Celebrities Who Died of Mesothelioma
Numerous celebrities and other notable persons have died from mesothelioma. Actor Steve McQueen was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in December 1979. When U.S. doctors declined to offer him surgery or chemotherapy because of the advanced state of his mesothelioma, he sought treatment in Mexico. Despite the significant risks of the procedure, McQueen sought surgery in Juarez, Mexico to remove a large tumor in his abdomen. McQueen died of a heart attack the day after the surgery on November 7, 1980.
McQueen may have been exposed to asbestos while serving with the U.S. Marine Corps, while wearing an automobile racing suit in which asbestos was used as an insulating material.(he was an avoid race car driver), and by asbestos used in movie soundstage insulation. McQueen himself attributed his asbestos exposure to the removing of asbestos lagging from pipes aboard a ship while in the Marines.
American film and television actor Paul Gleason died in 2006 of pleural mesothelioma. He was a supporting actor in several highly successful movies in the 1980s including the 1983 film Trading Places, starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd, The Breakfast Club, written and directed by John Hughes, and Die Hard, Bruce Willis' 1988 action blockbuster. He is perhaps best known for his role as Principal Richard Vernon in the 1985 film The Breakfast Club. The film, which follows five high school students at detention, had a tremendous impact on both the teen film genre and popular culture. Gleason believed he had contracted mesothelioma from asbestos exposure while working on building sites.
Merlin Olsen, a Professional Football Hall of Famer, television football commentator, and actor, died on March 11, 2010 of pleural mesothelioma. He was diagnosed in 2009 and underwent three courses of chemotherapy. Olsen filed a lawsuit in December 2009 against NBC Studios, NBC Universal, and 20th Century Fox claiming they exposed him to asbestos, which caused his mesothelioma. Olsen also named Sherwin Williams and Lennox Industries in the suit, as he worked at a job involving drywall when he was young.
There are dozens of other notable people who have lost their lives due to malignant mesothelioma. Regardless of a person's occupation or fame, every life lost due to mesothelioma is tragic.