There are many instances of fuck-ups and cover-ups in the days of old Hollywood, many careers derailed or never allowed to take off due to unpreventable lifestyle choices such as, take your pick: alcoholism (William Holden), homosexulaity (rock Hudson) or politics (Jane Fonda).,

a good example of one whose luck ran out is provided by one George Reeve. He played in the TV series of Superman. here is a photo: 

George Reeves in Superman pose

Guy looks great doesn’t he? Looks like nothing could go wrong for the man. Until, the day when the show loses popularirty, So what next for our guy after he puts back the Superman costume? Well not much really, You’d think that after all those years at the top the guy would have saved up some cash, or at least bought everything he needed, well if you think that then you really haven’t been paying attention.

Here is what happened: Reeves goes looking for more exciting roles. He becomes a wrestler.The public hate him. He starts an affair with Tori Mannix, wife of MGM studio exec E.J Mannix. he goes to a party and tells guests he is going upstairs for a while. At 1:45 his naked body is found. He died of a gunshot wound to the head. Though his death has been questioned, its likely that Reeves did commit suicide, and it was largely due to unhappiness regarding his failing career and the end of his affair with annix.

If this story is of interest you may want to see Hollywoodland, a biopic of Reeves featuring Ben Affleck and Diane Lane.