Upset by a celebrity death?

With Larry Hagman having died this past Friday, I want to ask if any [italic]Datalounge[/italic] posters have personally taken a celebrity's death pretty badly? (Who?)

• Heath Ledger.

• Jackie Onassis Princess Diana JFK, Jr. Natalie Wood

• Princess Diana was the only one that threw me, but I still never lost sleep.

• Lucy. It was as if my childhood had finally died.

• Yes, I have taken quite a few celeb deaths badly. I feel weird about it but there you have it. Andy Whitfield Patrick Swayze Princess Diana John Kennedy, Jr. Heath Ledger

  I%27m%20a%20nut

• Lucy and Elizabeth Montgomery

• I cried when Mike Royko & Bill Veeck died ...oh, and River Phoenix too.

  Ex FIB

• And Sinatra.

• Really, the only time I was deeply affected was Gilda Radner.

• Gilda Radner bothered me too, R9. More recently, I was surprised how much I was affected by Levon Helm's death.

• Thurman Munson

• John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Princess Di, JFK Jr., Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Phil Hartman, Michael Hutchence (INXS)

• Neil Armstrong. Crazy, but I was SO upset.

• Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston because I grew up with their music and remember when both were the biggest stars on the planet. MJ's was unexpected but Whitney's really got to me even though it had been expected for years.

• John Lennon's was the only celebrity death that shook me. Richard Pryor's made me feel a bit sad.

• Liz Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith in "Doctor Who") A little bit of a fond childhood went away with her...

• Phil Hartman and Michael Jackson

• Everyone from old Hollywood because a whole era is gone and we are left with third rate losers taking their places. When Elizabeth Taylor died, I was so sad because her death was a real major close of a chapter. She was one thee last that impacted the world's fascination with real movie stars. Also, Diana really sadden me tremendously.

• [quote]Liz Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith in "Doctor Who") Me too.

  The Voice of the Night

• When I was young, I was very confused by Freddie Prinze Jr's death. He was this funny, funny guy on his sitcom and then he shot himself. I didn't really understand it at all and I guess I was too young to understand that because his job was to be funny, it didn't mean he didn't have a dark life outside of work.

• We were so overcome by the death of Judy Garland that we remained drunk for the next 7 years!

  Mrs%20Patrick%20Campbell

• I was devastated by Ledger's death.He was my pretend boyfriend

• Donna Summer -- for the cliched reason of how big a part she was of my youth, my gay youth no less. hard to explain to anyone who wasn't a teen in the late 70s. Her death just brought it home that that particular party was over. I'm sure I'll feel the same way about Deborah Harry. Stevie Nicks. And, yeah, Streisand.

• [quote]Liz Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith in "Doctor Who") Oh yes. That was a sad one for me too.

• Kirsty MacColl

• R23, I forgot about Donna Summer. That was heart breaking for me too because when I was a little kid her music was played a lot at our home. What terrific memories I have of those days.

• Sorry OP, you sound pathetic. How does the death of a celebrity that you don't know effect you? Get a life.

• Adam Yauch as selfish as it is why did he have to dies just as i was getting into the beastie boys.Damn you life!

• Abe Lincoln. It was so sudden.

  Madonna

• Princess Di JFK jr. Tim Russert

• Davy Jones

• Karen Carpenter Natalie Wood Lucille Ball Peter Allen (Mixed group, I know.) I'm usually very casual about celebrities and their lives, hardly paying attention even if I am a fan, but the deaths of those four people really bothered me. It also bothered me greatly that their deaths bothered me, if that makes sense. And for a long time, it was very hard for me to listen to Phyllis Hyman; probably because so much of her music seems, in retrospect, as calls for help.

• Jeff Buckley. I was shocked. He was such a beautiful singer songwriter. I cried. I still miss him. I agree with Donna Summer. She was a legend. Lucy, as well. I used to have to drive past Cedars on the way to work. She was in the hospital at the time. Across the street was the Hard Rock Cafe. They had a marquee that said, Get well Lucy. The next day, the marquee said, RIP. I was so sad. That night I drove by her house on Roxbury on the way home. I really felt the loss.

• Bea Arthur...

