Celebrities deaths that upset you

[USS Triumphant]

Michael Jackson's death upset me some, but it wasn't so much the loss of him as it was a feeling of the loss of childhood - combined with a bit of anger at the way that, now that he's dead and it can't possibly do him any good, suddenly the Black community claims and embraces him.

I still have "Salmon of Doubt" unread on my bookshelf. I can't bring myself to read it because it is the last work by Douglas left for me to read.

He would want you to read it.

As to the first part of the book, I'm actually not sure that's true. He wasn't done with it. (This did not, I should admit, stop me from reading it. And, it had some good bits - the unfinished quality of which only serves to drive home who and what we lost.)

OTOH, the part after the uncompleted section of a book he was writing called The Salmon of Doubt IN the book that actually got released as The Salmon of Doubt (following this? ) is a collection of some other writings by Douglas. Those he probably would have wanted us to read.

I also wept when I heard that Douglas died. My family life during my early teens sucked, to say the least, and his writings got me through - they let me know that it would be okay if I saved my sanity for later when I needed it.

I celebrated Towel Day the first few years, but I stopped after a while, not because I don't care anymore, but because I don't really need a single day. I am reminded by the world around me of his writings at least daily, and usually several times a day.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

I wasn't even born when John Lennon died, but his untimely death upsets me.

As for ones actually within my lifetime:
Phil Hartman
George Harrison
John Ritter (It was just so unexpected)
Fred Rogers (This guy was such a big part of my childhood)
Lynne Thigpen (likewise)
Mitch Hedberg
Heath Ledger
George Carlin

 

[RichMerk]

John Wayne.

 

[Australis]

I find most celebrity deaths shocking more than sad. Take a look over last year. Bernie Mac, Isaac Hayes, Bettie Page, Edmund Hillary, Roy Scheider, and so on.

 

[Kira's Mom]

I wasn't even born when John Lennon died, but his untimely death upsets me.

As for ones actually within my lifetime:
Phil Hartman
George Harrison
John Ritter (It was just so unexpected)
Fred Rogers (This guy was such a big part of my childhood)
Lynne Thigpen (likewise)
Mitch Hedberg
Heath Ledger
George Carlin

I forgot about Lynne Thigpen. They never really determined why she died, IRRC.

Oh, yeah, Heath Ledger, Fred Rogers, and John Ritter, too. Damn.

 

[The Grim Ghost]

Joey Ramone's death hit me kind of hard.

De Kelley and John Ritter's deaths saddened me as well.

I know I'll be pretty bummed out when Shatner goes.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Joey Ramone's death hit me kind of hard.

De Kelley and John Ritter's deaths saddened me as well.

I know I'll be pretty bummed out when Shatner goes.

For some reason I can't ever picture William Shatner dying. He'll just replace body parts and re-invent himself every hundred years or so.

 

[TrekkieMonster]

Interesting question. There have been a couple: Dee Kelly of the Trek crew hit me kinda hard because, as mentioned above (after Gene) he was the first to go.

Heath Ledger shocked me.

But the one that prompted the most surprising reaction from me was Katherine Hepburn.

I had been a big fan for a long time, but I'd also been a big fan of Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart and a few others. And, while the deaths of "legends" certainly saddened me, none hit me like Kate Hepburn.

I remember it quite clearly. We had been watching a DVD movie. I got down on the floor to sit with my dog and the TV came on and there was this picture of her, circa 1939-ish. I was shocked, surprised and a little saddened. But, what happened next blew me away. I remember my husband asking if I was okay and I tried to respond only to realized that I was sobbing uncontrollably. It was so strange, almost like an out of body experience. I remember being able to think, objectively, that my reaction was rather odd and out of proportion to the situation while, at the same time, not being able to control myself for several minutes.

Perhaps it was because she was sort of the last of a generation of great actors who had had an impact on me.

 

[Middle Earther]

Wow - I thought right away of one that I got caught up in: Princess Diana. I really mourned her - which surprised even me. I didn't understand it completely until I saw the movie, The Queen, which helped give some more perspective on it.

Heath Ledger's loss really bothered me, especially when I saw what he did with the Joker. I was also impressed with Brokeback Mountain. He could have been one of the best of his generation if he kept going.

BTW, I believe the quote in my signature comes from Salmon of Doubt. It's worth a read!

 

[Mallory]

Only the ones I personally met.

 

[The Grim Ghost]

Joey Ramone's death hit me kind of hard.

De Kelley and John Ritter's deaths saddened me as well.

I know I'll be pretty bummed out when Shatner goes.

For some reason I can't ever picture William Shatner dying. He'll just replace body parts and re-invent himself every hundred years or so.

Well I hope so! Heck, I'm all for a Cyborg-Shatner!!

Seriously though, I also have a really hard time picturing a world without Shatner. He seems so much bigger than life. But it happens to everybody.

 

[auntiehill]

I forgot about Lynne Thigpen. They never really determined why she died, IRRC.

Oh, yeah, Heath Ledger, Fred Rogers, and John Ritter, too. Damn.

Lynne Thigpen, according to Wiki, was determined to have died from a brain hemorrhage.

Yes, I thought John Ritter's death was very sad, especially since he was so young and appeared to be very healthy. I can't say that I was personally sad about it, though.

 

[Daneel]

Pretty much anyone from Trek: DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Majel Barrett. I know I'll be saddened when the rest of the TOS castmembers go (same goes for the castmembers of the other series, but hopefully that won't be for a good while yet).

I don't think I even heard about it when Gene Roddenberry died... I wouldn't have really been old enough for it to have had much of an impact at the time, though.

Recent ones to upset me... Andy Hallet from Angel, definitely. So young, so entertaining as Lorne. It just wasn't right.

Heath Ledger -- it was tragic, especially given his age and young daughter, but it probably disappointed me more than saddened me, especially after his brilliant work as the Joker. A terrible waste.

 

[msbae]

Dimebag Darrell

 

[Rii]

None, although Douglas Adams would perhaps come closest. I find it presumptuous to mourn someone whom one doesn't personally know.

 

[Crusher Disciple]

DeForest Kelley. He was the first of the Big 7 to pass, and I felt shell-shocked when I read about it. I felt much the same way about George Carlin's death.

That ripped my heart out. I was even more upset when I learned that Mark Lenard had already passed.

 

[paudemge]

Heath Ledger, Princess Di, Steve Irwin, John Ritter.

 

[tomalak301]

I think the Celebrity Death that affected me most is probably not considered a Celebrity, but when Bill Walsh died. I know he was feeling ill, but what he did for the 49ers, and the dynasty he created and then what he did for Bay Area sports overall it was just a sad day when he passed away. I didn't watch him coach, but I was able to grow up with the teams that he had a huge hand in creating and watching Joe Montana at the end of his Career.

 

[Bears Discover Fire]

I think I only cried for one celebrity death, and that was when DeForrest Kelly passed away. I was still quite young so cut me some slack!

 

[Kestra]

I've never been genuinely upset at a celebrity death, that I can recall. It's a little odd for me given that I am easily affected by other people in general. For some reason I just don't feel empathy with celebrities or their lives much. I always feel awkward when a celebrity death comes up because I just can't bring myself to post anything in it. I mean I feel as bad as I would if any other person had died, but no more.