Celebrity deaths that hit you hard...?

[bliss_eternal]

I'm sitting here watching Live Aid (the first one) with my husband, weeping while we watch Queen. It hit me hard when Freddie Mercury passed on.

Others I had a difficult time with

John Lennon
George Harrison

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

Who were you surprised (or not so surprised) to see pass on, and you mourned or lost it?

[progmom]

1. Jazz drummer Art Blakey, and singer Ella Fitzgerald

:(

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

3. I got sympathy cards from my friends when Ella died

[progmom]

4. hey chickie!

how was your gig?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

It was good...it was outside..I got a really good tan

on my face anyway...my dog is quite glad I am finally home...he is laying on my feet so I cannot get up and ever leave him again

[progmom]

11. i love it when they do that.

especially in the winter.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

20. he is sitting in here with a collection of my left shoes

He brings them in here...one at a time...only the left one....and makes a little shrine of my shoes...he lies amongst them

[progmom]

24. always the left one?

:rofl:

i think i love your dog.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

yep...he's a leftist

what's not to love?

[progmom]

32. damn, T

he is beautiful. :loveya:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

38. He's even more gorgeous than those pics

has the greatest set of eyes I ever seen on a pooch

[progmom]

40. i can see that - he looks like he's got a lot of soul

Makes me miss my Abbey puppy. :cry:

[bliss_eternal]

138. What a beautiful animal! He looks like our friend's

doggie-sadly he passed on, too. Thanks for the pic. It brings a smile to my face to remember him. He was a wonderful dog.

I'm so sorry for your loss. They become our family, don't they?
:hug:

[bliss_eternal]

17. Wow--they all know you loved her that much. Amazing!

She was so incredible. Such a talent!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

23. I had dragged all of them to see her at one time or another

and got back stage several times as my uncle had conducted for her in the past

[progmom]

27. really? you met her more than once??

i am so jealous!! i only met her once, and while she was amazingly kind and friendly, it was a very brief encounter.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

30. yes

she was always gracious too...really nice woman

[Zomby Woof]

26. Blakey

I remember telling you how I missed seeing him by days. He was scheduled to play at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, and was hospitalized a few days before the show.

Dr. John came in at the last minute with a new drummer (I forget who), to lead the band. I did see that, but it was kind of sad knowing Blakey was in poor health, not so far away...

Ona related note, Dizzy played the last gig of his career in Seattle at Dimitrio's Jazz Alley not long before he died. Regret missing that one.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

2. Johnnie Carson.

[bliss_eternal]

15. I cried for Johnny.

[LincolnMcGrath]

5. Kurt

[bliss_eternal]

35. I can't watch the MTV Unplugged...

I'm still confused by his death.

[ellie]

183. Kurt for me too.

[giant_robot]

6. Julia Child

She was like my favorite aunt who showed me things in the kitchen.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

7. Robert Palmer

[Midnight Rambler]

8. Hunter S. Thompson

[RoyGBiv]

180. Same here ...

Thoroughly wiped me out.

[givemebackmycountry]

9. Miles Davis...

Stevie Ray Vaughan


'nuff said.

[WCGreen]

10. Michael Landon....

He had cancer right around the time my mom was sinking....

When he died, she kind of just gave up.....

He wasn't her, or my favorite....

It's just that his fight against cancer was made so public that it gave her hope.....

[Ladyhawk]

223. Yes, me too. He wasn't my favorite, either,

but for some reason, I kept dreaming about him, even years after his death. Probably it was because my small town was one of his favorite places to film. Once, he filmed down the street from my school in the tiny town of Tuolumne. I skipped class a few times to watch them film, talked to some of the actors, etc.

Michael Landon was here often.

LH

[mitchum]

12. George Harrison also...

Warren Zevon, Robert Mitchum, Hunter Thompson

[Blue_In_AK]

128. Oh, yes, Warren Zevon...

I forgot him on my list, but he was wonderful. I loved his macabre sense of humor.

[mcctatas]

13. John Belushi

I think he reminded me of my dad, drunk, out of shape, but oh so funny!

[bliss_eternal]

21. I can't think of his death and now not think of Chris Farley...

It's like he was determined to go out EXACTLY as Belushi did. So sad that they both died so young...

[Bat Boy]

202. He was determined...

I saw Chris a couple of days before he died. He was on a serious bender. His skin was grey, and he was sweating profusely. More so than usual.

Chris died way before his heart stopped.

[freethought]

14. Gregory Peck and Jimmy Stewart

They were not my generation but I do think these two actors were of a caliber and class that rose above what you see today. they don't make them like they used to.

[WCGreen]

22. When Jimmy Stewert died, I wrote an obituary

I posted it last week in the morning...

So maybe you would like to read it.....

There are a lot of people from Indiana, Pennsylvania here in Cleveland. Located about 60 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, it's one of those small towns long on heritage but, as it turned out, short on sustainable prosperity. Besides being a charter member of coal country, Indiana, Pennsylvania was also the self-proclaimed Christmas tree capital of the world. Being the county seat, they had a stoic court house built with coal money. They even had the obligatory statue on town square in tribute to those who served. It wasn't a true company town, but damn close. Over the years change had come slowly to Indiana, Pennsylvania, but when the mines started to peter out, it happened quick.

My mom and Jimmy Stewart were trend setters. Back before the economic hemorrhaging started, when others of their generation were settled in for the long haul, they left. Both wanted more out of life than the little town nestled in the Allegheny foothills could offer. Neither one wanted a life defined by coal dust or pine needles. My mother, well I think she left to rebel. Jimmy Stewart, though, left to excel.

Mom took off for Cleveland, a five hour drive on route 422. Jimmy Stewart went a bit further, eventually landing in Hollywood. My mother won my dad, a hard drinking, hard working tool and die maker riding the crest of Cleveland's industrial expansion. Stewart won an Oscar for playing a cynical wisecracking newsman.

Our house became a way station for the steady stream of Indianians trekking to Cleveland in search of opportunity. My dad would help find a first job at one of the hundreds of tiny machine shops tucked in every corner of every neighborhood. In those days, Cleveland was the land of milk and honey to men from the country looking to make good. I'm sure Jimmy Stewart welcomed the stray friend of a friend who found themselves one day in California. It's just the way people from Indiana were raised.

My recollections of Indiana, Pennsylvania are dominated by the slow pace of life. Nothing much ever seemed to happen. Compared to the 60's in Cleveland, it was like a dream. Idyllic summer vacations would glide by like the lemonade commercials. Time wasn't measured by clocks but by the lonesome whistle of the coal trains. They would lumber by on the tracks behind my grandmother's house at least three times a day. By the time I stopped spending my summers in Indiana, the train tracks lied fallow. When we buried my grandmother in 1981, the tracks were gone.

