Vic Morrow was 53 years old and had been acting for decades when he accepted his final role. In the early hours of July 23, 1982, on a set near Saugus, California, a pyrotechnic explosion struck the tail rotor of a helicopter flying over the scene. The aircraft lost control and crashed onto him and two children: Myca Dinh Le, 7, and Renee Shinn Chen, 6.
All three died instantly, decapitated or crushed by the blades. It later emerged that the children were working illegally, at night and near explosives, hidden from labor inspectors while filming that segment of “Twilight Zone: The Movie”. Six cameras captured the exact moment, including one inside the helicopter itself.
Director John Landis and four other people in charge were tried for involuntary manslaughter. The trial lasted ten months. All were acquitted in 1987. Morrow’s family received $850,000 in a civil settlement, but the criminal justice system never found anyone guilty for three deaths that occurred in front of the cameras.
