Parents Who Died Young And Left Children Behind

When hunky, twenty-year-old heart-throb Heath Ledger first came to the attention of the public in 1999, it was all too easy to tag him as a "pretty boy" and an actor of little depth. He spent several years trying desperately to sway this image, but this was a double-edged sword. His work comprised nineteen films, including 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), The Patriot (2000), A Knight's Tale (2001), Monster's Ball (2001), Ned Kelly (2003), The Brothers Grimm (2005), Lords of Dogtown (2005), Brokeback Mountain (2005), Casanova (2005), Candy (2006), I'm Not There (2007), The Dark Knight (2008) and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009). He also produced and directed music videos and aspired to be a film director.

Heath Ledger was born on the fourth of April 1979, in Perth, Western Australia, to Sally (Ramshaw), a teacher of French, and Kim Ledger, a mining engineer who also raced cars. His ancestry was Scottish, English, Irish, and Sephardi Jewish. As the story goes, in junior high school it was compulsory to take one of two electives, either cooking or drama. As Heath could not see himself in a cooking class he tried his hand at drama. Heath was talented, however the rest of the class did not acknowledge his talent. When he was seventeen he and a friend decided to pack up, leave school, take a car and rough it to Sydney. Heath believed Sydney to be the place where dreams were made or, at least, where actors could possibly get their big break. Upon arriving in Sydney with a purported sixty-nine cents to his name, Heath tried everything to get a break.

His first real acting job came in a low-budget movie called Blackrock (1997), a largely unimpressive cliché; an adolescent angst film about one boy's struggle when he learns his best mate raped a girl. He only had a very small role in the film. After that small role Heath auditioned for a role in a T.V. show called Sweat (1996) about a group of young Olympic hopefuls. He was offered one of two roles, one as a swimmer, another as a gay cyclist. Heath accepted the latter because he felt to really stand out as an actor one had to accept unique roles that stood out from the bunch. It got him small notice, but unfortunately the show was quickly axed, forcing him to look for other roles. He was in Home and Away (1988) for a very short period, in which he played a surfer who falls in love with one of the girls of Summer Bay. Then came his very brief role in Paws (1997), a film which existed solely to cash in on guitar prodigy Nathan Cavaleri's brief moment of fame, where he was the hottest thing in Australia. Heath played a student in the film, involved in a stage production of a Shakespeare play, in which he played "Oberon". A very brief role, this offered him a small paycheck but did nothing to advance his career. Then came Two Hands (1999). He went to the U.S. trying to audition for film roles, showcasing his brief role in Roar (1997) opposite then unknown Vera Farmiga.

Then Australian director Gregor Jordan auditioned him for the lead in Two Hands (1999), which he got. An in your face Aussie crime thriller, Two Hands (1999) was outstanding and helped him secure a role in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999). After that, it seemed Heath was being typecast as a young hunk, which he did not like, so he accepted a role in a very serious war drama The Patriot (2000).

What followed was a stark inconsistency of roles, Ledger accepting virtually every single character role, anything to avoid being typecast. Some met with praise, like his short role in Monster's Ball (2001), but his version of Ned Kelly (2003) was an absolute flop, which led distributors hesitant to even release it outside Australia. Heath finally had deserved success with his role in Brokeback Mountain (2005). For his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in in the film, Ledger won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and Best International Actor from the Australian Film Institute, and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Ledger was found dead on January 22, 2008 in his apartment in the Manhattan neighborhood of SoHo, with a bottle of prescription sleeping pills near-by. It was concluded weeks later that he died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs that included pain-killers, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication. His death occurred during editing of The Dark Knight (2008) and in the midst of filming his last role as Tony in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009).

Posthumously, he shared the 2007 Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award with the rest of the ensemble cast, the director, and the casting director for the film I'm Not There (2007), which was inspired by the life and songs of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. In the film, Ledger portrayed a fictional actor named Robbie Clark, one of six characters embodying aspects of Dylan's life and persona.

