The Darkest Tragedy in Hollywood History 🚁 #genx #horrorfilm  #movietrivia

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:00]Jody, the one we saved for last. I think I already know this one. July 23rd, 1982. The scene for a movie version of Twilight Zone attempted to recreate the terror and the carnage of the hell that was Vietnam. And then, as the crew watched in horror early this morning, the make-believe dissolved and actor Vic Morrow and two Vietnamese children were killed. Shortly after 2:00 in the morning, the Santa Clara River, California, John Landis, director of Animal House and Blues Brothers and American Werewolf in London, was filming a segment for an anthology film, Twilight Zone: The Movie. A scene featuring actor Vic Morrow, a man fleeing through a war zone while a helicopter circled low overhead. And there were two children in that scene.

[00:00:51]How old? Uh they were 6 and 7 years old.

[00:00:55]And here's where the darkness truly begins. Those children were not legally permitted to be on a film set at 2:00 in the morning. California child labor law expressly forbids it. They had been hired through a private arrangement, $500 each paid in cash, bypassing every standard protection that existed. Their parents consented. They were present, but the law existed for a reason, Jody.

[00:01:21]The law existed for this reason.