Celebrity Death Rule Of Three — Times It Actually Happened

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You've probably heard people say that celebrity deaths come in threes — it's what's commonly referred to as the celebrity death 'Rule of Three.' This pop culture belief isn't based on anything scientific, but more on how our brains like to spot patterns, especially during emotional or shocking events. When a couple of famous people pass away close together, we tend to look for a third. In reality, it's just a coincidence, but because it happens often enough — and we remember it when it does — it feels like a real thing. Here are some popular examples:
July 2025 — Malcolm‑Jamal Warner, Ozzy Osbourne, and Hulk Hogan
Malcolm‑Jamal Warner, best known for playing Theo on The Cosby Show, died of accidental drowning on July 20, 2025, at the age of 54, while on vacation in Costa Rica. Warner was swimming in the sea when he got caught in a strong rip current. He was brought to shore by bystanders, received care from the Red Cross, but was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene.
Ozzy Osbourne (born John Michael Osbourne) died on July 22, 2025, at the age of 76, after decades of complications with Parkinson's disease, which he was diagnosed with in 2003, and other health issues. He reportedly died peacefully at home in England with his family by his side.
Hulk Hogan (real name Terry Gene Bollea) died on July 24, 2025, at the age of 71, of cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida. Paramedics performed CPR at the scene for over 30 minutes, but he could not be revived.
June 2009 — Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson
Ed McMahon — best known as Johnny Carson's longtime sidekick on The Tonight Show with his iconic line, 'Heeeeere's Johnny!'— died on June 23, 2009, at the age of 86, of multiple health complications, including bone cancer and pneumonia. He passed away peacefully at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, surrounded by family.
Farrah Fawcett died on June 25, 2009, at the age of 62, of anal cancer in Santa Monica, California. After an initial diagnosis in 2006 and a brief remission in 2007, the cancer returned and spread to her liver despite treatment. She spent her final days at St. John's Health Center with close friends and partner Ryan O'Neal by her side.
Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, at the age of 50, of cardiac arrest caused by an accidental overdose of a powerful sleep medication called propofol, along with other sedatives. His personal doctor, Conrad Murray, had given him the drugs to help him sleep, but they ended up stopping his heart. Michael was found unresponsive at his home in Los Angeles and couldn't be revived. Murray was later found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for his role in Michael's death.
July, August, and September 1997 — Gianni Versace, Princess Diana, Mother Teresa
Gianni Versace was shot and killed on July 15, 1997, at the age of 50, outside his home in Miami by a man named Andrew Cunanan. Cunanan, who was already wanted for several other murders, shot Versace twice in the back of the head on the steps of his mansion. Versace died instantly, and Cunanan died by suicide days later after a nationwide manhunt.
Princess Diana died on Aug. 31, 1997, at the age of 36, in a car crash in a tunnel in Paris while being chased by paparazzi. She was in the car with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed, their driver, and a bodyguard. An official investigation later ruled her death as 'unlawful killing' due to reckless driving by both the driver and the paparazzi.
Mother Teresa died on Sept. 5, 1997, at the age of 87, after years of struggling with heart problems. She had suffered several heart attacks and other health issues, and her death was caused by heart failure. Despite her illness, she continued to serve the poor and sick until shortly before her passing.
December 2016 — George Michael, Carrie Fisher, and Debbie Reynolds
George Michael died in his sleep on Dec. 25, 2016, at the age of 53. The official cause of death was heart failure due to an enlarged and inflamed heart (called dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis), along with fatty liver disease. His death was ruled as natural causes.
Carrie Fisher died on Dec. 27, 2016, at the age of 60, after going into cardiac arrest on a flight. Her official cause of death was listed as sleep apnea and heart disease, with drugs like cocaine, heroin, and MDMA also found in her system. The exact role the drugs played wasn't clear, so the manner of death was ruled as undetermined. Her daughter, Billie Lourd, later said Fisher's long struggle with addiction and mental illness ultimately led to her death.
Debbie Reynolds died on Dec. 28, 2016, at the age of 84, just one day after her daughter Carrie Fisher. The cause of death was a stroke, specifically bleeding in the brain, with high blood pressure listed as a contributing factor. Many believe grief, or "broken heart syndrome," played a role, but Reynolds' death was officially attributed to natural causes related to the stroke.
January 2016 — David Bowie, Alan Rickman, and Glenn Frey
David Bowie died on Jan. 10, 2016, at the age of 69 from liver cancer. He had been quietly battling the illness for about 18 months, but kept it private from the public. Just two days before his death, he released his final album, Blackstar, which many saw as his way of saying goodbye.
Alan Rickman died on Jan. 14, 2016, at the age of 69 from pancreatic cancer. He had been diagnosed with the illness in 2015 after a minor stroke led to further tests, but he kept it private, sharing the news only with close friends and family. His death came as a shock to many, as the public was unaware of his condition.
