It's easy to think that when you make it big, you're set for life. But the back alleys of Hollywood have plenty of stories about stars who pissed away everything and were put to rest penniless. Here are ten tales of celebs who died dirt broke.
Sammy Davis Jr.
![celebs who died broke, sammy davis jr.]()
One of the most magnetic men to ever grace the stage, Sammy was the Rat Pack's secret weapon. After coming to stardom as a child actor, Davis saw his career take off on stage with the Will Mastin Trio. It wasn't long before he became one of the hottest acts in Vegas. His career declined in the '70s, but Sammy's profligate spending didn't slow down a notch. When he passed away from throat cancer in 1990, he owed $15 million to various creditors, including $7 million to the IRS. His estate had to sell off everything, including the rights to Sammy's name and image, to pay them off. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Corey Haim
![celebs who died broke, corey haim]()
Canadian actor Corey Haim started performing at age 10 and stardom quickly followed, bringing with it a host of problems. By 15, he had a serious drug habit and was falling out of favor, and in the '90s his career wound up in the direct-to-video gutter. Haim tried to make comebacks multiple times, most notably as half of a reality TV show with Corey Feldman, but by the end of his life he was sharing a month-to-month rental in the outskirts of Burbank with his mother. In 2010, he was found dead from an accidental overdose without a penny to his name. (Photo credit: Michael Buckner/Getty Images)
Veronica Lake
![celebs who died broke, veronica lake]()
One of the most striking stars of the noir era, Veronica Lake's trademark over-the-eye hairstyle and piercing blue eyes made her a 1940s sex symbol. Unfortunately for Lake, her star burned brightly and then faded fast, and by 1951 her and her husband had filed for bankruptcy. In the '60s, she moved to New York City and worked as a bartender before penning her memoirs and making a "comeback" in the shlocky Nazi horror flick "Flesh Feast." Lake died in a Vermont hospital in 1973 of complications from her life of heavy drinking. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Bobby Driscoll
![celebs who died broke, bobby driscoll]()
Here's another one from the child actor ranks. Bobby Driscoll was one of Disney's biggest stars in the 1940s, featuring in "Song of the South" and "Treasure Island," as well as voicing Peter Pan in the 1953 animated movie. But when he entered his teens, horrible acne led Disney to cut him loose from his contract and he spent the next few years slumming it on TV. He also developed a drug habit, which would plague him for the rest of his life. In 1965, he moved to New York and fell in with Andy Warhol's crowd, but ran out of money and became homeless. A group of kids found his corpse in a deserted Lower East Side tenement in 1968. (Photo credit: RKO Radio Pictures/Getty Images)
Bela Lugosi
![celebs who died broke, bela lugosi]()
One of the most iconic horror actors of all time, Lugosi's performance as Count Dracula in the 1931 film of the same name established the vampire in the collective unconscious. After coming to America on a merchant ship, Lugosi began acting on the stage. When he made the transition to the screen, his heavy accent limited his roles, and his star declined into the '40s as he battled morphine addiction. When he died, he was living virtually penniless, kept alive by the financial largesse of hack movie director Ed Wood, who cast him in legendary flop "Plan 9 From Outer Space." (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
George Best
![celebs who died broke, george best]()
When you think about the greats of UK soccer, George Best should be at the top of the list. The Irish winger was famous for his ball control and ability to flummox defenders, but Best was the worst at responsible living. He famously said, "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars - the rest I just squandered." After retiring at the age of 37, Best spent most of his time in pubs drinking heavily. When he had a liver transplant in 2002, the British National Heath Service paid it for. He passed away in 2005 from multiple organ failure without a penny of his soccer earnings. (Photo credit: Douglas Miller/Keystone/Getty Images)
Anita Ekberg
![celebs who died broke, anita ekberg]()
After winning the title of Miss Sweden in 1951, the pulchritudinous Anita Ekberg carved out a Hollywood career playing sexpots and posing for pin-up magazines throughout the decade. As her looks faded with age, she sank into retirement, only appearing in a few films after the '70s. In 2011, her villa was burglarized and badly burned in a fire, leading to a flurry of tabloid headlines that reported the iconic actress was living in poverty. Her dog knocked her off her feet and she broke a hip, putting her in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. She died in January 2015 in a hospital in Rome, a mere shadow of her former self without any money to her name. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Gary Coleman
![celebs who died broke, gary coleman]()
The pint-sized star pulled in a reported $100,000 per episode of "Diff'rent Strokes," but his unscrupulous parents made off with that cash, and once the show was over Coleman had no regular paycheck. He successfully sued his parents for $1.3 million and won in 1993, but by 1999 he was forced to file for bankruptcy. In his later life, Gary worked as a mall security guard and struggled with medical issues relayed to his size. When he passed away in 2010 after falling down a flight of stairs, his estate was virtually nonexistent with the exception of his model railroad trains. (Photo credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Judy Garland
![celebs who died broke, judy garland]()
Best known as Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz," Judy Garland had an astonishingly successful career on stage and screen for over 40 years. Frank Sinatra called her "the greatest entertainer that ever lived," so you know she was legit. Unfortunately for Garland, her insecurity led her to a lifelong struggle with drugs and booze, and four divorces didn't help keep money in her pocket either. When she passed away at the age of 47, she owed over $4 million to a variety of creditors, and her estate couldn't even pay for a funeral plot. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Joe Louis
![celebs who died broke, joe louis]()
Considered by many to be the greatest boxer to ever live, the "Brown Bomber" had a championship reign that lasted a staggering 140 consecutive months, and he was one of the first African-Americans to truly become a national hero. Unfortunately for Louis, money management was not his strong suit, and his managers and accountants took advantage of that. After he retired, the IRS determined that he owed them half a million dollars. Even though he had many famous friends who helped keep him afloat, Louis' estate wasn't worth a plugged nickel when he passed on in 1981. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Sammy Davis Jr.
