Back from the dead

When Sparkle is released in October, there will be the eerie sight of Whitney Houston co-starring in this musical drama about a young woman (Jordin Sparks) trying to make it big during the Motown era in Detroit.

Houston (pictured below), who plays a single mother, sadly died in February aged 48, her accidental drowning in Beverly Hills caused by heart failure and cocaine use.

The one-time warbling great isn't, of course, the first star to have died before her final film was released.

In fact, she joins a distinguished international A-list who can boast this tragic tag.

Back in 1955, James Dean perished in his sports car before he could see the fruits of both Rebel Without a Cause and Giant. 18 years later, kung-fu master Bruce Lee predeceased the success of his most famous film, Enter the Dragon.

In 1994, Lee's son Brandon tragically died on the set of what would be his last hurrah, The Crow.

More recently, Heath Ledger, like Brandon Lee just 28, died prematurely after an acccidental drugs overdose before the world would see The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus and The Dark Knight, which earned him a posthumous Oscar.