I didn't know until I read his obituary that Jimmy Stewart's family had settled in the area around the time my mother's father's family put down roots. Since the 1780's, the Dunegans and the Stewarts made a go in small town Pennsylvania. Jimmy Stewart's dad ran a hardware store. My grandfather was a dentist. They must have crossed paths hundreds of times in their lives. Both men probably respected each other and, more than likely, were looked upon by their peers as civic leaders. Both men never made a big deal out of it, enjoying small town status the way it was meant to be, with quiet dignity.

Jimmy Stewart's dad put his son's Oscar on display at the hardware. I remember my grandmother taking me to see the Golden statue. When we got to the store, we silently looked at the icon of the dream world we would never be a part of. She seemed embarrassed by the whole thing. I think from guilt as we took up space in the store not intending to buy anything. Stewarts hardware was already facing stiff competition from our final destination that day, the Montgomery Ward. The process of choking small town merchants was already well under way.

My mother brought her small town way of looking at the world with her and changed Cleveland ever so slightly. We all know Jimmy Stewart carried it with him in almost every film he made. Generations of moviegoers were influenced by the tall man from Indiana, Pennsylvania and years after his last film, we are still moved by his portrayal of an America ideal we all yearn for but know is gone forever.

We have come to measure the Christmas Season by the odyssey of one George Bailey in his search for a wonderful life. Unfortunately, the Bedford Falls of Donna Reed and Zazu has drifted away forever to be replaced by a Chevy Chase vision of small-town America complete with Walmarts and mini vans. Funny, people like my mother and Jimmy Stewart were willing to give up the mundane certainty of small-town America to chase a dream. Now people are desperate to escape the dream and chase the mundane.

One of the obituaries said Indiana, Pennsylvania was a lot like Bedford Falls, but they got it wrong. Bedford Falls was able to keep hold of George Bailey. Indiana, like movie lovers of all ages, lost Jimmy Stewart, and my mother, forever.

[sandnsea]

48. Gregory Peck, it broke my heart

It was like all the good ones were dying because they just couldn't stand to see what was happening in the world. I hate to think of this world without them, peole have changed since that generation.

[MrScorpio]

16. A few

Eddie Jefferson, Gene Ramey, Tito Puente, Barry White, Marvin Gaye, John Lennon, Jack Kirby and Luther Vandross

Some of my inspirations

[bliss_eternal]

25. I was rooting for Luther. I really thought he might pull through...

I cried the day he died, too...

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

Jimi Hendrix

He was my absolute idol when I was a kid learning to play guitar. I had the privilege to see him in concert three times. I mourned his death for a long time. I also was distressed over the passing of jazz guitarists Joe Pass and Barney Kessel, two jazz giants I also had the privilege to see in concert several times and even speak to them. One night in 1968 when I was attending the American College in Paris, I saw Barney Kessel in a small jazz club called the Cameleon. After his sets were over, at about 2:00 several of us went with him to a cafe and spent the entire night until morning discussing music. He was a great musician and person.

[bliss_eternal]

52. Wow--he finished a set and then sat and talked to fellow

musicians and fans. What a great guy. I'm sorry.

Jimi Hendrix--what can I say about him. We lost him too soon. Such a shame drugs took some of our young gifted artists away.

[driver8]

210. We are working on a documentary about Hendrix at work and we

were using some of the Woodstock footage last week. I have seen it before, but I just sat there in awe as Jimi worked his magic on the guitar. It was almost like the guitar was an extension of his arm and hands and everything he did just flowed out of him.

What an amazing talent who left this world way too soon.

[enigmatic]

18. Charles Bukowski

That was a bad couple of days and nights for me..

[The Great Escape]

19. Rick (Ricky) Nelson....

Anne Bancroft also.

[Blue_In_AK]

127. Ricky Nelson, yes...

He was my pre-teen heart-throb.

[Zomby Woof]

28. Zappa

He had cancer, so it wasn't a surprise, but still a gut-punch just the same. The world needs more brains, and more humor. We lost all of that, and a great composer to boot. It kicked my ass.

[bliss_eternal]

31. I'm so sorry--he was SO gifted. I heard he was as kind as

he was funny and talented. I was so impressed by him, that he stood up for rock and roll when those ridiculous parental censorship hearings started. He was one of the few that stood up to it.

[Zomby Woof]

37. And he loathed Repukes!

Wrote scathing pieces about Reagan, Bush Sr., and the televangelists. We sure could use him now with the current criminal gang!

[bliss_eternal]

46. Oh hell yes we could!

I'm going to see if I can find any of his essays on the internet--maybe someone has them archived. That would be an interesting read.

[Initech]

178. Go search for his Senate testimony while you're at it...

I remember reading it one time and Zappa just tore into the PMRC.

I also wish I could find Zappa's interview on the Arsenio Hall show.

[bliss_eternal]

29. I was frankly surprised that I was so upset by Aaliyah's death...

I didn't know a lot of her or her work. She was just so young--it really hit me hard.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

80. Her death hit me very hard . I still remember when I found out .

I could not sleep that night at all. Its hard for me to watch her video " Rock The Boat " because you know what happened after that - sigh ...

[IChing]

33. george harrison Isn't it a pity? Isn't it a shame?

And John of course

[bliss_eternal]

39. I hadn't realized George had been ill...so I was surprised to hear

when he died.

John of course, was taken from us all too soon.

[electricmonk]

34. Joe Strummer

John Belushi, Herb Ritts. Maybe a few others but I'm drawing a blank. Those 3 really meant alot to me.

[bliss_eternal]

43. Joe Strummer--such a wonderful man--

Speaking of Herb Ritts, I am STILL MAD at MTV. They called themselves doing a Herb Ritts tribute--and they messed up his videos--it was just pathetic. He deserved better--all the beautiful videos he did...

[CanuckAmok]

54. And if you're in the Crown tonight, have a drink on me.

poor Joe.

[JimmyJazz]

111. I still can't even listen to Silver and Gold without

crying. :(

[CanuckAmok]

156. Yeah, I miss Burl Ives, too.

He was a great snowman.

[JimmyJazz]

191. shaddup! You had me there for a second.

You know I lurve ya :D

I'm gonna go out dancin' every night
I'm gonna see all the city lights
I'll do everything silver and gold
I got to hurry up before I grow too old

I'm gonna take a trip around the world
I'm gonna kiss all the pretty girls
I'll do everything silver and gold
And I got to hurry up before I grow too old

Oh I do a lotta things I know is wrong
Hope I'm forgiven before I'm gone
It'll take a lotta prayers to save my soul
And I got to hurry up before I grow too old

I'm gonna take a trip around the world
Gonna kiss all the pretty girls
Who do everything silver and gold
And I got to hurry up before I grow too old

I'm gonna go out dancin' every night
I'm gonna see all your city lights
I'm gonna do everything silver and gold
And I got to hurry up before I grow too old



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[barb162]

36. Carson, oh, he was so special. I don't know how many

thousands of nights I watched him. When I think of Leno,well, that was a poor repalcement.

