Director Ken Russells thesis in 1. Lisztomania was that classical composers were the rock stars of their day, so he enlisted real rock star Roger Daltrey to mug his way through an overheated extravaganza about Franz Liszt. Warner Bros. Bound for Glory, a lavishly fictionalized 1. Woody Guthrie was nominated for six Oscars and won two and it moved David Carradine, briefly, from a TV lead who made B movies to an unconventional movie star. United Artists. Before he was a made for TV wacko, Gary Busey was a pretty fine actor and never better than when he played the title role in 1. The Buddy Holly Story, a biopic of the 5. Columbia. As a kid, Kurt Russell acted alongside Elvis Presley in It Happened at the Worlds Fair. As an adult, he got to act like the King of Rock n Roll in the 1. TV miniseries Elvis. Dick Clark Productions. No, shes not actually playing Janis Joplin but Bette Midlers powerhouse performance in The Rose as a fearsomely talented, self destructive and very Joplin esque singer was the closest weve gotten to Janis onscreen, despite numerous recent efforts. Fox. A lot of real country singers appeared in Michael Apteds 1. Loretta Lynn biopic Coal Miners Daughter, but actress Sissy Spacek took the central role and the Oscar after being personally chosen by Lynn. UniversalAmadeus 1. Mozarts middle name, and Tom Hulce was just fine as the bratty prodigy but this is Salieris story, and F. Murray Abrahams movie. Orion Pictures. Par for the course in musical biopics, 1. Sweet Dreams was attacked for the liberties it took with the true story but Jessica Lange was persuasive enough to land her fourth Oscar nomination as Patsy Cline. Tri. Star. Gary Oldman has said he doesnt like his haunted and ferocious performance as the self destructive and ill fated Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious in 1. Sid Nancy, but most would disagree with him. Samuel Goldwyn. Lou Diamond Phillips, meanwhile, burst onto the scene in 1. La Bamba as Richie Valens, another rocker who died in the same plane crash that killed Holly. Columbia. Decades before Clint Eastwoods so so Jersey Boys, he hit the right notes with 1. Bird, his look at jazz titan Charlie Parker and Forest Whitakers quiet but towering performance won him the Best Actor award at Cannes in 1. Warner Bros. T Bone Burnett, who worked on 1. Great Balls of Fire, which starred an over the top Dennis Quaid as Jerry Lee Lewis, once lamented that this cartoonish romp made it look like the Dukes of Hazzard invented rock n roll. Orion Picutres. Perhaps the excesses of Oliver Stones 1. The Doors arent far removed from the excesses of its subject, Jim Morrison. Val Kilmer embraces them all with deranged gusto. Tri. Star. Both Angela Bassett and co star Laurence Fishburne received Oscar nominations for their roles as Tina Turner and her abusive husband Ike in 1. Whats Love Got To Do With It, and Bassett won the Golden Globe for her fierce performance in a role first offered to Whitney Houston. Buena Vista. The character is identified as Mentor in the credits of Quentin Tarantinos 1. True Romance, but we all know and love the apparition, played by Val Kilmer, who pushes Christian Slater to stand up to Gary Oldmans dreadlocked pimp Its the ghost of Elvis, of course. Warner Bros. Stephen Dorff was so impressive as original Beatles bassist Stu Sutcliffe in 1. Backbeat that no less an authority than Paul Mc. Cartney, who otherwise hated the film, called him astonishing. Gramercy. From a Sex Pistol to classical icon Ludwig Van Beethoven in 1. Immortal Beloved, Oldman shows the broadest range of anybody on this list. But his randy Ludwig Van isnt one of his best showcases. SonyColumbia. Fans of the Mexican American singer Selena were upset that a New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent, Jennifer Lopez, was chosen for the title role in 1. Selena but J Los star making performance silenced most of the critics. Warner Bros. In 2. Bubba Ho Tep, Bruce Campbell gives us an aging, decrepit Elvis who can still gloriously kick butt. Vitagraph. OK, we admit it We havent seen 2. The Night We Called It a Day. But Dennis Hopper as Frank Sinatra The prospect is too weird, and too delicious, to ignore. Content. Film International. Kevin Spacey directed, co wrote and co produced 2. Beyond the Sea, as well as starring as 5. Bobby Darin even though Darin died at the age of 3. Spaceys performance problematic at times. Whitney Houstons two day booze and pills binge before tragic death. Whitney Houston was seen lurching drunkenly around a hotel lobby just hours before she was found dead in a bath. Guests told how the troubled singer, 4. The stars lifeless body was later found slumped beneath the water in the bath of her Hollywood hotel suite. Whitneys daughter Bobbi Kristina, 1. She had been in the lobby of the hotel when she heard the news and began sobbing uncontrollably, screaming at police and demanding to see her mothers body. More Whitney news Whitney Houston found dead at age of 4. Whitney Houstons descent into drugs hellWhitney, we will always love you Stars pay tribute at the GrammysThe life of music legend Whitney Houston in picturesWhitneys last performance 4. Ex husband Bobby Brown sobs on stage hours after her deathWhitneys daughter Bobbi Kristina rushed to hospital from same hotel where her mum diedI wanted Whitney to be an X Factor judge, says CowellStars party while Whitney lays dead upstairsCelebrities tweet their shock at death of Whitney. Whitney opinionTony Parsons Whitney was our golden girl and her fall from grace was heartbreakingBeverley Knight Whitney was a huge influence on female singersMirrors Sarah Tetteh The Whitney I knew was full of warmth and fun. The tragedy was discovered by Whitneys hairdresser on Saturday afternoon. The singers bodyguard fought to revive her with CPR as paramedics raced to the scene, but it was too