'Cursed' Hollywood films – eerie coincidences, tragic deaths and make-up poisoning

The Wizard of Oz is one of the world’s most beloved films – but it also encountered its fair share of accidents during production.

Incidents of accidents on set have been reported in the years since the film was released, and as a result, some believe that the film’s production was “cursed”.

It is just one of the many Hollywood films that some believe to be “cursed” following reports of accidents and deaths – from horror productions to big budget blockbusters.

Numerous reports and documentary series have also taken a closer look at the rumours in years since, through interviews with cast and crew who worked on the films, to reports analysing the alleged “curses”.

On what would have been Judy Garland’s 100th birthday, Daily Star takes a closer look at the alleged Wizard of Oz ‘curse’ and other films whose production was supposedly “cursed”.

The Wizard Of Oz

Hollywood classic The Wizard Of Oz has delighted fans for more than 73 years since its release in 1939 – but a number of stories from its production have since led some to think the film was “cursed”.

During filming, two of the actors who played the winged monkeys suffered injuries after the wires that flew them up into the air broke.

In another scene, Betty Danko, who was the Wicked Witch of the West’s stunt double, suffered injuries to her left leg after the broomstick exploded on set – leaving the actress in hospital for two weeks and with scarring to her skin.

Speaking about the film’s production in The Making Of The Wizard Of Oz, Aljean Harmetz said: “Some of these special effects had never been done before,” adding: “There were no unions, at that time. Stars and lesser players were indentured servants [for] studios.”

Actors were also injured by their makeup, with original Tin Man actor Buddy Ebsen hospitalised by the silver makeup after just nine days of filming.

He was later replaced by actor Jack Haley, who went on to marry Judy Garland’s daughter Liza Minelli.

Margaret Hamilton, who played The Wicked Witch of the West, also suffered burns from the iconic green make-up that her character is associated with.

The Dark Knight

Despite being one of the most successful Hollywood francises of all time, Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy sadly suffered tragedy after two members of its cast and crew died.

Conway Wickliffe, a special effects technician for 2008’s Batman: The Dark Knight, died aged 41 while working on the film.

Wickliffe was running a test sequence in which the Batmobile blew up, and was filming a stunt car when the accident happened.

He was operating a camera in a truck that failed to turn and instead crashed into a tree, causing Wickliffe to sustain serious injuries and he died at the scene.

While the film was in post-production, one of its leading stars also died six months before the films release.

Heath Ledger, who was awarded an Academy Award posthumously for his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight, died at the age of 28 years old in January 2008 from an accidental overdose.

In the same year, Morgan Freeman, who played Lucius Fox in the film, was also seriously injured in a car accident in Mississippi in August 2008.

Poltergeist

The 1982 horror film Poltergeist is said to be one of Hollywood’s most cursed films, after a string of bizarre on-set incidents and heartbreaking deaths.

It is reported that real skeletons were used during one of the film’s scenes, and many of the cast and crew are reported to have attributed this as the reason why the film was cursed.

During production, a scary moment also involved an animatronic clown, which saw actor Oliver Robbins nearly strangled by the machine – but luckily, director Steven Spielberg managed to free him.

Following its release, a number of its stars also died tragically – including child star Heather O’ Rourke, who passed away from septic shock at the age of 12 years old.

Actress Dominique Dunn, who played Heather O’ Rourke’s older sister on screen, was also killed after being attacked by her ex-boyfriend, dying of her injuries at the age of just 22 years old.

Actor Richard Lawson, who played Ryan in the film, also survived a plane crash in 1992, after swapping seats with another passenger, in exchange for his autograph.

Over 27 passengers, including the person that Richard Lawson swapped seats with, died in the crash.

The Omen

The Omen is also said to be one of the most cursed films in Hollywood history.

Numerous accidents and deaths occurred during its production and following its release, with Gregory Peck, executive producers Mace Neufeld and Harvey Bernhard and screenwriter David Seltzer all travelling in aircraft that were struck by lightning during production.

However, all four luckily survived the terrifying ordeals.

Shortly after filming wrapped, one of the animal handlers from the film’s baboon scene was also killed by a tiger.

One of the most horrifying incidents is said to occurred though when special effects designer John Richardson was involved in a car crash while in Holland, following the film’s release – which also killed one of the passengers in a scene eerily similar to the film.

The crash is reported to have occurred on Friday 13th and when John escaped the wrecked car, the first thing he saw was a sign saying “Ommen, 66.6km” – in another eerie and coincidental moment.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk