1 / 10
Perfectly handsome River Phoenix was one of THE up and coming Hollywood actors of his generation when he died in 1993. The 23-year-old Stand By Me actor overdosed on heroin and cocaine right outside of the "Viper Room", a club owned by fellow actor Johnny Depp. The recording of his brother Joaquin's 911 call was heard all over the planet back then... Rest in peace, River.
2 / 10
The set of Poltergeist was said to have been cursed after countless terrifying close calls took place. A couple of years after the movie Poltergeist came out, Heather O'Rourke passed away, surely way too early at 12 years old. The girl who had been discovered by director Steven Spielberg and starred in Happy Days died after being rushed into emergency surgery to repair an acute bowel obstruction...
3 / 10
Judith Barsi was an incredible talent whose death was a huge loss for Hollywood and the countless lives she touched. She had begun acting at age 3 and impressed everyone she worked with on films like Punky Brewster, Jaws: The Revenge, and Growing Pains. Hollywood director Don Bluth had been ecstatic to have Judith do voice acting for All Dogs Go To Heaven and in The Land Before Time as lovable "Ducky." He said he had planned to use her extensively in his future projects because she was "absolutely astonishing. She understood verbal direction, even for the most sophisticated situations."
Devastatingly, Judith and her mother were callously murdered by Judtith's emotionally destructive and alcoholic father on July 28th, 1988. Judith was only 10 years old.
4 / 10
The Star Trek and Charlie Bartlett actor died in 2016 in what can only be described as a freak accident: He'd gotten out of his car in his steep driveway outside his home in California and when it rolled backward and trapped him against a pillar and a security fence...The actor, only 27 years old, was honored posthumously when the third installment of the Star Trek franchise was dedicated to his memory.
5 / 10
Jonathan Brandis became famous as a child when he starred in the 1990 miniseries Stephen King's It. He went on to star in the NBC show SeaQuest DSV, and other small rolls like Full House, Who's the Boss?, and Saved By The Bell, but when the roles did not keep coming his way, he fell into a severe depression. His friends reported that Jonathan was severely disappointed that his role in the war film Hart's War was significantly cut from the final edit, as he had hoped it would jump-start his career. He hung himself in November of 2003 - the actor was only 27 years old...
6 / 10
The incredibly handsome Lee Thompson Young, who had starred on the Disney Channel television series The Famous Jett Jackson had his life cut short far too early. When he did not show up on set to film for Rizzoli & Isles the police were called to check up on him. The police discovered that the Akeelah and the Bee actor shot himself on August 19th 2013 at the age of 29...
7 / 10
Dominique Dunne was another rising star taken too soon. She was also in the hit film Poltergeist. She was landing starring roles in films like Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker and CHiPs and was rehearsing for the miniseries V with a co-star when her abusive ex-boyfriend John Sweeny tricked her into exiting her home and strangling her to death. Tragically, due to poor handling of the trial by the presiding judge who was ranked Los Angeles' 4th worst judge, Sweeny was sentenced 6 years for her murder and only served 3 years prison time.
8 / 10
Before they were a year old, the adorable twin's Sawyer (L) and Sullivan (R) Sweeten started appearing on TV as the children of Ray Romano on his sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, which aired from 1996 until 2005. Apparently, Sawyer became depressed after the run of the show had ended, like so many other child stars. Tragically, Sawyer shot himself at the age of 19...
9 / 10
Corey Haim was a treasured 80's star and one half of the world-dominating acting duo "The Two Corey's" with Corey Feldman. He starred in hits like License to Drive, Dream a Little Dream, and The Lost Boys.
His death is a story all too familiar in Hollywood, Corey passed away on March 10th, 2010 from pneumonia after a long battle with addiction.
10 / 10
In 1994, he starred alongside Tommy Lee Jones and Susan Sarandon in the adaptation of John Grisham's The Client when he was just 11 years old. As a teen, he started taking drugs and like many child stars before him, died at the age of 25 from a heroin overdose.
They had their whole lives and careers ahead of them: these up-and-coming actors were taken from us way too early.
From River Phoenix to Corey Haim, these celebrity deaths shocked the world. They were incredible performers, but for many, the fame and spotlight was too much for them...
In our gallery, we have a look at the child stars who are no longer with us...rest in peace, all.