‘Rust’ Movie Set Death Has Fan Remembering Past Hollywood Tragedies

Alec Baldwin is co-producer on 'Rust', a 19th century western about the bond between a grandfather and his grandson after the boy is convicted of murder

In the wake of the death of Halyna Hutchins, who was shot after actor Alec Baldwin discharged a firearm on the set of "Rust" in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Thursday, social media has been flooded with remembrance notes from fans regarding the on-set deaths of other entertainment industry workers.

Like Hutchins, who was working on "Rust" as a cinematographer, actors Brandon Lee — son of Bruce Lee — and Jon-Erik Hexum, also died on sets from gunshots.

According to Associated Press, Hutchins, 42, was pronounced dead at the University of New Mexico hospital in Albuquerque after Baldwin fired a prop gun. Director Joel Souza, 48, was also injured in the incident. Production on the film has been halted.

According to an Associated Press article from 2016, from 1990 to 2016, at least 43 people died on sets in the U.S., and over 150 people were left with life-altering injuries. Accidents are not uncommon, and many deaths and injuries are a result of stunt work.

In 1984, Hexum, 26, shot himself with a blank from a prop gun at close range while filming the show "Cover Up." The shot did not kill him but did shatter pieces of his skull that pierced his brain. He was pronounced brain dead six days after the incident on Oct. 18 and his death was ruled an accident.

Lee, whose name was trending on Twitter nationwide Friday in connection to the death of Hutchins, died on March 31, 1993, at the age of 28 while filming the movie “The Crow.” He was shot with a prop gun by one of his co-stars on set. After six hours of surgery, Lee was pronounced dead.

A Brandon Lee remembrance account on Twitter, run by his sister Shannon Lee, tweeted early Friday morning, “Our hearts go out to the family of Halyna Hutchins and to Joel Souza and all involved in the incident on ‘Rust’. No one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set. Period.”

Dave Brown, a firearms expert who penned a blog in 2019 for the American Society of Cinematographers, wrote, "I never forget that if an actor makes a mistake, they get another take, but if a weapons handler makes a mistake, it will make headlines in the morning."