Advertisement

Quiz: Which Oscar winner committed suicide?

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Two winners of Oscars for acting committed suicide. One was Gig Young (best supporting actor, ‘They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?’ 1969). Who was the other? To see the answer, click the ‘Continue reading’ link under the photos below.

ANSWER: George Sanders (best supporting actor, ‘All About Eve,’ 1950) killed himself in 1972 by taking an overdose of Nembutal in Barcelona, Spain. His suicide note read: ‘Dear World: I am leaving because I am bored. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool. Good luck.’

Advertisement

False rumors of suicide have dogged the legends of Emil Jannings and Miyoshi Umeki. After winning the first Oscar ever bestowed for best actor (‘The Way of All Flesh,’ 1927, and ‘The Last Command,’ 1928), Jannings dashed off to Germany where he devoted his career to making Nazi propaganda films, but he did not kill himself. He died of liver cancer in 1950. Miyoshi Umeki (best supporting actress, ‘Sayonara,’ 1957) died of cancer in 2007. [For the record: An earlier version of this post said Umeki died in 1970.]

-- Tom O’Neil

Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences; 20th Century Fox; Warner Bros.

Advertisement