late. Whitney was pronounced dead at 3. Image Reuters Image GettyPolice found several bottles of prescription pills for anxiety and depression in her suite at LAs Beverly Hilton. Despite the singers well publicised battle against crack cocaine addiction, no illegal drugs were discovered. But sources described a plethora of sedatives, including Lorazepam, Valium, Xanax, and sleeping medications. Download Page On Kindle Fire Location Services. Witnesses told how Whitney had been drinking heavily on the Thursday and Friday and regularly cut a shambolic figure in and around the hotel lobby. A number of guests said she been seen acting erratically in the 4. One said she had been wandering around aimlessly and skipping like a child. Staff say they had also received reports of her doing handstands by the side of the hotels swimming pool. On Thursday evening Whitney appeared at Tru nightclub, on Hollywoods North Argyle Avenue for fellow R B singer Kelly Prices pre Grammy awards party. Image Rex Image Warner. BrosShe was said to be hitting the booze hard and sweating profusely. The night before she died she was seen knocking back drinks in the hotel bar with members of her entourage. Then, on the night of her death, with the pre Grammys party just a few hours away, Whitney returned to her room for her final preparations. The superstar had been telling her family and entourage how much she was looking forward to the bash hosted by her mentor Clive Davis. Shortly before 2pm on Saturday, she opened her suite on the fourth floor of LAs Beverly Hilton Hotel, which would also later host the annual bash. Image ReutersThe contents of her suitcases strewn across the king size bed and her gown for the evening hanging in the wardrobe, Whitney told aides at 2. She is known to have used a phone in the palatial marble bathroom to call her gospel singer mother Cissy at her New Jersey home at 3. Her entourage had taken over most of the hotels fourth floor and her hairdresser, stylist and two bodyguards were waiting for the star in her suite. But at 3. 4. 2pm her concerned hairdresser went in to check on her and let out a piercing scream. A bodyguard ran in to the bathroom and saw Whitneys face submerged under the water. A family source said her legs were up out of the water as though she had slid down the back of the bath. Her bodyguard hauled the singers body out of the bath while another, known only as Ray, alerted security. Image internet Image RexStaff called 9. Firefighters already at the hotel helping to prepare for the party below rushed up to the fourth floor and began CPR in a futile attempt to revive the I Will Always Love You singer. Sources described the scene as horrific, with friends and relatives screaming. Minutes later paramedics arrived and continued to perform CPR. But it was apparent no more could be done and she was declared dead at 3. As friends and relatives broke down uncontrollably, Whitneys daughter Bobbi Kristina, 1. Police officers stationed outside the suite stopped her going inside and Bobbi reacted angrily. A source said There was a furious screaming argument going on. Bobbi was distraught and just wanted to see her mother. Bobbi and legendary singer Dionne Warwick Whitneys cousin were eventually allowed into the room only to break down in tears. Detectives followed standard procedure and asked everyone to leave the room, sealing it off as a crime scene. They then applied for a formal search warrant from LA city officials. Image GettyLt Mark Rosen, of Beverly Hills Police, said there were no obvious signs of foul play and no obvious signs of a cause of death. Despite the six time Grammy winners well publicised battle with crack cocaine, sources said no illegal drugs were in the suite. However, police reportedly discovered a plethora of sedatives in prescription bottles. According to US reports, these included sleeping pills, Lorazepam, Valium and the anti anxiety and depression drug Xanax. As the search continued, guests were arriving for the party downstairs which, incredibly, went ahead. LA County Coroners officials and Beverly Hilton bosses eventually agreed to take the body out of a back exit to avoid the media scrum. Shortly before 2am, paramedics wheeled a stretcher out of the hotel and into a coroners white Ford van. Just yards away, stars including Britney Spears, Tony Bennett, Sir Richard Branson and Kim Kardashian were still at the pre Grammy party. A postmortem will be held in the next 4. Video Loading. Video Unavailable. The video will start in 8. Cancel. Sources said the star, who sold 1. On Thursday evening she appeared at a party for R B singer Kelly Price at Tru nightclub in Hollywood. She was billed as one of the evenings specially invited guests and performed a rendition of Jesus Loves Me on stage as her on off boyfriend Ray J, 3. Bobbi looked on. Fans cheered as they filmed on their mobile phones what was to be her last performance. However, other onlookers were shocked at her erratic behaviour and odd appearance. During the tequila fulled night, Whitney also had a run in with former X Factor contestant Stacy Francis. According to reports, Whitney was furious to discover Ray J chatting to Stacy. Image Getty Image GettyA source said She ran over to them and began screaming, This is my man Im a cougar Bh, get away from my manHouston then pushed Stacy in her forehead and Francis shoved her back, before others waded in and separated them. People were pleading for Whitney to chill out. It was really embarrassing. Witnesses said that by the end of the evening Whitney was wasted and moody as she left the club with blood dripping down her leg and scratches on her wrist. A source said She reacted angrily to the security guards trying to get her into her car. It was shocking to see. But it was also sad because her fans noticed that she was really shaky as she left the venue.