[bliss_eternal]

41. Tell me about it. Hardly deserving of his legacy

of the Tonight Show. Letterman was robbed! :(

I think Leno feels bad now that he lost a friend because of it...

[barb162]

44. Yes Letterman has more talent in his little finger than Leno....

I miss Carson doing "the fork in the road" skits, the Great Karnack stuff, so many other things. Just watching him every night before going to sleep, it was like he was part of your family for years.

[bliss_eternal]

47. Did you watch his final week on the air?

I still get choked up when they show Bette Midler singing to him...
Wasn't he a major contributer to the Dems? Such a good man.

I was so sad that Letterman didn't get his spot. :( I very rarely watch now. Only when there's someone on I really want to see...

[barb162]

50. Yeah I did.. I watched Carson when I was a kid. I saw the original

Ed Ames live hatchet throw to the crotch many years ago.

[hibbing]

197. as a fellow Nebraskan

Mr. Carson was great and I was moved by his passing.
He never forget his alma mater and has donated a lot
of money to institutions in Nebraska.

[KT2000]

42. Ron Musson

Unlimited Hydroplane driver
I was 13 and he was my favorite driver. So sad

[alphafemale]

45. River Phoenix, What a fuck'n waste of the decades of gifts he had in him

I still hate thinking about him dying on a sidewalk in his 20's.

[bliss_eternal]

49. I caught the E! on his life and death recently. It choked me up

to hear Joaquin (his little brother) hysterical that he had collapsed on the sidewalk right in front of him. What an awful way to die... What a horrible shock to have your brother die right in front of you.

I still don't get how someone that was once so opposed to mind altering substances and such a naturalist (vegan, etc.) could let things get to that point... a huge waste. He was a great talent.

:( Sorry it hit you hard. :hug:

[alphafemale]

55. Actually, I was rather pissed at him. Like he robbed us of his gifts.

I think he was ten times more talented than Leo Dicapprio.

Who took his place by default.

Leo's good too...not saying he isn't.

Just not as good as River was.

[bliss_eternal]

59. I understand.

Kind of the way I feel when I think about Kurt, yet not quite the same. Kurt was just such a fragile human being it seems. So I almost understand him taking his life even though it does make me angry--he left his little girl.

You're right about River and Leo, though. River was really special.

[alphafemale]

62. The "Stand by Me" scene where the River character fades? Goosebumps

[RobinA]

137. I Was Pissed

at him too. What a waste, and what a dumb thing to do. It's not that freakin' easy to kill yourself that way.

[xmas74]

200. Same here.

I have many that I've mourned over but River was like a punch to the gut. WTF was he thinking? He was supposed to be so into clean living and was supposed to be proof of what kind of person a sensitive family could raise.
He was a brilliant actor and he blew it.

[New Earth]

51. Kurt Cobain

at the time at least. and more recently, Luther Vandross :cry:

[NewJeffCT]

195. same with me

at the time, i was quite upset... i remember it wasn't that long prior to his death that I blew off a Nirvana concert thinking that I'd just go to see them next time around.

[malmapus]

206. Same here

Both with being upset at the time of hearing his death, as well as having a chance to see them in concert (except I didn't have a choice, unit had a stupid FTX come up). But I figured I would catch them on the next come around.

[bliss_eternal]

53. My husband was upset by Michael Hutchens of INXS

He isn't a member of DU (even though he's a Dem). But insisted he be able to participate in this thread....


John Candy's passing made him sad, too.

OK, honey...happy? Now stop reading over my shoulder. :bounce:

[bliss_eternal]

56. I have to add Ray Charles and Gregory Hines

Didn't know either was sick...:cry:

[CanuckAmok]

57. Kurt Cobain, John Lennon, Madeline Kahn, Joe Strummer, Joey Ramone...

Joey Ramone just should't ever die, ya know?

[bliss_eternal]

61. I know. How could Joey leave us. We still need him.

That was a rough one. Another one I wasn't aware was as ill as he was. Heartbreaking. :(

Oh and Madeline Kahn. Whoa. That woman, just blew me away. She was so sick---and she just kept on. She wouldn't stop working. Wow.

[tyedyeto]

58. John Lennon n/t

[alphafemale]

60. I have to agree with you on Freddie Mercury. Even knowng it was coming.

Seeing him bravely belting out the opening song at the Olympics.

You could tell he was weak...but damn if he didn't deliver.

He never let an audience down.

Miss him.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

64. I loved that song he sung at the Barcelona Olympics .

That's when I first discovered him - I was only 11 years old at the time . Then I quickly learned that he was a legend in his own right once I heard his material with Queen .

[alphafemale]

68. I think I was around 11 when I first heard him too. "We Will Rock You"

I think was it.

[bliss_eternal]

65. Always, he always gave 155%!

At the time, people tried to diminish it--people that weren't fans, by saying, 'well he had AIDs.' As if that should somehow justify his death. It was still so early in the Aids crisis--but even then, hearing people say that made me so ANGRY. I was a kid, but I knew it was wrong. He was a man, a human being and I cared...and we lost him.

Watching him on Live Aid tonight, those people LOVED him and his music. No one cared about anything else. He loved them right back. The performance he gave...nothing short of miraculous. :applause:

I miss him, too. :(

[bliss_eternal]

63. Jam Master Jay. So wrong. How could some

total piece of shit take him out in the prime of his life. :grr: This one still pisses me off.

At the time, I cried, and cried...now it just makes me mad.

[ghostsofgiants]

66. Hunter S. Thompson, Mitch Hedberg and Elliott Smith

And I guess retroactively, Bill Hicks. I had never heard of him up until last year, but finding out who he was and finding out that he had died was quite sad.

[bliss_eternal]

140. Was there ever a theory on Hunter's death?

I don't understand how such a man, could take his own life... So many people admired and respected his work. Does anyone know if he was depressed?

[ghostsofgiants]

154. I haven't heard anything about it

I'd be interested to though because it was definitely surprising.

[bliss_eternal]

163. Yes, it just seemed to come out of nowhere...

[Bossy Monkey]

170. Apparently in constant pain due to a physical condition. The 2004 election

couldn't have helped. This is the AP story about the reaction among his friends and neighbors, from a South African site 'cause that's where it was still up at this late date: http://www.news24.com/News24/Entertainment/Abroad/0,,2-1225-1243_1665868,00.html

[bliss_eternal]

175. Thank you for the link--It's cool to read

SOMETHING about him and those who knew him. I missed the Rolling Stone issue that spoke of him and I assume his death as well.

Does anyone know how he felt about this administration?

