Which celebrity deaths hit you hardest?

[milestogo]

For me:

River Phoenix

Whitney Houston

Robin Williams

[Walleye]

1. Jerry Garcia

[Macrophylla]

20. That one still hurts

All these years later.

[OAITW r.2.0]

55. Good choice.

I often wonder how Jerry would have played over the next 25 years, Less time with the Dead. more time with the JGB/OAITW/Bela Fleck?

[DBoon]

2. John Lennon, David Bowie, Joe Strummer

[kimbutgar]

3. Michael Jackson, Prince and Robin Williams

All performers I enjoyed when I was young. And I used to see Robin Williams many times hanging around in SF. I remember talking with him standing outside a comedy theater on clement st in SF. He had the biggest dog by his side and it was gigantic and the dog was chill. I petted it and small talked with him until my boyfriend pulled me away!

[Shambala]

4. Anthony Bourdain, Pee Wee Herman, Fernando Valenzuela

[Diamond_Dog]

5. John Lennon

[ailsagirl]

41. Definitely

It still saddens me

[LuckyCharms]

6. Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh.

[PJMcK]

7. Unless I know them personally, I'm not emotionally invested

I interned for Leonard Bernstein so when he died in 1990, I felt loss. He was a brilliant man in many disciplines. His works live on.

Chita Rivera died last year and I made a few contributions to her memoirs. She was a classy lady, a bit bawdy and very generous. I was sad to see her pass.

I worked with Stephen Sondheim for nearly 30 years and his death hit me hard. He was not only a musical genius, he was supremely intelligent and well-read. He was also another generous soul.

There’s three. Of course when Trump dies I don’t expect to feel loss.

[The Madcap]

10. Re. T****

My only loss when he goes will be loss of something to look forward to.

[beveeheart]

8. Elvis

[The Madcap]

9. Richard Wright of Pink Floyd

Loved his keyboard playing. A true victim of Roger Waters' ego. RIP.

[PennRalphie]

11. Maybe not a "celebrity" to some

Franco Harris.

[Jilly_in_VA]

12. Princess Diana

n/t

[milestogo]

13. Oh yes.

That one was huge.

[LeftInTX]

76. Yes!!! This might be the biggest one in this thread. It certainly was the most shocking.

[Lulu KC]

77. Her funeral was the weekend after I had my wisdom teeth removed

For some reason the pain meds made the dam break and I sobbed through the funeral on TV. I hadn't known what she meant to me.

The other tough one was Audrey Hepburn. Another surprise. Of course, I loved her, but it really made me sob.

[displacedvermoter]

14. Charlie Watts

Jeff Beck
Steve Marriott
Nicky Hopkins
Keith Moon
Bob Marley

Natalie Wood

[hlthe2b]

15. Robin Williams, Christopher Reeve (& wife, Dana), Whitney Houston...

I might say, Michael Jackson, but if I'm honest, he hadn't lost his talent, but it was subsumed by the pathetic aspects of his real life... So it might have been a kindness for him to go...

Patrick Swayze (a tragic too early loss to pancreatic cancer but widely considered to be a really "good guy" as well as a talented actor/dancer/performer).

Ryan White (whose public presence changed the nation's attitude toward HIV/AIDS)

As to Reeves and Williams, if you haven't seen the documentary on the former, but including the latter, watch "Super Man" on HBO/MAX. It was really moving and inspiring.

[Phentex]

16. Jim Henson

Broke my heart in a million little pieces

[mosingr]

69. Me, too.

[JoseBalow]

17. I still miss Frank Zappa every day

[Walleye]

21. Me too. We could really use his intelligence and insight in this situation now

[Elessar Zappa]

22. Same, even though I didn't know his music until 12 years after he passed!

I was 21 in 2005 and bought Joe’s Garage on a whim and it introduced me to the genius of Zappa. I wish I had been around when he was touring so I could’ve seen him live.

[bif]

26. I saw him a bunch of times

Always a very entertaining show. Especially the Flo & Eddie concerts.

[comradebillyboy]

18. I feel little, if any, personal attachment to celebrities.

We will all die. The deaths of family, friends and pets concern me infinitely more than the passing of famous strangers.

[The Wandering Harper]

19. Shane MacGowan

Sinead O'Connor
Cliff Burton

[Sneederbunk]

23. George Carlin

[LoisB]

24. In no particular order:

Bob Marley, Prince, James Baldwin, Tina Turner, Roberto Clemente, Robin Williams, George Carlin, Nelson Mandela...

[bif]

25. Queen Elisabeth, Princess Diana, John Lenon

The Queen mainly because I'm a total Anglophile and she was queen my entire life.

