Killing, at least in the context of comedy, is generally considered to be a good thing. In theory, it should be every humorist’s goal to get as many laughs as they can. If they were killing people in the literal sense, obviously that would be pretty bad for business. But nobody gets to choose how people react to their jokes, and in rare instances, it turns out something can actually be so funny that it’s fatal. Here are a few comedies that legitimately caused viewers to laugh themselves to death.
In 1928, an insurance broker named William F. Sangster gave a speech at the annual Canadian Accident Insurance Co. in Toronto. One subject he discussed during the event was unseen hazards hiding in unexpected places. Later that evening, Sangster attended a screening of the new Charlie Chaplin movie, The Circus. His excessive laughter reportedly put such a great strain on his heart that he died in his seat.
Alex Mitchell of King’s Lynn, England, made headlines in 1975 when he slumped over on his sofa and passed away while watching an episode of the British sitcom The Goodies entitled “Kung Fu Kapers.” According to his wife, he’d been laughing hysterically throughout the broadcast. She even sent a letter to the show’s creators thanking them for making Mitchell’s final moments such happy ones. It’s now believed that he had a rare heart rhythm disorder called Long QT syndrome, which his granddaughter was also diagnosed with.
Danish doctor Ole Bentzen was said to have “killed himself laughing” at the 1989 John Cleese-Jamie Lee Curtis comedy A Fish Called Wanda. Bentzen, who was 71 at the time, apparently died from heart failure induced by his enjoyment of the film. A report from Doctor’s Weekly explained that the acceleration in the contractions of his heart muscles from the laughter resulted in his heart not being able to pump enough blood to his brain. In a 2018 retrospective with Vanity Fair, Cleese called it the “ultimate compliment,” and revealed that they’d tried contacting Bentzen’s widow about using the story for publicity, but decided it would be in bad taste.
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