"It's safer when there are blanks involved, imo."
Not always, dahlin'.
Jon-Erik Hexum's Fatal Joke
http://ew.com/article/1994/10/14/jon-erik-hexums-fatal-joke/
Before there was Brandon Lee, there was Jon-Erik Hexum. On Oct. 12, 1984, the 26-year-old star of the CBS adventure series Cover Up fatally shot himself on the show's set with a .44 Magnum pistol loaded with blanks.
The actor, who played Green Beret-turned-model Mac Harper in the new series about international intrigue and fashion photography, had been napping during delays in filming. After learning there would be still more delays, Hexum held the gun to his head, reportedly joking, "Can you believe this crap?" and pulled the trigger. The impact from the blast fractured his skull, driving a bone fragment the size of a quarter into his brain and causing massive hemorrhaging. He was rushed to the Beverly Hills Medical Center, where, despite five hours of surgery, he would remain comatose until he was pronounced brain-dead on Oct. 18. ...
| 