The Most Mysterious Celebrity Causes Of Death

Over the years, we've lost many beloved stars in unusual ways. In some cases, the cause of death just doesn't add up and even experts can't determine precisely what happened. For those stars, the loss of life becomes that much more tragic.

In this gallery, we're looking back at celebrity deaths that have long been plagued by mystery. Click through the gallery for a closer look at 10 cases — starting with actor Bob Crane.

Bob Crane has one of the most mysterious and troubling deaths in Hollywood. The Hogan's Heroes actor died in 1978 when he was found bludgeoned to death at age 49. The death, which occurred while Crane was acting on a theatre tour, remains unsolved today.

The classic TV star's reputation was reconsidered after he died, as the public learned of his involvement with pornography and sex films — a secret lifestyle that may have had a role in how he died. A friend of Crane's once stood trial for the violent death, but he was acquitted. The unsolved case was also examined in the film Auto Focus.

We still don't have clear answers now over 10 years after Brittany Murphy's death at age 32. The actress was ruled to have died a non-suspicious death from combined causes of pneumonia, anemia, and multiple drug intoxication in 2009.

However, the death grew more suspicious when her widowed husband Simon Monjack died of similar causes in their home just a few months later. There are theories that toxic mould could've contributed to the tragedy, while Murphy's father has accused her mother of killing the couple. But the two cases have never been reopened.

David Carradine's death in 2009 left fans and medical examiners perplexed. The Kung Fu and Kill Bill actor died in Thailand, where he was found asphyxiated, hung by a rope in a hotel room closet.

It was at first thought to be a suicide, but Carradine's death was later understood to have been accidental, caused by auto-erotic asphyxiation gone wrong. But his attorney and his ex-wife have also suggested Carradine was assassinated or murdered, as well.

Dead at age 36 with empty pill bottles nearby. That's how star Marilyn Monroe was found in her home bedroom on Aug. 4, 1962. The iconic actress is still officially thought to have died of a "probable" suicide by barbiturate overdose. But many also believe in theories that the death was accidental or that she was murdered.

Famous names like John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert, as well as mob boss Jimmy Hoffa, are sometimes attached to conspiracies about Monroe's death, but there's no proof of those rumours and the initial ruling has never been overturned.

Few deaths have been shrouded in more mystery than actress Natalie Wood's. The Rebel Without a Cause star died at age 43 while on a boat trip with Robert Wagner, Christopher Walken, and the ship's captain.

She was initially ruled to have drowned after a night of drinking when her body washed up on shore the next morning. But she was also bruised, and the three men on the boat have given conflicting versions of what happened ever since. The case remains open to this day, and Wood's death was even reclassified as "suspicious" in 2018, with Wagner as a person of interest. 

Unfortunately, Prince became another star to die a mysterious death when he accidentally overdosed in 2016. The drug fentanyl caused his overdose at the age of 57, but it was determined that Prince believed he was only taking painkillers at the time and not a potentially lethal drug.

Police searched for who provided him with the pills, but they were unable to find the culprit. Ultimately, no charges were filed following the investigation.

Movie legend Bruce Lee lived an all too brief life that ended in 1973. At just 32, he died in his sleep from cerebral edema. The condition involves fluid in the brain, and it turned lethal for Lee at a young age. However, because he was a big star with global connections, theories persist that Lee may have been murdered by Chinese crime groups and other conspiracies.

Kurt Cobain's death remains a contentious subject to this day. The Nirvana frontman is commonly thought to have died by suicide with a shotgun in 1994. However, perhaps as much as any other celebrity, Cobain's death has long been attached to rumours of murder, usually aimed at his wife Courtney Love. But the suicide ruling hasn't changed in the 25-plus years since he died.

Eraserhead and Twin Peaks actor Jack Nance died under unusual circumstances. The 53-year-old passed away in 1996 after he'd been in a fight that was more serious than he'd thought. According to People, a friend had spotted Nance with a black eye, but when her husband visited him the next day, he found him dead. Blunt-force trauma to the head from the unsuspecting skirmish was his cause of death.