Death hoaxes you remember

[Ryback on a Pole!]

When I was a kid in the 90s around 11 or 12, a rumour spread that Kel from Kenan and Kel died in a car crash.

Which is apparently a rumour that spread everywhere, and I find that amazing that such a rumour can spread in what was largely the pre-internet days across the world like that. Must have entirely been word of mouth. At the time, nobody I knew had a home computer, and access to the school's computers was limited. I don't even think the computers we could use were online, at least I don't recall going on the internet until a couple of years later in the early 2000s.

Yet everybody heard the rumour.

[Banjo Is Broken]

I still think Abe Vigoda never actually died.

[thirteen3]

New Zealand waterfall.

[newbombturk]

Circle Jerks/Black Flag/Danzig/Social Distortion drummer Chuck Biscuits.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Jun 20, 2024 22:07:28 GMT -5 Ryback on a Pole! said:

When I was a kid in the 90s around 11 or 12, a rumour spread that Kel from Kenan and Kel died in a car crash.

Which is apparently a rumour that spread everywhere, and I find that amazing that such a rumour can spread in what was largely the pre-internet days across the world like that. Must have entirely been word of mouth. At the time, nobody I knew had a home computer, and access to the school's computers was limited. I don't even think the computers we could use were online, at least I don't recall going on the internet until a couple of years later in the early 2000s.

Yet everybody heard the rumour.

There was also one I widely remember back in the day of Steve from Blues Clues dying from a drug overdose

I don't think Steve Burns has ever touched drugs to overdose, and I remember him poking fun at it with a reply.

[ERON]

When Saved by the Bell ended, it seemed to be common knowledge among people I knew that the show was cancelled due to the actors who played Zack and Slater dying in a street racing accident.

[Fundertaker]

I remember death hoxes about Chester Bennington around 10 years before he passed away.

And about Moldovan music trio O-Zone dying on a plane crash about 2 years after Dragostea Din Tei had peaked.

[elektro]

When Type O Negative was promoting the album "Dead Again", they put a big notice on their site that Peter Steele had died. Of course, that was so much of a hoax that when he did die a few years later, no one believed it at first. That's the sense of humor the band had, though.

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

Jun 20, 2024 15:30:47 GMT -5 wildojinx said:

Wasnt there a death hoax involving Avril Lavigne? The fact that she nearly did die from Lyme Disease didnt help matters.

There's one of those weird conspiracy theorize about her dying and being replaced with a fake about her. I genuinely wonder how people even think of that, let alone believe it's real.

[saneiac]

Matt Hardy hoaxed a suicide attempt, although I don’t remember if he “died” as part of it.

[The Legend of Groose]

It felt like back in Twitter's heyday that Jackie Chan died every 4 months.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Jun 21, 2024 10:09:28 GMT -5 SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman said:

Jun 20, 2024 15:30:47 GMT -5 wildojinx said:

Wasnt there a death hoax involving Avril Lavigne? The fact that she nearly did die from Lyme Disease didnt help matters.

There's one of those weird conspiracy theorize about her dying and being replaced with a fake about her. I genuinely wonder how people even think of that, let alone believe it's real.

Paul McCartney, Avril Lavigne and Andrew WK are a strange combo of “died and were replaced” musicians.

[Ultimo Gallos]

Back in early 97 I moved 2 states to the west and cut contact with a pile of people. Stayed in touch with 4 or 5 people. With only 2 of them actually having any clue where I had movied tooooooooo.

This lead to rumors. The biggest one was I had moved out to the Southwest,was hunting for Aliens and died.

Now I have been going back to the coast where I lived for years often since 2000. Last year around March I went down for a funeral. And ran into 2 people there that not oonly had hear d I died in the desert looking for aliens but believed it.

"Damn not like I got a common name. Could have punched it in on Google and seen fast I was still alive. Plus the aliens aren't in the Southwest anymore. They moved to East Central."

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

Jun 21, 2024 11:58:40 GMT -5 Cranjis McBasketball said:

Jun 21, 2024 10:09:28 GMT -5 SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman said:

There's one of those weird conspiracy theorize about her dying and being replaced with a fake about her. I genuinely wonder how people even think of that, let alone believe it's real.

Paul McCartney, Avril Lavigne and Andrew WK are a strange combo of “died and were replaced” musicians.

The Paul McCartney one gets especially hilarious when you consider that they had no problem announcing John and George's deaths.

[Dr. T is an alien]

Jun 21, 2024 10:31:56 GMT -5 saneiac said:

Matt Hardy hoaxed a suicide attempt, although I don’t remember if he “died” as part of it.

I think he just make a video suicide note but didn’t follow through. He might have legit meant it when he posted it and just couldn’t actually do it and everyone assumed it was a hoax because of the massive tool he had devolved into at that point (which bothered me as he had long been a favorite of mine). Now he mainly serves as a cautionary tale as to what high risk wrestling can do to a body over the years, but he at least comes across as being in a better place. Mind you, I stopped paying attention to wrestling years ago so he might be miserable now and I just don’t know it.

[Hassan bin Sober]

Not really a hoax but I remember they reported that Tom Petty had died a day before he did.

[Dr. T is an alien]

Not really a hoax, but news sources were in such a rush to be first to confirm Gabby Giffords succumbed to the wounds from the assassination attempt that many reported the still alive to this day Giffords dead.

[WoodStoner1]

Anyone name Steve Burns from Blue's Clues? (Edit: yes) Thank goodness not, during the pandemic he was the closest thing we had to Mister Rogers still being here.


Now for some variants...

"Alive" Hoaxes...

Elvis of course.

Andy Kaufman too.

RSPW insisting Brian Pillman's death was an angle. Mutated later into Pillman or Owen being alive and being the Higher Power. Yep...


"Cause" hoaxes...

Sadly we've lived one since 2021.

Courtney killing Kurt?

[WoodStoner1]

Jun 20, 2024 13:39:41 GMT -5 Ultimo Gallos said:

Back when he was ill and in the hospital Brickhoouse Brown got reportedd as dead 3 times before he passed.

Not a full on hoax,more one wrestler goes to visit and tells anotehr "Hey fred aint gonna last the night" and that spreads and becomes "Hye bBrick done died"

Same thing happened with Mae Young, and I think Harley Race?

[Ultimo Gallos]

Jun 21, 2024 15:38:10 GMT -5 WoodStoner1 said:

Jun 20, 2024 13:39:41 GMT -5 Ultimo Gallos said:

Back when he was ill and in the hospital Brickhoouse Brown got reportedd as dead 3 times before he passed.

Not a full on hoax,more one wrestler goes to visit and tells anotehr "Hey fred aint gonna last the night" and that spreads and becomes "Hye bBrick done died"

Same thing happened with Mae Young, and I think Harley Race?

Yep. With Brickhouse it was like a week of "He's dead" nah he aint.

But it was all just the wrestler gossip fence changing stuff.