History Main / DeadArtistsAreBetter

*** John, ironically enough, mentioned of this trope in interviews prior to his death. After his so-called "lost weekend" Lennon took in LA, where he was separated from Yoko and went on an alcoholic binge, leading to some embarrassing behavior around 1973-75, he reunited with Yoko, straightened himself out and took a five-year hiatus from the music industry to raise his son Sean. Lennon commented in interviews that the fact he did not die in Los Angeles meant that critics were free to take shots at his music, but had he died, everyone would be praising him and feeling empathy with his music and messages.
**** Additionally, when Lennon was asked in an interview during the 1960s how he'd die eventually, he jokingly replied, "[[TemptingFate I'll probably be popped off by some loony.]]"

* A recently discovered play by Mark Twain, ''Is He Dead?'', is based on the short story described above.
** With a smattering of AttractiveBentGender and some rather funny {{Melodrama}}.
* ''Pippin'' has the title character reject life as an artist, since "You have to die before you find out if you're any good."

* The ''Series/HogansHeroes'' episode "Klink's Masterpiece" ends with Col. Hogan reminding Klink of this trope, noting that VincentVanGogh starved, only becoming popular after his death.

* In the same vein as Ledger's death, Christopher Reeve's paralysis later in life made him a living martyr and ensured his ''Film/{{Superman}}'' movies ([[FirstInstallmentWins well, the first two]]) would be considered untouchable and quintessential, though Superman and his world from the DCComics [[PostCrisis have long]] [[TheModernAgeOfComicBooks evolved past]] their depiction in the films. Which makes it frustrating for today's comics fans that the most recent Superman film is a [[SupermanReturns slavish superhomage]] to a retro, passé version instead of depicting the contemporary one they're used to. [[ManOfSteel That may change.]]

** Another Creator/ValveSoftware game, VideoGame/TeamFortress2, also plays with this. In the official comic ''Unhappy Returns'', it's revealed that Scout spent his entire life savings on Creator/TomJones merchandise. Spy points out how illogical this is-- he's one of the most virile men on the planet, he's in his twenties (note that the game takes place in the late 60's-early 70's), he has virtually no enemies...Scout merely replies that it's a "Get-rich-slow" scheme. Of course, this being an AlternateUniverse from our own, Soldier murders Tom Jones out of jealousy a short time later (He was living with Soldier's former roomate. ItsALongStory.)

** Another Creator/ValveSoftware game, VideoGame/TeamFortress2, also plays with this. In the official comic ''Unhappy Returns'', it's revealed that Scout spent his entire life savings on Creator/TomJones merchandise. Spy points out how illogical this is-- he's one of the most virile men on the planet, he's in his twenties (note that the game takes place in the late 60's-early 70's), he has virtually no enemies...Scout merely replies that it's a "Get-rich-slow" scheme. Of course, this being an AlternateUniverse from our own, Soldier murders Tom Jones out of jealousy (He was living with Soldier's former roomate. ItsALongStory.)

* Music/WhitneyHouston did sold over 170 million records in her career, but just like Music/MichaelJackson and Music/AmyWinehouse, she spent the last decade of her life as a pop-culture joke, being ridiculed constantly for her problems with drugs & alcohol and increasingly erratic behavior (Not to mention her tumultuous relationship with Bobby Brown). Shortly after her death, sales of her records soared, tributes to her began to pour out and jokes about the problems she had were largely forgotten.

* ''TheDukesOfHazzard'': Season 6's "Dead and Alive," where Boss Hogg declares Hazzard County artist Artie Bender dead … shortly after he witnesses two crooks rob an armored car. Of course, this provides plenty of complications for Bo and Luke as Sheriff Little immediately fingers them as the suspects.

* Since one of the main characters of ''CarolineInTheCity'' is a struggling artist, this trope was inevitable: Richard is mistakenly reported dead and his paintings start selling like hotcakes. Complications arise when a [[StrawCritic prominent critic]] demands to [[TheFunInFuneral go to the funeral]]. HilarityEnsues...

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Discworld/SoulMusic'', Music With Rocks In requires the early death of its first host (the singer Buddy) in order to spread further. See above.

