The death of a neighborhood friend, an attempted robbery that almost went horribly wrong, good vs. evil, and the road not taken: this is the Al Pacino origin story. It all culminates in the role of a lifetime. Not Michael Corleone. Not a role on stage or screen. The most important role of Al Pacino’s young life played out in front of a couple of detectives and a district attorney.

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The only thing more shocking than Brittany Murphy’s untimely death at the age of 32 was what happened next: more unexpected deaths, rumors of poisoning, and even murder.

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Alfred Hitchcock grew up on murder. He was the OG crime junkie; obsessed with true stories of stranglers, bodysnatchers, necrophiliacs, and serial killers. He was also afraid – not so much with these ghoulish figures, but of authority, the dark, crowds, and of being alone. He channeled his obsessions and his fears into some of the greatest movies of all time. And he abused his power as a controlling auteur by having his way with an actress who he assumed to be powerless. That actress, Tippi Hedren, demonstrated remarkable strength and survived both personally and professionally to tell her story.

This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including graphic depictions of violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

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Harry Houdini was the world's greatest escape artist and at the height of his powers was one of the world's most famous people. His unearthly ability to escape any prison and to break free of any bondage was matched only by his aggressive self-promotion. Anyone who tried to get in his way, rewrite his story, steal his thunder or question his abilities would find themselves in his crosshairs. When the burgeoning Spiritualist movement tried to make a fool of Houdini, he began a crusade that would last the rest of his life. And when his life was over, the question Houdini left the world was: could he make the greatest escape in history?

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River Phoenix was a once-in-a-generation talent. In the 1980s, a decade known for artifice and excess, he brought raw acting chops to performances in Stand by Me, Running on Empty, and My Own Private Idaho. His career was only just getting started when he died tragically at the age of 23 outside a notorious nightclub in Hollywood. The story of his short life is as complicated and dramatic as one of his signature roles, and includes brushes with religious cults, skinheads, street hustlers, and L.A.’s drug underworld.

This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including child sexual abuse and sex trafficking.

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In classic ‘80s films like Ghostbusters and Aliens, Sigourney Weaver battled beasts and demons. But to one particular inmate on death row in Georgia, Sigourney Weaver battled beasts and demons in real life as well. To Alexander Williams, a convicted murderer, she was a goddess, a divine being sent to this earth to do battle with evil. He worshiped her from the floor of his prison cell. And as his day of reckoning drew closer, he waited for glimmers of hope that his goddess would send in hopes that his fate would be altered.

This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including depictions of suicide, sexual assault, and child abuse.

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Haunted by the legacy of his superstar father. Haunted by an old family curse. Brandon Lee tried to outrun his past, but it came after him all the same. It was said that his father, Bruce Lee, was taken by that family curse at just 32 years old. And that it then followed Brandon, when he was 28, to the set of The Crow, a cross between a superhero blockbuster and a brooding art film that was all goth. The shoot was plagued by injury, electrocution, storms, fires, and car crashes – and culminated in tragedy when a prop gun fired a real bullet.

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One of Hollywood’s most eclectic and unpredictable actors, Woody Harrelson has played a hayseed barback, a streetball hustler, a natural born killer, a true detective, and so many more. But his most profound and difficult role might be his real-life role: the son of an infamous contract killer. Woody’s father, Charles Harrelson, was sent to prison for the assassination of a federal judge, only after he had been the subject of one of the largest federal manhunts in U.S. history – a manhunt that ended with a six-hour standoff with authorities during which he confessed to the assassination of JFK.

This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including domestic violence.

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Everything about Chris Farley was larger than life. His comedy, his laughs, the risks he took in front of a live studio audience – they were all bigger than anyone else's. So were his appetites. Not just for performance, but for life. He plowed through a plate glass window, 15 stories above downtown Chicago. He was kicked out of college for burning down a girl's house. He disappeared with two Playboy models in Los Angeles and woke up the next morning in Hawaii. He modeled his career on an iconic dead comedian – even following the comic's path, straight to an early grave.

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Before Bill Murray was busting ghosts and living in a loop of deja vu, he was a drug-dealing premed student with a knack for comedy. When he was caught with five bricks of pot at the airport, his career in medicine came crashing down, forcing him to make a living with his smart mouth. His obsession to rise above “medium talent” brought him to volatile blows with musicians, fellow actors, and even himself. Yet in his cockiest moments and most despairing lows, the universe always found a way to show Bill Murray he still had a lot to learn.

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