Before all of the madness of the Internet, getting famous was very much a slow burn. Many people did what they did not for fame, but because it was their calling. Some of them were broke alcoholics with no better ideas, and some of these people would probably be glad they weren't around to watch their work take on strange forms. Wes Craven got out just before the terrible TV adaptation of "Scream," and now let's check out other famous people who died before they were famous.
James Dean
![People Who Died Before Fame, James Dean]()
If you were looking for lots of history on the career of the late, great actor, you are likely come up empty-handed, as Dean's career lasted about a year. During that time, he made three movies, two of which came out after his death. One of them was "Rebel Without a Cause," a film that is widely considered a motion picture classic and so iconic that the Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry, who deemed it "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant."
Bruce Lee
![People Who Died Before Fame, Bruce Lee]()
When the martial artist passed in 1973, he was not widely known in America at all. Though he had a stint acting on "The Green Hornet" TV series, the show was cancelled early. Lee died the month before the release of his iconic film "Enter the Dragon," one of his most famous works to date, which made more than $200 million, making it a high-grossing film for its time.
Vincent van Gogh
![People Who Died Before Fame, Vincent van Gogh]()
When the late painter committed suicide, not many people even knew him, since he was never widely known until after his death in 1890, mostly due to his eccentric personality and his inability to maintain normal social relationships. He produced most of his work just before his death. His work picked up momentum in the late 1890s and his peak was in the early 1910s, but nowadays his 2,000-plus pieces of art are worth a large fortune, some in fact worth more than $100 million each today.
Franz Kafka
![People Who Died Before Fame, Franz Kafka]()
"The Metamorphosis," along with many of Kafka's other well-known works, almost never saw the light of day. Due to his father's scrutiny of his lifestyle and his overwhelming insecurity, the writer commonly burned most of his work. His dying wish was that his friend would burn the remnants of his work after he passed, only his friend ignored said wish and now we have lots of great literature because of it.
Emily Dickinson
![People Who Died Before Fame, Emily Dickinson]()
The go-to poet for all of life's poignant, sappy occasions was actually hardly published before her death, only 10 poems seeing the light of day before the recluse passed in 1866. Today, thanks to her sister discovering her hidden manuscripts, we now have nearly 2,000 original works of Dickinson, after a couple of family squabbles were ironed out. And it only took 89 years to get there.
Henry David Thoreau
![People Who Died Before Fame, Henry David Thoreau]()
Although "Walden" was published during his lifetime, it only gave him so much recognition as a writer, so little that he continued to work in a pencil factory and wrote for newspapers during his career. Decades later, a man named Henry Stephens Salt wrote about Thoreau in a biography, earning him the recognition he now has as one of the greatest poets in history.
Stieg Larsson
![People Who Died Before Fame, Stieg Larsson]()
The late writer passed in 2004. Over the course of the next 10 years, his series of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoos" would be published and be the first to sell a million copies on Amazon. The three-book series went on to be adapted into a trilogy of Swedish films, its first film then remade into an American hit, starring one of our favorite James Bond actors, Daniel Craig. Larsson's work is now set to carry on without him, starting with the release of "The Girl in the Spider's Web."
Edgar Allan Poe
![People Who Died Before Fame, Edgar Allan Poe]()
A pioneer of new writing styles, including detective fiction shorts and the American Romantic Movement, Poe wrote anonymously and made very little money for the things he did publish. His original work on "The Raven," a hugely popular poem today, earned him $9. His death, whether attributed to heart disease, rabies, alcoholism, or possibly suicide, was the start of his fame, as people grew curious about the writing of a man who lived such a dark life that ended in such a uniquely disturbing fashion.
Herman Melville
![People Who Died Before Fame, herman melville]()
A little ahead of his time, Melville wrote "Moby Dick" to a group of bad reviews, earning very little and eventually being forgotten. Today, we celebrate Melville still in schools, as "Moby Dick" has become a wealth of knowledge in U.S. school's required reading. Too bad his obituary spelled his name wrong, calling him Henry instead of Herman. Does it seem the "Most Interesting Man in the World" is based on this burly beauty?
