Ars longa, vita brevis
An actor known as Mr. Cummins died on stage while playing the part of Dumont in The Tragedy of Jane Shore by Nicholas Rowe, at the Leeds Theatre in Hunslet. He died of 'ossification of the heart' (aortic stenosis) on 20 June.
Frederick Federici had a heart attack as he descended through a trap door just after singing his last note as Mephistopheles in Gounod's opera Faust at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne.
Alexander Woollcott suffered a heart attack during a Writers' War Board panel on CBS Radio in which he and four other individuals were having a discussion about Hitler.
Albert Stoessel was conducting an orchestra for the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York, when he died of a heart attack on 12 May.
Actress Isabel Bonner suffered a heart attack while on stage at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles, during a performance of The Shrike.
Gareth Jones was portraying a character who died of a heart attack in a live science fiction play Underground in ABC Television's Armchair Theatre television series (30 November) when he died of a real heart attack between his scenes.
Tyrone Power was stricken by a massive heart attack while filming a dueling scene with his frequent co-star and friend, George Sanders for the film Solomon and Sheba.
Actor Louis Jean Heydt died of a heart attack upon conclusion of the first act of the Boston production of There Was a Little Girl, also featuring Jane Fonda.
Singer Leonard Warren expired after performing his aria in the second act of the opera La forza del destino at the New York Metropolitan Opera. He was then to perform Don Carlo's act III aria, which begins Morir, tremenda cosa ("to die, a momentous thing"), when he started coughing and gasping. He fell face first to the ground, and it was revealed he had died of a massive heart attack.
Composer Joseph E. Howard, best known for co-writing "Hello! Ma Baby" and "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now," died onstage at Chicago Opera House on 19 May. He collapsed with a heart attack while taking a curtain call after having led the audience in a singalong of the song "Let Me Call You Sweetheart."
Wagnerian bass-baritone Hermann Uhde died on stage of a heart attack during a performance in Copenhagen's Royal Danish Theatre on 10 October.
Professional wrestler Mike DiBiase suffered a heart attack in the ring while wrestling his opponent Man Mountain Mike on 2 July in Lubbock, Texas.
Country music star Spade Cooley died from a heart attack while backstage during the intermission of a benefit concert in Oakland, California on 23 November.
Performer Kenneth Horne, star of the radio comedy show Round the Horne, died of a heart attack while hosting the annual Guild of Television Producers' and Directors' Awards at the Dorchester Hotel in London, moments after the show scriptwriters had received an award and Horne had urged the audience to tune into its next series which had been due to commence shortly.
Actor George Ostroska collapsed from a heart attack at the start of the second act while playing the title role of Macbeth at the Crawford Livingston Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Longevity expert Jerome Rodale was a guest on The Dick Cavett Show. After his interview was done, Pete Hamill was being interviewed by Cavett when Rodale slumped. Hamill, noticing something was wrong, said in a low voice to Cavett, "This looks bad." Rodale had died of a heart attack at age 72.
Luther Lindsay, one of the first black stars in professional wrestling, died of a heart attack at the end of a match.
Godfrey Cambridge, an American comedian, died of a heart attack on the set of Victory at Entebbe at Burbank, California, United States.
Actor Zero Mostel collapsed and died from an aortic aneurysm during the first preview performance of The Merchant, a Broadway-bound adaptation of The Merchant of Venice.
Cuban singer Miguelito Valdés (Mr Babalú) suffered a fatal heart attack while singing at Hotel Tequendama, Bogotá, Colombia, 8 November.
Danish actor and comedian Dirch Passer suffered a fatal heart attack backstage immediately prior to going on stage in Tivoli Gardens on 3 September.
East German comedian Rolf Herricht on 23 August died of a heart attack while acting at Metropol Theater in East Berlin.
Actor and comedian Joe E. Ross suffered a heart attack and died while performing on stage on the evening of 13 August.
Magician and comedian Tommy Cooper suffered a heart attack during a performance on the London Weekend Television variety show Live From Her Majesty's.
Singer Onie Wheeler died of a massive heart attack while performing on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.
British actor-comedian Leonard Rossiter died of a heart attack in his dressing room at the Lyric Theatre, London whilst preparing to go on stage during a performance in Joe Orton's play Loot.
Actor Adolph Caesar died of a heart attack on the set of the film Tough Guys.
Actress Edith Webster died onstage from a heart attack while performing her death scene in the play, The Drunkard, in a lodge in Baltimore.
Comedian Dick Shawn died on stage while performing at the University of California, San Diego after suffering a fatal heart attack.
