Philip Seymour Hoffman wasn't the first, and he's not going to be the last (unfortunately). Here is a list of a few of my favorite composers, writers and artists over the centuries:
Ludwig Van Beethoven, Austrian composer
Age at death: 56
Cause of death: likely complications from alcoholism including cirrhosis and pancreatitis
Major works: Nine symphonies, 32 piano sonatas, opera Fidelio, numerous string quartets and other chamber works
Modest Mussorgsky, Russian composer
Age at death: 42 (literally one week after his 42nd birthday)
Cause of death: seizures during the DTs
Major works: Pictures at an Exhibition, Night on Bald Mountain, operas Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina and The Fair at Sorochinsk
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, French Post-Impressionist artist
Age at death: 36
Cause of death: alcoholism-related stroke
Major works: paintings Moulin Rouge series, The Launderess, Hotel Paris Absinthe, Portrait of Vincent van Gogh and many others, including photographs as well
Colin McPhee, Canadian-American composer and Professor of Ethnomusicology (study of non-western musical cultures) at UCLA, one of the first western musicians to seriously study in depth the music of a foreign culture
Age at death: 63
Cause of death: cirrhosis of the liver
Major works: Tabuh-Tabuhan, Nocturne and Transitions for orchestra, Balinese Ceremonial Music for two pianos, Concerto for Wind Orchestra; books Music in Bali: A Study in Form and Organization in Balinese Orchestral Music, A House in Bali, A Club of Small Men, Children and Music in Bali
Jack Kerouac, American writer
Age at death: 47
Cause of death: severe internal hemorrhaging due to alcoholism (he was drinking malt liquor and whiskey at 11am when he started bleeding out)
Major works: Novels On the Road, Big Sur (which has a chilling description of the DTs), Dharma Bums, Doctor Sax, The Subterraneans and many others
Actors - just too many to mention. River Phoenix, Heath Ledger, Philip Seymour Hoffman, et. al.
Ludwig Van Beethoven, Austrian composer
Age at death: 56
Cause of death: likely complications from alcoholism including cirrhosis and pancreatitis
Major works: Nine symphonies, 32 piano sonatas, opera Fidelio, numerous string quartets and other chamber works
Modest Mussorgsky, Russian composer
Age at death: 42 (literally one week after his 42nd birthday)
Cause of death: seizures during the DTs
Major works: Pictures at an Exhibition, Night on Bald Mountain, operas Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina and The Fair at Sorochinsk
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, French Post-Impressionist artist
Age at death: 36
Cause of death: alcoholism-related stroke
Major works: paintings Moulin Rouge series, The Launderess, Hotel Paris Absinthe, Portrait of Vincent van Gogh and many others, including photographs as well
Colin McPhee, Canadian-American composer and Professor of Ethnomusicology (study of non-western musical cultures) at UCLA, one of the first western musicians to seriously study in depth the music of a foreign culture
Age at death: 63
Cause of death: cirrhosis of the liver
Major works: Tabuh-Tabuhan, Nocturne and Transitions for orchestra, Balinese Ceremonial Music for two pianos, Concerto for Wind Orchestra; books Music in Bali: A Study in Form and Organization in Balinese Orchestral Music, A House in Bali, A Club of Small Men, Children and Music in Bali
Jack Kerouac, American writer
Age at death: 47
Cause of death: severe internal hemorrhaging due to alcoholism (he was drinking malt liquor and whiskey at 11am when he started bleeding out)
Major works: Novels On the Road, Big Sur (which has a chilling description of the DTs), Dharma Bums, Doctor Sax, The Subterraneans and many others
Actors - just too many to mention. River Phoenix, Heath Ledger, Philip Seymour Hoffman, et. al.
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