. And it is better to eliminate the scientists who studied this topic (remember Sheldon’s list!)

Now look what happens. Just recently, enthusiasts of research into the UFO problem were harshly persecuted - they were ridiculed, fired from their jobs... Today, outwardly, everything has changed. But is it? Of course, a flurry of articles about unidentified flying objects appeared in the press.

But... The majority of people (as if hypnotized) do not believe in UFOs, perceiving stories about them as some kind of “journalistic fiction”. Meanwhile, strange things are happening in the world. Humanity is literally changing before our eyes biological species. There are more and more so-called “contactees” who hear “otherworldly voices” and have phenomenal psychic abilities. Scientists attribute this to a change magnetic field Earth, which has noticeably decreased.

Academician V. Kaznacheev confirmed this effect in hypomagnetic chambers. People isolated from the external field using these chambers exhibited telepathic and other unusual abilities.

But who will guarantee that the planet’s magnetic field changes naturally? Sometimes I have serious doubts about this. There are too many unexplained events happening in Lately.

Why, for example, is there a “belt of madness” that envelops the Earth in a deadly ring? Judge for yourself - Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq, then Yugoslavia, Moldova, Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia, Tajikistan, Chechnya... Even in prosperous America, there was an outbreak of violence in Los Angeles, located in the same latitudinal zone. You will say that all these wars and conflicts are a political phenomenon.

But why then are they accompanied by earthquakes and other unusual natural phenomena? Why do “hot spots” clearly fit into a ring, as if some probe, flying around the planet in orbit, sows hostility, aggressiveness, and natural disasters?..

Why do our military, armed to the teeth against any existing and non-existent danger, show mysterious good-naturedness regarding possible alien aggression?

Why today there are no state or public mechanisms capable of promptly responding to reports of a possible escalation of alien aggressors to Earth?”

These are the questions that arise when analyzing the “Sheldon List” and the current situation. And, God forbid, that D. Azarov’s fantasy version really turns out to be fantasy!

A little later, Father Yuri was informed that Alexander had died on the way home to Sibay. The father had to go to the Vladimir region to pick up his son’s body; they reported that the guy had been in an accident. However, the father was convinced that his son was killed! The injuries on the body showed signs of violence, my father served in Afghanistan and knew perfectly well what a head looks like from bullet wound. The son's legs dangled as if they were attached by threads. Most likely he was tortured.

Parents were dying of grief; Alexander was an only child. Body young man given to parents with one condition: to sign confirmation papers official version causes of death.

They took everything out, including the cologne.

Sasha had already been buried, but the parents were still haunted by thoughts about the circumstances of the death of their only son. Soon, inexplicable situations began to occur.

When Sasha’s parents arrived at Sasha’s apartment, they noticed that someone had already been there before them. Everything was taken out of the apartment, even shampoo and cologne. The parents immediately remembered the money that had been set aside to buy an apartment; when they contacted the bank, they were told that the money had already been cashed out. Cashed out millions!

According to the bank statement, they found out that the money was withdrawn after Sasha’s death

Nobody believed the poor parents that their son was killed. Then they had to exhume the body, such a step was painful for the parents.

Stealing from the grave

The exhumation has not yet begun, but it was possible to find out that the bodies young guy not in the grave.

When the parents arrived at the cemetery, they saw something terrible. The grave was carelessly covered with earth, puddles, wreaths were scattered, the coffin itself was turned over, and the cross was near the head, but they buried their son in Orthodox rules when the cross was at the feet of the deceased. There was no body in the coffin. Who needs to steal a body from a coffin? Maybe someone wanted to hide criminal traces?

Suspect found

Investigators Vladimir region They are finding out the circumstances of Alexander's strange death.

It is noteworthy that the parents were never called in for questioning. Father Yuri immediately began to suspect something was wrong.

The father says that several years ago Sasha became friends with a guy named Evgeniy. They were colleagues and one day they came to Sibay and stayed for about 10 days. Sasha considered Zhenya the brother he never had.

It turns out that Evgeniy had the key to Sasha’s apartment in Lyubertsy. And they don’t trust strangers with apartment keys. Yuri was outraged that Evgeny did not come to the funeral to say goodbye to Alexander. A little later, the friend cut off all ties with his parents, even blocked them on in social networks. Is this what friends do?

Reward

In such a dramatic story, another strange thing happened. This year, a summons for interrogation was sent to Alexander from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Chelyabinsk Region. Alexander, who died, was called as a witness in a criminal case.

The truth is important for parents now; they want the criminal to answer for his crimes.

Alexander’s relatives are ready to pay 500 thousand rubles to anyone who can contribute to the investigation with any details and will be grateful for the dissemination of this information.

"RG" continues to remember terrible tragedies, played out not on the screen or stage, but in the lives of actors who were very popular at one time. Most of the investigations into the deaths of actors remained unfinished. And who is to blame for their deaths is still a mystery.

Vyacheslav Titov (1971-2011)

Famous actor Vyacheslav Titov was found dead in his own apartment in December 2011.