• Many of those above, but Amy Winehouse upset me a lot. So young, so much talent....

• I've never been personally upset but there are celebrity deaths - River Phoenix, Princess Di, Yitzak Rabin - that have been jarring and surreal to live through.

• Freddie Prinze was the first one that effected me. River Phoenix JFK Jr Princess Diana

• R35 = Kelly Osbourne

• [quote] When I was young, I was very confused by Freddie Prinze Jr's death You're obviously still confused. Freddie Prinze Jr isn't dead, although his acting career is.

• Donna Summer's death made me very disoriented for 3 days, she's always been my favorite singer. But I didn't know her personally so I refused to cry about it or anything like that.

• The double whammy of Farrah Fawcett passing which was expected, followed by Michael Jackson which was not was just a little too much for me that day.

• John Lennon. But only years later when I realized the impact of the Beatles never performing again and no more Lennon/mcCartney collaboration.

• Aaliyah. I cried really hard. I just thought she was lovely and it was a shock for her to die so young (and the same age as me).

• Judy

  Elder Gay

• Am I the only one relieved about Princess Di's death? I couldn't take looking at her big nosed bulgy eyed face at the supermarket check out no more! Good riddance, I say. She was ugly, hysterical and attention seeking.

• Aaliyah's death simply made me angry. Such ignorance and arrogance...caused her death. She was just a kid but some of them with her should have known enough to listen to the pilot.

• Elizabeth taylor whitney houston and larry hagman brought tears to my eyes. This year has been tough. All these ties to my youth are just being cut one by one.

• I was upset by Princess Diana more than any other. I can remember crying over Labor Day as I watched her funeral. When Phil Hartman was murdered it made me angry. I had so many memories of him making me laugh on the Pee Wee Herman show, The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live, and News Radio. He gave so much joy over the years, I was angry that he was taken away from us when he still had more to give. And just out of pure nostalgia, Madeline Kahn. I wasn't ready to let her go. As I have gotten older, I'm not particularly attached to any celebrity.

  Anonymous

• Jerry Orbach

• Another vote for Liz Sladen. I've been a huge Who fan since early childhood, and Sarah Jane is THE companion as far as I'm concerned. Such a shock. Same with Mary Tamm. I was looking forward to meeting her at a convenion in LA. They were both too young.

  PPSM

• Elliott Smith, back in 2003 Trish Keenan from Broadcast

• Another one here for Phil Hartman. I clicked on this thread thinking I'd be the first to mention him, but it's nice to see others were just as shocked and horrified by his death as I. He was finally posthumously awarded a star on Canada's Walk of Fame this year.

• R39, thank you ...trust me, sometimes I roll my eyes at myself !! R20

• Selena. At only 23 years old, she was on the cusp of crossover stardom and to have it taken away by her fan club president was epic tragedy. She was considered humble and gracious to fans. Having met her for a school article, she was beautiful, smart, innocent, and I personally think she would have done great things in life. Whitney Houston was shocking because no one thought her demons would win but they did.

• Martha Raye, funniest woman who ever lived

  Anonymous

• Donna Summer and Mary Travers.

• Raul Julia and Jim Henson's deaths still make me sad. And, though not surprising, I also found Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston's deaths to be terribly sad.

• I feltso bad when Whitney died, even tho I knew for a long time, in my heart, that I would be reading about her like that. Michael was surprising. I felt a pang because his music was the soundtrack to my growing up years. But they were nothing compared to how I felt about JFK, Jr. and Heath Ledger. JFK, Jr. just broke my heart. So did Heath Ledger. And honestly? I adore Elizabeth Taylor. I knew she was older and in failing health. She'd had a lot of crises and yet, when it happened, I felt a real sense of loss. I guess I felt pretty bad when Peter Jennings died, too. But nothing like JFK Jr, Heath & Elizabeth. Can't think of who is around now, that would evoke that kind of response.

• I can honestly say that no, I've never been upset by a celebrity death.

• I was shocked when River Phoenix died. He was my favorite actor and I had no idea he was into drugs. I thought it was a ridiculous rumor at first. I was very freaked out by Rebecca Schaeffer's murder. I wasn't really a fan but she was so young and it was so alarming that she just answered her door and her stalker shot her.

