While most of us hope for a quick and peaceful death, this isn't always guaranteed. Sometimes, people manage to avoid death just by a whisker. Whether they oversleep and miss a flight or end up making last-minute travel changes, these lucky stars narrowly escaped meeting an early end.
From Mark Wahlberg narrowly avoiding being caught in the 9/11 terrorist attack to Elizabeth Taylor escaping a tragic plane crash due to illness, meet the A-listers who dodged death below…
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© Getty ImagesThese three stars had a lucky escape
9/11 is the worst terrorist atrocity in human history, claiming 2,996 lives on the day, and many more deaths arising from health issues caused by the collapse of the Twin Towers. However, three major celebrities were initially meant to be on planes hijacked or in the Twin Towers on the day of the attack.
Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane missed his flight on American Airlines Flight 11, which crashed into the North Tower after partying the night before and waking up with a hangover. Speaking to the Mirror years after the attacks, he said: "I was booked on that flight, and I was drinking the night before and hungover and I missed the plane by about 10 minutes. It was a very close call for me."
The Fighter star Mark Wahlberg was also supposed to be on the same flight, but the day before the attacks, he and a group of friends changed their minds and instead headed to the Toronto Film Festival. Mark later caused controversy in 2012 by suggesting that he could have stopped the hijacking had he been on the flight. He later apologised for the remarks.
Meanwhile, according to the late pop star Michael Jackson's brother, Jermaine, the Thriller singer was supposed to have a meeting in the Twin Towers on the day of the attack but overslept following a late night with his mother. In Jermaine's memoir, You Are Not Alone Michael: Through a Brother's Eyes, he wrote: "Thankfully, none of us had had a clue that Michael was due at a meeting that morning at the top of one of the Twin Towers.
"We only discovered this when Mother phoned his hotel to make sure he was okay. She, Rebbie [Jackson] and a few others had left him there around 3am. 'Mother, I'm okay, thanks to you,' he told her. 'You kept me up talking so late that I overslept and missed my appointment'."
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© Getty ImagesElizabeth's husband was killed in a plane crash
Eluzabeth Taylor
Hollywood starlet Elizabeth Taylor narrowly escaped death at the age of 26 after not boarding the flight that led to the death of her third husband, Mike Todd. She and Mike had just marked her birthday with her partner selecting a display of jewels to choose from, but the following day, she sadly fell ill. Mike took off in the plane to fly to New York City, but the plane crashed shortly after take-off, killing all four people on board.
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© Ron Galella Collection via GettyKirk's wife inadvertently saved his life
Kirk Douglas
Elizabeth wasn't the only star due to fly on the Lucky Liz with Mike on the day it crashed as Spartacus star Kirk Douglas was also expected to fly with his long-term friend. However, Kirk ended up missing the flight following a blazing row with his wife, Anne Buydens.
Anne, who was six months pregnant with their son Eric urged him not to fly, later recalling: "I don't know what came over me, but I had a strange feeling. 'Absolutely not, Kirk. I don't want you on that plane. You can fly commercial and meet him there'."
Anne wrote their row was so major that Kirk left for bed "without kissing me goodnight". As the couple drove in silence to Los Angeles the following day, Kirk turned on the radio to the news that the plane had crashed. He later recalled: "Finally, I said: 'Darling, you saved my life. I will always trust your intuition from now on'."
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© Disney General Entertainment ConLindsay narrowly avoided death
Lindsay Wagner
Three years after she rocketed to fame in The Bionic Woman, actress Lindsay Wagner was scheduled to be a passenger on American Airlines Flight 191. During take-off on 25 May 1979, an engine on the plane detached from the wing, and the plane crashed into a trailer park, killing all 271 on board and a further two people on the ground.
Lindsay has explained that while waiting for the plane, she started to feel incredibly ill, with her sickness getting worse the closer to boarding it got. She eventually decided to return home instead of flying in her condition, saving her life.
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© Michael Ochs ArchivesCary dodged death a couple of times
Cary Grant
Early Hollywood star Cary Grant managed to narrowly escape a plane crash thanks to a last-minute itinerary change. The North by Northwest actor was due to fly on the Yankee Clipper, a flying boat, but changed plans and skipped the 1943 flight, which crashed while attempting to land, leading to the deaths of 24 of the 39 people on board, including singer Tamara Drasin.
This wasn't Cary's only brush with death, as he and his third wife, Betsy Drake, were passengers on the SS Andrea Doria, which collided with MS Stockholm on 26 July 1956. Cary and Betsy were among the 1,660 passengers successfully rescued from the vessels, although Betsy's extensive jewellery collection went down with the ship.
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© Getty ImagesSteve was due to be with Sharon Tate the night she was murdered
Steve McQueen
The 'King of Cool' Steve McQueen nearly died alongside Sharon Tate when she and four others were brutally murdered by the Manson family in 1969. Steve, who was 39 at the time, was due to have dinner with Sharon, but instead ran into a young woman and spent the night with her.
Steve's first wife, Neile Adams, later recounted: "Going off with that girl saved his life. After that, he became more paranoid and wouldn't let me go anywhere without a gun."
