The five greatest comedy deaths in cinema history
Death should never be a laughing matter, but when it comes to some of the great movies, there have been several moments in which the passing of a character has been used as a conduit to deliver widespread laughs, showing that even the saddest moments of being a human being can have a ray of light within them.
In drama films, death scenes are often portrayed with an earnestness that contrasts sharply with the humour found in comedy. However, these moments frequently venture into melodrama, featuring soaring string arrangements, characters shaking their fists at the sky, and anguished cries of denial. This exaggerated portrayal makes them ripe for satire, as their over-the-top intensity can border on the absurd.
Comedy, on the other hand, takes such moments and runs in all its satirical and ridiculous quality. A death is suddenly no longer something to be lamented but rather celebrated. After all, the person in passing would never want their nearest and dearest to live in sorrow for too long, would they?
We’ve compiled a short list of the greatest comedy deaths in the history of cinema. So, from the passing of grizzly mentors to brave yet idiotic suicide missions, it’s time to put away the tissues and find something to cure side-splitting laughter instead.
The five funniest movie deaths:
Major Kong – Dr. Strangelove
Absurdity and humour of the darkest kind run amok in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, particularly concerning the death of Major Kong, played by Slim Pickens. The cowboy-loving B-52 bomber is the living epitome of American machoism/stupidity, and he meets his maker when he’s sent out on a mission to drop an atomic bomb.
However, when the release mechanism for the bomb fails, Kong takes matters into his own hands, jumping on it like a rodeo cowboy and giving one final “Yee-haw!” as he plummets to the ground. A classic moment in a classic movie, this was Kubrick at his most playful and satirical, highlighting the ridiculous nature of the nuclear arms race of the Cold War.
Kanaga – Live and Let Die
If there were ever a death that was truly over the top, then it came in the James Bond movie Live and Let Die. It was a Roger Moore-starring effort in which Bond came up against the villainous drug lord Dr Kanaga, aka Mr Big, played by Yaphet Kotto, who experiences one of the most ludicrous and memorable deaths in the history of the spy franchise.
Bond is captured and taken to Kanaga’s underground base towards the climax of the film, but eventually, he manages to overthrow the drug boss and force-feed him a compressed air bullet. Quickly, Kanaga’s body begins to inflate until he bursts like a balloon, an incredibly silly end to a serious criminal, although Kotto had been upset by the way the scene went down.
Chubbs – Happy Gilmore
Happy Gilmore, starring Adam Sandler, was a golden piece of 1990s comedy that had more hilarious moments than you could shake a golf club at. One of the funniest, though, was certainly the death of Chubbs, Carl Weathers’ one-handed golf instructor and mentor to Sandler’s titular hockey player-turned-golfer character.
Chubbs previously lost his hand to an alligator, so when Happy gifts him the stuffed head of the reptile, he’s immediately chuffed. However, there’s a consequence through which Chubbs is traumatised by the sight of the gator’s head and falls backwards to his end out of a high-rise apartment window. Chubbs’ demise is surely sad, but it’s equally funny, especially considering Happy’s seeming blasé attitude.
Patches – Dodgeball
While Happy Gilmore was a stalwart piece of 1990s comedy, when it came to the 2000s, it was hard to look beyond Dodgeball starring Vince Vaughn. Just like the Adam Sandler-starring movie, Dodgeball also featured a brilliant moment in which the mentor character was killed, but only at that time was it down to Rip Torn’s Patches to kick the bucket in the most humourous of manners.
Known for his harsh, strange training methods, Patches meets his final end just before his dodgeball team’s final match. After giving his last advice, Patches is suddenly crushed by a falling casino sign that ironically reads, “Luck of the Irish”. A random event that simply could not be funnier points fun at the sports movie trope while delivering laughs in their millions.
Marvin – Pulp Fiction
This one’s an absolute classic and certainly one of the most iconic movie moments of the 1990s. Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction masterfully blends dark humour with intense violence, and the moment Marvin dies in the back of Jules Winnfield’s car epitomises the film’s overall brilliance.
As John Travolta’s Vincent Vega and Samuel L Jackson’s Jules casually discuss the minutiae of their lives, Vincent swings around to ask the kidnapped Marvin what he makes of the human experience. Suddenly, though, Vincent accidentally pulls the trigger of the gun he is holding, leading to Marvin’s brains getting blown all over the car and the two hitmen sitting for a moment in stunned silence before nonchalantly understanding their next job: the clean-up.
