10 Stars Who Came Close to Being Killed by the Mafia

Reality can often be stranger, funnier, or even scarier than the movies. Think mob films are packed with wild characters? Well, Jimi Hendrix, Jackie Chan, Sean Connery, and other legends have faced some terrifying encounters with ruthless gangsters.

10. Steven Seagal Had the Mob Breathing Down His Neck

In 2001, while the FBI was monitoring the Gambino crime family, they overheard something unusual. The mobsters were mocking one of their extortion targets, calling him a coward who didn’t live up to his tough-guy image. That target was none other than Steven Seagal.

The FBI reached out to Seagal for testimony, but he was reluctant to get involved. In the end, they threatened him with jail time if he refused, compelling him to share his story in court.

The year before, Seagal had announced his intention to quit making violent movies after seeking advice from a spiritual guide. The catch was that, for the past decade, he had been unknowingly (or knowingly) working for the mob through his business partner, Julius Nasso. The mafia wanted Seagal to continue making action films and demanded $150,000 per movie.

They invited him to a gathering of dangerous mobsters, where he was coerced and intimidated into continuing his action movie career. When the meeting concluded, he was warned, “If you would have said the wrong thing, they would have killed you.”

9. Fats Waller Performed at Gunpoint for Al Capone’s Birthday

Fats Waller may not be a household name today, but in his prime, the legendary musician filled dance halls and even appeared in several early Hollywood films.

During Prohibition, Fats was playing at Chicago’s Sherman Hall when a man pressed a gun into his back and forced him into a waiting limousine. He was taken to a different location, sat at a piano, and told to perform. Waller, unsure of what was happening, figured his best chance of survival was to comply.

Across the room, Al Capone watched. It was Capone’s 27th birthday, and Waller was his birthday entertainment.

Capone treated Waller generously, keeping him well supplied with whiskey and stuffing cash into his pockets after every request. Though initially terrified, Waller eventually loosened up and started to enjoy the bizarre situation.

The celebration stretched for an unbelievable three days (with Waller being drunk for most of it). When he finally returned home, his jacket pockets were stuffed with thousands of dollars in tips.

8. The Hells Angels Plotted to Kill The Rolling Stones

WARNING: The video above contains real footage of a fatal stabbing.

In 1969, the Rolling Stones performed at Altamont Speedway in Northern California, hiring the Hells Angels as security for $500 and a case of beer. During the show, 18-year-old Meredith Hunter approached the stage with a gun, triggering a violent confrontation with the Angels guarding the stage. They savagely beat him and stabbed him to death. The video above captures Mick Jagger witnessing the chaos unfold, including the moment when an Angel approaches with a knife.

Jagger and the Stones strongly criticized the Angels’ actions, deciding they would never collaborate with them again. Enraged by this, the Angels plotted to kill the entire band.

They boarded a boat, heavily armed, planning to launch an assault on Jagger’s mansion by sea. Fortunately, a sudden storm struck, causing the boat to capsize. If that had not happened, Mick Jagger might not have lived to tell the tale.

After that failed attempt, the Angels never tried to kill Jagger again, possibly demoralized by their defeat.

7. Edward James Olmos Seriously Irritated The Mexican Mafia

In 1992, Edward James Olmos, known for portraying Admiral Adama in Battlestar Galactica, both directed and starred in American Me, a film about the life of Mexican Mafia boss Cheyenne Cadena. Olmos rewrote the script himself, aiming to portray the character with less of a heroic image. Although the film underperformed both financially and critically, the Mexican Mafia watched it—and they were not pleased.

The mafia took particular offense at a scene where Olmos’s character is raped. (They claimed Cadena wasn’t raped.) Additional scenes implied Cadena’s impotence and suggested he was killed by his own gang—both false claims. As a result, the mafia sent Olmos a message by murdering several consultants who had worked with him during filming.

Years later, it came to light that the Mexican Mafia had placed a contract on Olmos’s life. He survived, likely because he paid them off with an undisclosed sum of money.

6. The Mafia Held Jimi Hendrix Hostage For Two Days

In 1969, Jimi Hendrix vanished while in the Seattle area. For years, biographers struggled to uncover what really happened during those two days. However, recent revelations from cocaine smuggler John Roberts, who once worked for the Medellin cartel, Jimi’s close friends, and research by Rolling Stone magazine have shed light on the mystery.

It all began when Jimi Hendrix entered a Seattle nightclub with mob ties in search of drugs. Two low-level mobsters recognized him and saw an opportunity to make money off the famous guitarist. They offered him free drugs to lure him in, then held him at an undisclosed location for two entire days.

The mobsters kept Jimi heavily intoxicated, likely to the point where he had no idea what was happening until the ordeal ended. After a few calls from Roberts to his mafia connections, Hendrix was released without any ransom being paid.

Jimi Hendrix had his own theories about the incident. He suspected that his manager, Michael Jeffrey, had orchestrated the kidnapping, either to force him to comply with his demands or to assert his control over him.

