Hasty History #12: The Twilight Zone Accident

Hashtag History

In this week's BONUS Hasty History episode, we will be discussing the tragic deaths of adult actor Vic Morrow and two children Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen (as well as the injuries of six others). This tragedy occurred as a result of an accident that happened in 1982 on the set of Twilight Zone: The Movie. You see, on July 23rd of that year, director John Landis told the operator of a helicopter that was being used on set to hover dangerously low over the ground in order to capture a particular scene. This, amongst other violations, caused the helicopter to get caught in the pyrotechnic explosions, leading to the horrific deaths of Morrow, Le, and Chen. What’s possibly worse is that, of those on set that night watching the horrendous tragedy occur, were the parents of both of the children.

This awful incident would lead to Landis becoming the first ever film director to be charged with a death on the set of a feature film. For nearly a decade after the incident, a slew of civil and criminal actions against those involved would take place…which would eventually lead to a very unsatisfying and disappointing end. Hasty History BONUS episodes are no-nonsense, crash course, cram session History lessons. No cocktail segment, no ads, no bloopers. Just a quick download of some heavy History content. Submit your topic suggestion for future Hasty History episodes at [e-mail].