While the idea of a performer collapsing into
the arms of a loving audience has a certain
romantic appeal, in real life, it can be pretty
horrifying.
For one reason or another, these performers
died in front of their audiences, unexpectedly
taking their final bows.
. Nick Menza was a drummer best known for
his work with Megadeth, playing on highly-regarded
albums like Rust in Peace and Countdown to
Extinction.
Apart from Megadeth, Menza also played with
the bands Memorain, Fear Assembly, Orphaned
to Hatred, and OHM.
It was during a gig with OHM in May 2016 that
Menza's heart gave out.
The 51-year-old collapsed onstage during the
third song of the band's set at a show in
Studio City, California, and he was pronounced
dead upon arrival at a nearby hospital.
On December 8th, 2004, in Columbus, Ohio,
"Dimebag" Darrell Abbott was on stage with
the rock band Damageplan, which he'd formed
with his brother Vinnie after the breakup
of their previous band, Pantera.
Just 90 seconds into their set, a 25-year-old
ex-Marine named Nathan Gale made his way onto
the stage with a gun, opening fire on Abbott
and others.
Abbott died as a result of his injuries, along
with three others.
Gale, whose mother said he was discharged
from the military due to mental health issues,
also died that night, being shot and killed
by a police officer.
Though several theories about Gale's motivations
have been floated, none could be conclusively
proven, leaving the deaths a senseless tragedy.
As an original member of Boston, drummer John
"Sib" Hashian played on two of the best-selling
rock albums of the '70s: Boston and Don't
Look Back.
The success of the band allowed him to keep
working as a drummer for the rest of his life.
Decades after the height of Boston's success,
Hashian joined the classic rock nostalgia
circuit, booking a spot on the Legends of
Rock Cruise.
While performing at sea with the band Dirty
Water in March 2017, Hashian collapsed behind
the drums during his set, dying of a heart
attack at age 67.
He had been diagnosed with kidney cancer just
months before his death.
Gustav Berglund, also known as Colonel Bruce
Hampton, has been called the "grandfather
of the jam band scene."
A lifelong musician, Hampton played funky
guitar music with many avant-garde rock bands,
including the Quark Alliance, the Late Bronze
Age, and the Hampton Grease Band.
In May 2017, many of Hampton's peers descended
on Atlanta for a concert in his honor, taking
place the day after Hampton turned 70.
But the all-star jam session unexpectedly
turned from a celebration to a sendoff when
Hampton collapsed during the show.
As a teenage guitar wizard named Taz Niederauer
showed off some tasty licks, Hampton fell
to the ground, resting his arm on a speaker,
as the performers on stage continued to play
for several minutes.
As musician Reverend Jeff Mosier later wrote
in a Facebook post, the performers thought
Hampton had fallen to his knees in a "we're
not worthy" gesture toward Niederauer.
Hampton died that night in an Atlanta hospital.
In April 1984, Welsh prop comedian and magician
Tommy Cooper appeared on the UK variety show
Live from Her Majesty's.
But his act was derailed by a sudden crisis.
After an attractive magician's assistant came
onto the stage during his performance, Cooper
suddenly fell backwards, which many took to
be an act of impromptu physical humor.
But this wasn't comedy it was tragedy.
The 63-year-old Cooper had suffered a heart
attack on live TV.
The director sent the show to an unscheduled
commercial break as Cooper was pulled off
stage.
He was taken to a hospital, and pronounced
dead upon arrival.
One of the most popular and dynamic wrestlers
in the WWE in the 1990s, Owen Hart was part
of a wrestling legacy alongside his brother,
Bret "The Hitman" Hart.
In May 1999, he was set to make an elaborate
entrance at the "Over the Edge" pay-per-view
event, being lowered from the rafters into
the ring via an elaborate wire system.
But when it came time to do the stunt, the
rigging tragically malfunctioned, sending
the "Blue Blazer" plunging to the mat.
He fell onto the top rope, and then into the
ring.
16,000 people in Kansas City's Kemper Arena
went quiet with horror as announcer Jim Ross
told the crowd that Hart's fall was not scripted.
Viewers watching the event on TV didn't see
the actual fall instead, the broadcast was
showing highlights of Hart's past matches
to build up drama before his big entrance.
Hart, who had recently celebrated his 34th
birthday, was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Tiny Tim was one of the most unique performers
to ever score a hit record.
A tall, stringy-haired man with a penchant
for singing in a high, lilting voice, his
version of an old standard called "Tip-Toe
Thru' the Tulips" hit No. 17 on the Billboard
pop chart in 1968.
On November 30th, 1996, Tiny Tim played a
benefit show for the Women's Club of Minneapolis.
During a performance of his most famous song,
the musician abruptly stopped playing, then
told his wife he didn't feel well.
Then the 64-year-old performer collapsed,
dying a few hours later at a Minneapolis hospital,
likely of cardiac arrest.
Morphine was one of the most unique alternative
rock bands of the '90s, playing music that
was funky, groovy, and vaguely unsettling.
That memorable style was due in large part
to singer and bassist Mark Sandman, who pioneered
bizarre, extra-low bass tunings that added
a spooky element to Morphine's songs.
The band was performing at an Italian music
festival outside of Rome in 1999 when the
46-year-old suddenly stopped playing and fell
to the ground.
He was rushed to a hospital, but pronounced
dead in an ambulance on the way there.
French singer Barbara Weldens was a star on
the rise before her life was cut short by
a freak stage accident.
In 2017, the singer had just released her
first album, the success of which made her
a big draw for the Léo Ferré Festival in
Goudron, France.
According to eyewitnesses, Weldens put on
a terrific show and earned a standing ovation.
She was soaking it all in when she suddenly
lurched forward and fell lifeless to the ground.
The singer, who performed barefoot, had stepped
on a malfunctioning piece of electrical equipment,
and the resulting shock sent her into fatal
cardiac arrest.
She was only 35 years old.