5. Jackie Chan Armed Himself with Explosives to Confront the Triads

In the late '80s and early '90s, the Hong Kong film industry was plagued by the Chinese Triads, who had infiltrated nearly every aspect of movie production. The Triads laundered money through the industry and ran protection rackets, sometimes forcing their way onto film sets, threatening to destroy equipment unless they were paid off. Their influence was so immense that they even resorted to attacking journalists who criticized the actors under their control.

One of the few who dared to challenge these gangs was Jackie Chan. His defiance led to the Triads relentlessly pursuing him throughout much of his career. Jackie Chan himself has said that the primary reason he left China for America was his frustration with the Triad extortion, but upon arriving in America, he was met with gunfire.

When he returned to China, Jackie began carrying weapons, including guns and grenades, for protection. He explained why in a chilling account: 'I was once dining when over 20 men armed with machetes surrounded me. I had three guns on me and told them they had gone too far.'

We can only imagine what happened next, but we like to think that several Triads found themselves at a Hong Kong hospital that day.

4. The Mafia Nearly Blinded Sammy Davis Jr.

In the 1950s, Sammy Davis Jr. became close friends with Kim Novak, the star of Vertigo. However, their relationship had two major obstacles. The first was that they were an interracial couple during a time of intense racial segregation. The second issue was Novak's contract with Harry Cohn, a powerful and ruthless film executive with connections to the mob. Rumors spread that Davis and Novak were planning to marry, but Cohn feared that the scandal surrounding their relationship would damage Novak's marketability.

Notorious gangster Mickey Cohen famously warned Davis's father that Cohn had ordered a brutal attack on Sammy. The plan was a gruesome beating, breaking both of his legs, and then gouging out his one remaining good eye with a stick. Sammy was told his only option was to sever all ties with Novak and marry a random black woman to quash any rumors. He sifted through his address book, selected an actress, and married her.

Shortly after, Sammy received a call notifying him that the contract had been canceled.

3. The Krays Attempted to Control The Kinks and The Beatles

The Kray twins ascended to infamy as Britain's most notorious gangsters in the 1950s and 1960s, using violence and murder to cement their power. Taking inspiration from the American mafia, they sought control over a rock band. The target they chose was none other than the biggest and most famous band of the time: The Beatles.

Ronnie Kray paid a visit to Brian Epstein and laid out his plan. Epstein explained that managing a band like The Beatles was an incredibly time-consuming job that required specialized knowledge. Feeling insulted by Epstein's response, Ronnie grabbed an unsuspecting man who happened to be nearby and drove a 15-centimeter (6 in) nail through his cheek to prove how serious he was.

Eventually, the Krays realized that managing a band like The Beatles was more trouble than it was worth, so they shifted their focus to extorting vast sums of money from Epstein. They then turned their attention to a less high-profile band—The Kinks.

Once again, the Krays contacted the Kinks' manager and expressed interest in taking over. This time, they also requested that Ronnie have a date with Kinks drummer Mick Avory. Ronnie was gay, but Mick Avory was not.

2. A Shark-Hunting Gang Nearly Executed Gordon Ramsay

In 2011, Gordon Ramsay was filming a documentary on shark fishing. Despite the fact that the practice is illegal in many countries, Ramsay discovered that it thrived in certain regions, protected by dangerous criminal organizations. In the video above, Ramsay sneaks into a Taiwanese building where shark fins are being dried on the rooftop. After having gasoline thrown at him, he is intimidated by men in an unmarked black car.

The most harrowing incident took place in Costa Rica. There, compounds are encased in massive concrete walls topped with razor wire. Despite the intimidating barriers, Ramsay managed to break in while filming the documentary.

Inside, he discovered thousands upon thousands of shark fins. When he left, much like in Taiwan, he was confronted by gangsters who poured a barrel of petrol over him before attempting to block his crew’s escape with their vehicles. The crew managed to break free, but they later provoked a group of heavily armed shark fishermen. The fishermen then held Ramsay and his crew against a wall at gunpoint. Police arrived shortly after, warning them to leave the country or face execution.

1. Al Sharpton Was a Secret Mafia Informer

In the 1980s, Al Sharpton attempted to lead a boycott of the Jacksons' 'Pride Patrol' tour, reportedly in an effort to extort money from the band. Shortly after, he received a call from a mysterious figure named Sal, who threatened to kill him if he proceeded with the boycott. This warning led Sharpton to seek help from the FBI, and as a result, he assisted in the capture of Sal and several other criminals.

Sharpton played a pivotal role in taking down several members of the Genovese crime family, one of the most powerful and notorious Mafia groups in America at the time. He forged relationships with key members and secretly recorded their conversations using a concealed briefcase.

Some reports suggest that Sharpton's decision to cooperate with the FBI was not voluntary. Allegedly, he was coerced into becoming an informant, known by the code CI-7, to avoid prosecution after being caught in a covert drug transaction. When questioned about the validity of these allegations, Sharpton responded, 'I'm not saying yes; I'm not saying no.'