A few months before his death, Ledger had finished filming his performance as the Joker in 'The Dark Knight (2008). His untimely death cast a somber shadow over the subsequent promotion of the $185 million Batman production. Ledger received more than thirty posthumous accolades for his critically acclaimed performance as the Joker, the psychopathic clown prince of crime, in the film, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, a Best Actor International Award at the 2008 Australian Film Institute Awards (for which he is the second actor to win an acting award posthumously after Peter Finch who won an Oscar for Network (Best Actor 1977)), the 2008 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor, the 2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture, and the 2009 BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Matilda Ledger was born on 28 October 2005 in New York City, New York, USA.

Michael Hutchence is one of the greatest singers and performers in Australia's history, with a career that spanned 20 years. Born to Kelland Hutchence and Patricia Hutchence (a film and television make-up artist), Michael was the second of three children. He grew up in Hong Kong, USA, and Australia, and often hung out with his mother on film sets, getting to meet many famous people including his former classmate, Nastassja Kinski. When his parents split in 1976, Michael went with his mother to live in America for a while, but finding the fast-paced lifestyle too hectic, he moved back to Australia to live with his father. He attended high school in Sydney, becoming friends with another student, Andrew Farriss. Andrew performed regularly in two bands, Doctor Dolphin and The Farriss Brothers, and at some point invited Michael to sing with them. After graduating, they recruited two more members, Garry Beers and Kirk Pengilly, and immediately started touring pubs as The Farriss Brothers. They were later signed for a record deal on condition that they changed their name to INXS, which was a reflection of their lifestyle, always in excess.

Their first three albums were only minor sellers, but when 'The Swing' was released in 1984, it debuted at number one in Australia, and went double platinum. Their 1987 album 'Kick' had huge radio airplay, brought them an American number one hit ("Need You Tonight") and sold millions of albums worldwide.

However, Michael led a life of constant excess, which included women, drugs and alcohol, and sadly after 'Kick', the band proved to be not as popular as they once had been. Michael attempted a film career, but his first film Dogs in Space (1986) earned an 'R' rating, completely alienating it from teenagers, its intended audience. His second film Frankenstein Unbound (1990) did not showcase his talent either, as he had little more than a walk-on role.

All the while, his personal and professional life was falling apart. He fell in love with and later lived with Bob Geldof's wife, Paula Yates, which tainted his career. They had a daughter together, Tiger Lily Hutchence Geldof. In 1997 he met up with Michael Douglas to discuss his songs being used in Face/Off (1997). Hutchence wanted to know from Douglas what steps he should take to further advance himself in the film industry. Douglas advised him, but Michael could not handle the pressure of being a fading rock star, and when his latest album 'Elegantly Wasted' was a flop, Michael took the steps that ended his career. Michael once said that he was "just a man" -- and that is all he ever was.

Paula Yates was born on 24 April 1959 in Colwyn Bay, Wales, UK. She was an actress and writer, known for Brookside (1982), Have I Got News for You (1990) and The Tube (1982). She was married to Bob Geldof. She died on 17 September 2000 in Notting Hill, London, England, UK.

Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence Geldof was born on July 22nd 1996 to INXS frontman Michael Hutchence and Welsh journalist Paula Yates. She has 3 older half sisters from her mother's previous marriage to Irish singer and activist Bob Geldof: Fifi Geldof, Peaches Geldof and Pixie Geldof.

Aged only 1, on November 22nd 1997 she lost her father, and on 17 September 2000, on Pixie's 10th birthday, her mother Paula Yates, 41, died at her home in London of an accidental heroin overdose. Soon after Yates death, Geldof assumed foster custody of Tiger Lily with the willing consent of Hutchence's parents, so that she could be brought up with her three older half-sisters. Her aunt, Tina Hutchence, the sister of Michael Hutchence, was denied permission by the judge to apply for Tiger Lily to live with her in California.

In 2007, Geldof applied to a British court for and was granted formal adoption of Tiger Lily and a change of her surname to Geldof, despite opposition from Hutchence's mother and sister. Since January 2008 her legal full name has been Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence Geldof.

Sadly, around 6 or 7 April 2014 her older half sister Peaches died of an accidental heroin overdose, like their mother Paula Yates.

In 2016, Tiger made her modeling debut for sustainable fashion brand House of Khadi.