• Natalie Wood Diana JFK, Jr. Lucy

• R13- me too....so startled hearing about Neil Armstrong, cried when I heard what his daughter said in a family press release- "don't grieve for my dad, he had a wonderful life- and the next time you look up at the moon, give him a wink"....... Cried when Lucy died, and Liz Taylor had me upset for days.....odd, but no real emotion for much mentioned JFK Jr.- especially when it was revealed that he basically killed himself, his wife and sister in law by flying with a cast on his leg- an arrogant and entitled ahole.....and Caroline giving the Bessette family 6M NOT to sue the family is disgusting. The should have contacted the the family of the girl Uncle Ted killed in the bridge "accident" and the Moxley family in Conn. and filed a joint lawsuit. Murder runs in the family..... Sorry to get off on a tangent, but while I worship Jackie Bouvier, another death that rattled me, I can't stand that family and the bull the have gotten away with going back to Joe Kennedy's bootlegging days......

  noiwasnotindallasin63

• R33 here. Sharon Tate. I was a child, but my parents were shocked and I was scared. She's buried at the same cemetery as my relatives, so sometimes I visit her grave.

• George Harrison, I heard about his death on the radio driving to an IEP meeting and proceeded to cry uncontrollably.

• Lucy. Just Lucy.

• Dusty Springfield. I'd loved her when I was a gayby in the 60s and was thrilled by her comeback in the 80s with my fave pop group Pet Shop Boys. Then to have her die of cancer - yes, we fans all knew she was ill but still - we thought she could get through it and come back to us again. Her voice still thrills and moves me every time I hear it.

• Interesting thought question. Here are the funerals I watched on CNN, and privately shed a tear. The Nixon one is a bit of an outlier, but he was so demonized, and for so long, I felt bad for his family. Beverly Sills Jackie Onasis Princess Diana Richard Nixon

• Another vote for Diana, I just felt this can't be happening especially when I saw that tangled mess of a car before she was pronounced dead. I wanted her to win the battle with the Windsors. She was just shaping a life of her own. People deride her for not doing more, but the truth is she did more than necessary.

• Zsa Zsa Gabor. I cried for days remembering her visits to Merv. Her wonderful movies. Her warm and funny personality. There will never be another like my Zsa. Her passing touched me like no other.

  Magda

• Zsa Zsa is still alive Magda. God!

• Magda, dahling, I am still alive. It is EVA who is dead. People were always mixing us up...

  Zsa%20Zsa

• Lucille Ball. I cried on the day she died. She was such an icon coming into my home every day with reruns of her old "I Love Lucy" show, followed by reruns on CBS mornings of "The Lucy Show," and then in the evenings on Mondays with her "Here's Lucy" show in the 70s. It was like she was part of the household. And then she grew old and died at the end of the 1980s, the same day my Bobby cat got run over by a car.

• LOL Zsa Zsa, well said!

• Elizabeth Taylor.

• Marlon Brando and Heath Ledger too

• [quote]I adore Elizabeth Taylor. I knew she was older and in failing health. She'd had a lot of crises and yet, when it happened, I felt a real sense of loss. Me too. Given that she'd had health problems since she was a teen, had cheated death before, and had a mother who made it to 99, I figured she'd hang on into her 80s at least, by sheer force of will.

• John Lennon Jerry Garcia Frank Zappa George Harrison

  Bobby%20Brown%20

• Robin Gibb. I was going through a bit of a bad patch that week, and the news of his death just pushed me over the edge. When I got home that day I played "How Deep Is Your Love?" and "Nights On Broadway" on a loop and had a really good cry.

• Richard Burton- only because I could only imagine how sad that was for Elizabeth Taylor. I also felt strangely upset by Jerry Orbach passing away. I really liked Jerry Orbach.

• Aaliyah

• David Halberstam Christopher Reeve Knew both of them through business interactions. Really hit hard.

• John Lennon, Princess Diana and most recently, Heath Ledger. Because all three were so unexpected and all of them, particularly Ledger were young, I was doubly upset.

• Best Reaction To A Celebrity Death EVER ....

