The Tragic Story of an Actress Who Died Onstage While Playing the Role of a Dying Woman

Simon Whistler of “Today I Found Out” elegantly shared the story of Edith Webster, an American actress who played the role of a dying grandmother in a 1986 performance of The Drunkard, a role she had been playing for eight years. During her character’s final scene, Webster fell to the floor due to a fatal heart attack. Due to the timing, however, it took some time before anyone became aware of Webster’s tragic death.

The audience, at first, thought that the calls for help from her co-stars were part of the script. But, after a few minutes, they began to understand that the actress had actually collapsed. Doctors later determined that she had suffered a fatal heart attack.