[BOSSHOG]

27. We'll never get over losing Jimmy Buffet. Lost him September 2023

[EarthAbides]

28. Sunshine On My Shoulder....

John Denver

[happybird]

29. David Bowie

I had always liked him, but was not a superfan or anything like that. I was shocked by my reaction to his passing. Full-on mourning, random crying jags, and all the traditional stages of grief. It was weird and it lasted for months.

A few years ago I realized a lot of the grief was actually for my Grandma and Grandpa, who had passed away within months of each other, about a year before Bowie died. I was in a bad place, psychologically, at the time and had been in denial about them being gone.

I still can’t watch the Blackstar and Lazarus videos with crying.

[Paladin]

30. John Lennon.

When I first heard the news, I was driving. I had to pull over and get myself back together before returning to the road.

[Lulu KC]

78. Yes

I still feel that one. It was like I knew him personally.

[greatauntoftriplets]

31. Diana.

Gordon Lightfoot
Kris Kristofferson

[Mad_Dem_X]

32. Heath Ledger

I was very much into the Brokeback Mountain fandom at the time, and when I heard that Heath Ledger had died, I had a mini freak-out. It scared my husband - he thought I had finally lost my mind for good!

The deaths of Chris Cornell and George Michael also hit me pretty hard.

[Skittles]

46. ditto

I was a big fan of his, knew he would be one of the greats

[Wonder Why]

33. None. I don't know any of them personally. Friends and family as well as the innocent from war, crime,

abuse and accident hurt me.

[Jeebo]

34. John Lennon and George Harrison.

When John Lennon was murdered, I was tremendously saddened. At the time there was talk of the Beatles perhaps getting back together, and that murder shattered that hope. I still think the Beatles are the best band ever, and nobody else is even close. George Harrison's death was tragic too, because it was premature. Movie stars? I'm going to say Audrey Hepburn. Her death was premature too, I think she was about 61. I am thinking about two other people as well, Queen Elizabeth II and Olivia de Havilland, but their deaths were not premature. Elizabeth was 96 and de Havilland was 104. They lived full lives and it was just their time, but I did admire both of those women. When somebody dies who lived a full and productive and rewarding life, it's not sad or tragic or anything like that. It's melancholy. It's bittersweet.

— Ron

[303squadron]

35. Bill Hicks, John Lennon

George Carlin, Robert Heinlein, David Crosby

[fargone]

36. Paul Wellstone

[zanana1]

67. That airplane accident was a head scratcher.

[milestogo]

68. Senator Feingold (D-WI) never travelled in small planes again after that.

[electric_blue68]

70. I wouldn't hve thought of politicians for this particular question, but - oh, yeah. Serious loss!

[madamesilverspurs]

37. Mary Travers

She, along with Peter and Paul, gave voice to our thoughts and concerns, and also reminded us to take time now and then to remember the good things. They were genuinely invested in making the world a better place. Hers has been the only celebrity death that brought tears.


.

[TommieMommy]

38. John Lennon, George Carlin, Robin Williams and Michael Jackson

[ms liberty]

39. John Lennon, Neil Peart, George Carlin, Robin Williams and

And in particular, the great Barbara Mertz, aka Elizabeth Peters.

[NEOH]

40. Betty White

Betty White, she was the best! Big animal lover too

[Deep State Witch]

42. Leonard Nimoy, Prince, David Bowie

We all knew that Uncle Leonard was not in good health. All the same, it was a shock to all of us Trekkies when he passed.

[Aristus]

43. Carrie Fisher.

I'm still not over her death. In 1977, her portrayal of the intrepid, courageous Princess Leia made an eight year-old kid a life-long admirer of strong, take-charge women.

Even today, I ugly-cry when I hear Princess Leia's Theme, by the masterful musical genius, John Williams.

[ArnoldLayne]

44. John Lennon in 1980, Roberto Clemente in 1972 and Syd Barrett from Pink Floyd in 2006

Last edited Sun Dec 22, 2024, 10:48 PM - Edit history (1)

[beaglelover]

45. Prince and Princess Diana

[Emile]

47. John Lennon, Johnny Cash and JFK

[Different Drummer]

48. Betty White would have to be at the top of my list.

I was pulling hard for her to make it to 100, but she just missed it. For the same reason, Larry Storch is also on my list due to his being an almost-centenarian. Others on my list:

Rosalyn Carter
Olivia de Havilland
Norman Lear
Frank Gorshin
Carl Reiner
Farrah Fawcett (Cancer took her far too soon)
John Lennon
Kurt Cobain
Chris Cornell (Soundgarden/Audioslave)
Chester Bennington (Linkin Park)
Cliff Burton (Metallica)
Layne Staley (Alice in Chains)