[Bossy Monkey]

188. Furious. He was also friends with Kerry from the latter's VVAW days

He wrote a lot of stuff in '04 about the evil cabal running the country. I'll try to round up some links on edit, but you could also search the DU archives for Hunter Thompson in the subject between May and November of 2004. We posted the dickens out of his stuff at the time because it was really great.

Edit: This is the sine qua non. He was wrong about the final result, nothing else: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/6562575?&rnd=1098394261180&has-player=true

Editedit: If Rolling Stone asks you to install Java Virtual Machine, just say no. You can still read the story.

[bliss_eternal]

212. Thank you for the link--whatta guy!

Sometimes it's easy to look at the way things are and the results from the election and think you are all alone in the world. When I feel (or have felt this way), I come to DU.

I sincerely hope he wasn't feeling that before his death.

[maveric]

67. Phil Hartman, John Candy, George Harrison, Ken Caminiti, Princess Di.

[SoCalDem]

69. Steve McQueen

:(

[Blue_In_AK]

129. He was so full of life...

It didn't seem possible that he could die.

[bliss_eternal]

141. May I ask, how Steve McQueen died? He was pretty young

wasn't he?

[allalone]

149. it hit me hard

he died of lung cancer

[bliss_eternal]

164. Oh, that poor man!

I'm sorry it hit you so hard.

:hug:

[CanuckAmok]

192. My fave McQueen photo.

The look on his face prety much sums up everything...peace man!

[bliss_eternal]

214. Male film stars just don't have that 'ruggedly handsome' thing

anymore, do they?

So cool that he is throwing up a peace sign, while they are taking their mug shot.

:thumbsup:

[Kickin_Donkey]

70. JFK Jr.

.

[AussieDave]

87. Yes indeed

and didn't Jackie O whup his ass when he got to wherever for flying in the twilight..........

[RobinA]

139. Not Me

I knew that guy was doomed. Some things are just going to happen, and him dying young was one of them. If he had locked himself in a padded room it would have been in the WTC. It was inevitable.

[Tikki]

71. Jeffrey Lee Pierce...

D. Boon...




Tikki

[mitchum]

107. I also broke down upon learning of Jeffrey Lee's death...

even though it was inevitable.
Rest In Peace, Jeffrey Lee Pierce American Genius

[evlbstrd]

72. Hendrix, Morrison, Joplin, Lennon, Zappa, Harrison, Moon, Vaughn.

[hfojvt]

73. Walter Payton, Karen Carpenter, John Ritter, Chris Farley

Roger Zelazny - mainly because they were all too young.

[RummyTheDummy]

74. Phil Hartman, Bill Hicks

IMO, the most talented man to ever grace the SNL cast. What a HUGE fucking waste. Absolutely crushed me. I still miss the guy.

Hicks was a brilliant social commentator. I can't imagine what he would have to say about the state of this country today.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

75. It crushed me too !

I was so sad when I heard that news about him and his wife . I prayed for their children too .

[RummyTheDummy]

76. Yes, I had forgotten his wife killed herself as well

Just after the police arrived at the scene. Awful.

[Liberal In Texas]

77. What an absolutly interesting post. I never would have thought to do this

Sam Kinison



I loved that guy. And he died in the same car I was driving at the time , a Pontiac Firebird.

Also Harry Chapin.



perhaps another car accident victim. But he might have had a heart attack. We'll probably never know.

[AVulgarianHue]

78. Gary Webb n/t

[Bossy Monkey]

79. Lennon, Zevon, HST, Strummer, Joey, Groucho nt

[NMMNG]

81. None really

Upon the death of an artist whose work I admire I am saddened as I would be for any human's passing. I also regret that they will no longer be able to create whatever it was they had before their death. However I don't become traumatized and join candlelight vigils a-la Kurt Cobain's fans. I'm just not a celebrity worshipper.

Edited for typo

[Maine-ah]

82. John Lennon and George Harrison.

I was only six when JL was murdered. I remember watching it on the news and sitting on the couch crying with my mother. I was raised on Beatles music. Still my favorite band of all time.

The morning that they announced that GH had died, I hadn't heard about it yet, but the station I was listening to was playing a few songs of his in a row, and I knew at that point. I cried all the way to work. When I got home, I did my own little tribute and played some songs of his on my flute.

Other than those two, none have really affected me much.

[no_hypocrisy]

83. Harry Chapin (tip of the icerberg)

John Lennon, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Michael O'Donoghue (Mr. Mike), George Harrison. My personal cultural icons. Can you imagine how much better things would be if they were all still here with us?

[KG]

84. Jer

[Kingshakabobo]

158. Me too. I received sympathy calls from all my friends. n/t

[peacefreak]

85. Janis.

John Lennon & Jerry Garcia. All too sad. All way too soon,

[caty]

86. Natalie Wood's tragic death

hit me hard. Only 43 yrs.old. And, Jimmy Stewart. Alway loved his movies and enjoyed watching him on Johnny Carson when he guested on the show.

[bliss_eternal]

142. ...and such a mystery. For one so afraid of water--

it still seems so strange that she was out there alone, and that she would drown. That poor woman, what she must have went through...:(

[caty]

148. So sad. Much too young.

When you hear that someone passes away in their 80's, or even their 70"s, you can find some small comfort that they lived a long life. But, anytime before that seems as though they were robbed of some very precious time.

[Bullwinkle925]

88. Sammy Davis, Jr./ John Lennon/ George Harrison/ Steve Mc Queen

Dammit - I miss all of them!

Don't know what I'll do if Smokey Robinson beats me to the 'Great Beyond'....waaahhhhhh.

[TK421]

89. John Candy, John Ritter (still seems weird to see him on TV)

there are others, but I can't think of them now

[assclown_bush]

90. Princess Diana. I was shocked when she died.

And strangely enough I was saddened by her death. It's odd to feel that for someone you have never met. Versace also was a shock since he was a victim of a serial killer on a rampage.

[ronnykmarshall]

91. Johnny Carson

John Lennon, Princess Diana, Jackie Kennedy and JFK Jr.

I was a wreck when Princess Diana died and the same when Jackie died.

I was watching Headliners and Legends and they had a show about Jackie. I still tear up when they show her funeral. Caroline just looked so angry/sad when she kissed her mother's coffin. So did Ethel Kennedy.

[immoderate]

92. John Lennon, Sun Ra, Dizzy Gillespie, Monk, John Coltrane,

We get so intimate with musicians because they reveal their souls to us.

Also Ray Charles, Skeeter Davis, Roland Kirk.

--IMM

[indigo32]

93. Jim Hensen and Stevie Ray Vaughn

and probably others but those two stick out.

[Glorfindel]

94. Oddly...Roy Rogers and "Buffalo Bob"

Heroes of my early boyhood. They both lived to ripe old ages, but when they died, something disappeared forever. Also, certainly, John Lennon and the three who just flamed out WAY too early: Jimi Hendrix, Cass Elliott, and Jim Morrison.

