Drinking can make the good times even better and help get through the bad times, but as anyone who has ever had a splitting hangover knows, alcohol can be extremely hard on the body. Hangovers pass, but when alcohol is consumed at excessive levels regularly it can take a serious toll.
Our society’s relationship with alcohol is complicated. Alcoholic drinks are a staple at almost all celebrations, events, and festivities, and alcohol is not typically lumped together with recreational drugs and their associated stigmas, despite also having powerful mind- and body-altering effects. However, there are more than 140,000 deaths in the U.S. every year from excessive alcohol use, according to the CDC, and these include celebrities in various fields as well as ordinary folks.
To compile a list of famous people who died from the effects of alcohol, 24/7 Tempo consulted numerous lists published by addiction- or alcoholism-related sites, then verified death dates and diagnoses from obituaries appearing in the New York Times and elsewhere.
We included only figures whose deaths are considered to have been directly caused by, or due to conditions severely exacerbated by, excessive alcohol use. We did not include heavy drinkers or alcoholics for whom alcohol was only one of several contributing factors, nor the many noted personalities, especially (though not exclusively) in the music industry, who died from combinations of alcohol with other drugs, whether recreational or prescribed.
Almost all these celebrities were killed from the effects of using alcohol over long periods of time. Pioneering jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke, for instance died from lobar pneumonia that was exacerbated by an immune system weakened by many years of alcohol use – though he was only 28 when he died. (He lived long enough to evolve into one of the greatest jazz musicians of the 20th century.)
Others succumbed to alcohol-related conditions like cirrhosis of the liver, cardiovascular events, or internal bleeding. The author of “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald, died of an alcohol-induced heart condition. Jazz singer Billie Holiday died from health problems related to alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver, or scarring of the liver.
Even giving up alcohol can be fatal. Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky died from delirium tremens, an extreme symptom of withdrawal that can cause seizures, hallucinations, and ultimately death.
While alcohol can also lead to poor decision making and lack of motor coordination, only one person on this list died from an alcohol-related accident – 1950s screen idol William Holden was killed while intoxicated when he slipped and smashed his head into the sharp edge of a bedside table, dying from blood loss caused by the wound. (Read about 37 violent celebrity deaths.)
Daniel Webster
> Known as: Famed 19th-century lawyer, Congressman, and Secretary of State
> Died on: Oct. 24, 1852
> Age at death: 70
> Cause of death: Alcohol-induced cirrhosis and subdural hematoma
Franklin Pierce
> Known as: 14th President of the United States
> Died on: Oct. 8, 1869
> Age at death: 64
> Cause of death: Alcohol-induced cirrhosis
Modest Mussorgsky
> Known as: Esteemed Russian romantic-era composer (“Night on Bald Mountain”)
> Died on: March 28, 1881
> Age at death: 42
> Cause of death: Delirium tremens caused by alcohol withdrawal
O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)
> Known as: Famed short story writer (“The Gift of the Magi”)
> Died on: June 5, 1910
> Age at death: 47
> Cause of death: Alcohol-induced cirrhosis
Bix Beiderbecke
> Known as: Influential 1920s jazz cornetist and composer
> Died on: Aug. 6, 1931
> Age at death: 28
> Cause of death: Lobar pneumonia exacerbated by longtime alcoholism
F. Scott Fitzgerald
> Known as: One of the greatest novelists of the 20th century (“The Great Gatsby,” etc.)
> Died on: Dec. 21, 1940
> Age at death: 44
> Cause of death: Alcohol-induced coronary arteriosclerosis
W.C. Fields
> Known as: Legendary ’30s and ’40s actor and comedian
> Died on: Dec. 25, 1946
> Age at death: 66
> Cause of death: Alcohol-induced gastric hemorrhage
Sinclair Lewis
> Known as: Nobel Prize-winning author and playwright (“Babbitt”)
> Died on: Jan. 10, 1951
> Age at death: 65
> Cause of death: Alcohol-induced heart attack
Dylan Thomas
> Known as: Acclaimed Welsh poet and writer (“Under Milk Wood”)
> Died on: Nov. 9, 1953
> Age at death: 39
> Cause of death: Severe lung infection and bronchopneumonia exacerbated by alcohol abuse
Joseph McCarthy
> Known as: U.S. Senator from Wisconsin; anti-communist demagogue
> Died on: May 2, 1957
> Age at death: 48
> Cause of death: Alcohol-induced hepatitis
Lester Young
> Known as: Highly regarded and influential jazz tenor saxophonist
> Died on: March 15, 1959
> Age at death: 49
> Cause of death: Alcohol-induced internal bleeding
Billie Holiday
> Known as: The greatest, most influential jazz singer of the 20th century
> Died on: July 17, 1959
> Age at death: 44
> Cause of death: Pulmonary edema and heart failure, exacerbated by alcohol-induced cirrhosis of the liver
Brendan Behan
> Known as: Author, poet, playwright, and political activist; considered one of the great Irish writers of all time
> Died on: March 20, 1964
> Age at death: 41
> Cause of death: Alcohol-induced complications of diabetes
Jack Kerouac
> Known as: Quintessential Beat Generation novelist and poet (“On the Road”)
> Died on: Oct. 21, 1969
> Age at death: 47
> Cause of death: Cirrhosis-induced esophageal hemorrhage linked to lifelong alcohol abuse
Clyde McPhatter
> Known as: Influential R&B and rock’n’roll singer; founder of The Drifters
> Died on: June 13, 1972
> Age at death: 39
> Cause of death: Liver, heart, and kidney disease linked to alcohol abuse
Veronica Lake
> Known as: Glamorous actress in 1940s comedies and film noirs
> Died on: July 7, 1973
> Age at death: 50
> Cause of death: Alcohol-induced cirrhosis and hepatitis
John Bonham
> Known as: Influential Led Zeppelin co-founder and drummer
> Died on: Sept. 25, 1980
> Age at death: 32
> Cause of death: Alcohol-induced pulmonary aspiration
William Holden
> Known as: Academy Award-winning Hollywood leading man; named one of classical Hollywood’s 25 greatest male stars
> Died on: Nov. 12, 1981
> Age at death: 63
> Cause of death: Blood loss from laceration suffered from a fall while inebriated
Richard Burton
> Known as: Famed Shakespearean actor turned box-office star; two-time husband to Elizabeth Taylor
> Died on: Aug. 5, 1984
> Age at death: 58
> Cause of death: Alcohol-induced intracerebral hemorrhage
Alexander Godunov
> Known as: Russian ballet star and actor
> Died on: May 18, 1995
> Age at death: 45
> Cause of death: Alcohol-induced hepatitis
Townes Van Zandt
> Known as: Influential Texas singer-songwriter
> Died on: Jan. 1, 1997
> Age at death: 52
> Cause of death: Alcohol-induced cardiac arrhythmia
George Best
> Known as: British soccer star; considered one of the best players of all time
> Died on: Nov. 25, 2005
> Age at death: 59
> Cause of death: Alcohol-induced lung infection and multiple organ failure
Amy Winehouse
> Known as: Record-breaking English soul and R&B singer
> Died on: July 23, 2011
> Age at death: 27
> Cause of death: Accidental alcohol overdose
David Cassidy
> Known as: Actor, singer, teen idol
> Died on: Nov. 21, 2017
> Age at death: 67
> Cause of death: Alcohol-induced liver and kidney failure
Verne Troyer
> Known as: Comedian and actor (Mini-Me in the Austin Powers films)
> Died on: April 21, 2018
> Age at death: 49
> Cause of death: Suicide by alcohol poisoning