Category: After Dark
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DragonKing Dark: The death of ‘Superman’ actor George Reeves
He was Superman for an entire generation. He was faster than a locomotive and could leap a tall building in a single bound, but George Reeves was dead at the age of 45. There has been much mystery around the his death which was officially ruled a suicide. Many people were skeptical and it seems…
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DragonKing Dark: The death of Chicago’s Terry Kath
Who was Terry Kath? He was one of the most influential singers and guitarists of the early 1970s, starring with the band Chicago. If all you know about Chicago are the Peter Cetera-era ballads, let me introduce you to a time when they were experimental, influential, and led by one of the most dynamic guitarists…
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DragonKing Dark: The death of Len Bias
While this series focuses on the 100 darkest moments in pop culture history, the death of Len Bias is even more than that as it’s one of the 100 darkest moments in American history because of what came next. Bias was the Boston Celtics’ no. 2 overall draft pick in 1986, but died two days…
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DragonKing Dark: The death of AC/DC singer Bon Scott
The rock music world was shaken in February 1980 when the distinctive lead singer of the rising rock group AC/DC was found dead in a car. The cause of death was apparently alcohol related though specifically how has been debated for 40 years now. It seemed impossible that a rising rock group with such a…
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DragonKing Dark: The death of Bob Marley
The death of Jamaican music legend Bob Marley is our next entry into our 100 darkest moments in pop culture history. Marley was more than just a singer who popularized reggae music: he was a culture icon and heavily influenced the music world and beyond. At 36 years old, he died of an aggressive, but…
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DragonKing Dark: The death of River Phoenix
This is the tragic story of a young life snuffed out too soon, part of my 100 Darkest Moments in Pop Culture History series. Actor River Phoenix was only 23 years old when he died of a drug overdose on Halloween morning 1993 outside of the nightclub belonging to Johnny Depp where he had been…
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DragonKing Dark Podcast: The death of Heath Ledger
We continue our 100 darkest moments in pop culture history by looking at the death of 28-year-old actor Heath Ledger. He had a couple of breakout moments: first in the movie Brokeback Mountain and then in an even more iconic portrayal of the Joker in the The Dark Knight. Then, he died suddenly from a drug…
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DragonKing Dark: The death of Paul Walker
A staple of the popular Fast and The Furious movie franchise, actor Paul Walker still likely had a tremendous film career ahead of him when he was tragically killed at the age of 40 in a car accident in California. The grisly details of the fiery car crash were blasted all over the celebrity news…
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DragonKing Dark: The death of Steve Irwin
We continue our 100 darkest moments in pop culture history podcast series with a look at the shocking, sudden, accidental death of television star “The Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin. Irwin gained worldwide fame with his various TV shows and specials looking at the animal kingdom and his work with the Australia Zoo. He was charismatic…
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DragonKing Dark: The death and mysterious life of Jayne Mansfield
Continuing our look at 100 of the darkest moments in pop culture history, I am joined by Tonya from When It Was Cool to discuss the death of starlet Jayne Mansfield who was killed in a 1967 car accident. The events leading up to her death are quite dark and mysterious including her stint in the…
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DragonKing Dark: The Black Sox scandal
Our continuing series on the 100 darkest moments in pop culture history takes a look at a moment where that completely affected professional baseball. The “Black Sox scandal” was a gambling and game-fixing scandal where members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series. Despite acquittals in a trial, judge (and eventual MLB commissioner) Kenesaw Mountain Landis permanently…
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DragonKing Dark: The killing of John Lennon
Our series of 100 darkest moments in pop culture history continues this week with the murder of John Lennon. The Beatles were icons of pop music. Having broken up years earlier, the individual members of The Beatles had gone on to various other solo projects. John Lennon had already had a brilliant solo career and…
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DragonKing Dark: The death of Roberto Clemente
Legendary baseball star Roberto Clemente spent much of his time involved in charity work. Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua, was struck by a massive earthquake on December 23, 1972. Clemente arranged emergency relief flights. He soon learned, however, that the aid packages on the first three flights had been diverted by corrupt officials of…
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DragonKing Dark: The killing of Marvin Gaye
Our list of 100 of the darkest moments in pop culture history continues with the killing of Marvin Gaye, an influential singer and musician who gained worldwide fame for his work with Motown Records. He was fatally shot three times by his father, Marvin Gay Sr., on April 1, 1984, at their house in the…
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DragonKing Dark: The killing of Sam Cooke
DragonKing Dark continues our look at 100 of the darkest moments in pop culture history by looking at the killing of legendary singer Sam Cooke. On December 11, 1964, singer Sam Cooke was gunned down in Los Angeles, California. The original story and the one most commonly told is the 33 year old had taken…
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DragonKing Dark: Woodstock ’99
Continuing our 100 darkest moments in pop culture history, we look back at Woodstock ’99. This event, which recently got the HBO documentary and podcast treatment, there was one death, numerous sexual assaults, arson, and a general mockery of pop culture and toxic fandom at the festival originally known for peace and love. Woodstock ’99 put…
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DragonKing Dark: Great White & the Station Nightclub fire
Our series of 100 of the darkest moments in pop culture history continues with the disastrous Station Nightclub fire in 2003 that killed 100 people during a Great White concert. Great White was a nationally known band which had a few hits during the hair metal era. In 2003 while playing a concert in West…
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DragonKing Dark: The death of Eddie Guerrero
Image: WWE We continue our series discussing 100 of the darkest moments in pop culture history by looking at the death of pro wrestling star Eddie Guerrero. However, Guerrero’s death differs from others we have looked at so far. Eddy (yes, that is the correct spelling out of his own mouth) was not murdered, nor did…
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DragonKing Dark: The Eagles of Death Metal Paris concert tragedy
Image: Facebook On the latest DragonKing Dark and this latest installment of the top 100 darkest moments in pop culture history, we look at the November 2015 Paris attacks. On that Friday night in Paris, the city was hit by a coordinated terrorist attack involving multiple gunmen and bombs. The heart of the killings came…
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DragonKing Dark: The Who’s 1979 Cincinnati concert tragedy
We continue our 100 darkest moments in pop culture history with a look back at another concert disaster. This one happened before a concert by The Who in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1979 where eleven fans were crushed to death when the doors to the arena failed to open in time. Like several of the tragedies we’ve…