She graduated from Goldsmiths, University of London on July 2019.

Steve Irwin was born in 1962 to parents Lyn and Bob Irwin, who were animal naturalists. He shared the love for animals all his life, stemming from being raised at the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. There, he partook in daily duties of animal feeding and care. He quickly established himself with the Queenland's government on the process of the country's Crocodile Relocation Program, in which the reptiles could be transferred and relocated to proper localties in the most absolute humane, non-tranquilizing manner. He frequently implements the non-tranquilizing factor in his televison show The Crocodile Hunter's Croc Files (1999). Steve married fellow naturalist, Terri Irwin (Baines) in 1992. She joined him in his adventures and efforts in almost every episode of his show. They had one daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin, who was born July 24, 1998. He died in September 2006 following an attack by a stingray, off the Great Barrier Reef.

Bindi Irwin was born on 24 July 1998 in Buderim, Queensland, Australia. She is an actress, known for Return to Nim's Island (2013), Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove (2010) and Bindi, the Jungle Girl (2007). She has been married to Chandler Powell since 25 March 2020. They have one child.

Robert was born to Steve Irwin and Terri Irwin on 1st December as a baby brother to his sister, Bindi Irwin. Robert was introduced to the wildlife, which was his father's passion, at an early age. There was much controversy when his father held him up next to a large saltwater crocodile at just 4 weeks old. Unlike his sister Bindi, he is not very fond of reptiles and prefers the cuddly animals like Koalas and dingos. He will inherit the Australia zoo when he and Bindi are older.

Kurt Cobain was born on February 20 1967, in Aberdeen, Washington. Kurt and his family lived in Hoquiam for the first few months of his life then later moved back to Aberdeen, where he had a happy childhood until his parents divorced. The divorce left Kurt's outlook on the world forever scarred. He became withdrawn and anti-social. He was constantly placed with one relative to the next, living with friends, and at times even homeless. Kurt was not the most popular person in high school as he was in public school. In 1985 Kurt left Aberdeen for Olympia where he formed the band Nirvana in 1986. In 1989 Nirvana recorded their debut album Bleach under the independent label Sub-Pop records. Nirvana became very popular in Britain and by 1991 they signed a contract with Geffen. Their next album Nevermind became a 90s masterpiece and made Kurt's Nirvana one of the most successful bands in the world. Kurt became trampled upon with success and found the new lifestyle hard to bear. In February 1992 Kurt married Courtney Love, the woman who was already pregnant with his child, Frances Bean Cobain. Nirvana released their next album Incesticide later that year. The album appealed to many fans due to the liner notes, which expressed Kurt's open-mindedness. In September 1993 Nirvana released their next album, 'In Utero', which topped the charts. On March 4, 1994, Kurt was taken to hospital in a coma. It was officially stated as an accident but many believe it to have been an unsuccessful suicide attempt. Family and friends convinced Kurt to seek rehab. Kurt was said to have fled rehab after only a few days from a missing person's report filed by Courtney Love. On April 8th Kurt's body was found in his Seattle home. In his arms was a shotgun, which had been fired into his head. Near him laid a suicide note written in red ink. It was addressed to his wife Courtney Love and his daughter Frances Bean Cobain. Two days after Kurt's body was discovered people gathered in Seattle, they began setting fires, chanting profanities, and fighting with police officers. They also listened to a tape of Courtney reading sections of the suicide note left by Kurt. The last few words were "I love you, I love you".

Frances Bean Cobain was born on 18 August 1992 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015), Nirvana: Sliver (1993) and RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2012). She has been married to Riley Hawk since 7 October 2023. They have one child. She was previously married to Isaiah Silva.

Shannon Hoon was born on 26 September 1967 in Lafayette, Indiana, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Without a Paddle (2004), Private Parts (1997) and Remember the Daze (2007). He was married to Lisa Crouse. He died on 21 October 1995 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Candy was one of Canada's greatest and funniest character actors. His well-known role as the big-hearted buffoon earned him classic appearances in Uncle Buck (1989) and Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987). His career handed him some dry spells, but he always rebounded.

