Swedish documentary filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul won the Oscar for Best Documentary for his work “Searching for Sugar Man” in 2013. The film is about a singer from Detroit who, unbeknownst to him, became extremely successful in South Africa as an anti-apartheid symbol. Everything seemed well and good at the ceremony, with the filmmaker delivering a brief but excited acceptance speech before walking offstage.

About a year later, he shocked friends and family by jumping in front of a moving train, killing himself. He was 36 years old and on track for a lucrative Hollywood career. At the time of his death, The Guardian reported that he was basically a celebrity in Sweden, had multiple high-paying offers for directing films in Hollywood, and had even begun working on a new project. Friends and family said he had no known history of mental illness and mourned the loss of the “lovely human being” that was Bendjelloul.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

Audrey Hepburn had an incredible career in entertainment. Though she appeared at least 34 TV specials and feature films, the 16 films she starred in during the 1950s and ’60s make up the most iconic part of her career. It was through these films, such as “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “My Fair Lady,” and “Roman Holiday,” that Hepburn’s stunning good looks, beautiful voice, and impeccable style came to be so well-known. Throughout her life, she was nominated for 41 major awards, of which she received 25, per IMDb. 

But her achievements don’t stop at the silver screen. Hepburn was voted onto the International Best Dressed List in 1961, solidifying her place as an eternal fashion icon. Much of her fashion came out of a partnership with Hubert de Givenchy, who updated classic silhouettes to make impeccably well-fit garments. Givenchy, who became a lifelong friend of Hepburn’s, said, “She gave a life to the clothes.” Outside of her pop cultural importance, Hepburn also became a UNICEF ambassador in 1989. She toured cites around the world, testified before Congress on behalf of global children in crisis, and drove fundraising efforts for the organization.

Sadly, the Hollywood icon died of colon cancer in 1993, according to History. Soon after, she received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, an honorary Academy Award. Hepburn died eight days after the Academy voted to confer this award, two months before the 65th ceremony. Gregory Peck introduced the award, saying, “If someone ever lived up to the ideals of this award, the dedication and conviction, it was Audrey Hepburn.”

Sidney Howard was a writer from California who went on to have a successful career in entertainment. He began his career as a playwright in New York, writing both smash hits and flops, and is credited by Britannica for bringing “psychological as well as theatrical realism to the American stage.” Despite being a known Communist during a politically conservative era, Howard became a Hollywood mainstay and enjoyed a job at MGM Studios.

To escape his busy life, Howard bought a farm in Tyringham, Massachusetts. He had a passion for nature and loved hunting and fishing as much as tending to gardens and orchards. Sadly, he was accidentally crushed to death by a two-and-a-half ton tractor at his farm in 1939.

Howard won a posthumous Oscar in 1940 for his screenplay, “Gone with the Wind,” six months later. Though he had won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama during his lifetime and had been nominated for two Oscars, he never lived to see an Academy Award win.

Thomas C. Goodwin was a filmmaker and activist based in Washington, D.C. Together with his career partner Gerardine Wurzburg (sometimes spelled “Geraldine”), he co-founded a production company called State of the Art Inc. He and Wurzburg produced over 50 films during their time together, mostly focusing on issues of health and education. Goodwin’s life path before film had not been straightforward: He worked on a charter yacht and attended law school before finding his true passion in making documentaries. According to The Washington Post, a few of his films even involved such greats as Jimi Hendrix and Andy Warhol.

His final film, “Educating Peter,” follows a third grader with Downs syndrome as he starts school for the first time. Goodwin died of prostate cancer in December 1992 at 51 years old, just three months before the next Academy Awards ceremony. He posthumously received the Oscar for Best Documentary (Short Subject) along with his co-producer, Wurzburg. Wurzburg accepted the Oscar by herself, dedicating it to Goodwin and his wife.

Howard Ashman was responsible for many well-known original songs in movies and musicals, such as those featured in “Aladdin,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” and “The Little Mermaid.” Ashman began his career as a playwright and eventually started collaborating on musicals with other creators. His work on “Little Shop of Horrors” brought him attention and recognition — including his first Academy Award nomination — and he soon signed to Disney as a lyricist. Ashman was a strong presence in the “Disney Renaissance,” casting actors and advocating for certain animation styles in addition to penning original songs.

Ashman found out he was HIV-positive halfway through the making of “The Little Mermaid,” a film for which he wrote every song along with composer Alan Menken. By the time “Beauty and the Beast” was in production, Ashman had become so weak that animators had to work from his home in upstate New York. According to The New York Times, in March 1991, he died at 40 years old due to AIDS-related complications, almost exactly a year before the 1992 Academy Awards. In that year’s awards, he was nominated for three original songs and received one win.

Ashman’s legacy lives on through his many original songs, which are beloved by children and adults alike. Additionally, a documentary honoring Ashman, titled “Howard,” began streaming on Disney+ in 2020.