* TexAvery falls in this trope as well. Though his work was very popular and influential during his lifetime the man himself never received the respect he deserved so well. He died in obscurity. Only after his death in 1980 did his reputation grow to critically lauded proportions. The same can be said for fellow Warner Bros. director RobertMcKimson.

* Spoofed in ''CyanideAndHappiness'', where an artist insists he will be "more famous after he dies", then hangs himself with his own intestinal tract. A subsequent newspaper headline still describes him as "pretty bad".

* Jenni Rivera, a Mexican ''Banda'' singer who died in a plane crash, is getting a popularity push, when in life she was barely known outside her genre, and some people are start accussing the media of using her death for [[BreadAndCircuses political reasons]].[[note]]Despise her death was widely announced not only in Mexican media, but also in countries when ''Banda'' music is considered as niche music (like the U.S.), considered as an cultural oddity (the rest of the Spanish-speaking countries) and being unknown for the rest of the world. (Like Israel and even Japan)[[/note]]

!!'''As a DeathTrope, all Spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.'''

* TexAvery falls in this trope as well. Though his work was very popular and influential during his lifetime the man himself never received the respect he deserved so well. He died in obscurity. Only after his death in 1980 did his reputation grow to critically lauded proportions.

* In one of Creator/MarkTwain's short stories, two starving artists manufacture a great deal of art... and then manufacture a story about how the artist who painted these things is fatally ill. Naturally, the artist in question eventually "dies", and his paintings become valuable overnight. Note that said dead artist is Francois Millet. Thus this is OlderThanRadio.

* After Creator/JohnKeats' death, literati everywhere said he would've surpassed Shakespeare if he had lived longer. He did die at the age of 26, though, and only really began producing once it was clear he was dying, so they might have a point.

* ''Completely'' averted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' in the seventh season episode where Bender becomes a paparazzo. [[spoiler:Calculon is needs to beat a famous actor named Langdon Cobb [[ItMakesSenseInContext so he can weaken his ego]]. He drinks a bottle of food coloring (which is ''very poisonous'' to robots) so he can make a believable death scene. Langdon still wins unanimously.]]

* ''Completely'' averted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' in the seventh season episode where Bender becomes a paparazzo. Calculon is needs to beat a famous actor named Langdon Cobb [[ItMakesSenseInContext so he can weaken his ego]]. He drinks a bottle of food coloring (which is ''very poisonous'' to robots) so he can make a believable death scene. Langdon still wins unanimously.

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=ewyg9r7miei1fglo9yf25lbp

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* "Schneller Leben" (Live Faster) by German punk band Die Ärzte is all about parodying this trope, with their usual RefugeInAudacity.

* Although DeanMartin has always had some measure of popularity, he seems to have gotten much more positive attention in death than in his lifetime, when under the shadows of JerryLewis and FrankSinatra. It is almost as likely that posthumous compilations of his greatest hits will turn up in record shelves as Frank's.

* The late Davy Jones of TheMonkees seems to be [[http://articles.cnn.com/2012-03-01/opinion/opinion_browne-davy-jones_1_monkees-mike-nesmith-believer-and-last-train?_s=PM:OPINION eliciting this reaction as well]].
** As is DonnaSummer.
* Adam Yauch, AKA MCA of the BeastieBoys, was GenreSavvy enough to attempt to prevent this by [[http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/adam-yauchs-will-prohibits-use-of-his-music-in-ads-20120809 forbidding the use of his music for advertising]] in his will.

* ElvisPresley. It was once said by a handler that death was the best thing to happen to his career. In fact, he sold more albums and merchandise in the three years after he died than in his entire career!

** In fairness, ''Double Fantasy'' did go gold before Lennon died, as David Geffen told John when Geffen dropped by the record studio on the night of Dec. 8. It is true that it wouldn't have won that Grammy--reviews published in the three weeks between the album's release and Lennon's murder were lukewarm. The fact that it was not strictly a Lennon album, but a John Lennon ''and YokoOno'' album with terrible Yoko songs making up half the record also did not help sales.