Bobby Darin (47)

Bobby Darin
1936-1973
Finger-popping vocalist
Cause of Death: Complications from open-heart surgery

Swinging Into Oblivion: A showbiz trooper, Darin literally worked himself to death. In 1973 he was making $75,000 a week in Vegas, but he pushed his chronically weak ticker until an infection felled him. His son Dodd now maintains his dad's estate with the help of Darin's longtime manager, Steve Blauner.
Unhip Years: A catalogue wavering between the Rat Pack and the counterculture hurt Darin's reputation. Hits like his finger-snappin' "Mack the Knife" killed on oldies radio, but his folk-rock efforts weren't freaky enough for Gen X. A classy 1995 box set showed range, but failed to focus interest.
Big Mack With Cheese: Advertisers love Darin--Kodak, Oral B and Carnival Cruise Lines have hawked products using his plastic croon. But there's a fine line between love and exploitation: The estate sued McDonald's in 1989 over a campaign imitating "Mack the Knife." The case could have set an intellectual-property precedent, but was settled.
Lost at Sea: Just when baby Darin imitators Michael Bublé and Jamie Cullum surfaced, superfan Kevin Spacey released the disastrous biopic Beyond the Sea, sinking all hope for a revival.