Uncle Sam
![People Who Died Before Fame, Uncle Sam]()
Here's a fun fact: The original Uncle Sam, Samuel Wilson, was a popular meat-packing butcher from New York who supplied troops with food in the War of 1812. After his death in 1854, he was popularized into a patriotic caricature for political cartoons.
Related: 10 Famous People Who Cheated Death
James Dean
If you were looking for lots of history on the career of the late, great actor, you are likely come up empty-handed, as Dean's career lasted about a year. During that time, he made three movies, two of which came out after his death. One of them was "Rebel Without a Cause," a film that is widely considered a motion picture classic and so iconic that the Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry, who deemed it "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant."
Bruce Lee
When the martial artist passed in 1973, he was not widely known in America at all. Though he had a stint acting on "The Green Hornet" TV series, the show was cancelled early. Lee died the month before the release of his iconic film "Enter the Dragon," one of his most famous works to date, which made more than $200 million, making it a high-grossing film for its time.
Vincent van Gogh
When the late painter committed suicide, not many people even knew him, since he was never widely known until after his death in 1890, mostly due to his eccentric personality and his inability to maintain normal social relationships. He produced most of his work just before his death. His work picked up momentum in the late 1890s and his peak was in the early 1910s, but nowadays his 2,000-plus pieces of art are worth a large fortune, some in fact worth more than $100 million each today.
Franz Kafka
"The Metamorphosis," along with many of Kafka's other well-known works, almost never saw the light of day. Due to his father's scrutiny of his lifestyle and his overwhelming insecurity, the writer commonly burned most of his work. His dying wish was that his friend would burn the remnants of his work after he passed, only his friend ignored said wish and now we have lots of great literature because of it.
Emily Dickinson
The go-to poet for all of life's poignant, sappy occasions was actually hardly published before her death, only 10 poems seeing the light of day before the recluse passed in 1866. Today, thanks to her sister discovering her hidden manuscripts, we now have nearly 2,000 original works of Dickinson, after a couple of family squabbles were ironed out. And it only took 89 years to get there.
Henry David Thoreau
Although "Walden" was published during his lifetime, it only gave him so much recognition as a writer, so little that he continued to work in a pencil factory and wrote for newspapers during his career. Decades later, a man named Henry Stephens Salt wrote about Thoreau in a biography, earning him the recognition he now has as one of the greatest poets in history.
Stieg Larsson
The late writer passed in 2004. Over the course of the next 10 years, his series of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoos" would be published and be the first to sell a million copies on Amazon. The three-book series went on to be adapted into a trilogy of Swedish films, its first film then remade into an American hit, starring one of our favorite James Bond actors, Daniel Craig. Larsson's work is now set to carry on without him, starting with the release of "The Girl in the Spider's Web."
Edgar Allan Poe
A pioneer of new writing styles, including detective fiction shorts and the American Romantic Movement, Poe wrote anonymously and made very little money for the things he did publish. His original work on "The Raven," a hugely popular poem today, earned him $9. His death, whether attributed to heart disease, rabies, alcoholism, or possibly suicide, was the start of his fame, as people grew curious about the writing of a man who lived such a dark life that ended in such a uniquely disturbing fashion.
Herman Melville
A little ahead of his time, Melville wrote "Moby Dick" to a group of bad reviews, earning very little and eventually being forgotten. Today, we celebrate Melville still in schools, as "Moby Dick" has become a wealth of knowledge in U.S. school's required reading. Too bad his obituary spelled his name wrong, calling him Henry instead of Herman. Does it seem the "Most Interesting Man in the World" is based on this burly beauty?
Uncle Sam
Here's a fun fact: The original Uncle Sam, Samuel Wilson, was a popular meat-packing butcher from New York who supplied troops with food in the War of 1812. After his death in 1854, he was popularized into a patriotic caricature for political cartoons.
Related: 10 Famous People Who Cheated Death