Born in Newmarket, Ontario, in 1950, Candy was the son of Evangeline (Aker) and Sidney James Candy. His mother was of Ukrainian and Polish ancestry. Candy found his passion for drama while attending a community college. In 1971 he made his TV debut in an episode of Police Surgeon (1971) co-starring Sharon Farrell, John Hamelin, and Nick Mancuso. Candy then found a number of bit parts in other Canadian television shows and also in such small films as Tunnel Vision (1976) and Find the Lady (1976). However, his big success came at the age of twenty-seven, when he became part of the comedy group "Second City" in Toronto. Alongside such soon-to-be Canadian stars as Catherine O'Hara (one of Candy's lifelong friends), Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis, and Harold Ramis, Candy was also part of the television show the group inspired. SCTV (1976) earned Candy a reputation for his quirky humor and his uncanny imitations of others.

After the television series, Candy appeared alongside fellow Canadian Dan Aykroyd in the Steven Spielberg flop 1941 (1979). However, other jobs followed and Candy landed a role, once again with Aykroyd, in the successful classic The Blues Brothers (1980). Candy played a parole officer who is part of the chase after Jake and Elwood Blues. The film was a hit and Candy followed up accordingly.

Candy acted in the smash hit Stripes (1981) where he played a dopey, overweight recruit affectionately nicknamed 'Ox'. After the success of Stripes (1981), Candy returned to the Second City with the other former stars, in SCTV Network (1981). Candy also hosted Saturday Night Live before landing himself a role in the Ron Howard film Splash (1984), a romantic comedy about a mermaid who washes ashore and learns to live like a human. Candy played a sleazy womanizing brother to the character played by Tom Hanks. The film was a bigger success than even Stripes (1981), and a number of people have said that Splash (1984) was his breakout role.

He took a second billing in the comedic film Brewster's Millions (1985) where a man must spend thirty million in order to inherit three hundred million from his deceased relative. Candy played the man's best friend, who accidentally gets in the way as much as helping out. Candy continued making films tirelessly, including the film Armed and Dangerous (1986) in which he and Eugene Levy play characters who become security guards.

1987 was an especially good year to Candy, giving him two classic roles: Barf the Mawg in the Mel Brooks comedy Spaceballs (1987) and the bumbling salesman Del Griffith alongside Steve Martin's uptight character in the John Hughes film Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987). The latter film is a golden classic and is one of Candy's greatest films. He followed up immediately with The Great Outdoors (1988), once again alongside Dan Aykroyd. Candy landed another classic role in the film Uncle Buck (1989) which was about a bumbling uncle who must look after his brother's three children.

Although he was in the smash hit Home Alone (1990), Candy's career fell into a slump, turning out unsuccessful films in the early 1990s. This caused him to change his strategy by taking more serious roles. The first of these serious roles was the corrupt lawyer Dean Andrews in the Oliver Stone film JFK (1991). The film was a big success, and Candy moved on from this victory to make the film Cool Runnings (1993) about the first Jamaican bobsled team.

Candy was well known for his size, six feet two and weighing around 300 pounds. However, he was very sensitive about the subject, and in the 1990s tried to lose weight and quit smoking. He was aware that heart attacks were in his family history: both his father and his grandfather had died of them, and Candy wanted to prevent that happening to him as best he could.

In the mid-1990s Candy filmed the Michael Moore comedy Canadian Bacon (1995), then went to Mexico to film the western spoof Wagons East (1994). There, he had a heart attack and passed away in March 1994. Canadian Bacon (1995) was released a year after his death and is his last film.

Candy was loved by thousands of people who loved his classic antics in Splash (1984) and The Great Outdoors (1988). He was well-known for his roles in Stripes (1981) and Uncle Buck (1989), and never forgot his Canadian background.

Chris Candy was born on 23 September 1984. He is an actor and writer, known for Where's This Party? (2014), Untitled John Candy Documentary and Coldplay: All My Love (Lyric Version) (2024).

Jennifer Candy was born on 3 February 1980. She is a producer and actress, known for In Vino (2017), Liv and Maddie (2013) and Where's This Party? (2014). She has been married to Bryan Sullivan since 27 October 2012. They have one child.

