20 YouTubers Who Died Too Soon

20 YouTubers Who Died Too Soon

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today were looking at beloved YouTubers across the platform who we lost far too soon after their tragic passing.

Griffin Klaus

Best known as Dillon The Hacker, Klaus was well-known for his epic rants, especially when he took aim at PewDiePie. However, many didnt realize he was joking, leading to some backlash from fans of his targets. But did that deter him? Oh, no. Klaus leaned into the comedy trolling. He also grew a reputation as a hacker despite only pretending to break into other YouTubers accounts. One saga involved him going after the website 4Chan, leading to a practical joke war between the two parties. In 2019, Klaus sadly passed away at the age of 20. PewDiePie and his best friend, BG Kumbi, paid tribute to him.

Corey La Barrie

Known for vlogging about his life, food, and challenges, in 2020, La Barrie was celebrating his 25th birthday with fellow YouTuber and tattoo artist Daniel Silva in Los Angeles. After drinking, Silva drove the two, resulting in a crash that took La Barries life. Silva was reportedly caught attempting to escape from the scene. He was originally charged with murder as La Barries family issued a lawsuit against him for wrongful death. Silva later pleaded no contest, resulting in a sentence of one year in jail, five years of probation, and 250 hours of community service. When Silva spoke about the crash in 2021, he stated La Barries family asked the judge for lesser charges, which he was grateful for.

Emily Hartridge

Better known as Emily Hart online, she created videos tackling subjects such as relationships, family, and her travels, sometimes with a comedy twist.. She also presented TV shows. In her final video, Hartridge showed her boyfriend, Jake Hazell, gifting her an electric scooter. In 2019, Hartridge was on her way to a fertility clinic. However, she was sadly fatally struck by a truck as she rode the scooter in London. Hartridge was 35. Its believed this was the first fatality involving an e-scooter in the UK. Since the tragedy, Hazell has campaigned for mental health awareness and has publicly stated he doesnt blame the lorry driver for what happened.

Talia Castellano

When she was 7 years old, Castellano was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer, undergoing years of treatment. After finding a passion for makeup, Castellano created the YouTube channel taliajoy18, where she gave tutorials and reviews of products. Her rapid rise and setting up a charity to look for a neuroblastoma cure led Castellano to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2012, where she was surprised as an honorary face of the brand CoverGirl. In 2013, after the cancer had spread and Castellano declined further treatment, she sadly passed away. To keep her memory alive, Castellanos family posted on social media seeking help to finish her bucket list, which they successfully did.

Daniel Kyre

YouTuber trio Cyndago members Matt Watson, Ryan Magee, and Daniel Kyre quickly amassed a large following with their comedy skits, parodies, and music videos. The group then struck up a friendship with fellow YouTuber, Markiplier, later moving in with him as they began collaborating. In 2015, Kyre was found in critical condition in his bedroom after attempting to take his own life. He was taken to the hospital for treatment, but he tragically wasnt able to recover. Cyndago then came to an end. Watson and Magee later stopped working with Markiplier, but the duo continued to work together on other projects.

Ryker Gamble, Alexey Lyakh, and Megan Scraper

The YouTube channel "High on Life" specializes in travel content, especially in remote locations, and has been known to dabble with adrenaline-fuelled activities and stunts. In 2018, co-founders Gamble and Lyakh, as well as Scraper were at Shannon Falls in British Columbia, when Scraper fell in the water. Gamble and Laykh tried to save her, and all three were swept by the current, falling around 100 feet to a pool below, sadly losing their lives. The rest of the "High on Life" team released a video in tribute to their friends. The channel continued uploading content but hasn't published anything since 2022.

Amanda Todd

In 2012, through her YouTube channel TheSomebodytoknow, Todd released a video that detailed her horrible experience. After an intimate image of her was taken while she was in 7th grade, she was harassed and blackmailed until the image was released online. When Todd moved schools, this person would send the photo to her classmates, leading to abuse from them as her mental health deteriorated. A month after uploading the video, Todd sadly passed away. In 2013, the Canadian government introduced legislation to protect children from what Todd went through. In 2022, after being extradited, Aydin Coban was found guilty of exploiting Todd, earning him 13 years in jail, which was later reduced to six years alongside 11 years for other crimes.

