Stars' untimely deaths can weigh heavy on final acts

July 25, 2008 The spectacular boxoffice success of "The Dark Knight" certainly has helped dilute, if not knock off altogether, the long-circulated legend that the death of a movie star means inevitable disaster for an unreleased film featuring that newly deceased actor. When Will Rogers, then one of the movies' top draws, was killed in an August 1935 airplane crash in Alaska, his home studio Fox had one new Rogers film in release ("Doubting Thomas") and two newer ones on the shelf ready to be sent to theaters. Both received positive reviews but basically wilted at the boxoffice, the general feeling being that 1935 moviegoers, stunned by the beloved actor's demise, were too saddened to want to sit through his movies.

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