[Iggo]

49. The hardest? John Lennon, Randy Rhoads, Cliff Burton, and Dimebag Darrell.

[Clouds Passing]

50. All of the above + Phil Hartman

[Red Mountain]

51. Doc Watson

[Itchinjim]

52. John Lennon, Jerry Garcia, and George Harrison.

[spooky3]

53. The loss of Michael Hutchence of INXS made me sad. Nt

[Granny Blue]

54. John Lennon, Jerry Garcia, Robin Williams

Guiding lights went out, stumbling along as best I can…..”if I knew the way, I would take you home"

[3catwoman3]

56. John Denver.

My husband and I went to one of his concerts at the Red Rocks outdoor amphitheater in Colorado. It was the perfect setting.

I also found the death of Princess Diana so very sad, and it pisses me off that the cheating Charles got to be happy, and that cheating Camilla Camilla gets to be Queen.

[Marthe48]

57. Janis Joplin

John Lennon and others who died suddenly and young.

Their sudden death, too soon, is shocking. When celebrities like Bob Newhart, Tom Smothers, Betty White, Loretta Swit, Katherine Hepburn, James Garner, Peter Falk die of old age, I feel like I've lost another piece of my universe.

[Polybius]

58. As you can probably tell by my profile pic, Kurt Cobain

[amerikat]

59. John Prine. (nt)

[LearnedHand]

60. Alan Rickman, hands down

I grieve all over again every time I see his picture.

[mwmisses4289]

61. Nichele Nichols and Mira Furlan

I got to meet both of them briefly, they were as lovely in person as they appeared on t.v.

[electric_blue68]

71. Uhura. Ambassador Delen. RIP

Cool you got to meet Nichelle & Mira (freaking West Nile virus!).

[Figarosmom]

62. Tom Petty

John Lennon

George Harrison

David Crosby

John Lewis

[Mike 03]

63. Stanley Kubrick, probably

and Kurt Cobain. I was at work when I found out about what was being reported as his "probable" but unconfirmed death by suicide, and getting through that day was hard. But I had a gut feeling it was true.

Also Roy Scheider, because he died from the thing my father had just been diagnosed with, and I was a huge fan of his work in "Sorcerer," "All That Jazz," "Marathon Man" and "Jaws."

[nuxvomica]

64. Kurt Cobain

That it crushed me so caught me by surprise. I had only recently bought the In Utero CD and had been playing it on my drive to work. I was so happy I had found a band whose every track spoke to me, imagining more great songs to come in the future, and then the news came. Ten years earlier, my best friend had committed suicide and that was probably being dredged up as well.

[10 Turtle Day]

65. Robin Williams

He was a good Democrat and a good SF Giants fan. I used to see him at the ballpark, usually sitting by himself, but I never bothered him.

One night I was working at a bar in a casino in Stateline, NV and there was a huge snowstorm outside. The place was pretty much empty except for a skeleton crew working. In comes Robin Williams with another guy and Robin was all jacked up. The mountain pass over Echo Summit had closed so we figured they must have gotten through just prior to it closing. They mentioned how hairy the drive had been. They hung out at the bar with the few of us working it and Robin did about 2 hours of stream of consciousness comedy, very animated and using all manner of different voice characterizations. He was side-splittingly funny. It was just magical.

He’s probably the only celebrity passing I’ve ever cried over.

[Borogove]

66. I would like to add James Gandolfini to the list.

He died suddenly, at a relatively young age (51). Loved him as Tony Soprano.

[electric_blue68]

72. In no order....

Lennon
Harrison
Keith Moon
John Entwhistle
Robin Williams
Cartie Fisher
Carl Sagan

(I feel like I'm forgetting someone)

[LeftInTX]

75. Oh yeah, John Lennon's was a huge shock.

[electric_blue68]

89. I was listening to one of our big NYC rock stations when the news broke....

The personally weird thing was when my mom took me to our dentist as a kid say 7 yrs old onward till we changed him around 12 or so.... 1960 - 1965+.

We got off on the Subway stop facing Central Park West walked around the corner going westward, and passed right by The Dakota's big entrance going to the other end of the long block.

[LeftInTX]

90. I was broke and working at a shitty job. Didn't have TV or anything.

Driving to work, they mentioned, "In memory of the late John Lennon", but they didn't say anything else. I was like, "What??" I pulled into work and listened to my radio for a few more minutes, hoping for a newscast or something. But I had to get inside. The people I worked with were super mean. I asked a few people: "Did John Lennon die??". No one said a single thing. I bought a paper on the way home and that's how I found out.