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk64cEsMkrw

• Sinatra- don't know why? I didn't really like him until I was 17. And his history is not one of a gentleman's. But his voice hits me. I didn't know him but I know his voice.

  Anonymous

• Another vote for Bea Arthur--so larger than life, it's like she would NEVER die.

• I was moved to tears on reading that Bea Arthur left $300,000 to a home for homeless gay youth. Bless her.

• To me, hearing that Larry Hagman had died was like hearing it was going to be 74 degrees instead of 73 degrees today.

• "Elizabeth taylor whitney houston and larry hagman brought tears to my eyes. This year has been tough. All these ties to my youth are just being cut one by one." Mary!

• JFKjr & Phil Hartman

• R83 I love those queens reacting to Diana's death. The very definition of MARY!

• Claude Daigle

  R.%20Penmark

• Lucy Mostly because all reports indicated she would survive a major heart operation. So call me both surprised and upset.

• R54, can you elaborate more on your school article? I once saw a video of a visit she paid to a middle school and she was very down-to-earth and joking with the kids, signing stuff. What I loved about her was her ability to laugh at herself, especially when she made a mistake. Sometimes she would get a Spanish word/phrase wrong and when corrected would thank the person and laugh it off. Like when she went on Cristina and meant to say fourteen but said "diez-y-cuatro" instead of "catorce." LOL! She was so funny and adorable. I too was hit hard by Selena's death. I'm Hispanic so she became a standout in the community -- even all the way here in Massachusetts.

• Bernie Mac because I had met him and he was a sweetheart. I was really hurt by his death. River Phoenix because I had it bad for him as a kid. Kevyn Aucoin.

• I was sad when Tupac died it felt like a big loss musically. Also I upset when JFK Jr. died he was so handsome and a very nice person. Diana and Versace were shocking too. I broke down and cried watching Michael Jackson's funeral on TV. But in a weird way it seemed ok that he died young because to me he seemed very tortured in life especially with how he mutilated his face and rampant drug use. Huge talent though.

• Only once, really, and I can't really explain it either: Heath Ledger. I had a friend who was deeply affected by Kurt Cobain (sent him into a depression spiral)

• Surprised and shocked by some, felt bad also but it usually passed within a day. I don't know them.

  Anonymous

• Freddie Mercury. To this day. Such a waste. There but for the grace of god go I and many of my friends. I also appreciate his bandmates' founding and continuing the work of the Freddie Mercury Phoenix Foundation in the fight against AIDS.

• Amy Winehouse, as [R35] said, she really was hugely talented...

• Joey Stefano

• Weirdly -- Jerry Orbach. I didn't think it would upset me like it did.

• [quote]Amy Winehouse, as [[R35]] said, she really was hugely talented... ...yet still just a one-hit wonder.

• Only if you weren't paying attention, R102.

• John Lennon--shocking in how it happened and truly the last gasp of the sixties and what they represented. Whitney Houston--not unexpected but tragic all the same, hit me harder than I thought it would.

• Elvis. I wasn't particularly a fan, but it was ELVIS, for goodness' sake. Lucy. I'd been a fan since early childhood. I had called the hospital she was in(Cedars Sinai?)to get the address to send a get well card and the woman I spoke with said she was recovering quickly. Samantha Smith. Her death in a plane crash at 13 years old made me wonder why anyone bothers to try and even exist day to day. Brandon Lee. I had a major thing for him, I don't know why. When he died in that completely preventable accident just as his career was starting to take off.... Princess Diana. As with Elvis, not a big fan, but she was likewise ubiquitous. Another of those people who permeated the collective consciousness.

• The only one that I can say affected me was Heath Ledger. Only because it was so unexpected. But otherwise I don't know why I felt the way I did. I generally don't care. But I'll probably lose it over Betty White.

• [quote]But I'll probably lose it over Betty White. No wonder. She's led such a brief life, and has only enjoyed fame for such a short while.

• Natasha Richardson. Hard to say what upset me most--the manner of her death, her youth, her two sons, etc. Not to mention the work she would have done in the months and years ahead.

• [quote]There but for the grace of god go I and many of my friends. You and your friends also have AIDS and use lots of hard drugs and choose each evening's bed partners from a parade of handsome young men like Madeline Kahn as the Empress Nympho? "Yes, no, no, no, yes, yes, no, no, no, yes, no..."

