Performers Who Died In Front Of Their Audiences
By BRIAN BOONE
History - Science
DIMEBAG Darrell
On December 8, 2004, the rock band Damageplan — formed by guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott after the breakup of the popular metal band Pantera — took the stage at Alrosa Villa, a club in Columbus, Ohio. 25-year-old ex-Marine Nathan Gale sneaked into the club with a gun and open fired just 90 seconds into Damageplan's set, killing Abbott and three other people.
RICHARD VERSALLE
In January 1996, opera singer Richard Versalle was performing in “The Makropulos Case,” singing the role of Vitek, an old man who works in a law firm. In the opera's opening scene, Versalle stood perched high atop a library-style ladder to put away a case file, when the 63-year-old fell off the ladder after suffering a fatal heart attack.
NICK MENZA
Nick Menza was behind the kit for the metal band Megadeth throughout the '90s, and he also played with Chodle's Trunk, Fear Assembly, Orphaned to Hatred, and OHM. It was during a gig in California with OHM in May 2016 that the 51-year-old collapsed onstage after his heart gave out — he was pronounced dead upon arrival at a nearby hospital.
SIB HASHIAN
As an original member of Boston, drummer Sib Hashian played on two of the best-selling rock albums of the '70s, but in recent years, Hashian had joined the classic rock nostalgia circuit and the Legends of Rock Cruise. Unfortunately, it was while performing at sea in March 2017 that the 67-year-old Hashian collapsed behind the drums and died.
JEROME RODALE
In the mid-20th century Jerome Rodale was an advocate for practices such as eating local and eating foods that weren't loaded with antibiotics — habits that were not as common back then. Rodale died on the set of “The Dick Cavett Show” in front of a live studio audience, minutes after claiming he "never felt better" and that he'd "live to a hundred."