5 Real Deaths That'd Be Too Unrealistic For Hollywood Movies

5

Redd Foxx Died Of A Heart Attack While Filming Chest Pains

Legendary comedian Redd Foxx was best-known for starring in the 1970s sitcom Sanford And Son. Whenever his character, Fred, was trying to weasel out of trouble with his son Lamont, he'd fake a heart attack by clutching his chest and exclaiming, "This is the big one, Elizabeth! I'm coming to join ya!" Because in the '70s, nothing was funnier than a old man repeatedly telling his son that he's about to become an orphan. Lamont eventually caught on and learned to ignore Fred's fake medical emergencies, and one episode even had him take Fred to the doctor to warn him of the dangers of crying wolf.

It was a simpler time for sitcoms.

Then, in 1991, Foxx tried to make a comeback by starring in a new sitcom called The Royal Family, which had been pitched under the title Chest Pains. You can probably guess where this is going. Foxx was being interviewed on set by Entertainment Tonight, but a producer insisted that he come back to finish rehearsing a scene. Foxx fumed about the interruption and, like he did so many times on Sanford, promptly grabbed a chair and dramatically fell to the floor. It wasn't the first time he'd done that on set, so for a moment, everyone thought that he was trying to turn the tense situation into a joke. He wasn't. He even called for his wife, exactly as he had done dozens of times in his most acclaimed role.

They managed to get Foxx to the hospital, where the 68-year-old was pronounced dead four hours later. The producers were wracked with grief ... over the fate of the show, because Hollywood is a mill and humanity is their grist.

4

Basketball Legend Pete Maravich Predicted His Own Death

The average NFL player plays for less than three years. Basketball players have it a little better at four and a half years, but they've still got decades of their lives to fill, trying to figure out what other profession most values slam dunks.

So it makes sense that even a Hall of Fame player like Pete Maravich feared playing professionally for a decade just to die of a heart attack at age 40. That's not speculation; that's literally what he said to a reporter in 1976, when he was 26. He had been in the league for four years and was getting some criticism for his showboating style, so he wanted to make it clear that he saw a life beyond the game.

3

The Baby Featured In Life's First Issue Died Days After Life Was Cancelled

The story of George Story's life isn't particularly storied. He spent some time as a journalist and city manager before eventually retiring to Hawaii (this was back when retirement was still a thing). But George did have one moment of fame when he was featured in the prestigious pages of Life magazine. Not only that, but it was Life's first issue after a major reboot, and it was a nude spread!

2

The Last Of The OG Russian Communists Died As The Soviet Union Collapsed Around Him

Lazar Moiseyevich Kaganovich, proud owner of the most Russian name ever, was the Luigi to Joseph Stalin's Mario. He was an Old Bolshevik, meaning he had joined the Communist Party before it became cool in 1917, and found himself on the surviving end of Soviet history by becoming an early supporter of Stalin.

Often considered the number two man in the Kremlin, Kaganovich was a ruthless bureaucrat who played a large part in some of the nastiest moments in Soviet history, including the destruction of many of Moscow's historic monuments and buildings, the famine in Ukraine, and the Great Purge. Yeah, there's a reason they called him "Iron Lazar," and it wasn't because it was his DJ name.

Russian FederationWhich is too bad, because that is one SOLID DJ name.

1

Ulysses S. Grant Died Right After Finishing His Memoirs, Saving His Family From Financial Ruin

Former president Ulysses S. Grant fell onto hard times post-presidency, in part because a shady businessman running a Ponzi scheme suckered him out of virtually every cent he owned. To make matters much, much worse, Grant was diagnosed with throat cancer just weeks later. Realizing that time was short, the general vowed to save his family by writing the best damn memoirs in existence. He worked day and night, and in his own words, the experience was unbearable: "I do not sleep though I sometimes doze off a little. If up I am talked to and in my efforts to answer cause pain." He was racing the reaper with nothing but cocaine water to ease his constant, sleepless suffering. He couldn't even lie down because the position was too painful, so there's something to keep in mind the next time you insist you can't do any more work today because you're too depressed about an incorrect lunch order.

Library of CongressThat’s not the face of someone enjoying recounting their lifetime of achievement.