However, it was his legendary consumption of alcohol that has earned him a place on our list.
In addition to his role in that 1987 film, he starred in Trading Mom, Micki & Maude, Conan the Destroyer, and several television shows. Though he was known by many as The Eighth Wonder of the World, an intimidating French wrestler that stood almost 2.2 meters (7.5 ft) and weighed around 227 kilograms (500 lb), it is his role as Fezzik in the family classic The Princess Bride that has cemented him in the minds and hearts of fans everywhere. Near the end of his life, his once suave persona and charismatic good looks had been eroded by his addiction to the bottle, and he died, not surprisingly, of liver cirrhosis. Reported to be drunk most of the time by his associates, he would faithfully show up to the studio with booze in a shopping bag, and he once ambled on stage during the first act of a play performing the final one. Though he went on to star in popular British comedies and military dramas, his co-stars claimed that he would start on a crate of Guinness at breakfast and finish it by the end of the day, along with plenty of scotch. Though that suicide attempt failed due to the timely intervention of a cleaning woman, Price began a much more gradual suicide that involved his use of alcohol. Perhaps because of the anguish of his failing marriage, his hidden homosexuality, and for other unknown reasons, in 1954 Price found himself in his best suit with his head in the oven of his apartment. However, it was then that the drinking began to get out of control. Becoming a matinee idol on stage and scoring it big later with one of the finest comedies to come out of England, 1949’s Kind Hearts and Coronets, Price and his contemporaries Alex Guinness and James Mason seemed poised to take on international acclaim. In fact, prolific drinker Richard Burton purportedly admitted that he wasn’t in the same league as Lee, who once drank him under the table.Īt the age of 73, Lee passed away due to stomach cancer, which can be and was most likely caused by his excessive alcohol consumption.Ĭoming from an aristocratic family and boasting good looks and charm, there wasn’t much standing in the way of this British actor’s success. He hired a person to feed a straw through the keyhole, thus allowing him to enjoy it.
In fact, his addiction was allegedly so strong that he was locked in his dressing room during breaks from the filming of the Edgar Wallace television series to prevent him from drinking.
However, the tragic death of his beloved wife in a house fire, a vicious mugging, and unpaid debts caused Lee to sink into depression and alcohol abuse. Starting at the age of six and dabbling in stage productions before becoming renowned in film, his most notable work is surely as M., the head of the British Secret Service in 11 of the James Bond movies. With 50 years of acting under his belt and over 100 film and television credits to his name, Lee certainly kept busy as a thespian. It wasn’t long after that she was spending night after night in bars and pubs, and at the age of 39, she was found dead of heart and liver disease, her appearance so altered that she could hardly be identified. For instance, in 1962, she was charged with public drunkenness after being found sleeping at a Sunset Boulevard bus stop dressed in a coat and bathing suit, and she was arrested the same year for drunk and disorderly conduct during a boisterous afternoon party. Primarily in the 1960s, her alcoholism worsened.Īfter losing custody of her son due to her debauched lifestyle, Payton’s life unraveled even further.
Chock full of affairs with seemingly every man she encountered, violent relationships, shoplifting, prostitution, and numerous run-ins with the police, the only thing that seemed to offer any stability to this troubled actress was the bottle. However, Payton’s personal life was a chaotic disaster. Starting out as a small-town Minnesota girl, this gorgeous blonde ran off to Hollywood, and it wasn’t long before she became one of the biggest stars of the 1940s and 1950s, starring alongside acting greats like James Cagney, Gary Cooper, and Gregory Peck.