The Superman Curse. Five guys who have played the Man on Steel in movies, on TV, or on the radio, all suffered unlucky fates. Kirk Alyn played Superman in some 1940s movie serials, but couldn’t find much work afterwards due to typecasting. Cartoon Superman voice actor Bud Collyer had a long career but died of a circulation problem at age 61. Lee Quigley played baby Superman in 1978’s Superman movie, and died from huffing air freshener at age 14. TV Superman George Reeves was either murdered or committed suicide. Christopher Reeve was horrifically paralyzed in a horse accident in 1995, and died in 2004. The curse doesn’t seem to affect recent Superman actors such as Dean Cain, Henry Cavill, or Brandon Routh—unless for him you count being replaced by Henry Cavill for Man of Steel.
The Best Actress Oscar Breakup Curse. Lots of actresses who won either Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars had their marriages end not long after they took home their trophies. In recent years, Oscar-winners who soon after split with their husbands include Kim Basinger, Sandra Bullock, Kate Winslet, Reese Witherspoon, Halle Berry, Emma Thiompson, Helen Hunt, Angelina Jolie, Geena Davis, and Hilary Swank
The Night Court Bailiff Curse. The 1980s ensemble comedy saw three different actresses portray a sarcastic courtroom bailiff. For the first three dozen episodes, Selma Diamond had the job. Then she died. Actress Florence Halop took over, and after just 22 episodes, she died, too. Marsha Warfield then stepped into the role, which she held until Night Court ended in 1992, and she’s still alive today. How did Warfield break the curse? She was young—Warfield was 33 when she was cast; Diamond and Halop had been in their 60s, and they had both been diagnosed with lung cancer.
The Best New Artist Curse. Back in the ’70s and ’80s especially, it seemed like every singer or band that won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist also won a target on their backs and were doomed to fail. Take, for example, these flash-in-the-pan BNA winners: Starland Vocal Band, Debby Boone, A Taste of Honey, Christopher Cross, the Swingle Singers, Paula Cole…and Milli Vanilli. It’s probably not so much a curse as much as it is Grammy winners unable to accurately predict the future. Definitely not-cursed winners of the Best New Artist Grammy include the Beatles, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, and Adele.
The Seinfeld Curse. It’s hard to follow-up a TV classic with a role millions associate you with. So much so that the cast of Seinfeld was, for a long time, cursed. Quickly canceled shows starring a former Seinfeld main cast member include The Michael Richards Show, Bob Patterson, Listen Up!, and Watching Ellie. The curse has pretty much faded at this point, what with Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s five consecutive Emmy wins for Veep.
The 27 Club. The more influential, important, and iconic a musician is, the more likely it seems that they’ll die at the impossibly young age of 27. Among the major figures across all genres to check out three years shy of 30: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison of the Doors, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, influential blues guitarist Robert Johnson, Pete Ham of Badfinger, D. Boon of Minutemen, and Amy Winehouse. (Of course, there are literally thousands of good rock stars that didn’t die at 27, so…)
The Chunky Soup Curse. Campbell’s Chunky Soup has a long-running advertising campaign featuring NFL and their moms—it’s meant to suggest that the soup is as hearty and filling as a home-cooked meal. Nearly every player that’s appeared in a Chunky Soup commercial went on to suffer a terrible fate, including Reggie White, Terrell Davis, Kurt Warner, Donovan McNabb, Brian Urlacher, and Michael Strahan. (John Lynch and Ladainian Tomlinson seemingly avoided the curse.)
The Madden Curse. Being the literal poster boy for the NFL by being selected to be on the cover for the pre-eminent football video game can lead to all kinds of bad luck. For example, Madden NFL ’99 subject Garrison Hearst broke an ankle in a playoff game, and surgical complications led to the death of a bone in his foot; he was out for two seasons. Madden NFL 2001 cover guy Eddie George bungled a pass in the fourth-quarter of a crucial playoff game. Marshall Faulk’s career took a steep downward turn after he graced Madden NFL 2003: He had his first sub-1,000 yard rushing season and then endured career-ending knee surgery. Michael Vick and Ray Lewis have also been on the cover of Madden NFL games, for what it’s worth. Cover boy Calvin Johnson “broke” the curse in 2012, rushing for nearly 2,000 yards and leading the league in receptions.
The MTV Couples Curse. About a decade ago, MTV’s schedule consisted primarily of reality shows about celebrity couples. Perhaps it’s because of the unblinking eye of the TV camera, and/or the fact that Hollywood marriages don’t last long, but many of the featured couples split up after they shared their lives with MTV viewers. Among televised love’s graveyard are the relationships between Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey (Newlyweds); Carmen Electra and Dave Navarro (Til Death Do Us Part); model Shanna Moakler and drummer Travis Barker (Meet the Barkers); and singer Brandy and partner Robert Smith (Brandy: Special Delivery).
The Curse of The Dark Knight. Quite a bit of terrible stuff happened after shooting wrapped on the darkest Batman movie ever, The Dark Knight. Co-star Heath Ledger died at age 28 after a mentally exhausting shoot playing the Joker. The weekend the film was released, star Christian Bale was arrested for assaulting his mother and sister. A few weeks later, Morgan Freeman was badly injured in a car accident. A few weeks after that, Freeman split up with his wife of 24 years.