One of the most magnetic men to ever grace the stage, Sammy was the Rat Pack's secret weapon. After coming to stardom as a child actor, Davis saw his career take off on stage with the Will Mastin Trio. It wasn't long before he became one of the hottest acts in Vegas. His career declined in the '70s, but Sammy's profligate spending didn't slow down a notch. When he passed away from throat cancer in 1990, he owed $15 million to various creditors, including $7 million to the IRS. His estate had to sell off everything, including the rights to Sammy's name and image, to pay them off. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Corey Haim
Canadian actor Corey Haim started performing at age 10 and stardom quickly followed, bringing with it a host of problems. By 15, he had a serious drug habit and was falling out of favor, and in the '90s his career wound up in the direct-to-video gutter. Haim tried to make comebacks multiple times, most notably as half of a reality TV show with Corey Feldman, but by the end of his life he was sharing a month-to-month rental in the outskirts of Burbank with his mother. In 2010, he was found dead from an accidental overdose without a penny to his name. (Photo credit: Michael Buckner/Getty Images)
Veronica Lake
One of the most striking stars of the noir era, Veronica Lake's trademark over-the-eye hairstyle and piercing blue eyes made her a 1940s sex symbol. Unfortunately for Lake, her star burned brightly and then faded fast, and by 1951 her and her husband had filed for bankruptcy. In the '60s, she moved to New York City and worked as a bartender before penning her memoirs and making a "comeback" in the shlocky Nazi horror flick "Flesh Feast." Lake died in a Vermont hospital in 1973 of complications from her life of heavy drinking. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Bobby Driscoll
Here's another one from the child actor ranks. Bobby Driscoll was one of Disney's biggest stars in the 1940s, featuring in "Song of the South" and "Treasure Island," as well as voicing Peter Pan in the 1953 animated movie. But when he entered his teens, horrible acne led Disney to cut him loose from his contract and he spent the next few years slumming it on TV. He also developed a drug habit, which would plague him for the rest of his life. In 1965, he moved to New York and fell in with Andy Warhol's crowd, but ran out of money and became homeless. A group of kids found his corpse in a deserted Lower East Side tenement in 1968. (Photo credit: RKO Radio Pictures/Getty Images)
Bela Lugosi
One of the most iconic horror actors of all time, Lugosi's performance as Count Dracula in the 1931 film of the same name established the vampire in the collective unconscious. After coming to America on a merchant ship, Lugosi began acting on the stage. When he made the transition to the screen, his heavy accent limited his roles, and his star declined into the '40s as he battled morphine addiction. When he died, he was living virtually penniless, kept alive by the financial largesse of hack movie director Ed Wood, who cast him in legendary flop "Plan 9 From Outer Space." (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
George Best
When you think about the greats of UK soccer, George Best should be at the top of the list. The Irish winger was famous for his ball control and ability to flummox defenders, but Best was the worst at responsible living. He famously said, "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars - the rest I just squandered." After retiring at the age of 37, Best spent most of his time in pubs drinking heavily. When he had a liver transplant in 2002, the British National Heath Service paid it for. He passed away in 2005 from multiple organ failure without a penny of his soccer earnings. (Photo credit: Douglas Miller/Keystone/Getty Images)
Anita Ekberg
After winning the title of Miss Sweden in 1951, the pulchritudinous Anita Ekberg carved out a Hollywood career playing sexpots and posing for pin-up magazines throughout the decade. As her looks faded with age, she sank into retirement, only appearing in a few films after the '70s. In 2011, her villa was burglarized and badly burned in a fire, leading to a flurry of tabloid headlines that reported the iconic actress was living in poverty. Her dog knocked her off her feet and she broke a hip, putting her in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. She died in January 2015 in a hospital in Rome, a mere shadow of her former self without any money to her name. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Gary Coleman
The pint-sized star pulled in a reported $100,000 per episode of "Diff'rent Strokes," but his unscrupulous parents made off with that cash, and once the show was over Coleman had no regular paycheck. He successfully sued his parents for $1.3 million and won in 1993, but by 1999 he was forced to file for bankruptcy. In his later life, Gary worked as a mall security guard and struggled with medical issues relayed to his size. When he passed away in 2010 after falling down a flight of stairs, his estate was virtually nonexistent with the exception of his model railroad trains. (Photo credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Judy Garland
Best known as Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz," Judy Garland had an astonishingly successful career on stage and screen for over 40 years. Frank Sinatra called her "the greatest entertainer that ever lived," so you know she was legit. Unfortunately for Garland, her insecurity led her to a lifelong struggle with drugs and booze, and four divorces didn't help keep money in her pocket either. When she passed away at the age of 47, she owed over $4 million to a variety of creditors, and her estate couldn't even pay for a funeral plot. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Joe Louis
Considered by many to be the greatest boxer to ever live, the "Brown Bomber" had a championship reign that lasted a staggering 140 consecutive months, and he was one of the first African-Americans to truly become a national hero. Unfortunately for Louis, money management was not his strong suit, and his managers and accountants took advantage of that. After he retired, the IRS determined that he owed them half a million dollars. Even though he had many famous friends who helped keep him afloat, Louis' estate wasn't worth a plugged nickel when he passed on in 1981. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)