Jane Cameron Agee was born on 19 October 1939 in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA. She was married to James Brolin. She died on 13 February 1995 in Templeton, California, USA.

Rugged features and a natural charm have worked for Josh Brolin, the son of actor James Brolin. He has played roles as a policeman, a hunter, and the President of the United States.

Brolin was born February 12, 1968 in Santa Monica, California, to Jane Cameron (Agee), a Texas-born wildlife activist, and James Brolin. Josh was not interested at first in the lifestyle of the entertainment business, in light of his parents' divorce, and both of them being actors. However, during junior year in high school, he took an acting class to see what it was like. He played Stanley in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and became hooked. His first major screen role was as the older brother in the film The Goonies (1985), based on a story by Steven Spielberg. He then immediately moved on to work on television, taking roles on such series as Pilot (1987) and The Young Riders (1989). "Private Eye" was a chance for Brolin to play a detective. "The Young Riders" was set just before the Civil War, and was co-directed by Brolin's father, James Brolin.

After The Young Riders (1989), Brolin moved back to the big screen, with mediocre success. He played a supporting role in The Road Killers (1994), but the film was not a success. He followed up with the crime film Gang in Blue (1996), the romantic film Bed of Roses (1996), the thriller film Nightwatch (1997), and appeared with his father in My Brother's War (1997). However, nothing truly stuck out, especially not the box office flop The Mod Squad (1999). The 2000s initially brought no significant change in Brolin's career. He appeared in the independent film Slow Burn (2000), the sci-if thriller Hollow Man (2000) and starred on the television series Mister Sterling (2003). In 2004, he married actress Diane Lane but later divorced in 2013.

It was not until 2007 that Brolin received much acclaim for his films. He took a supporting role in the Quentin Tarantino-written Grindhouse (2007) which was a two-part film accounting two horror stories. He also played two policemen that year: corrupt officer Nick Trupo in the crime epic American Gangster (2007), and an honest police chief in the emotional drama In the Valley of Elah (2007) which starred Tommy Lee Jones and was directed by Paul Haggis. However, it was his involvement in No Country for Old Men (2007) that truly pushed him into the limelight. The film, directed by the Coen brothers, was about a man (Brolin) who finds a satchel containing two million dollars in cash. He is pursued by an unstoppable assassin (Javier Bardem, who won an Oscar for his work) and his friend, a local sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones). The film won four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Brolin found high-profile work the next year, being cast as Supervisor Dan White in the film Milk (2008). His performance as the weak and bitter politician earned him an Oscar nomination, and Brolin received more praise for his fascinating portrayal of George W. Bush in the Oliver Stone film W. (2008). Despite the mediocre success of W. (2008), he was recognized as the best part of the film, and Milk (2008) was another triumph, critically and commercially.

Brolin then acted in the smaller comedy Women in Trouble (2009) before landing a number of large roles in 2010. The first of these was the film based on the comic book figure Jonah Hex (2010). The film was a box office flop and critically panned, but Brolin also forged a second collaboration with legendary director Oliver Stone for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010). Brolin played a large role alongside such young stars as Carey Mulligan and Shia LaBeouf, and older thespians such as Michael Douglas, Eli Wallach, and Frank Langella. Brolin's character was Bretton James, a top banker in the film, and also the film's chief antagonist. Brolin also appeared in Woody Allen's London-based film You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010) and a second collaboration with the Coen Brothers, which was a remake of True Grit (1969).

Despite his earlier mediocre success and fame, Brolin has maintained a choosiness in his films and, recently, these choices have paid off profoundly. Hopefully, he continues this streak of good fortune that his talents have finally given him.

Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born into a musical family on 9 August 1963, in Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of gospel star Cissy Houston (née Emily Lee Drinkard) and John Russell Houston, Jr., and cousin of singing star Dionne Warwick.

She began singing in the choir at her church, The New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, as a young child and by the age of 15 was singing backing vocals professionally with her mother on Chaka Khan's 1978 hit, 'I'm Every Woman'. She went on to provide backing vocals for Lou Rawls, Jermaine Jackson and her own mother and worked briefly as a model, appearing on the cover of 'Seventeen' magazine in 1981.