• I anticipate being upset when Angela Lansbury, Barbara Cook and Carol Burnett die.

• Jonathan Brandis

• John Candy. His is the only celebrity death I shed a tear for, what with being a Canadian and all. He was a national treasure. To a lesser extent John Lennon, JFK Jr., and Princess Diana deaths were saddening.

  Mrs%20Danvers

• John Lennon. Especially because he was starting to look like John Lennon again. He'd shaved off that greasy looking beard and cut his hair. He no longer looked like samurai white guy. I thought he might be recovering his mental health. We'll never know.

• [quote] John Candy. His is the only celebrity death I shed a tear for I miss John Candy. He was one of the greats. He would have had a very long career and I would probably not have found him ubiquitously annoying in coming years, like Robin Williams, Tom Hanks and Jim Carrey have become.

• Karen Carpenter. I was only 12 at the time and had no idea she was so sick. It really shocked me because my mom used to play Carpenters albums all the time. I still get a little sad when I hear some of her songs.

• I didn't realize the impact Jim Henson's death would have. The Muppets were practically a part of the background of life. They just always seemed to be there. And them they weren't the same and they disappeared for years. Even with a new muppet movie, it's not the same.

• [quote]Princess Diana. As with Elvis, not a big fan, but she was likewise ubiquitous. Another of those people who permeated the collective consciousness. But her correct name never did.

• Whitney Houston because it was such a waste of a great talent and a beautiful lady! Princess Di because it was so shocking and she was so beloved! JFKJr because it was such a waste, period! Others have bothered me but not as much as these three. Oh, Marilyn Monroe but I was too young to know much about death or anything else!

  AnonEMoose

• John Lennon George Harrison Michael Jackson

  Mia

• For some reason Anne Bancroft. I had not heard she was ill and it just seemed so sudden. I LOVED her.

• Thanks for mentioning Kirsty MacColl, I had forgotten how shocked I was by her death. People I worked with were all saying, Who? But I loved her music and her personality so much. BTW, I was the one who mentioned Gilda.

• John Belushi John Candy Chris Farley Phil Hartman

• Agreed about Gilda Radner. I met her one I was a child and she was just a lovely funny woman. She died about 6 years after I met her and I was so devastated. Madeline Kahn too. Another really nice woman my family knew was Broadway actress Anita Morris. She was another lovely woman and her death was seemed so sudden (even though she fought it for years privatly) All from that damn ovarian cancer.

• No. If I am upset by death, it is people who have nobody, people who's death means nothing to others.

• Princess Diana. She was a Goddess sent to rule by divine right, only to be murdered by the Queen's filthy husband.

  Yes, I'm upset.

• I'm never upset about celebrity deaths if they involve someone who is famous just for being famous or infamous. But I get upset when true artists die, especially if they are still performing/writing/painting, etc. Madeline Kahn as others have mentioned. In the opera world about 15 years ago, three singers died around the same time, all too young: Tatiana Troyanos, Lucia Popp, Arleen Auger. Gilda Radner. And when an icon goes it's always sad, even if the tears don't flow. Beverly Sills would be an example of this.

• I'm surprised some of you were upset at the deaths of Chris Farley and Amy Winehouse. If ever I knew two youngish celebrities would quickly end up dead, it was the two of them. Their early deaths seemed inevitable to me: they were clearly out of control when it came to substance abuse. Same with Whitney's.

• Donna Summer really affected me too, because her music was such a big part of my formative years and I still listen to it today. She had been terminally ill for close to a year and they kept it really quiet - there was no news that she had been sick so when her death was announced it was a shock. Teena Marie's death affected me the same way.

• I have been obessed with the life and death of Ms. Phyllis Hyman. She was a beautiful black woman with an angelic voice that will stand the test of time. It's unfortunate that Ms. Hyman's mental illness prevented her from seeing the true and beautiful spirit that she was. I will always remember her and forever be grateful for the beautiful voice she possessed. I wish she had been able to recieve the help she needed and still been able to maintain her artistic style. However, the one gift she thought she had would be ruined by using chemicals that would have helped her to get well. It is truly sad when we love and admire celebrities but forget they are human also. They are just as vulnerable as the rest of us. This inspiring, beautiful stateque of a woman seemed to be a very scared and lonely little girl. My heart will also go out to her and how she must have felt. i hope and pray that I will meet her in heaven some day.

