Behind the glamour, filming is extremely dangerous for Hollywood movies, with plane crashes, explosions, falling structures and high-speed chases for stunt doubles, shortening the lives of actors and directors.
It was intensified again on Thursday by the tragic death of photography director Helena Hutchins, who was accidentally killed with a prop gun by Alec Baldwin.
The tragedy has grim echoes of the empty period of actor Brandon Lee’s death on the set of the 19934 film The Crow.
Lee, a rising star and son of renowned martial artist Bruce Lee, was killed when a dummy round was used instead of a blank round during a fight scene. It struck his stomach with as much force as a living target.
Stunt doubles are often used for the most dangerous action, putting their lives on the line for the perfect shot.
But film sets, which often include explosive or aerial scenes, are dangerous for everyone.
Here MailOnline recounts some of the worst tragedies that have happened on set:
Cut Short: Brandon Lee, son of martial arts icon Bruce Lee, was a rising star before one of the saddest deaths in Hollywood history cut his life short
The Crow (1994) – Blank Round Kills actor Brandon Lee
Brandon Lee, the son of martial arts icon Bruce Lee, was a rising star before his life was cut short by one of the saddest deaths in Hollywood history.
The actor was filming a scene where his character was killed by street thugs when a dummy cartridge was replaced with an empty round, which was fired into his stomach with the same force as a live bullet. .
After six hours of unsuccessful emergency surgery, Lee died at the age of 28 at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Tragedy: Tragedy struck the set of Edward Norton’s directorial debut Motherless Brooklyn in March 2018 when a fire broke out on the set
Motherless Brooklyn (2018) – Set Fire Kills FDNY Firefighter
Tragedy struck in March 2018 on the set of Edward Norton’s directorial debut Motherless Brooklyn, when a fire broke out on the set.
The FDNY was called to control the fire, in which 37-year-old convicted fireman Michael Davidson, who had been on the FDNY for 15 years, was dying on set.
During his tenure he was cited for bravery four times by leaving a wife and four daughters.
John-Eric: Actor John-Eric Hexum (left) was filming a scene where he was meant to simulate Russian roulette, when a cartridge went into a gun and was fatally hit in the head.
Cover Up (1984) – Bullet Cartridge kills actor John-Eric Hexum
The cast and crew were filming the seventh episode of the 1984 TV series Cover Up when tragedy struck on October 12, 1984.
Actor John-Eric Hexum was filming a scene where he was meant to simulate Russian roulette, when a cartridge fired a gunshot and fatally hit him in the head.
The actor was taken to Beverly Hills Medical Center where he had an emergency operation, but died five days later at the age of 26.
Tragic: The tragic accident in which actors Vic Morrow and 7-year-old Maika Dinh Le and 6-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen died, resulting in major changes to the filming code.
The Twilight Zone: The Movie (1982) – Vic Morrow and two children killed by a helicopter tail rotor
The tragic accident that killed actor Vic Morrow and children Maika Dinh Le, 7 and Renee Shin-Yi Chen, 6, resulted in major filming code changes.
In this scene Moro’s character was to be taken back to Vietnam, where he had to protect two Vietnamese children.
A helicopter flown by Vietnam veteran Dorsey Wingo hit a mortar impact, which exploded over the rotor and the helicopter crashed.
Morrow and Ley were cut off from the helicopter’s main rotor blades while Chen was crushed to death by the helicopter.
The incident leads to legal action that lasted more than a decade, and leads to stringent changes to safety regulations that were not there before.
Rider: The making of the much-awaited Deadpool sequel goes awry when a stunt motorcycle rider loses control of his bike and crashes fatally
Deadpool 2 (2017) – Stuntwoman Joy ‘SJ’ Harris dies in motorcycle accident
The production of the much-awaited Deadpool sequel went haywire when the stunt motorcyclist lost control of his bike and crashed fatally.
Joy ‘SJ’ Harris was filming a stunt sequence at Vancouver’s Shaw Tower when she lost control and hit a plate glass window.
This was Harris’ first gig as a stunt rider, although she was a veteran rider, and the first African-American female professional road racer.
Harris was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, as his character Domino, played by Zazie Beetz, was not wearing one in the scene.
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