She began working as a featured vocalist for the New York-based funk band Material and it was the quality of her vocal work with them that attracted the attention of the major record labels, including Arista with whom she signed in 1983 and where she stayed for the rest of her career.

Her debut album, 'Whitney Houston', was released in 1985 and became the biggest-selling album by a debut artist. Several hit singles, including 'Saving All My Love For You', 'How Will I Know', 'You Give Good Love', and 'The Greatest Love of All', were released from the album, setting her up for a Beatles-beating seven consecutive US number ones. The album itself sold 3 million copies in its first year in the US and went on to sell 25 million worldwide, winning her the first of her six Grammies.

The 1987 follow-up album, 'Whitney', which included the hits 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go' and 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody', built on her success but it was the 1992 film The Bodyguard (1992) that sealed her place as one of the best-selling artists of all time. While the movie itself and her performance in it were not highly praised, the soundtrack album and her cover of the Dolly Parton song 'I Will Always Love You' topped the singles and albums charts for months and sold 44 million copies around the world.

That same year she married ex-New Edition singer Bobby Brown with whom she had her only child, their daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown in March 1993. It was about this time that her much documented drug use began and by 1996 she was a daily user.

Her 1998 album, 'My Love Is Your Love' was well reviewed but the drug abuse began to affect her reputation and press reports at the time said that she was becoming difficult to work with, if she turned up at all. She was dropped from a performance at The 72nd Annual Academy Awards (2000) because she was "out of it" at rehearsals. Her weight fluctuated wildly - she was so thin at a 'Michael Jackson' tribute in 2001 that rumors circulated the next day that she had died - and her voice began to fail her. She was twice admitted to rehab and declared herself drug-free in 2010 but returned to rehab in May 2011.

Her 2009 comeback album 'I Look To You' was positively received and sold well, but promotional performances were still marred by her weakened voice. Her final acting performance was in Sparkle (2012) (a remake of the 1976 movie, Sparkle (1976)), released after her death.

She was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel room on 11 February 2012.

Bobbi Kristina Brown was born on 4 March 1993 in Livingston, New Jersey, USA. She was an actress, known for For Better or Worse (2011), The Houstons: On Our Own (2012) and Being Bobby Brown (2005). She died on 26 July 2015 in Duluth, Georgia, USA.

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, and entertained audiences nearly his entire life. His father, Joe Jackson (no relation to Joe Jackson, also a musician), had been a guitarist, but was forced to give up his musical ambitions following his marriage to Michael's mother Katherine Jackson (née Katherine Esther Scruse). Together, they prodded their growing family's musical interests at home. By the early 1960s, the older boys Jackie, Tito and Jermaine had begun performing around the city; by 1964, Michael and Marlon had joined in.

A musical prodigy, Michael's singing and dancing talents were amazingly mature, and he soon became the dominant voice and focus of the Jackson 5. An opening act for such soul groups as the O-Jays and James Brown, it was Gladys Knight (not Diana Ross) who officially brought the group to Berry Gordy's attention, and by 1969, the boys were producing back-to-back chart-busting hits as Motown artists ("I Want You Back," "ABC," "Never Can Say Goodbye," "Got to Be There," etc.). As a product of the 1970s, the boys emerged as one of the most accomplished black pop / soul vocal groups in music history, successfully evolving from a group like The Temptations to a disco phenomenon.

Solo success for Michael was inevitable, and by the 1980s, he had become infinitely more popular than his brotherly group. Record sales consistently orbited, culminating in the biggest-selling album of all time, "Thriller" in 1982. A TV natural, he ventured rather uneasily into films, such as playing the Scarecrow in The Wiz (1978), but had much better luck with elaborate music videos.

In the 1990s, the downside as an 1980s pop phenomenon began to rear itself. Michael grew terribly child-like and introverted by his peerless celebrity. A rather timorous, androgynous figure to begin with, his physical appearance began to change drastically, and his behavior grew alarmingly bizarre, making him a consistent target for scandal-making, despite his numerous charitable acts. Two brief marriages -- one to Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley -- were forged and two children produced by his second wife during that time, but the purposes behind them appeared image-oriented.

Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. His passion and artistry as a singer, dancer, writer and businessman were unparalleled, and it is these prodigious talents that will ultimately prevail over the extremely negative aspects of his troubled adult life.

Prince Jackson is known for The Scenes (2016) and Mickey Mouse Funhouse (2021).

Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson is an actress, model, musician and singer from Los Angeles, California who is the only daughter of Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe. She acted in Gringo, Scream: Resurrection, American Horror Stories, The Space Between, Sex Appeal and Habit. She released a studio album in 2020 called Wilted, which had the single "Let Down".

Michael Jackson III is known for Obit (2012).

Phil Hartman was born Philip Edward Hartmann on September 24, 1948, in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. His surname was originally "Hartmann", but he later dropped the second "n". He was one of eight children of Doris Marguerite (Wardell) and Rupert Loebig Hartmann, a salesman. He was of German, Irish, and English descent. The family moved to the United States when Phil was around ten, and he spent the majority of his childhood in Connecticut and Southern California. He later obtained his American citizenship in the early 1990s. He often would visit his homeland of Canada throughout his career, and the City of Brantford even erected a plaque on the Walk of Fame in the town in honor of Phil's career and memory. The Humber College Comedy: Writing & Performance program in Toronto, Ontario, also has an award in Phil's memory that is given out to their Post-Graduate comedy students.

Phil originally studied Graphic Design at California State University. He began to work part time as a graphic artist, designing album covers for such bands as Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (see Crosby Stills Nash & Young) and Poco. In 1975, alongside doing album work, Phil joined the California comedy troupe, The Groundlings. While in The Groundlings, Phil worked with Paul Reubens and Jon Lovitz, who became good friends of his until his death. Phil and Paul created the character Pee Wee Herman together, and Phil even had a role on Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986) as pirate Captin' Carl.

In 1986, Phil joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (1975) and was on the show for a record of 8 seasons (which was later broken by Tim Meadows). Phil played a wide range of characters including: Frank Sinatra, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Ed McMahon, Barbara Bush, and many others. He was known to help out other writers who wanted to get their sketches read and onto the show. He held Saturday Night Live (1975) together during his 8-year reign, thus the nickname he garnered while on the show, "The Glue." Phil was also known for his voice work on commercials and cartoons. He was probably most well known for the voices of Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz on the animated comedy The Simpsons (1989). He also provided other minor voices for The Simpsons (1989). Phil left Saturday Night Live (1975) in 1994, and in 1995, was cast in the critically acclaimed NBC show NewsRadio (1995) as arrogant radio show host Bill McNeal.

After Phil's death, Phil's good friend Jon Lovitz attempted to fill the void as Max Lewis on NewsRadio (1995), but the struggling show's ratings dropped, and the show later fizzled out and ended in 1999. Phil had an interesting career in movies, mostly playing supporting characters. He was the lead in Houseguest (1995) and was also in Greedy (1994), Jingle All the Way (1996), Sgt. Bilko (1996), and his last live action film, Small Soldiers (1998). His last role was the English language dub of Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), as the quick-witted cat Jiji, which featured Small Soldiers co-star Kirsten Dunst in the lead voice role.

On May 28th, 1998, Phil was shot to death while sleeping in his Encino, California home by his wife, Brynn Hartman. Brynn left the house and later came back with a friend to show him Phil's body. When her friend went to call 911, Brynn locked herself in the bedroom with Phil's lifeless body and shot herself. It was later discovered by the coroner that Brynn had alcohol, cocaine, and the antidepressant, Zoloft, in her system. They left behind two children, Sean Edward (b. 1988) and Birgen (b. 1992). Phil and Brynn's bodies were cremated and spread upon Catalina Island, just off the coast of California, on June 4, 1998. Phil had specifically stated in his will that he wanted the ashes spread on Catalina Island because it was his favorite holiday getaway as he was an avid boater, surfer and general lover of the sea.

Phil was a very caring and sensitive person and was described as "very sweet and kind of quiet."

Sean Hartman is known for Rise of the Zombies (2012), The Bros. (2007) and Vengeance Turns (2022).

Birgen Hartman was born in February 1992. She has been married to Brandon Mitchell Dragos since October 2018.