Tomás Blanch Toledo

In March 2021, while suffering from brain cancer, the Chile-based Toledo pursued his dreams of becoming a YouTuber, creating the channel tomiii 11. At first, the channel, focused on his life and video games, didnt get much traction. But when various social media accounts and YouTubers started to promote it, it took off. Within a month, Toledo had amassed 8 million subscribers, smashing many records along the way. This even led to strangers asking him for photos when he was in public. Sadly, in August of that same year, Toledo passed away. His family continued his legacy on his channel, as well as using it to promote other young YouTubers.

Steve Cash

As the creator behind the channel Talking Kitty Cat, Cash was a genius. As well as being a musician, he created skits with his talking cat, Sylvester, primarily. The clips also featured several of his other pets, like Gibson and Shelby. The skits were a massive success, collecting millions of views. Cash was open during videos about his struggles with bipolar disorder, sometimes needing time away from the channel to recuperate. In 2020, Cash took his own life. His wife, Celia, has released a few previously unpublished videos as well as an update to Cashs fans about her life.

Benny Potter

With buckets of enthusiasm, plenty of Krakakakooms, and talent as a voice artist, Potter helped many people get into comics with his work at Comicstorian. Filled to the brim with ideas, he had his fingers in a lot of creative pies as he ran several other channels, including the gaming law account Eligible Monster and manga explainer Mangastorian. He was also involved in multiple podcasts with other comics YouTubers. In 2024, Potter was driving on Interstate 25 in Colorado when his car went off the road. Sadly, he didnt survive. Many friends, family, comic creators, and entertainment professionals gave tribute to Potter alongside his fans. Comicstorian has been continued by Potters wife, Nathalie, his brother, Andy, and the channels producer, Dan.

Colin Wyckoff

Better known as Kitty0706, Colin Wyckoff was a talented animator. He regularly released funny spoofs of video games on YouTube. Some of the most popular projects that caught the internets attention involved Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2. In 2012, Wyckoff was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a blood cancer. After battling the disease for three years, Wyckoff sadly passed away in 2015 at the age of 20. The community decided to make a tribute in his memory by remaking his 2012 hit, Team Fabulous 2. Raising money for leukemia research, the video Team Fabulous 2 Reanimated was released in 2020 on what wouldve been Wyckoffs 26th birthday.

Christina Grimmie

Bursting onto the YouTube scene in 2009 as zeldaxlove64), Christina Grimmie released several covers of songs that captivated listeners. In 2011, she finished second place in the MyYouTube competition, just behind Selena Gomez - whose mom and step-dad became Grimmies managers! Her music career quickly began to take off as she released several albums, and she finished third in 2014s The Voice. In 2016, after performing at a concert in Orlando, Florida, she met with fans outside. However, 27 year old Kevin James Loibl, who had an unhealthy obsession with her, fatally shot Grimmie before taking his own life. Her family later set up the Christina Grimmie Foundation in her memory to help those affected by violence and breast cancer.

Dylan Hart

If you needed help with a task around the house or simply a way to speed up a process, the Household Hacker was the channel for you. Created by Dylan Hart, the channel showcased tips and tricks for various chores to make your life easier. Needed to wash your dog, but theyre making it difficult? Well, Household Hacker had it covered. The channel even drew the attention of MythBusters with a satirical video that involved charging an iPod with electrolytes and an onion. In 2020, news broke that Hart had died suddenly. Scott Kinmartin, Harts friend and producer on the channel, Tweeted it was from medical complications. He was 38 years old.

Monty Oum

In 2007, Monyreak Oum showcased his amazing animating skills by releasing the viral video Haloid, which had the characters from Metroid and Halo battling it out. After releasing more content, working on video games, and gaining an enthusiastic support base, Oum joined Rooster Teeth. He worked on their Red vs. Blue web series before creating RWBY and voicing the character Lie Ren. In 2015, Oum suffered a severe allergic reaction when undergoing a medical procedure and fell into a coma. Distraught fans soon flocked to GoFundMe to donate to Oums medical expenses. Unfortunately, Oum passed away shortly afterward at the age of 33. In the aftermath, one of Oums brothers, Neath, took on the mantle of voicing Lie Ren in RWBY.

