On July 23, 1982, Vic Morrow and two child actors, Renee Shinn
Chen and Myca Dinh Le, are killed in an accident involving a
helicopter during filming on the California set of Twilight Zone:
The Movie. Morrow, age 53, and the children, ages six and seven,
were shooting a Vietnam War battle scene in which they were
supposed to be running from a pursuing helicopter. Special-
effects explosions on the set caused the pilot of the low-flying
craft to lose control and crash into the three victims. The accident
took place on the film’s last scheduled day of shooting.

Twilight Zone co-director John Landis (Blues Brothers, Trading
Places, National Lampoon’s Animal House) and four other men
working on the film, including the special-effects coordinator and
the helicopter pilot, were charged with involuntary manslaughter. According to a 1987 New York Times report, it was the first time
a film director faced criminal charges for events that occurred
while making a movie.

Victor Morrow (Victor Morozoff)
(February 14, 1929 – July 23, 1982)