  Angela

• I cried when Phillp Carey (Asa on OLTL) died. My dad died from cancer the year before, and Phil was doing so well, I took great comfort from that. His passing really upset me, not just because of my dad, but for his own sake too . I was pretty upset when Clint Ritchie died as well.

• I'm still bothered by Natasha Richardson's death.... because I've watched the remake of the Parent Trap a zillion times with my niece. And, I don't care what any of you bitches say, I'm still sad that Steve Irwin is gone. But, the one death that I'm bothered by the most is Princess Diana. I LOVED HER!

  Turtle%20man

• r 128: Agreed about Donna. A real shock. And I had NO idea Teena Marie died. R.I.P. Andrea True and Vicki Sue Robinson...

• Barbaro. Humans, not so much.

• Elizabeth Taylor - but it was more about me than her. Her death told me I was getting old. She was the STAR during my childhood, and endured despite some really bad performances later in her life. I expected her to be there forever. And then she died. And I realized she was a mortal.

• And Ruffian, R133

• Bobby Kennedy.

• Nelson Rockefeller's, becuase his death caused my private school to moev to the UWS from Midtown, and John Lennon, because he was shot on Central Park West.

• Elizabeth Taylor; Princess Di; Katherine Hepburn; Pete Duehl (I was a kid and could not imagine why he killed himself)

• Gilda Radner Phil Hartman (my fave SNLer) -- so completely out of the blue..... Thurman Munson' s death made also made cry....and I'm a Dodger fan! But the biggest hit, several years ago, was the master, Chick Hearn! Greatest basketball announcer who ever lived, period! Part of the soundtrack of my life! I wept for days, after he passed away.....

• Heath Ledger JFK Jr

• Marilyn Monroe RFK Natalie Wood Lee Remick Paul Newman

• Yep. Lee Remick, so talented and so young. Madeline Kahn. Dusty Springfield and, because I met her a few times and she was so pleasant, Bea Arthur. Diana's death always seemed inevitable.

• I'm upset that Madonna hasn't died yet.

• I can't believe no one has said Kurt Cobain. My mother called me from (literally) her death bed to ask me if I was okay. That day SUCKED.

• Yeah, I was really bummed by Jerry Orbach's death. He was a NY institution. You just thought he'd always be there, wisecracking on everyone.

• Lindsay Lohan

  DLer%20from%202013

• I was completely devastated when Andy Williams died two months ago. It has been only with the help of medication that I have even been able to get out of bed each day. I play "Moon River" over and over, weeping each time. Twice a year I would go to Branson to attend his shows. I have to wonder whether life is even worth living any longer. This is so much sadder than when my parents died in that grease fire.

  The%20entertainment%20value%20of%20this%20thread%20is%20priceless.

• Just my personal opinion: unless you know the celebrity personally, it's bizarre to be upset if he/she dies...Celebrities are people just like the rest of us...

• Seriously R147, it sadden me that Andy Williams died. The called him mister Christmas because of his Christmas shows in the 60s and 70s. There was a documentary made on his Christmas shows, and they played it last night. His shows were very special and they were very Americana. He was one the many unique entertainers that will never be replaced. He was an end of an era.

• Johnny Carson and Davy Jones. Davy Jones was my very first crush and the most beautiful guy I'd ever seen. Johnny Carson's Tonight Show helped me through some lonely nights and I loved how he was with his guests. I understand what you are saying about Andy Williams, R149. My parents used to play his Christmas music while we decorated the tree and we used to watch his Christmas shows together.

• I'm trying to imagine what hell on earth it would be to date/partner the humorless douchebags who don't get being affected by someone whose work/art/whatever meant something to you. i'd say "Stay the fuck away from me" but bores like that reveal themselves fast anyway. "A life without obsession is no life at all" says John Waters and he's right. People with no passion for anything are fuckin' drags. (I swear, I'd even take the queen squealing over Di's sudden death than one of those mopey assholes: "Who cares, you didn't know her").

