The Death of Roger Daltry on This Day in History

 

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This Day in History: European media announced that Roger Daltrey, lead singer of The Who, was killed in an automobile accident on this day (June 11) in 1966. In fact, guitarist Pete Townshend was in the wreck, but survived with only minor injuries. Daltrey is not the only person in history whose death was announced prematurely. 

In 1973, British magazine Melody Maker published a satirical article that announced Alice Cooper's death: "The rock world today mourns the death of Alice Cooper who was accidentally killed last night when the safety screws failed on the guillotine he uses in his act." Cooper fans didn't get the joke and believed this to be true. The singer had to release a statement saying, "I'm alive and drunk as usual."

(On an interesting side note, Alice Cooper has his own line of hot sauce)

ABC News announced that Sharon Osbourne had died back in 2004...which they quickly retracted. https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/ABC-News-accidentally-runs-Sharon-Osbourne-obit-3301999.php

Although Joe DiMaggio was suffering from lung cancer back in 1999, he found out he died by turning the channel on his TV. DiMaggio also had to release a statement saying that he was very much alive, though he would pass on a few months later.

An early example of this happening was with English poet and philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834). "Coleridge overheard people discussing his death and asked to see the newspaper they were looking at, which contained his obituary. One of the people remarked that it was strange that Coleridge would kill himself after such a success, but then again, he had always been known as a little bit strange. Coleridge allegedly replied, 'Indeed, sir, it is a most extraordinary thing that he should have hanged himself, be the subject of an inquest, and yet that he should at this moment be speaking to you.'" Stacy Conradt

One of Mark Twain's famous quips comes as a result of being declared dead. Mark Twain was in London in 1897 as part of a speaking tour around the world. While he was in London, a rumor started that he was seriously ill. This was followed by a rumor that he was dead. The story goes that an American newspaper printed Twain's obituary. Supposedly after that, when asked about all this by a reporter, Twain said: "Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated." 

Perhaps the most famous and widely talked about premature death claim is the one associated with Paul McCartney of the Beatles...and it is still talked about and believed to this day.