Top Ten Celebrity Hotel Deaths

Janis Joplin

Hotelier Middle East:

1. Anna Nicole Smith — Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida

On February 8, 2007, Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith died in room 609 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.The larger than life character overdosed on a combination of prescription drugs less than five months after her son also died from a lethal combination of drugs.She had married oil business mogul J. Howard Marshall, 62 years her senior, resulting in speculation that she married the octogenarian for his money, which she denied. When he passed away, the matter of his inheritance ended up in a fierce court battle with his family.

2. Nancy Spungen — Hotel Chelsea, New York

Nancy Spungen was allegedly killed by Sex Pistol Sid Vicous in October 1978 in room 100 of the Hotel Chelsea in New York.The former Sex Pistol was charged with homicide, (Spungen was stabbed to death) but Vicious died three months later from a heroin overdose. According to the managing director of the hotel, people still request room 100. However, the room was demolished to become part of a larger suite more than two decades ago. The Chelsea Hotel, a haven for struggling artists for over 50 years, has been for sale since October 2010.

3. John Belushi — Chateau Marmont, Los Angeles, California

One of the US’s top comedy talents, John Belushi died of an overdose of heroin and cocaine on March 5,1982, at the age of 33 in Bungalow 3 of the Chateau Marmont hotel. The cause of death was a speedball; the combined injection of cocaine and heroin. On the night of his death, he was reportedly visited separately by friends Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, each of whom left the premises, leaving Belushi in the company of others. Belushi was one of the original Saturday Night Live members. Animal House and The Blues Brothers were his most famous films.

4. Oscar Wilde — L’Hotel, Paris

Oscar Wilde died on November 30, 1900, in room 16 of L’Hotel in Paris. A great deal of mystery surrounds his final days in the hotel and there are numerous reports as to the reason of his death; syphilis, cerebral meningitis resulting from an ear infection a couple of the theories. Furthermore, as a man who enjoyed an alternative lifestyle there rages great debate as to whether he joined the Catholic faith in his final hours of his own accord. One of the greatest wits to have lived, the Irish playwright and poet’s final words are reputedly: "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or other of us has got to go". The hotel is now regarded as one of the best boutique hotels on the planet and exhibits many of Wilde’s mementos from his stay.

5. Michael Hutchence – Ritz-Carlton, Sydney

Tragic Michael Hutchence was an Australian musician, famous for his band INXS. Aged just 37, Hutchence was found dead in room 524, at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Double Bay, Sydney (now the Stamford Plaza). It was determined by a coroner he had committed suicide by hanging from his belt. His relationship with the British TV presenter Paula Yates was cited as a cause of his depression. Yates had an affair with Hutchence whilst with Sir Bob Geldof. Yates eventually took a heroin overdose. In 2000, Patricia Glassop and Tina Hutchence, Michael's mother and half-sister, gave an interview on "This Morning" asserting that Paula Yates had made threats of harming herself and the baby if Michael Hutchence did not marry her on more than one occasion; and, that they believed she said this again on the morning of his death, directly precipitating his suicide. Kym Wilson and her then boyfriend Andrew Reyment were the last people to see Michael alive as they left him at 4:50 A.M.; he was still awaiting a phone call from London concerning whether Yates would be able to bring his daughter Tiger to Australia.

6. Robert F. Kennedy — Ambassador Hotel, LA, California

Presidential candidate Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in the pantry of the Ambassador Hotel after he won the 1968 California Primary. Kennedy, who had been an advisor to his brother President John F Kennedy, was a symbol of modern American liberalism. He had been campaigning for the presidency and was a front-running candidate of the Democratic Party when he was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan. Mortally wounded, he survived for nearly 26 hours, dying early in the morning of June 6.

7. Janis Joplin — Highland Gardens Hotel, LA, California
Janis Joplin was an American singer/songwriter who had an incredibly unique voice. She broke down many barriers with her style and attitude, and is also credited for bringing tattoos into the mainstream. In October of 1970 at 7047 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood - previously the Landmark Motor Hotel (now called the Highland Gardens Hotel) she overdosed on heroin. It is thought that her heroin was stronger then normal as other users overdosed that week. Her death sent shockwaves around the world as Jimi Hendrix only died a few weeks prior. The hotel is still home to up-and-coming actors attracted by its central location just off the Sunset Strip.

8. David Carradine — Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel, Thailand

David Carradine played a Shaolin priest in 1970s TV series ‘Kung Fu’, however, modern audiences will remember the actor for his role in ‘Kill Bill’. The 72-year-old actor was in Bangkok to shoot his latest film, Stretch. A police official said Carradine was found hanging by a rope naked in the room's closet, causing immediate speculation that his death was suicide. However, reported evidence suggested that his death was the result of autoerotic asphyxiation. Two autopsies were conducted and concluded that the death was not caused by suicide. The cause of death became widely accepted as "accidental asphyxiation".

9. John Entwistle — Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas
Rock legend and for many the greatest bass player in the history of rock, John Entwistle, was best known as the bass guitarist for the rock band The Who. Entwistle died in the hotel room 658 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on 27 June, 2002, the day before the scheduled first show of The Who’s 2002 US tour. He had gone to bed that night with a stripper/groupie, Alycen Rowse, who woke at 10am to find Entwistle dead. It was found that Entwistle died of a heart attack induced by cocaine.

10. Jimi Hendrix — Samarkand Hotel, London

Widely regarded as the greatest electric guitar player of all time, on September 18, 1970, Jimi Hendrix was found dead at the Samarkand Hotel, at 22 Lansdowne Crescent, London. There are many rumours surrounding his death, allegations of murder, a girlfriend who claimed he was alive in the ambulance despite the ambulance men saying he was dead at the scene and had been for some time. What is known is he died in bed after taking sleeping pills and drowning in his own vomit. Hendrix had spent the evening at a party before being picked up by girlfriend Monika Dannemann and driven to her flat at the Samarkand Hotel. Dannemann claimed in her original testimony that after they returned to her lodgings the evening before, Hendrix, unknown to her, had taken nine of her prescribed sleeping pills. The normal medical dose was half a tablet, but Hendrix was unfamiliar with this very strong German brand. According to surgeon John Bannister, the doctor who initially attended to him, Hendrix had asphyxiated in his own vomit, mainly red wine which had filled his airways, as an autopsy later confirmed.