• The greatest loss of our lifetime is without a doubt Princess Diana. Nobody else even comes close. Although JFK Jr. Was pretty big too.

• R151 is one of those celebrity-obsessed morons who has no life of his own. Seriously, I mean it's strange to cry or be very upset over someone you don't know...You only know his/her public persona or work. Obviously, if anyone (famous or not) dies in a horrible way or dies young, most people spend a bit of time thinking about it as something that's sad and unfortunate. To obsess or put your life on hold over someone you don't know, though? That's just fucking crazy. It's fine to be passionate or obsessive over something but not a fucking celebrity. That means you're living through that person when you need to get a life of your own.

• Elizabeth Montgomery Farrah Donna Summer

  ladies%20of%20light%20circa%201976

• R153, I think R151 isn't embracing celebrity obsession, I think he was trying to say that these people made a huge impact on our society through their fame that touched our lives in one way or another.

• Otis Redding, Janice Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Bryan Jones, Pigpen of Canned Heat, Marc Bolan, Minnie Riperton, Mama Cass, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Lowell George of Canned Heat, Jim Morrison, Sam Cooke,

• Heath Ledger. Still recovering. Then, Bobby Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, JFK and Princess Diana. But I was sad to hear of many others; Among them: John Ritter, Tony Perkins, Vitas Gerulaitis, James Dean, Robert Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Frank Gorshin, Christopher Bowman, Berry Berenson, (victim of 9/11, Anthony Perkins' widow), Chad Everett. The list is very long.

  Anonymous

• And also, Sal Mineo Montgomery Clift Jon-Erik Hexum Bruce Lee

  Anonymous

• Fellini Versace, Diana and Huchence all occurred within the same six months and all deaths seemed so pointless. JFK Jr Jerry Orbach Heath Ledger

• Millions have never recovered from the tragic event of June 22, 1969.

• Couldn't get upset over Liz's death because she'd been squawking for years about almost dying. Death got the last laugh.

• OMG, yes, put Johnny Versace on the list. I was absolutely shocked when that happened. He was a sweet man.

• Minnie Riperton. Mainly because I thought that she was getting better. Still reeling from Whitney's death, mainly because it could have been avoided.

• Two which affected me very much were two people who honestly I never gave a lot of thought to.. Natasha Richardson was one. I always liked her as an actress and saw her in CABARET twice (didn't really care for her in it btw) but her death was just so shocking. The other was Ann Miller. She was someone I appreciated for the camp value but it really hit me as she seemed the end of an era and epitomized a certain type of a star we will never see again. Oddly enough other celebrities of whom I actually was actually much more of a "fan" not so much. (Lucy, Liz etc) Other ones which really shook me up in a very different way was Rebecca Shaeffer (who would be 45 now. Wow.) and of course John Lennon. Senseless

• Is John Belushi forgotten? His death hit me hard, because it was sending the message that "remember, this shit has consequences."

• I'm always saddened when a great Hollywood star dies: Audrey Hepburn Katharine Hepburn Elizabeth Taylor Paul Newman Jack Lemmon Walther Matthau They signify the end of an era. I can't imagine anyone being upset when Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Anniston or Reese die.

• [quote]Millions have never recovered from the tragic event of June 22, 1969 The Cuyahoga River catches on fire?

• Michael Hutchence Amy Winehouse

• We're crying as we type!

  Basement%20dwelling%20queens%20with%20no%20lives

• [quote]OMG, yes, put Johnny Versace on the list. Oh, DEAR...

  Gianni From The Grave

• Natalie Wood Paul Newman Gilda Radnor

• R53, my "no life" has been spent working on films with more than a few people on this thread and well spent. And even in regards to the many I never met -- like Donna Summer -- it's still perfectly acceptable to acknowledge that their talent impacted your life. So many cunts, so little time. How does DL find them all?

  R51

• Paul Davis, singer-songwriter, whose music I had rediscovered and who sometimes posted on his website. He was virtually unknown by many, although he had a few hits on his own and many with other artists, including Tanya Tucker & Marie Osmond.

