Miramax Films
There are three reactions that people have when they get famous. They can lean into it, go hard and burn out in a huge flame. They found find the middle ground and manage their fame without going insane, having a sex scandal or getting caught doing stupid shit. Then there’s these folks that couldn’t handle the spotlight, and hid away until they were to obscure too matter, or died.
Sounds like a lonely life.
EdvardMunch.org
Edvard Munch
The man who rose to fame by painting “The Scream,” suffered with alcoholism and mental illness throughout his life. After he had a mental breakdown in 1908, he decided he couldn’t handle the publicity and spent his remaining years in his estate, painting away.
Pinterest
Izzy Stradlin
Stradlin was the lead guitarist and co-founder of Guns N’ Roses, but split from the band in 1991 as things got tense with Axl Rose. He fronted his own band for a while (Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds), before dropping off the media rdar.
He now only pops up for the occasional solo project or random GN’R reunion. Other than that, he does no interviews has a minimal social media presence and no one knows his marital status, home address or even his general well-being.
Flickr/alan-light
Steve Ditko
Most non-comic fans won’t know the name, but Steve Ditko is right up there with Stan Lee for one of the most famous names in Marvel history. He helped co-create Spider-man and Doctor Strange.
In 1966, he left his Marvel creations and retreated to his NYC apartment, refusing to do press or interviews. He worked intermittently until he was found dead (after a few days) in his apartment in June 2018 at the age of 90.
History
Theodore Kaczynski aka “The Unabomber”
He was a professor of math at UC Berkeley, until he abandoned his career goals and moved into a small cabin outside of Lincoln, Montana. He struggled with his ‘off-the-grid’ living for over 5 years, with no outside contact, until he decided to start a revolution.
Youtube
Bettie Page
One of the most famous Pin-Up girls in history, she was a successful model in the 1950’s. Her image and persona impacted American fashion, sexuality and culture, and she was easily the sexiest woman in pop culture until her retirement in 1959.
After that, she became a born-again Christian, and moved to Florida. She then hid herself away in relative obscurity, and battled mental illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia.
The Day USA
Emily Bronte
Known for writing one of the books we all suffered through in high school, Wuthering Heights, she’s a huge mystery to us. She led a private and reserved life, left no letters or memoirs about her mental state. All we know about her, is through her sister Charlotte Bronte, who admitted her sister lived in a fantasy world, and seldom interacted with anyone outside of her family, unless she was forced to.
Fox
Thomas Pynchon
Pynchon was an award winning novelist, known for writing “Inherent Vice,” yet he didn’t love the spotlight. As famous as he was for his written word, he was just as famous for his ability to avoid the spotlight and stay out of the public eye. In fact, no one knows what he looks like or anything about his private life, and he’s been writing for over 40 years.
Wikia
Bill Watterson
Watterson is the man behind one of the best newspaper comics of all time – “Calvin and Hobbs.” He had some trouble with comic book syndication and merchandising throughout his career and was taken advantage of. After his strip was abruptly cancelled in 1995, he dropped from the public eye, seldom giving interviews or public appearances.
Wikipedia
Bobby Fischer
Fischer was perhaps one of the greatest chess players of all time, becoming a grandmaster at 15, and the only American-born chess world champion. But, along the way, he shunned the public interest around him and even refused to defend his title because the circumstances of the match didn’t meet his demands.
He spent much of his life in Iceland away from the public eye and as a persona non grata in the US, due to his anti-Semitic and anti-American rhetoric.
Source
Dave Chappelle
In the middle of filming the third season of “The Chappelle Show” Dave just up and left. It was 2005 and he just uprooted his life and moved in with a friend in South Africa. While the media speculated that he was mentally unstable or on drugs, it was revealed that he just just dissatisfied with media and popular culture.
He later returned to comedy in 2013, but never reached his earlier heights, nor did he want to.
Vulture
Harper Lee
Despite her first novel getting read by every single person who attended high school, ever, Harper Lee always remained reclusive. Other than her few essays and and one public appearance in 2007, Harper Lee stayed hidden until her death in 2016.
Wikipedia
Brian Wilson
As one of the founding members of The Beach Boys, he’s gotten a lot of acclaim for his songwriting and his contributions to their sound. He left the band in 1964 after a mental breakdown, and he fell further and further into a reclusive lifestyle.
His spiral continued until the 1990’s, when he ended his self-destructive lifestyle and sought help.
Wikipedia
Nikola Tesla
It’s a shame that not everyone knows how awesome Tesla was. He’s the inventor most often credited with the discovery of the alternating current, as well as other cool inventions. He was an underrated genius, only limited by his financial backing. He also didn’t believe in patenting his inventions, as his invention and idea should be accessible to everyone.
Towards the end of his life, he was plagued with mental illness and poverty, spending the rest of his life going from hotel room to hotel room, working on ideas that would never see the light of day.
Flickr/roeshad
Syd Barrett
Despite being a founding member of Pink Floyd, Barrett was only musically active for less than a decade in the 60’s-70’s, before he left the spotlight and lived off of his royalties.
The reason for his early retirement and isolation is unknown, as he was a deeply private man, but the most common idea is that he was suffering from Asperger Syndrome and schizophrenia, as well as the fallout over an overuse of LSD.
Senses of Cinema
Stanley Kubrick
The director responsible for 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining & A Clockwork Orange, was a perfectionist who wanted his films to speak for themselves. Hence, he seldom gave interviews or allowed photographs of himself. He also didn’t like going out in public, if he didn’t need to.
He also didn’t like to travel, so he’d build extensive sets, just so he didn’t have to go shoot on location.
Wikipedia
J.D.Salinger
Known for writing “The Catcher in the Rye,” he became more and more reclusive and private after that book was published. He stayed mysterious and out of the spotlight for the next 50 years, save for a 1980 interview, until his death in 2010.
Wikipedia
Howard Hughes
At the height of his popularity, Hughes was a famous film producer and director, aviator and business mogul. But then he got paranoid. Worried that he’d lose his wealth, power and fame, he withdrew into his penthouse and lived the rest of his life in isolation.
It also didn’t help that he was suffering from OCD, a chronic pain condition from a near-fatal crash and a degeneration of his hearing. At the time of his death, he weighed 90lbs and was barely recognizable under al the matted hair, beard and long fingernails.
Pitchfork
Michael Jackson
Despite being the “King of Pop” and ruling the airwaves, Jackson couldn’t get out from under all the rumours and accusations of child molestation, unfit parenting, and mental illness.
Sometime after 2005, he stepped away from the limelight, and lived secluded at the Neverland Ranch, where he died in 2009.
Via List 25