Glenn Frey — the co‑founding guitarist, singer, and songwriter of the Eagles — died on Jan. 18, 2016, at age 67 in New York City. According to his family and band, he passed away after complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis, and pneumonia.
April and June 2016 — Prince, Muhammad Ali, Anton Yelchin
Prince died on April 21, 2016, at the age of 57 from an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a powerful opioid. He had taken a counterfeit pill that he believed was a prescription painkiller like Vicodin, but it was laced with fentanyl. The official cause of death was listed as "fentanyl toxicity," and authorities ruled it an accident, with no signs of foul play.
Muhammad Ali passed away on June 3, 2016, at the age of 74, of septic shock, a life-threatening whole‑body reaction to an infection. He'd been battling Parkinson's disease for decades, and his respiratory health worsened before he went into septic shock. His death was officially described as due to natural causes.
Anton Yelchin tragically died on June 19, 2016, at the age of 27 in Los Angeles. The official cause of death was blunt traumatic asphyxia, after he was fatally crushed and suffocated when his Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled backward down a driveway and pinned him between a mailbox and a security fence. Yelchin's parents ended up filing a lawsuit with Fiat Chrysler (the makers of the Jeep Grand Cherokee) and reached a confidential settlement.
July and August 2014 — James Garner, Robin Williams, Lauren Bacall
James Garner died on July 19, 2014, at the age of 86, at his home in Brentwood, Los Angeles. The official cause of death recorded on his death certificate was acute myocardial infarction — a heart attack. He had been living with coronary artery disease, which likely led to the fatal heart event, and his passing was ruled as natural causes.
Robin Williams died on Aug. 11, 2014, at the age of 63. The Marin County coroner officially ruled his death a suicide by asphyxia due to hanging, with no evidence of foul play or use of alcohol or illicit drugs. An autopsy also revealed he had been suffering from diffuse Lewy body dementia (a form of progressive dementia).
Lauren Bacall passed away on Aug. 12, 2014, at the age of 89, after suffering a massive stroke at her home in New York City. Her family confirmed the stroke was the cause of death, and she was later pronounced dead at New York‑Presbyterian Hospital.
January and Feb. 2012 — Etta James, Don Cornelius, Whitney Houston
Etta James died on Jan. 20, 2012, at the age of 73. The official cause of death was complications from leukemia, and she also suffered from dementia and kidney failure, which contributed to her overall decline. Her death certificate classified it as natural causes. She passed away in Riverside, California, surrounded by family.
Don Cornelius, creator of Soul Train, died by suicide on Feb. 1, 2012, at the age of 75. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at his home in California. He had been struggling with serious health problems and depression for years, especially after surgery for a brain aneurysm in the 1980s.
Whitney Houston died on Feb. 11, 2012, at the age of 48, after drowning in her hotel bathtub. The coroner concluded it was an accidental drowning, with underlying heart disease and recent cocaine use playing significant roles.
October 2023 — Burt Young, Richard Roundtree, and Matthew Perry
Burt Young, known for his Oscar-nominated role as Paulie in the Rocky films, died on Oct. 8, 2023, at age 83 in Los Angeles. His death certificate listed the official cause as cardiac arrest, with contributing conditions including a myocardial infarction (heart attack), atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat), and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).
Richard Roundtree, who famously played the iconic John Shaft, passed away on Oct. 24, 2023, at the age of 81, at his home in Los Angeles. The official cause of death was pancreatic cancer, a diagnosis he had been battling for a brief period before his passing.
Matthew Perry died on Oct. 28, 2023, at the age of 54, from the acute effects of ketamine, which caused his heart and breathing to stop, leading to unconsciousness and drowning in his hot tub. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled his death an accident. Contributing factors included coronary artery disease and the presence of buprenorphine, a medication used for opioid addiction treatment, which may have made him more vulnerable.
December 2006 — James Brown, former President Gerald Ford, and Saddam Hussein
James Brown died on Dec. 25, 2006, at age 73. The official cause of death, listed by Atlanta's Emory University Hospital Midtown, was congestive heart failure resulting from complications of pneumonia.
Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President of the United States, died on Dec. 26, 2006, at age 93, in his home in Rancho Mirage, California, of cardiovascular disease.
Saddam Hussein officially died by execution by hanging on Dec. 30, 2006, following his conviction for crimes against humanity — specifically for ordering the killing of 148 Shi'ite villagers in Dujail in 1982. His death was carried out at Camp Justice in Baghdad and recorded as a judicial execution rather than a medical cause of death.
Finally, Feb. 3, 1959 — Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper
On Feb. 3, 1959, rock and roll icons Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson all died in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. The small chartered aircraft they were flying in took off shortly after a concert and crashed within minutes due to pilot error in poor visibility conditions — none of the passengers survived the impact.
This tragic event is famously known as "The Day the Music Died." It marked a turning point in music history and became a powerful symbol of lost potential and youthful energy cut short. The phrase was later popularized by Don McLean's 1971 song 'American Pie."
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