:(

[johnnie]

95. John Lennon

And Elvis.

[PopSixSquish]

96. Johnny Cash

My father was/is a huge fan and his music was such a part of my childhood.

Will the circle be unbroken?

[RetroLounge]

99. Yes, Johnny Cash hit hard

I also grew up hearing his music in the house. I knew so many of his songs by heart, simply by osmosis. WJJD radio Chicago was always on. Plus Dad had some of his LP's.

Big regret I never saw him in concert...

RL

[billyskank]

97. Richard Whiteley

He was almost a god.

[cheeseit]

124. Yeah.

I guess this world was never meant for one as beautiful as him...:cry:

[ldf]

98. john lennon, princess diana, jfk,jr.

if those three had been allowed to continue, this could have been such a better world.....

not to mention the countless others, but i literally broke down and cried for those three.

:cry:

[lumberingbear]

100. Andy Gibb

He had so much going for him, but couldn't beat the drugs. Sad.

[Blue Gardener]

101. Princess Diana

I cried like a baby.

[undeterred]

121. Me too

that was so sad, especially to see her boys.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

102. George Harrison, Aaliyah

nt

[NNadir]

103. Hans Bethe. He was only 98. He still had more to give.

[MrsCheaplaugh]

104. Graham Chapman

[seemunkee]

105. Jim Henson

[YellowRubberDuckie]

115. I was a little girl when Jim Henson died...

And they had a clip memorial to him on some show. My mom let me watch it, and I was bawling. I turned to her and said, "KERMIE DIED?" And I was just sobbing. She explained to me that the voice of Kermit passed, but he was kermie's father and that Kermit was sad. IT just ripped me apart.
Duckie

[MountainLaurel]

182. The day after he died

Was my last day of high school. On my way in the car to the bus stop (my mom dropped us off on her way to work) was when I first heard of it -- the radio station was playing "Rainbow Connection" in memory. It was so poignant -- without my Sesame Street friends, I never would have done so well in school and college may not have been an option.

[seemunkee]

184. I can't remember what comic it was in but there was cartoon

of Bert wandering around his house and in the last panel he was sitting on Ernies bed crying. It was a beautiful piece and said it all without any words.

[livetohike]

106. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison

I was 18 years old when all three passed away :cry: .

Roberto Clemente's death hit me very hard too, because he was/is my favorite baseball player.

[Zuni]

108. Joe Strummer, John Candy, Ray Charles, Phil Hartman

John Ritter

there are a lot of them

[Biased Liberal Media]

109. John Ritter

it was so unexpected, and I grew up with Three's Company and loved this man's line of work.

[devilgrrl]

110. Joey Ramone!!!!

Cried my eyes out! :cry:

[PittPoliSci]

113. that one was hardest on me too.

I cried for days...

[bliss_eternal]

143. Me too.

...joey.

:(

[tedoll78]

112. Phil Hartman.

The only celebrity for whom I've cried. Such a gift..

[Initech]

167. Definately.

RIP Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz!

[Lisa]

241. SNL still uses his voiceovers sometimes ...

For example, leading into Al Franken's sketch when Al Gore was hosting. I thought that was cool.

[rbnyc]

114. John Cage

He was a huge influence on my world view and my writing and music. And we had a lot of strange things in common and some very odd mutual acquaintances. So I always thought I'd get a chance to meet him some day. I'd always planned to write to him, and I was sure he'd write back. It was just a matter of time. I was devastated when he died.

Also, a friend spotted him a year or so before he died. He was ducking under a velvet rope in an auditorium, and was so spry. I had a feeling he was immortal.

[Rising Phoenix]

116. Kurt Cobain

[proud patriot]

117. Jack Lemon , John Ritter , Jerry Garcia

John Lennon

[yellowdogintexas]

118. Raol Julia what an amazing actor!

and Jack Lemmon, I just loved him.

Rick Nelson, I think mostly because of growing up watching him grow up.

President Kennedy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Robert Kennedy!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JFK Jr !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Martin Luther King, Jr.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Wellstone

The worst was President Kennedy, though, with RFK a close second.

I was old enough to vote when RFK died and just devastated.

[bertha katzenengel]

174. So shocked when Raul Julia died. He gave the world such

a wonderful gift. :(

[Kat45]

119. The first one I remember getting sad about one was Hendrix.

I was in junior high when he died. I heard it on the news, then went in my room and played my "Are You Experienced" album.

I was devastated by Zappa's death; still am, because we sure could use him these days to help us with the neocons. And of course, Jim Morrison, Stevie Ray Vaughn. I even felt saddened by Frank Sinatra's death: it wasn't unexpected, but it was the passing of one with a wonderful voice and distinct personality who was truly an icon of my parents' generaton.

[bliss_eternal]

144. I did some reading about Zappa last night. Wow...

...what a prolific and brilliant man.

I loved how on a part they said Warners wouldn't release an album he worked on--and he promptly put the entire album on the radio and told fans to tape it. :rofl: We could definitely use that kind of spririt in these times!

[Radio_Lady]

120. Nat King Cole -- I saw a newspaper at the corner of E. 42nd St.

and (not sure of the avenue) just after work. It just blew me away. It was the first time I considered that smoking was killing people.

Recently, Anne Bancroft's death seemed so regrettable.

[bliss_eternal]

146. I was rather po'd that there wasn't more made over Anne

Bancroft. Not much was said or done on the news or entertainment channels, and I looked.

I hate this 'dismissal' of the older Hollywood stars when they bend over backword for the new talentless breed. It's mind boggling.

:grr:

I felt the same way after Janet Leigh passed.

[Radio_Lady]

221. Yes, bliss -- I only heard the original announcement and some

coverage about her the next day.

That was it.

You can be sure if it was Paris Hilton dead with uterine cancer or Ashlee Simpson (urp!), there would have been much more.

Ah, well.

[bliss_eternal]

232. So true--it just makes me sick.

I'm still waiting and hoping maybe People magazine will do a commemorative issue for her. So far, nothing...

:grr:

[Bridget Burke]

122. Doug Sahm: "The State Musician of Texas"

Yes, all the famous assassinations & notorious OD's affected me.

But Doug Sahm was "only" 58 when he died suddenly. He played all types of Texas music from country, blues, rock, cajun to tex-mex. He was beyond categorization & it seemed as though he would always be around.

www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/1999-11-26/music_feature.html

[laststeamtrain]

132. When Chet Helms died the other week I thought of Sir Doug...

...for a coupla seasons there back in the day he played with a really 'jump' horn band at the Avalon Ballroom in SF. He seemed to be there second or third on the bill behind the bigger name traveling acts almost every week. Most of the time the most solid MUSIC of the night.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

123. Going back quite a way...

Janis Joplin was the first. I was attending a Lutheran college at the time, and even I was surprised how many quiet and rather behaviorally conservative young women like myself were very shaken by her death. I think she represented the polar opposite of the image that our families and communities were trying to instill in us.

