Death of a Film Star

Ranking history

About the show

Latest episodes

• James Dean

  June 28, 2021 · 28 min

  Speed. That’s how James Dean tries to forget. About the older men. About the dreams where his mother appears and stays, just out of reach. With speed, he blurs the edges. Cuts so close to death that he can almost reach out and touch it…

• Corey Haim

  June 22, 2021 · 28 min

  When you think about Corey Haim, you think of all the things he’s been. Shy kid, heart-throb, manipulator, junkie. But a dear friend and a son too. A half-forgotten child star, when everyone should’ve known him. Because, “In Hollywood, we…

• John Belushi

  June 14, 2021 · 31 min

  Before John Belushi died, he was always talking about Brando. Maybe he related to his characters. The guy who’s f*****g up, but doesn’t mean to. Because Belushi’s story is all about the kid who could have been a contender but ended up…

• River Phoenix

  June 8, 2021 · 31 min

  You might not know River Phoenix. But the Hollywood you know now wouldn’t exist without him. He’s many things in his life. An activist. Musician. An object of teen adoration. And that’s before he appears on screen. But, despite all that…

• Sage Stallone

  May 31, 2021 · 25 min

  Stallone. It’s not even a real name. Really, it’s a brand. Blue-collar grit. Brawn over brain. An American dream. But what if that isn’t you? What if you don’t have a choice about it? Because this is the story of Sage Stallone, not…

• Sharon Tate

  May 24, 2021 · 31 min

  There are no happy endings with Sharon Tate. No logic. This story is many things: the death of a young woman; the murder of a film star, a wife and a daughter. But it’s so much more, too. It’s madness come to La La Land. A cult leader gone…

• Cory Monteith

  May 18, 2021 · 26 min

  When Cory Monteith’s story goes public, people are shocked. To most of us, his death is… unbelievable. But that’s not the truth. The truth will force people in Hollywood to have difficult conversations. About addiction. About addicts…

• Robin Williams

  May 10, 2021 · 27 min

  When Robin Williams dies, you remember a connection. One that first forms in an empty mansion outside Detroit, and then reaches through the screen, big and small, into houses all over the world. President Barack Obama says what Robin meant…