Nothing guarantees enduring fame like a tragic death. John Lennon trumps the other Beatles hands down and, despite bloating up to the size of a whale, Elvis Presley has spawned generations of look-a-likes.

In aging, Marilyn would have faded into obscurity and Bruce Lee would have been stuck playing Mr Miyagi; in death, however, they have been immortalised as the blonde bombshell and the ultimate fighting machine.

But what about those who are plucked from life as they near their prime? What about those who clearly still have so much to offer? Well… so much the better. Yip, those taken so tragically at the beginning of their promising careers (and by this I mean under the age of 30) have the legacy of potential – oh, the things they could have done. Not to mention their youthful good looks. You can’t beat that.

So, in the spirit of celebrating things that were and things that could have been, we look back at some of the tragic celebrity deaths of the past century and the legacies these doomed stars left behind.

The day the music died

Buddy Holly (22) had only been a successful musician for a year and a half on 3 February 1959 when he — together with Ritchie Valens (17) and Rocer J.P. Richardson aka the Big Bopper (28) — died in a plane crash. The day was subsequently dubbed ‘the day the music died’.

He had recorded so prolifically before his death, that his record label was able to release new Buddy Holly albums and singles for 10 years after he died. Ranked at number 13 on Rolling Stone’s 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, Holly is regarded as one of the pioneers of rock and roll.

Another 22-year-old musician to face her maker in a plane crash was the sensational Aaliyah. Before she died, she had released three albums, sold 32 million records, been nominated for nine Grammies and won three American Music Awards. On 25 August 2001, she was killed in a plane crash in the Bahamas, where she had been shooting a music video. The plane crashed shortly after taking off, killing the pilot and all eight passengers. An investigation revealed that the plane was grossly overweight and that the pilot had trace amounts of cocaine and alcohol in his blood.

Rebel without a cause

James Dean was the first actor to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar posthumously and he is the only actor to have been nominated for two. At the time of his death he had only starred in three major films and yet he was being billed as one of the greatest actors of his generation.

Dean’s promising career was cut short when he was killed in a car crash. Contrary to popular belief, however, he was not speeding. Another driver, who did not see his car, crossed over into his lane resulting in a head-on-collision. Dean’s passenger was thrown from the car and survived with a broken jaw, while the driver of the other car got away with nothing more than a gashed forehead and bruised nose.

Proof of James Dean’s enduring legacy is the fact that — according to Forbes magazine — his estate still rakes in $3-million (2000) half a century after his death. Because he acted in an era when actors were paid a straight fee for their work, his estate receives very little in the way of royalties for his still-popular films. The money is made through licensing and merchandising of his eternally youthful image.

Sex, drugs and rock’n’roll

Ah, the most common cause of premature death in Hollywood — the drug overdose. Before Heath Ledger, there was River Phoenix, the Jims and Janis.

River Phoenix — elder brother of Joaquin and Rain — met his untimely end on the pavement outside the Viper Room in West Hollywood on 31 October 1993 after ingesting a lethal combination of heroin and cocaine.

The 23-year-old — who up until then had a squeaky-clean image as a campaigner for animal rights — was regarded at the time as one of the most promising actors of his generation. Known for his films ‘Stand by Me’ and ‘My Own Private Idaho’, Phoenix received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for his work in ‘Running on Empty’.

Since his death, he has been immortalised in numerous songs and while the Viper Room was still under the partial ownership of Johnny Depp it was closed every year on 31 October in memory of the actor.

Regarded as one of the most influential guitarists in rock history, Jimi Hendrix died at the age of 27 on 18 September 1970 from an overdose of sleeping pills. Although he had only release four albums at the time of his death, his family subsequently released another eight official albums featuring his music. According to Forbes, his estate still pulls in over $10-million (2000) from royalties and merchandising.

That year also saw the death of the ‘white girl who sang the blues’. Janis Joplin, like Hendrix, was 27 when she died from an overdose of heroin and whiskey (4 October 1970). Acclaim for Joplin’s work has grown steadily over the years. In 2004 Rolling Stone ranked her at number 46 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and in 2005 she was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

On 3 July 1971, Jim Morrison — lead singer and lyricist of The Doors — was found dead in a bathtub by his girlfriend Pamela Courson. Because French law dictates that there is no need for an autopsy if there is no suspicion of foul play, the cause of death was never established, but is generally believed to have been an accidental overdose. Morrison is still regarded as one of the most charismatic and influential frontmen in rock music.

It’s better to burn out…

In the early 1990s, the grunge band Nirvana had captured the imagination of angst-filled teens everywhere with songs like ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and ‘Come As You Are’. When the 27-year-old Kurt Cobain shot and killed himself, many found it hard to let go, with several distressed teens killing themselves in the US and Australia and over 7000 mourners attending a public vigil two days after his body was found.

Happiness is a warm gun

The highest-selling rap artist in the world — Tupac Shakur — was once friends with fellow crack-dealer-turned-rapper Biggie Smalls aka the Notorius B.I.G. At some point during the East Coast/West Coast hip hop feud of the 1990s however, the two became enemies. In a perhaps-not-so-weird twist of fate, both ended up dead.

Tupac was gunned down in a drive-by after watching a Mike Tyson fight on 7 September 1996. Six months later, on 9 March 1997, Biggie Smalls was shot and killed when he stopped at a traffic light. Both were 25 when they were killed and neither murder has been solved.

The deaths of crack-dealing gun-toting rappers are pretty easy to predict, the death of a Tejano Queen, not so much.

Selena Quintanilla-Perez — sometime referred to as the Latina Madonna — was the Queen of Tejano music. At the tender age of 23 she had a multinational following, platinum sales and a Grammy to her name. Unfortunately she also had a money-embezzling maniac as the head of her fan club.

When Selena confronted Yolanda Saldivar (the maniac) about the money she had been embezzling from her clothing boutiques, Saldivar shot her in the back. Selena survived long enough to name Saldivar as her killer, before bleeding to death in the foyer of the hotel. Saldivar was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Selena’s funeral was attended by over 60 000 mourners and the then-governor George W. Bush declared her birthday — 16 April — Selena Day.

So, next time you are shooting up, boarding a dodgy plane or confronting a crazed employee, take some time to consider your legacy… If your name happens to be Britney, Lindsay or Tara, you’ve probably already left it a bit too late.