Well, while drinking is quite common among actors and all others, I can off the top of my head think of the following five legends.
1 Sanjeev Kumar : This thespian, unarguably among the best actor of all times in Bollywood for his roles in films like Khoshis, Aandhi and Sholay drank himself to death. His unfulfilled pining for costars like Hema Malini or Shabana Azmi was invariably rumoured to be the reasons for his self destructive lifestyles. The actor who excelled in elderly roles in many of his films ironically never had the luxury of growing old in real life and died when he was just 47!
2 Raghuvaran : In my opinion he is the nearest answer to Sanjeev Kumar in the southern film industry, both for his immense talent and reckless life style. Despite doing negative or supporting roles in most of his films, like Bhavani in RGV's Shiva and Mark Antony in Rajinikanth's Basha, he still had a cult status among his innumerable admirers. He was open in his addiction to drinks and drugs and unfortunately left the world when he was 49,just a few months before completing 50. If Raghu were to be reading this now I'm sure he'd be breaking out into his immortal lines “I know, I know,I know”with his typically sardonic chuckle!
3 J.P.Chandrababu:This irrepressible comedian of early Tamil film industry who was the first to introduce yodelling to Indian cinema even before Kishore Kumar was already a legend in his life time, commanding a salary higher than even the top heroes of the day. He married the lady of his love, but when she confessed to be in love with someone else, he gracefully granted her divorce to reunite with her man. This exacerbated his already notorious addiction to alcohol and together with his financial woes due to producing a film led to his early demise at 46
4 Savitri Ganesh: Destructive drinking habit is not a domain for only men, and one can not help thinking of Savitri while thinking of Chandrababu. Without doubt the most adored actress of her era and celebrated as Mahanati / Nadigaiyar Thilagam (both titles meaning the “Greatest Actress) by her countless fans, she was happily married to the “King of Romance” Gemini Ganesan before she fell from grace due to her addiction to alcohol and died penniless at the age of 47, never recovering from the coma she slipped into a couple of years before.
5 Meena Kumari : Meena Kumari popularly known as the “Queen of Tragedy” was the Bollywood version of Savitri. A beautiful actress who started her career as a child artist, she achieved a legendary status in her lifetime. She was romantically linked to the handsome actor Dharmendra before getting married to much older filmmaker Kamal Amrohi. Notorious for her addiction to alcohol, she left the world when she was barely 38.
These are some instances of stars turning into meteors due to their tragic addiction to drinks, But their memories still linger like vintage wine!