Earlier I had written about celebrities that had tried to take their life with sleeping pills. Fortunately, they were saved and many went on to live long lives. However, there are a sad few who tried to kill themselves with sleeping pills and succeeded. Here is that list:
The name Clara Blandick may not be familiar at first, but will probably remember her as playing Auntie Em in The Wizard of Oz. Clara began acting in 1901 and retired in 1969. Her health had began failing in the 1950’s, when she began to lose her eyesight and suffered from severe arthritis. On April 15, 1962, at the age of 81, she had had enough. She arranged her room with her favorite photos and memorabilia in place as well as laid out her resume and press clippings. She put on a beautiful gown and fixed her hair. Then, she took an overdose of sleeping pills. To make sure the job was done, she also tied a plastic bag over her head. She left a note that read “I am now about to make the great adventure. I cannot endure this agonizing pain any longer. It is all over my body. Neither can I face the impending blindness. I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.”
For the Wizard of Oz to be such a family favorite, it certainly did produce many behind the scenes tragedies. The film made Judy Garland a star at the tender age of 17. Almost everyone knows her version of “Over the Rainbow.” Judy had more talent in her little finger than most people have in their entire body, but it took its toll. She began using drugs at a very early age. Some say the drugs were given to her by the studio to keep her slim or keep her awake. She also had an addiction to men, although many of them were homosexual. By age 47, she was already on her fifth husband and her voice and looks were beginning to fail her. On June 21, 1969, husband Mickey Deans found Judy. She was sitting on the toilet of the bathroom, dead of a Seconal overdose.
Perhaps the most famous sleeping pill overdose of all time was Marilyn Monroe, that is, if you believe that was what really killed her. Marilyn was so sexy, she continues to define the term “sex symbol” some 40 years after her death. She had a rough life growing up – she didn’t know who her father was and her mother was so mentally unstable that Marilyn ended up in foster care. By the 1940’s, Marilyn had begun modeling (most notably, she was the first Playboy photo spread) and she had been signed to star in movies by 20th Century Fox.
She appeared in some well-received films, but often it was her personal life that garnered more attention than her on screen talent. She married and divorced baseball great Joe DiMaggio (who continued to send flowers to her grave long after her death) and playwright Arthur Miller. Then, there were the purported affairs with the Kennedy brothers, President John F. and his brother, the Attorney General Robert.
Whether it was the decline of her career, the failed relationships, or just a mental illness, Marilyn died on August 5, 1962. The Los Angeles County Coroners office ruled it a probable suicide due to acute barbiturate (Seconal) poisoning.