[shanti]

125. bob marley, dennis brown, peter tosh

their times came too too soon.

[Blue_In_AK]

126. Almost too many to name...

...that's the problem with getting old. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, especially John Lennon, Frank Zappa, George Harrison, the great old movie stars, especially Gregory Peck, Burt Lancaster, Jack Lemmon. Anne Bancroft hit me hard...I loved her in everything she did. Of course, the '60s assassinations were the worst. I couldn't stop crying for at least a week when JFK was murdered.

[bliss_eternal]

147. Is the saying true, that you know where you were when JFK's

death was announced?

You've survived some turbulent times, and witnessed the deaths of some of our greatest artists.

:patriot:

[allalone]

151. oh yes

I got on a city bus and everybody looked all weird and the driver told me. strangest ride I ever took. I was on my way to my therapist's and we spent whole hour just sitting there.

[Blue_In_AK]

160. Yes, I was in Mrs. McCafferty's English class...

...at South Houston High School. I was a senior. JFK had been in Houston just the day before, so maybe we felt it even a little harder than people in other parts of the country. We couldn't believe it when the announcement came over the PA shortly after 1:00 p.m. -- I remember my teacher's face turned white and there were gasps throughout the room and people were crying. That moment will be indelibly printed on my brain until the day I die and changed my life. Prior to that, I didn't even think about politics -- I was just a happy-go-lucky, Beatle-loving high school kid. After that, everything changed.

[bliss_eternal]

169. Wow. I guess the only thing that comes close

these days is 9/11--I still recall where I was, what we were doing, etc.

Actually, I recall the day Reagan was shot, too. But not because I was sad or it moved me. Just because the other kids in my class cheered. Rather telling, sadly.

Thank you for sharing your experience here!:hi:

[Bridget Burke]

216. I was a Trojan, too.

But a few years behind you.

I was working in the Library instead of taking Gym (high-strung even then). When I "reported" at midday, the librarian told me. Then the announcement came over the PA.

[THUNDER HANDS]

130. basketball player named Drazen Petrovic

he was my favorite player as a kid and was killed on a highway in Europe during the prime of his career.

Michael Jordan called him the best shooter he ever saw. Reggie Miller called him the toughest player he ever played against.

He once scored 112 points in a game, as a shooting guard.

He used to practice every day in Europe, and never left the gym until he hit 100 3-pointers in a row.

He was amazing, the best player I've ever seen.

[no name no slogan]

131. Most people don't know him, but Adrian Borland

Here's his story

He was the lead singer of a group called The Sound, who were a groundbreaking UK post-punk group in the early '80s. Adrian was a troubled soul and produced an astounding catalog of music. Unfortunately, due to idiotic record companies and just plain bad luck, he never got the fame he so rightly deserved.

As a musician who has been hospitalized for my mental problems, his story hit home for me. He was almost done with an incredible album when his disease won out, and he committed suicide by throwing himself in front of a train.

Very tragic. It affects me still to this day whenever I listen to him. ;(

[tenshi816]

133. George Harrison because I not only respected him as a

musician, but as a good person as well. We lived over the road from him in Henley-on-Thames for 7 years, although we didn't see him often, and when I did run into him he was a very nice man, completely lacking in "rock-star ego". He was not only a fine artist, he had a great love for his family and his community.

Groucho Marx, even though he was old before I was even born - his was a huge comic gift.

Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan - oh, those voices.

Johnny Cash, whose music I loved and still love so much, who I had the great good luck to meet once when I was an extra on a movie he was in. During our break for lunch, Johnny and June Carter Cash actually served lunch to all of the extras so they could get a chance to talk to us. Fine people, those two.

[bliss_eternal]

136. What a treat--to occasionally get to encounter Sir George.

I always admired the fact that he was so devoted to his family.

I miss him so much--especially during times as these. There's no way he'd sit still for what they've done w/Africa or what is going on here.

[tenshi816]

153. My personal George Harrison story -

In August of 1990 my husband and I moved into a Victorian cottage (built in the 1840s) that was part of a small group of identical cottages in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. George Harrison's estate, Friar Park, was across the road - except the view of his house was obscured by the huge wooden fence topped by triple strand razor barbed wire.

Although George had at one time been a regular at the pub a few hundred yards down on the street heading into the Henley town centre, after John Lennon was murdered he stopped going out so much. He got out and about, but in a really low-key way.

At the time we moved in, I was undergoing a third round of IVF treatment so the fact that a Beatle lived nearby wasn't so important to me. We were lucky enough to be successful finally with IVF in 1991, and after my son was born I was faced with having to lose the baby weight I had gained - and I was freakin' enormous.

So, after I had worked for several months to get back to my pre-pregnancy figure, one day I was pushing my son back up the hill towards our house. Just as I got to the top, a car passed me going into the gate at Friar Park. The window came rolling down and I heard a voice saying "looking good these days".

I glanced over and it was George Harrison. He gave me a little wave and drove on in to Friar Park. OK, yes I had worked bloody hard getting my figure back, but it never occurred to me that he took that much notice of the people who lived around him.

We saw George from time to time, out walking or on his bike - he didn't disguise himself, but neither did he make a big deal about who he was. He would say hello, but didn't court attention and people respected his privacy. His wife, Olivia, was very much a part of the local community, but was not an attention-seeking person either.

They were real people, not an MTV family.

George Harrison, I hope, will one day be recognised for his contribution to the music world without being overshadowed by his band-mates. He was also a fine human being.

Edited for spelling.

[Kingshakabobo]

159. Nice.

:)

[bliss_eternal]

162. What a love! He NOTICED you!

Thank you for sharing this. I enjoyed reading it and hearing what a lovely man he was...I always knew it, but it's so nice to hear things like this.

Thank YOU!
:hug:

[Bullwinkle925]

172. Thank you for sharing that.

I wish I would have had a chance like yourself to be able to meet George. I've always admired him and was really saddened when he passed away.

RIP GEORGE!!

[montana_hazeleyes]

134. At 56 ,there have been so many.

I agree with all mentioned in the other posts. For me, all of the assassinations of course.
I can remember when Richie Valens, The big Bopper and Buddy Holly were killed. I was only 10 but I remember feeling bad.
I cried all the way to school when Nat King Cole died. Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson.( The only one I ever wrote a fan letter to, after his devastating stroke). Burt Lancaster(my favorite actor).
There are so many. I hate forgetting or leaving out any, but the ones that devastated me and I cried the most over were Elvis, John Lennon, Walter Payton, Lady Di, Jackie Kennedy (She held this country together after JFK's murder)and the one that just knocked me down was JFK Jr. It just couldn't be happening- NO! NO! It brought back all the other devastating Kennedy and Martin Luther King deaths.

