The world has and will always forever be enamoured by the success of young people who of course are expected to provide role models for their predecessors. Sadly, not all young successful figures have in fact provided this leadership but are instead falling prey to the 27 Club at alarming rates.
In the past years, a number of young successful individuals have met their demise at the tender age of 27. The latest member of the 27 Club is Los Angeles Bruins basketball player, Tyler Honeycutt. Honeycutt was well on his way to greater heights recently having played for the Russian Euro League team of BC Khimki.
Call me suspicious but the ball player’s death is a weird one. A call was made to law enforcement this past weekend about a man with a gun. Upon arrival, the suspect fired at the police who retaliated and after entering the premises discovered the body of Honeycutt unresponsive.
The 27 Club has also welcomed actor, Anton Yelchin in its ranks last year. Yelchin’s death has been labelled a freak accident indeed, the actor was found pinned to the security fence of his property by his own car. Yelchin is popularly known for his role of, Pavel Chekvo is the famous J.J Abram’s Star Strek series.
One of the most famous members of the 27 Club is jazz songstress Amy Winehouse creator of the bestselling British album of the 21st century. Winehouse also died under bizarre circumstances in her apartment. It was later confirmed alcohol poisoning was the cause.
South Korean K-pop star, Kim Jong-Hyun also made the list last year, his death was ruled a suicide. Coming closer to home, South African actress, Precious Simelane passed on after a short illness at the age of 27, she is well known for her roles in Backstage and the original Generations. Our very own Simba Mhere, who found success on the lifestyle show of Top Billing after winning the presenter search, died at the tender age of 26 deserves a mention too. Mhere died in a car accident.
For those familiar with the Final Destination movie franchise, it is almost as if some shadowy grim reaper is coming for these individuals in some form of order only it knows; carefully staging weird deaths that that leave us none the wiser. In reality, the only thing these people have in common is the age of 27 and public success in their fields of profession.
In a piece by Rolling Stone Magazine titled, The 27 Club: A Brief History which gives a closer look at the sad trend. It confirms the creepy coincidence that 27 Club membership stretches as far as the greats of Jimmy Hendricks, Brian Jones and Jim Morrison. The death of American Rock band Nirvana-front-man Kurt Cobain in 1994 raised the issue of the 27 Club to a point of notoriety.
Although it might be tempting to assume the trend has been reserved for musicians who may have lived rock star lifestyles and had it coming one way or the other; this has been going on for a while and has affected athletes and actors alike!
One might ask why any of this is any of our concern, why should we care how these successful individuals meet their maker? Well, mysteries such as the 27 Club are just as baffling as the Bermuda triangle or the legend f the Nyaminyami in Kariba, Zimbabwe. Fact or fiction; whether it’s by conviction or what seems like a grim pattern.