British wrestler Mal "King Kong" Kirk died of a pre-existing heart condition after his opponent Big Daddy jumped and landed on him during a match at the Great Yarmouth Hippodrome.
Actor Redd Foxx suffered a fatal heart attack on the set of the CBS sitcom The Royal Family.
Don "Maddog" Wright, jazz clarinetist, died of a heart attack while performing with Greg Brown at The Folkway, a club in Peterborough, New Hampshire.
Polish actor Tadeusz Łomnicki died of a heart attack during one of the last dress rehearsals of Shakespeare's King Lear, in which he was playing the lead role, much awaited by public and critics.
Indian film actor Alummoodan died of a heart attack while performing at the sets of Adwaitham.
Jazz/cabaret singer Sylvia Syms died of a heart attack during a set at New York City's Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel.
Professional wrestler Larry Cameron died of a heart attack while wrestling a match with Tony St. Clair in Bremen, Germany.
Italian actor Gian Maria Volonté died from a heart attack at the age of 61 at Florina, Greece, during the filming of Ulysses' Gaze.
Beat Farmers singer/drummer/guitarist Country Dick Montana suffered a massive heart attack and died three songs into the band's set at the Long Horn in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.
Singer Tiny Tim suffered a fatal heart attack while turning to leave the stage during a benefit concert in Minneapolis.
Opera singer Richard Versalle died on stage at the Metropolitan Opera during the company's première performance of The Makropulos Case when he suffered a heart attack while standing on a sliding ladder attached to a file cabinet.
Guitarist/singer Johnny "Guitar" Watson collapsed and died onstage during a performance in Yokohoma, Japan. The cause of death was a heart attack.
Dutchman Coen van Vrijberghe de Coningh died of cardiac arrest during a performance of the television series Flodder.
English reggae performer Judge Dread died from a heart attack as he walked off stage after performing at The Penny Theatre in Canterbury.
Mark Sandman, bassist and lead vocalist for the band Morphine, collapsed on stage at the Giardini del Principe in Palestrina, Latium, Italy (near Rome) while performing with Morphine. He was pronounced dead of a heart attack.
Conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli died of a heart attack while conducting Giuseppe Verdi's Aida at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin.
New Vagrants drummer Joe Forgione died of a heart attack onstage at the Downtime Club, New York.
Scottish actor Gordon Reid collapsed and died on stage from a heart attack at the Finborough Theatre, London, halfway through Act Two of a performance of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot.
Franco Scoglio, Italian football manager and sport TV commenter, died of a heart attack while on the air during a program on the Genoan private TV station Primocanale, after a heated discussion over the phone with Genoa chairman Enrico Preziosi.
Classical pianist and multi-award winner Anthony Burger had a massive heart attack while performing a piano piece entitled "Hear My Song Lord" during a cruise aboard the Holland America cruise ship the Zuiderdam.
M. N. Vijayan, an Indian writer, orator and academic, died of cardiac arrest during a televised interview.
Miriam Makeba suffered a heart attack shortly after singing her hit song "Pata Pata" in a concert held in Castel Volturno, near Caserta, Italy.
American guitarist Mike Scaccia (Rigor Mortis, Ministry, The Revolting Cocks) collapsed on stage during a special Rigor Mortis performance in Fort Worth, Texas. Scaccia was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Cause of death was listed as a heart attack.
Mick Farren died on-stage at the Borderline, London, while performing with his band, The Deviants. The cause of death was stated to be a heart attack.
Italian singer Mango died from a heart attack during a concert in Policoro, province of Matera, while performing his song "Oro."
Mexican wrestler Perro Aguayo Jr. suffered fatal cardiac arrest caused by cervical spine damage during a match.
Former Megadeth drummer Nick Menza collapsed and died of heart failure during a performance with his band OHM at The Baked Potato in Los Angeles.
Taiwanese singer Kuo Chin-fa collapsed on stage when he just finished singing the first stanza of his best-known work "Hot Rice Dumpling" during a performance in Kaohsiung. He was then declared dead in a hospital of cardiorespiratory failure.
Guitarist and jam band performer Colonel Bruce Hampton collapsed and died of a heart attack during a jam at an all-star concert held in honor of his 70th birthday at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
Laudir de Oliveira, Brazilian percussionist and former member of the band Chicago, died of a heart attack during a performance in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Comedian Ian Cognito died of a heart attack during a show in Bicester.
Luchador Silver King was wrestling a match in Camden Town, London, England against Juventud Guerrera when he suffered a heart attack.
Juliano Cezar, Brazilian sertanejo singer, died of a heart attack during a concert in Uniflor, Paraná.
Adapted from Wikipedia.
