Did one of the Temptations die in a crackhouse?
No, no, no–he overdosed at the crackhouse, but died in the hospital. On June 1st, 1991, three weeks after a Temptations reunion tour, lead singer David Ruffin reportedly smoked ten vials of crack and passed out. A limousine dropped him off at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; the driver identified his passenger and drove away without giving his own name. An hour later, Ruffin expired. He had been wearing a money belt containing $40,000, which was stolen sometime on the night of his death and was never recovered. Since Ruffin died broke, Michael Jackson paid for his funeral.
(Excerpted from the 2006 book Is Tiny Dancer Really Elton’s Little John?: Music’s Most Enduring Mysteries, Myths, and Rumors Revealed, published by Three Rivers Press, written by Gavin Edwards.)