[electric_blue68]

92. Woah. I wonder why they didn't say anything...

I'd think if someone was being mean, and guessed it would have made you sad; they'd have said something.
Otoh - maybe they didn't want to break the workflow. Or keeping the news from you was their way of being mean.

I was numb for several days. It seemed unbelievable!

Sorry you had mean co-workers! I was pretty lucky that way, though I sometimes had such boring jobs. I did have one owner/over-all boss [vs my immediate boss] who'd occasionally blow up, was pretty ok otherwise but occasionally "yikes!". The job though was on the creative side so that had merit.

[LeftInTX]

97. They would not speak to me period! If you said Hi to them, they would not look at you.

They were plain old mean.

I was in charge of inventory and had a desk job. The only time I saw them was during lunch. Just vile people.

[electric_blue68]

98. That's terrible! Sorry you went through that!

[happybird]

99. My Mom's reaction to his death is one of my earliest, clear memories

It was the first time I ever saw her cry and it left a huge impression. I was too young to comprehend what had happened (4 1/2), but clearly remember her grief and listening to the Beatles and his solo music all the rest of that day.

[marble falls]

73. Your list and Anthoney Bourdain. I've read a book or two, but I can't watch shows yet.

[LeftInTX]

74. Bollywood superstar diva, Sridevi. Drowned in a bathtub. No drugs. No fowl play.

Sridevi in 1989


A day before her death:


Hotel where she drowned:


In Feb 2018, she was just 55 yo when she drowned in a hotel bath tub in Dubai. She never used drugs. Nothing significant was found in her system, except traces of alcohol. Conspiracy theories were started. Her husband said she was always dieting and would faint now and then and that may have been a reason she drowned in the tub.

The first conspiracy theory was that she was "another Whitney Houston"...The autopsy ruled it out.
The next conspiracy theory was that her husband murdered her and they persist to this day, but there is no evidence. Her husband was a director, who left his first wife for Sridevi. The Indian media is absolutely crazy!!!

She was truly a superstar. I was totally shocked when she died.

[ariadne0614]

79. John Lennon

[SheltieLover]

81. Jimi & John Belushi, Rodney Dangerfield

[murielm99]

83. Janis Joplin,

George Carlin, Steve Goodman

[ZZenith]

84. Jeff Buckley

We missed out on a lot of really good music when the Wolf River took him from us so soon.

[Chipper Chat]

85. Karen Carpenter

I got up and turned on CNN Headline News. Lynn Vaughn broke the news.

[applegrove]

88. Bourdain. Robin Williams. Princess Diana was shocking because

she was so young.

[Drum]

91. Prince

[Niagara]

93. A few celebrity deaths that I never got over

River Phoenix: It's been 31 years and I still ache from River's untimely death

Brittany Murphy: I don't know what happened here, too many bizarre happenings and reports even 15 years later

Scott Weiland: There were small traces of drugs in him. Scott actually died from a main artery being 95% blocked due to years of drug and alcohol abuse. He doesn't get enough credit as an artist

David Bowie: Unexpected loss

Prince: Closeted humanitarian. Rumored to have paid for Trayvon Martins funeral anonymously

Chester Bennington: I have no words, I'm still saddened by this tragic loss

Benjamin Keough: Again, I have no words for this tragic loss

[OldBaldy1701E]

94. I have a few.

River was one - Very sad.

Jon Hexxum - senseless.

Robin Williams - a great loss.

Leonard Nimoy - one of my heroes.

Bon Scott - it was not exactly unexpected, but it was a surprise.

Jonathan Brandis - met him once during filming of 'Neverending Story II'. Smart kid.

And, Andy Griffith. He was such an icon thanks to being a multi-talented performer from my home state and my home area. Myself (and a few other cast members from The Lost Colony) once visited and helped him lay 400 year old wood flooring in his house before going out on the porch and chatting for a spell. He was amazing. And, every bit as funny as he was on the television. (He did get his start doing comedy, after all.)

[milestogo]

96. The death of River Phoenix was the first bit of online news I ever got.

It was 1993 and I just got my first computer. I had already seen him in a few movies (including Stand By Me) and thought he was a great talent. He was on the cover of Vegetarian Times a few months before he died, and had a very clean image. So I was shocked when he died of a drug overdose at 23, at Johnny Depp's club.

After he died, they went to Judd Hirsch for a reaction and he said "He had a lot of work ahead of him, a lot of work". It was such a huge loss.

Very cool that you got to meet Andy Griffith. He was one of my favorites as a kid.

[ProfessorGAC]

95. Maybe Van Halen

Ben Orr of The Cars, too. And, Prince.
We saw SRV the night he died, and I still was more bummed about those other 3.