Vyacheslav was born in Tula in 1971. The desire to become an artist appeared in his childhood. At the age of 12, young Slava began studying in the folk theater of the local cultural palace. In 1985, he was invited to two theaters at once - to the troupe of the Tula Academic Theater. M. Gorky and the Tula Regional Theater for Young Spectators.

Subsequently, Titov graduated from Voronezh state institute arts, after which he left for St. Petersburg and joined the troupe of the Academic Theater. Lensovet. And a year later he became an actor at the Moscow Academic Theater. Vl. Mayakovsky. The artist played in the plays “Long live the Queen, Vivat!”, “How do you like it?”, “A plague on both your houses,” “ Dead Souls" and many others.

The actor made his film debut in 1994, playing in the film “Provincial Flowers.” For the role of Adas in this film he was awarded State Prize The Republic of Belarus. Then the period of series began: “Turkish March”, “Rublyovka Live”, “Adventurer”, “Ostrog. The Case of Fyodor Sechenov”, “Silent Witness”, “Hour of Volkov”, “The Witch Doctor”, “Mistress of the Taiga”, “St. John’s Wort”. He also starred as a drug dealer in the super popular TV series "Capercaillie". In total, he had more than 40 film roles.

The actor’s body was found on the morning of December 29, 2011 in his own apartment on Novorogozhskaya Street. A month later, the killer of Vyacheslav Titov was identified and put on the federal wanted list. In February, 23-year-old David Zaseev was detained in Vladikavkaz, and the very next day he admitted his guilt. He explained to investigators that, guided by personal motives, he struck Titov twice on the head with a heavy object (which he does not remember, as he was under the influence of alcohol), after which he put a bag over the actor’s head and strangled him with a belt.

The court sentenced Zaseev to 9 years in prison to be served in a maximum security colony. The artist left behind a small daughter.

Bruce Lee (1940-1973)

The martial artist, American and Hong Kong film actor, film director, producer and screenwriter became a martial arts legend in the 60s and 70s of the last century.

He had a rather long, difficult and thorny path to fame. From a young age, Bruce had to prove that he was the best. He was born in San Francisco during his parents' American tour: Bruce's father was Chinese, his mother was Eurasian. The family lived mainly in Hong Kong, where little Bruce began acting in tiny roles while still a baby. As a child, Lee was quite weak child and began to study martial arts seriously, in particular kung fu, only at the age of 14. But he quickly succeeded in his studies: what took others weeks, Bruce mastered in three days. He later also learned judo, jiu-jitsu and boxing. Bruce Lee began acting in American cinema in the late 60s. At first everything went with great difficulty, and then offers from producers fell one after another: films with Lee’s participation were increasingly successful. In 1966, Bruce moved to Los Angeles and appeared in a new television series, which became very popular in Hong Kong. At that time, the Golden Harvest film studio opened in Hong Kong itself. Bruce Lee persuaded studio director Raymond Chow to give him main role in film " Big boss"and allow him to stage the fight scenes himself. The risk paid off - the film was an unprecedented success. Bruce Lee revolutionized the idea of ​​martial arts in cinema. He did everything himself - without doubles. At the limit of human capabilities. Then Chow entrusted Lee to make two more films ("Fist Fury" and "Return of the Dragon"). The films were even more successful and made Lee a superstar.

He no longer belonged to himself: Bruce’s work schedule had become so busy that he no longer had enough time for his family or friends. And although all his relatives rejoiced at his success, they began to notice some oddities in the actor. His mood often deteriorated sharply, he became addicted to alcohol and kept repeating that he would not live longer than 33 years. And he was supposed to turn 33 in November 1973.

Bruce Lee did not live until November for four months. On July 20, Lee, who was working on the role with actress Betty Ting Pei, fell ill in the Hong Kong hotel room where she lived, took aspirin, fell asleep - and did not wake up. A thorough investigation was never carried out, so the rather mysterious death of the idol of the 70s caused a lot of speculation and the most fantastic versions.

So, they said that this was the revenge of the Chinese mafia group "Triad", that the actor was killed by drugs, that in fact he did not die, but hid so that his enemies would not find him, etc. And the Chinese from Chinatown generally believed that Lee is cursed. Because before him, the Chinese had never taught kung fu to Europeans - it was sacred knowledge, inaccessible to foreigners. The secrets of wrestling were preserved over the centuries; the most effective combinations remained the property of the mentor and his direct successors. Bruce replicated them all over the world, and even crossed kung fu with boxing.

Rumors of a curse began again when The only son actor Brandon died on set after receiving a .44 caliber bullet in the stomach. Brandon starred in the film “The Raven,” which was about a dead man who rose from the grave to take revenge on his killers (according to Chinese beliefs, the raven symbolizes the death that awaits a person). Something bad really happened on the set: one of the actors received severe burns, another seriously injured his hand, a journalist writing about the film got into a car accident, and the designer went crazy. To top it all off, the hurricane destroyed the scenery... And finally, instead of a blank cartridge, there was a live cartridge in the drum. They didn’t figure out what happened right away - the bullet pierced the spine, and the doctors couldn’t do anything. Brandon was buried next to his father.

