15 Famous People Who Allegedly Died of Food Poisoning

Wilfrid Sanderson was a noted English church organist and an examiner at London’s Trinity College of Music. He died in 1935, at age 56, after contracting typhoid from contaminated oysters.

Robert Schable began his career as a stage actor and transitioned to silent films in 1919. He became well-known for his comedic roles and portrayal of characters with European flair. He died of food poisoning in 1947, at age 73.

One of Japan’s most revered Kabuki actors, Bandō Mitsugorō VIII was named a “National Living Treasure” by the Japanese government in 1973. Two years later, he ordered fugu kimo, or puffer fish liver – an organ that’s known for being toxic but wasn’t banned until 1894 – at a Kyoto restaurant, claiming that he could survive the poison’s paralytic effects. He couldn’t.

C. Martin Croker was a voice actor best known for providing voices on Cartoon Network’s “Space Ghost Coast to Coast,” as well as an animator best known for his work on “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.” Croker suddenly fell ill, vomiting and with a fever, on December 17, 2016, and attributed it to food poisoning from sushi he’d eaten earlier that day. He died several hours later at age 54, and no official cause of death has been given.

Alexander Pisarev was a Russian MMA star who was sickened, along with his wife, after eating watermelon that had been contaminated. Slicing an unwashed melon can drive bacteria that’s present on the skin onto the edible portion. His wife was hospitalized and recovered, but Pisarev sadly passed away at age 33 on Oct. 30 of this year.