[bliss_eternal]

135. I recall the day of JFK jr.

I sat almost all day watching the rescue mission. I just continued to hope it was all a terrible mistake, and they were in a hotel someplace. All the weird things you tell yourself when you don't want to believe something. :(

My husband ever so gently told me at that point, (after 12 hrs.) they had to be dead...

[montana_hazeleyes]

168. I had similar reactions.

I woke up that Saturday morning and turned on my radio. I heard the radio host say "We'll keep you updated on JFK Jr.'s missing plane".

I started that "bargaining" for hope in my head. "OK, OK" I said to myself, "someone's stolen his plane. That's all. There just looking for his stolen plane."

Deep inside though, I knew it was more than that. Then I turned on the tv and found out what was really happening. My immediate reaction was weird. I was not only concerned and afraid, I was Mad!How could this be happening again?

I too, watched all the search efforts and have tape after tape that I recorded from various news channels so I would have proof of what was happening in case we found out something sinister again.

I also kept up hope that somehow they were ok somewhere, but then,we had to accept that they were gone.

I am so glad they were found. I don't know how to put it, but I just felt we needed that
It was horrifying when during the search efforts the tv showed they were measuring the area where JFK and Jackie are buried.

And to see poor Ted and Ethel and the whole family go through this again was heartbreaking. And the whole county. There was just something so sad about losing the little boy we saw saluting his fallen father.

[bliss_eternal]

176. Watching the family going through it was heartbreaking.

Speaking of horrifying, I lost it in the bookstore not long after his death. People were there, buying up every last issue of George.

I went off on some woman that was desperately trying to order one, because he died--not because she had ever even read it before.

Just disgusting, morbid and salacious.

[montana_hazeleyes]

190. Wow, I think we a lot alike.

I probably would have blown my top too!

[bliss_eternal]

213. Thanks. That makes me feel better...

I kind of felt like an ass at the time for being so vocal and pissed about it. LOL!

[MrSlayer]

145. Randy Rhodes, Cliff Burton, Chuck Schuldiner, Paul Baloff.

[no name no slogan]

150. Can't believe I forgot Paul Wellstone

I was at work that day and heard from a co-worker. I had worked with Paul back before he was a Senator, in 1988, and he still remembered me whenever I'd see him. Even though I hadn't been involved in any campaigns since 1992, he still remembered me.

He was a very special man, and would have made one hell of a president. We truly lost a brave, compassionate human being that day, and we're still trying to recover. ;(

[China_cat]

152. Isaac Asimov

and Jerry Garcia

[Janice325]

155. Celebrity deaths

Dorothy Stratten- the manner in which she died, shot to death by her rat bastard husband who then committed suicide. What a waste of such a beautiful young woman who will be remembered mostly by the manner in which she died.
Phil Hartman-the manner in which he died, shot to death by his wife who then committed suicide. I really adored him.
Madeleine Kahn-way to young.
Anne Bancroft-I was REALLY bummed by her death. I guess I thought she was invincible. :cry:

[Aristus]

157. Don't laugh, but John Chancellor, NBC News anchor and commentator.

I grew up watching him on TV. He WAS the news to me. I became a newshound because of him. I was devastated when he died.

[CanuckAmok]

166. Not laughing at all.

I was devastated when he died, and also Harry Reasoner.

Pretty soon all those old, real journalists will be gone, and we'll just be left with the blowdry-heads.

I'm going to have a melt-down if Helen Thomas dies.

on edit: Note: I said "if".

[Blue_In_AK]

177. I'm going to be extremely sad when Walter Cronkite goes...

He was/is definitely a trusted voice.

[devilgrrl]

179. ABC Anchorman Frank Reynolds back in '81 or so.

Couldn't watch ABC News for months afterward, it just wasn't the same.

[Burma Jones]

161. Hit me Hard? - Lennon, Marley and Garcia

I was also pretty sad at John Belushi's death.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

165. Audrey Hepburn, Joe Strummer, Joey Ramone

JFK Jr. and Jackie O. Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. Paul Wellstone.

[In_The_Wind]

171. Marilyn Monroe

it was so sad & senseless :(

[bertha katzenengel]

173. Lucille Ball and Ray Charles.

Lucy for me, because her show was a refuge from reality while I was growing up. Ray -- I wept for my sister, who was in love with the guy and his music.

[Glenda]

181. Freddie Mercury and Gilda Radner n/t

[mcscajun]

185. First it was John Lennon...and then Jerry Garcia

The first one was a total shock, and took my youth (or what was left of it, I guess, by then I was 29) away.

The second was merely a sad surprise...yet hit me so unexpectedly hard (I was at work when I heard the news, and I was fortunate to have a very understanding manager who let me go home).

On edit: and in the middle...closer to Lennon's passing, there was John Belushi. He was on the verge of a whole new part of his career -- "Continental Divide" showed he could do romantic comedy. Believe it! And then he was gone...

[coloradodem2005]

186. I would say John Lennon.

Except I was only 1 year old. George Harrison definitely. John Ritter.

[Deja Q]

187. Death is death. It happens to us all, I don't believe in favoritism and I

sure as hell refuse to depress myself in remembering the event.

But I will say that I may exhibit emotion at the time of somebody's death - and that bugger may not be famous either.

Gotta turn the idiot box off; fox relaity show coming on.

[xultar]

189. Barry White & Ossie Davis

[Texasgal]

193. Ray Charles

Being a life long fan of his music, it hit me pretty hard when he passed.

[DanCa]

194. Christopher Reeve

First it was superman
He was my child hood hero, superman the movie taught me about liberalism. That it was okay for a man to be peaceful and to help people and to restrain himself when it came to violence

Than it was Christopher Reeve.
After I was Diagnoised with Parkinsons I started readding about a little thing called stem cell. You would think I would follow MJ FOx. No For ME it was Chris. Funny he would have given up and no one would have thought any less of him.
I wear a superman triangle s necklace around my neck. I say it stands for both superman and stem cell research. God Bless you Christopher Reeve may you rest in peace.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

208. I second that

And all best wishes to you, DanCa.

[bliss_eternal]

233. Yes, Danca--I hope all is well w/you.

I also hope that Chris didn't die in vain. I was shattered when he passed on, as I have closely followed his tireless efforts for stem cell research.

[hibbing]

196. buzz

John Belushi for me, wasted talent. I would have
said Bob Dylan, but somehow he is still alive.

[montana_hazeleyes]

230. LOL- I almost said Bob Dylan,

but then realized he's still alive.

[Java]

198. Richard Feynman

ntxt

[Sugarcoated]

199. George Harrison

John Kennedy, Jr.

[greenbriar]

201. Marvin Gaye, Jim Croce

among all the other great ones listed


I always wished for a beatles reunion with Julian Lennon to stand in for his dad, but now with George gone as well...

