Elvis Though he passed on in 1977, "The King" endures as a
music and pop culture icon. The musician and actor is widely
believed to have died of a drug overdose when he was 42, though
some say it was simply a heart attack. If he were alive today, he
would be 79.
She retired from acting at the age of 26 to marry Prince
Rainier. She retained her American roots, maintaining dual U.S. and
Mongasque citizenship. She died on September 14, 1982, after
suffering a stroke which caused her to lose control of her
automobile and crash. Her daughter, Princess Stphanie, was in the
car with her and survived the accident. Today she would be 82.
Grace Kelly
Natalie Wood Born Natalia Zacharenko, she appeared in movies
such as "Miracle on 34th Street," "Splendor in the Grass" and
"Rebel Without a Cause" alongside James Dean. Natalie Wood drowned
off the coast of California after falling overboard from yacht
named "Spendour" at age 43. If alive today, she would be 75.
John F. Kennedy The 37th president of the United States was
assassinated in 1963 in Dallas, Texas. He was just 46 years old. If
alive today, he would be 96.
Marilyn Monroe Born Norma Jeane Mortenson, Marilyn Monroe began
her career as a model before making it to the big screen and
starring in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," "Some Like It Hot" and "The
Seven Year Itch." Monroe, who died at age 36 from an overdose of
barbiturates. She'd be 87 years old if alive today.
John Lennon John Winston Lennon was one of the founding members
of The Beatles. Alongside Paul McCartney, they formed one of the
most influential and successful songwriting partnerships in music
history. Lennon was later fatally shot by Mark David Chapman in New
York in 1980. If alive today, he would be 73 years old.
Christopher Reeve Forever known as "Superman," Reeve passed
away in 2004 from an adverse reaction to an antibiotic. The
wheel-chair bound star, who would be 61 today if he were still
alive, was being treated for a pressure wound that was causing an
infection. In 1995, Reeve was paralyzed after a horse riding
accident.
Hank Williams Hiram King "Hank" Williams became a country music
icon with 11 No. 1 hits throughout his short career. The honky-tonk
pioneer, who died at age 29 due to heart failure, would be 90 if
alive today.
John Candy The Canadian actor and comedian would be 63 today.
Candy was 43 when he seccumbed to a weight - related heart attack
while filming the movie "Wagons East" in Mexico. The star, known
for movies like "Spaceballs" and "Uncle Buck" had battled obesity
throughout his life.
Janis Joplin Joplin was a pioneer in the male-dominated rock
music scene of the late 1960's. The blues/rock singer-songwriter is
ranked 46 on Rolling Stone's list of 100 greatest artists of all
time. She would be 71 if she hadn't died at 27 of a heroin
overdose.
Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley was a rock and roll pioneer
and singer-songwriter whose mainstream success lasted just 18
months before his death, at the age of 22, in an airplane crash
that also killed singers Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper"
Richardson. He would be 77 if alive today.
James Dean James Byron Dean is best-known for his depiction of
a troubled Loas Angeles teenager in 1955's "Rebel Without a Cause".
His status as a Hollywood legend was finalized in 1955 when he died
in a head-on car crash in California when he was 24. Dean would
have been 83 if alive today.
Sam Cooke Soul music pioneer Samuel Cooke notched 29 top 40
hits in the U.S. from 1957 to 1964, including smashes like "You
Send Me". He also founded a record label and a publishing company
before being fatally shot by a manager when he was 34, at a Los
Angeles hotel in what was later ruled a justifiable homicide. Cooke
would be 81 today.
Bruce Lee Born Lee Jun Fan in San Francisco and later raised in
Hong Kong, Bruce Lee was considered to be the most influential
martial artist of the 20th century, as well as an actor,
screenwriter and film director. Lee, who would have been 73 if
alive today, is thought to have died from hypersensitivity to a
muscle relaxant when he was 32.
Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding was an American soul icon whose
career was cut short by a plane crash. Redding's most well-known
hit, "Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay," was recorded just three days
prior to his death in 1967 and eventually became the first
posthumous no. 1 single in US chart history. He'd be 72 today.
John Belushi The late comedian is known for his work on
"Saturday Night Live." "Animal House" and "The Blues Brothers." He
would be 64 years old today. He died in 1982 at the age of 33,
found dead in his room in Los Angeles. The cause of death was a
speedbal - a combined injection of cocaine and heroin.
Marvin Gaye His music spanned several decades and genres,
including rhythm and blues, doo-wop and soul. His solo hits
included "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" and "I Heard it
Through the Grapevine" - - good enough to be dubbed "The Prince of
Soul." Gaye was posthumouly inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame in 1987, three years after being fatally shot by his father.
He would be 75 if alive today.
Ritchie Valens Richard Steven Valenzuela's recording career
lasted less than a month before his untimely death at the age of 17
when he was killed in a small plane crash with fellow musician
Buddy Holly. Valens had a big hit called "La Bamba", the name of a
Mexican folk song in 1958. If alive today, he would be 72.
Jim Morrison "The Doors" legendary front man, considered to be
one of the most charismatic singers in rock history. He would be 72
today. Morrison passed away in Paris in 1971. He was found in a
bathtub, dead of a drug overdose.
Jimi Hendrix The first Jimi Hendrix Experience album was
released in 1967 and reached number one on the UK charts. Three
years later, at age 27, he died after taking sleeping pills and
apparently suffocating from his own vomit in his sleep. If he were
alive today, he'd be 71.