Caleb LeBlanc

Created to vlog about the day-to-day life of the U.S. family, the LeBlancs, the Bratayley channel soon ingrained itself into the hearts of millions after starting in 2010. Parents Katie and Billy focused the content on their children, Hayley, Caleb, and Jules, also known as Annie. This led to many fans seeing the LeBlancs as a virtual family that they, too, were a part of. But, in 2015, tragedy struck. Caleb passed away suddenly at the age of 13. It was discovered that he had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease where the heart becomes thickened. Since this illness often has no symptoms, Haley and Jules later had their hearts checked and are fine. The Bratayley channel remained active until 2019.

John Bain

If you were looking for blunt opinions on video games, you probably watched the content produced by TotalBiscuit. Also known as The Cynical Brit and TotalHalibut, John Bains work always sparked conversations between gamers. In 2014, Bain announced that he had cancer. While that went into remission, another inoperable cancer metastasized to his liver. Bain continued to fight valiantly. But in 2018, he fell into a hepatic coma and passed away soon after. Blizzard decided to release a commemorative bundle for Bain in Starcraft II, with the profits going to his wife, Genna, and son, Orion. 2020s Doom Eternal even added an easter egg of a tophat and a plaque stating slay cancer.

Grant Thompson

Since joining the platform in 2010 under the guise of TKOR, or The King of Random, Jonathan Grant Thompson became a standout creator. The channel quickly became a haven for science fans as the channel primarily showcased crazy experiments and explained the results. But TKOR also dabbled with life hacks and vlogging. As the channel grew larger, Thompson decided to step back from the camera to focus on production behind the scenes and spend time with his family. In 2019, Thompson went paragliding in Utah and didnt return. After a police search using GPS, they found Thompsons body. He had perished after crashing the paraglider. He was 38 years old. The TKOR channel has continued with the blessing of Thompsons friends and family.

Edd Gould

Even before YouTube was invented, Edd Gould was making waves in the animation scene. This led to him creating the U.K-based comedy series, Eddsworld. Teaming up with Thomas Ridgewell, Matt Hargreaves, and Tord Larsson, they soon attracted a cult following. In 2011, Gould announced he had acute lymphoblastic leukemia for the second time. Sadly, in 2012, he passed away at 23 years old from a related infection. But Gould wanted Eddsworld to continue. First, Ridgwell took over with Eddsworld: Legacy, and then Hargreaves took on the responsibility with Eddsworld Beyond. The profits from the show were donated to the charity named Young Lives vs Cancer.

Etika

Known for his energetic videos, especially involving Nintendo properties, Desmond Amofah) developed a group of devoted fans called the JOYCONBOYZ. As time went on, Amofah seemed to be struggling as his behavior was becoming erratic. In June 2019, through his old "TR1Iceman" channel, he uploaded a video called Im sorry. Then, he disappeared. Friends, family, and fans did their best to find Amofah alongside the authorities. They eventually found his belongings on the Manhattan Bridge, and his body was later found. He was 29. Several fellow YouTubers have raised money for charity in Amofahs memory, while his fans have been creatively showing their appreciation for his work.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Technoblade

If people were talking about the streamers that highlighted Minecraft the best, many would mention Technoblade, real name Alex. If he wasnt making jokes about his friendly rivalry with Dream, he could be found building and destroying on a Minecraft server or in a tournament to the delight of his many fans. One day in 2021, TechnoBlade uploaded a video to explain his absence. He had sarcoma, a form of cancer, in his arm. TechnoBlade underwent numerous treatments and surgeries to combat this. But in June 2022, a video on his channel titled so long nerds was uploaded. Within, TechnoBlades father read from a script written by the YouTuber eight hours before his death, thanking fans for his happy life.

What memories do you have of those weve mentioned in the video? Let us know below.