[existentialist]

203. Hunter S. Thompson and Jerry Garcia

Now isn't that a pair?

Its been a while since Jerry Garcia left us, but it shocked me.


It did not shock me as much as when Hunter S. Thompson committed suicide just recently, particularly since he recent writing has still shown he wasn't totally brain fried, and certainly not the least bit fooled by the neocons. It made me feel slightly better to learn that it was not an act political despair, but it still made me sad, and rattled my consciousness.

[ForrestGump]

204. Elvis' death hit me hard, even though I'd only just started to know who he

was. I can't explain why, but it hit me incredibly hard. Maybe it was that I'd just come to know him through seeing some of his movies on TV and that he instantly struck a chord within me...that and the sight of newscasters crying on air and the outpouring of grief in the following days. The world's still not over Elvis.

John Lennon, too, a mere three years later (though it seemed so much longer since Elvis died, perhaps because when you're the age that I was three years can see a lot of changes). Since John, though, there've just been too many. Stevie Ray Vaughan, Gregory Peck, Cousteau, Jon Ritter, George Harrison, Marlon Brando, and so many already listed above....way, way too many.

[bridgit]

205. phil hartman...

the utter absence of rhyme or reason = tragedy ~

[The Straight Story]

207. Lucille Ball

Reminded me of my mom.

[Montauk6]

209. These are lesser knowns and very personal

(Ray Charles, Johnny Carson, John Lennon, George Harrison, Barry White, Luther Vandross all saddened me as well)

Reggie White

Mostly because he was actually a cousin of mine though I never met him. It was a shocker nonetheless. Plus, I have sleep apnea and use a C-PAP machine; I'm not sure if he was treated for his but this was apparently a factor in his death, and that REALLY chilled me to the bone.


Melvin Franklin

Growing up, I idolized The Temptations; they were the coolest. And no one sang bass like Melvin; not before, not during, not since. It was like, he's too young how could he die? It also brought home the fact that there's just one left! How is that possible??? (Paul Williams, of course, died many years earlier, not long after leaving the group; Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin... wow...) And, as a person who doesn't often cry during movies, I kinda chuckled at the fact that, hey, I was seriously getting choked up watching the NBC movie.


Bruce Lee

I was about 7 or 8 when he died. But still it was a shock because he was Superman; I remember being so excited going to the drive-in to see Enter The Dragon, a movie that 1000's of viewings later still excites me like it was brand new. As far as I was concerned, NO screen hero was as BAAAAAD as Bruce. And no kung-fu/action film could touch ANY of his four classics.


Jerry Orbach

Being a Law & Order nut, obviously this is a no-brainer. But, I was also (thanks to the A&E Biography) starting to appreciate what a true talent this guy was. I hadn't known what a great singer this guy was (I figured that candlestick part in Beauty & the Beast was just a diversion for him), or how renowned he was on Broadway. One of the greats.


Eddie Farhat

Yeah, I know: "WHO???" When I heard he died a couple of years ago I was quite moved. I was also hit with that seems-like-yesterday nostalgia as I remember, as a 70s kid, going down with my family to see him perform at Cobo Arena in Detroit and coming out with my heart racing in fear (an adrenaline rush, maybe?). He used to draw sellout crowds and everyone HATED him (not just in Detroit but all over)!! Or I should say LOVED to hate him. Yet no one knew his name, they just knew him as simply "The Sheik." And, every other Saturday night, people came in droves to see the hero of the week try to destroy this evil vicious monster, who usually thwarted all efforts with pencils, knives, snakes, and even fireballs. THAT was pro wrestling, my friends, and despite whatever opinion you may have about it now (or even then), it was true visceral fringe theatre and The Sheik was its Bard.

[bliss_eternal]

234. I'm very sorry about your cousin.

:(

[ariesgem]

237. Bruce Lee hit me hard too. I was in the 5th grade

and was a big fan. I couldn't believe someone so young and strong could just die without warning.

[driver8]

211. Belushi, Farley, Phil Hartman...

Phil Hartman's murder really messed me up for days...such a senseless, tragic act.

[Spider Jerusalem]

215. Miles Davis, William S Burroughs, Hunter S Thompson...

those three affected me most, I think.

[Trigger Hippie]

217. I miss HST.

He kicked ass.

[dbt]

218. One more time for Johnny Cash!

Even though it couldn't have taken him long to follow June to the Other Side, even though his health was fragile, it was still a shock when he died.

It was easy to believe that somebody as hard as Cash would live forever. I sat on the front porch and played his version of "Southern Accents" as loud as it would go.

[JimmyJazz]

219. Sergei Grinkov - that was just shocking

and John Entwistle. I know he had problems, but he was a really nice guy :(

[Shell Beau]

220. Chris Farley and Phil Hartman!

I was a fan of that cast of SNL and even though both had very different deaths, they were both gone too soon. Such talent. I was very sad by both.

[chaska]

222. Jaco Pastorius....

One of the greatest talents ever, beaten to death outside a bar.

And of course Freddy too.

[pdx_prog]

229. Yes...

Jaco's death was SO sad.....and un-neccessary..

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

224. Some of those already mentioned, plus...

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

226. And how CAN I forget Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov? (nt)

[Rambis]

225. Jerry!

nuff said

[Jade Fox]

227. For some reason Elvis Presley....

I wasn't even that familiar with his music, but he was such a huge icon
it was like God had died.

[dajoki]

228. jfk&jr. rfk, john lennon, keith moon

:(

[deadparrot]

231. Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck.

I sobbed the day of his funeral. I was a mess.

[d_b]

235. John Candy, Kurt Cobain,Johnny Cash

[UrbScotty]

236. Harrison for me too, but also Wellstone (a celebrity in my book)

:loveya:

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

238. charles schulz and joe strummer

also:
johnny cash,phil hartman, jim henson, and kurt

[Lisa]

239. Carl Sagan, Stephen Jay Gould

Partly because their work is more needed than ever -- and partly because I really did think they were going to make it. (Sagan was in the middle of a course of treatments, while Gould fought cancer for years ... he wrote an incredibly moving and astute essay about it, which I've passed along to everybody I know who teaches stats and research methods: http://www.cancerguide.org/median_not_msg.html )

[Skittles]

240. I agree with you about Freddy, Lennon and Harrison

I'll add Marvin Gaye - I just adored him

[rlev1223]

242. Doug Kenney, Michael O'Donoghue....

William Gaines, Frank Zappa, Terry Southern..

a pattern?

[Catchawave]

243. Gilda Radner....

...and all the other young talents we lost too soon.

[PretzelWarrior]

244. Jim Henson. I know....geeky.

but I really hated it that Sammy davis Jr. passed around the same time because then the articles about their deaths almost gave them twin billing instead of dealing PRIMARILY with the fact that the creator of Kermit the Frog and Sesame Street and all the rest was GONE much too early.