Peter Sellers always claimed that underneath his colorful roles and funny voices, there was nobody—that he “did not exist” as a person. The truth, however, was so much darker.

Many consider Syd Barrett to have been rock band Pink Floyd's guiding light, but the truth is, he was only with them for a small fraction of their history. What ended his time with Pink Floyd was an abrupt and bizarre personality change that friends and fans are still trying to come to terms with. Over the years, suggested causes include his unbridled substance misuse, mental illness—or just one of the side effects of being a rock n roll genius.

If Groucho was the witty Marx Brother, Harpo was without a doubt the wild one. His persona of the silent lunatic who runs around wreaking havoc is one of the most instantly recognizable characters in movie history. But just who was the man behind the character? The answer to that is much different than people realize.