Anna Nicole Smith (1967-2007)

American fashion model, Playboy magazine cover girl in 1993, TV presenter, actress, widow of billionaire James Howard Marshall, Vicki Lenee Hogan, known under the pseudonym Anna Nicole Smith, was found unconscious in a Florida hotel.

The last years of her life, Anna Nicole Smith lived in Nassau, the capital Bahamas. In early February 2007, she and her last husband, Howard Stern, went to Florida on business. According to some reports, Anna spent four days - from February 5 to 8 - in bed, trying to cope with the flu. On February 8, Anna's husband Howard left on business. At this time the woman became very ill. Ambulance, who was immediately called, tried to bring the actress to her senses, but in vain, she died. According to the preliminary version, the cause of death was an overdose of analgesics or antidepressants, which Anna had abused in the last part of her life.

However, after an autopsy it turned out that Anna Nicole Smith had a severe and advanced form of pneumonia. Against the backdrop of general weakness of the body after the birth of her daughter, as well as several plastic surgeries, the disease began to progress. But what exactly led to the death - whether the pills the woman was abusing or something else - remained unclear. It was also unclear why the actress, who has financial opportunities, was so careless about her health.

After Anna's death, her husband and mother could not decide where to bury her. As a result, the court had to choose the resting place. As a result, Anna Nicole Smith was buried only a month after her death - in the Bahamas next to her son from her first marriage, Daniel, who died at the age of 20, also under very strange circumstances. He died right in his mother’s hospital room, where Anna Nicole was after giving birth to her daughter. Main version The death of the young man was an overdose of antidepressants.

Bobby Driscoll (1937-1968)

The children's movie star, who played Jim Hawkins in the movie "Treasure Island", became a victim of "star fever".

Bobby was born in 1937 in Iowa. From childhood it was discovered that little Bobby was simply a born actor. When the doctors advised the father of the future artist to warm climate, the family moved to Los Angeles, where it began actor career Bobby. The first film became the launching pad for many that followed - by 1948, the young actor was already earning $400 a week. Driscoll's most notable childhood roles include the Oscar-winning animated family film Song of the South, the comedy If You Knew Susie, family drama"So dear to my heart." Bobby became the first child actor to sign a contract with Walt Disney Studios in 1946.

In 1949, Bobby brilliantly played in the drama "Window", and a year later he appeared in the role of Jim Hawkins in "Treasure Island". His salary was unheard of for a child at that time - $1,750 a week.

But as Bobby grew older, he began to receive less and less fewer roles. And even his voice, with which he could make a great living as a voice actor, was no longer needed by anyone. In the 50s of the century, an actor who by that time received professional education, was content with serials. In New York, he tried to find work on Broadway, but nothing good happened here either.

They said that he was seriously addicted to drugs - they undermined his health. Bobby Driscoll died young, in 1968, at the age of 31. His body was discovered by children playing hide and seek in an abandoned building in Greenwich Village. At first they couldn’t even identify him, so they buried him in a poor grave. There was no sign on the grave indicating who was buried there. It was only when Driscoll's wife raised the alarm that an investigation was carried out and the body was exhumed and identified by fingerprints.

Bobby's cause of death was hepatitis or heart attack. But it was never officially certified.

Elizabeth Short (1924-1947)

Elizabeth Short, nicknamed "The Black Dahlia", is the victim of an unsolved crime that occurred in the Los Angeles area in 1947. The murder of 22-year-old Elizabeth was and remains one of the most brutal and mysterious crimes committed in the United States.

The budding actress said in her last letter about wanting to better prepare for the audition. But on January 9, 1947, she disappeared from the hotel. On January 15, 1947, Elizabeth Short's body was found on an abandoned plot of land near the Los Angeles border.

The body was cut into two parts and very badly mutilated. The mouth was cut from ear to ear. The police immediately got the impression that a maniac was acting. The investigation into the murder of a young actress by the Los Angeles police with the involvement of the FBI became the longest and most extensive in history. law enforcement USA. But Elizabeth Short's killer was never found by police, and the case remains unsolved.

In 1987, the book “The Black Dahlia” by the famous detective author James Ellroy appeared. In 2006, a high-budget film adaptation of the novel under the same name was released. In Russian distribution the title was changed to "Black Orchid".

Albert Dekker (1904-1968)

Albert Van Ecke was born in Brooklyn. Since 1928, taking as a pseudonym maiden name mother, began participating in Broadway productions, appearing in almost two dozen plays. In 1937, Decker made his Hollywood debut in the comedy The Great Garrick.

In the 1940s, the actor starred a lot in films and on television. He was a member of the US Democratic Party, and in 1945 he was elected to the California State Assembly, where he served for the next two years.

On May 5, 1968, 62-year-old Albert Decker was found dead in his Hollywood home. He was found in the bathroom, kneeling with a noose around his neck tied to a ceiling ledge. The actor was handcuffed, syringe needles were stuck into both hands, and his eyes were blindfolded. Obscene inscriptions and drawings were found on the body. And although she disappeared from home large sum money, the conclusion of the investigation was: “Death occurred as a result of an accident.”