Phyllis Hyman, didn't fear the Reaper.

Phyllis Hyman

"Be nice to take that thing home and put it on my wall - but you know it ain't even real. Just a record they spray-painted gold. But that's OK. I'll take this and be more than thrilled. (on her album "Living All Alone" going gold) - Phyllis Hyman

An ongoing battle with alcohol and weight gain, combined with career and financial woes, were making life difficult for her and those around her. In 1993 she was dealt another blow when both her mother and grandmother died within a month of one another.

Her bouts of depression were clearly overwhelming her. Her irrational, self-destructive behavior was becoming common knowledge to those inside the music industry, her friends and also her fans. On June 30, 1995, only hours before a scheduled performance at the Apollo Theater in New York, Phyllis' lifeless body was found in her apartment; she had taken an overdose of sleeping pills and left a suicide note.

Phyllis Hyman

July 6th, 1949 - June 30th, 1995

Susan Hayward's Birthday

"The only hit that comes out of a Helen Lawson show is Helen Lawson, and that's ME, baby, remember?" - Susan Hayward as Helen Lawson in Valley of the Dolls (1967)

A two-pack a day smoker with a taste for drink, Susan was diagnosed with brain cancer in March of 1972. Susan Was diagnosed with brain cancer, allegedly the result of being exposed to dangerous radioactive toxins on location in Utah while making The Conqueror (1956). All the leads John Wayne, Agnes Moorehead, John Hoyt, Hayward and the director Dick Powell died of cancer. The case is still a scandal.

Susan Hayward

June 30th, 1917 - March 14th, 1975

RIP