12 Black Celebs Who Succumbed to Drug Overdose

Rob Pilatus (June 8, 1965 – April 2, 1998) Rob Pilatus was half of the pop music duo Milli Vanilli, the group that suffered public disgrace in November 1990, when their producer outed them for lip-syncing on their records. In the years following the collapse of Milli Vanilli, Pilatus struggled with substance abuse and even attempted suicide. In 1998, on the eve of a promotional tour for a newly completed Milli Vanilli album, Pilatus, 32, was found dead from an accidental alcohol and methadone overdose in a Frankfurt, Germany, hotel room. Chris Kelly (Aug. 11, 1978–May 1, 2013) Chris Kelly, half of the 1990s rap duo Kris Kross, died of a drug overdose on May 1, 2013. His mother said he used cocaine and heroine the night before his death, and an autopsy report revealed the illegal drugs were in his system. He was 32 years old. Jimi Hendrix (Nov. 27, 1942 – Sept. 18, 1970) Legendary guitarist James Marshall Hendrix used blues, funk and soul to take his fans by storm as the king of the electric guitar. He died of a drug overdose at age 27 at the Samarkand Hotel in London. The rock star reportedly ingested nine prescribed Vesparax sleeping pills and asphyxiated on his own vomit and red wine. Whitney Houston (Aug. 9, 1963 – Feb. 11, 2012) On February 11, 2012, shocking news surfaced that legendary singer Whitney Houston was found unconscious and submerged in the bathtub in her suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where she was preparing to attend a pre-Grammy party. At 48, the Grammy-winning artist drowned in the bathtub after falling into a deep sleep. She had consumed a deadly cocktail of cocaine and prescription medication, including Xanax and the muscle relaxant Flexeril. Her hotel room was littered with twelve different prescription pill bottles. Michael Jackson (Aug. 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) The death of Michael Jackson on June 25, 2009, triggered an outpouring of grief around the world. The King of Pop, as he was widely called, suffered cardiac arrest after he had reportedly been administered the drug propofol and three anti-anxiety benzodiazepines, lorazepam, and midazolam, in his Los Angeles home. He was 50 years old at the time of his death. Dorothy Dandridge (Nov. 8, 1922 – Sept. 8, 1965) Dorothy Dandridge was a world renowned singer and movie star and the first African-American actress to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. On Sept. 8, 1965, several hours after talking with long-time friend, Gerry Branton, Dandridge's body was discovered at her West Hollywood flat by her manager, Earl Millsin. She was 42 years old. Two months later, a Los Angeles pathology institute reportedly attributed her cause of death to an accidental overdose of imipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant. Billie Holiday (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) Famed jazz singer Billie Holiday possessed a vocal style that was strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists and pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. She struggled with heroin and alcohol abuse during her career. In 1947, Holiday was arrest for drug possession and served a year in prison. She died of cirrhosis of the liver caused by alcoholism. Ol' Dirty Bastard (Nov. 15, 1968 – Nov. 13, 2004) Russell Tyrone Jones best known by his stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard (or ODB), was famous for his trademark microphone techniques and his outrageously profane and distinctive half-rapped, half-sung style. On Nov. 13, 2004, two days before his 36th birthday, the Wu-Tang Clan founder collapsed and died in a New York recording studio after complaining of chest pains. According to his autopsy report, his death was caused by a lethal mix of cocaine and the prescription drug Tramadol, a synthetic opiate that is usually taken to treat severe pain. David Ruffin(Jan. 18, 1941 – June 1, 1991) David Ruffin was the front man and soulful singer of hit Motown group, The Temptations. He was the lead vocalist on such famous songs as "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg." Ruffin reportedly struggled with drug abuse, and was arrested in Detroit on crack-cocaine possession charges in 1988. He died in a Philadelphia hospital after "an adverse reaction to drugs," namely cocaine, authorities reported. Jean-Michel Basquiat (Dec. 22, 1960 – Aug. 12, 1988) Jean-Michel Basquiat was a graffiti artist, painter, poet, musician and producer. He was hailed for his neo-expressionist, international street art movement. Basquiat, who was of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent, battled depression and used drugs heavily to self-medicate. He died of a heroin overdose at his art studio in New York City's NoHo neighborhood. Basquiat was 27. Donyale Luna (Aug. 31, 1945 – May 17, 1979) Known as the world’s first Black cover girl, Donyale Luna (born Peggy Ann Freeman), was the first African-American woman to grace the cover of British Vogue magazine (1966). In a New York Times profile she once confessed to taking the hallucinogenic drug, LSD. "I think it's great," she said. By age 32, the drug-taking finally caught up with Luna and her career and relationships began falling apart, according to the Telegraph. She died in a Rome clinic of an accidental heroin overdose. She was 34. Dinah Washington(Aug. 29, 1924 – Dec. 14, 1963) Dinah Washington, born Ruth Lee Jones, was a singer and pianist, who has been lauded by music critics as "the most popular Black female recording artist of the '50s." On the morning of Dec. 14, 1963, Washington's seventh husband, football great Dick "Night Train" Lane, went to sleep with his wife, and awoke later to find her slumped over and not responsive. A doctor pronounced her dead at the scene and an autopsy later showed a lethal combination of secobarbital and amobarbital had contributed to her death at the age of 39.

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