 Marlette died in Marshall County, Mississippi, a passenger in a Toyota pickup truck that hydroplaned and struck a tree in heavy rain; Marlette died instantly.He was traveling from Memphis International Airport to Oxford, Mississippi to help students at Oxford High School prepare for their performance of "Kudzu, A Southern Musical" at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.Marlette died less than a week after he delivered the eulogy for his father, Elmer Monroe Marlette, in Charlotte, North Carolina.