• I found Corey Haim's death very upsetting, because his life was so depressing as well. I only really knew him from Lost Boys, but that was enough connection for his tragic life and death to really upset me. I'm sure mostly because he was such an innocent little kid in Lost Boys (and for all of his actual career).

• River Phoenix

• The crock hunter Steve Irwin. Grew up watching him and I was so sad that he died. Couldn't even watch the memorial.

• R172 there's a HUGE difference between acknowledging what someone's talent/work means to you and thinking that this person's death is a big loss in your own life. Being a fan is reasonable; being an obsessive omg-my-favorite-movie star/singer-died-i'm-gonna-cry-freak is pathetic. You're the cunt for being so dramatic, celebrity-obsessed, and out of touch with reality.

• Natalie Wood was a shocker and made me very sad. More recently, Jill Haworth only because I got to know her briefly over the last few years.

  kcguy

• Forgot to add -- Natasha Richardson.

  kcguy

• Bollocks R177. It's actually completely normal to cry when a celebrity you followed or who was big in your life dies. Our brains don't know the difference between knowing someone personally or impersonally on an emotional level. That said I give you two things: It's best not to spend all you time and energy thinking about people who don't even know you, if you have other options, in order to "have a (worthwhile) life", and what happened after Diana's death was downright disgusting. Still, especially for a young person, but actually for everyone, being sad or crying when their favorite star dies is completely normal and perfectly healthy.

• Yeah, I can't stand people like R169 or R177. I'm not an emotional person to begin with, and I could never cry over the loss of a celebrity. But I had friends who lost it over Whitney. And, for reasons I'm not sure I could even articulate, I love them for that.

• R180 and R181 it's weird. Crying over someone you don't know and who doesn't know or give a fuck about you makes no sense and is pathetic. What we know of these people is their public persona, which is often not their real personality, but it's what they put forward for their career to advance. Too many drama queens in this world. Our celebrity-obsessed culture has made this idea of crying over celebrity deaths seem "normal" but it's disturbing. At the end of the day, they're only people like the rest of us and not any more special than ordinary people. The truth hurts I guess.

• This is not our celebrity obsessed world. Everyone was supposed to grieve when the Pharao died and many did, same with other kings etc. When you know someone and they mean something to you, you'll have feelings. That's just being human. Obviously people also react emotional to nobody strangers' tragedies. That's a slightly different topic, but it also shows that people can have feelings for people they don't know personally quite easily.

• I was devastated by the death of Amy Winehouse and Michael Jackson. Mostly because I felt a mix of loss and anger. I can't help but feel angry that people close to both of these fragile creatures let this happen.

• Christopher Reeve's death upset me, because he meant so much to my childhood and because it all ended so badly for him. I remember thinking, "Shit. Superman's dead and Lois Lane's bugfuck crazy." Michael Jackson's death didn't upset me, but it bothered me some, because, like Reeve, he practically defined my early teens and again, it all went so sour before the end.

• Someone here once noted that we live in a Post-Traumatic world so are always in need of drama... I'm sad when someone whose work I've enjoyed dies, and am shocked when it happens suddenly (or badly) but it really doesn't derail my own life.

• This thread has certainly brought out proof that gays are not judgemental and mean due to having been judged and meaned on in so many unfair ways. yes,I am being ironic.

• [quote]having been judged and meaned on in so many unfair ways. yes,I am being ironic. Ironic, or moronic?

• Segue - some comedian or SNL should have made fun of Alanis Morissette with an "isn't it Moronic?" sketch

• Alanis Morissette provided enough laughs, given that she appeared not to know what irony really is.

• 'cause I have one hand in my pocket and the other one's givin' you an UP YOURS

• Selena (too young), Phyllis Hyman (too young), Michael Jackson (too young) & Patrice O'Neal (too young)... all of them were unexpected as well. Definitely felt a little blue after hearing about it.

• I was very upset about E. Taylor, because she was the only celebrity who really stood up for the gays when aids hit and she followed it through until her death. She had a big heart and has ALWAYS been there, my whole life. John Lennon. Lynn Redgrave's death really upset me. I must have always felt a special connection to her and her death was unexpected and all the more shocking for it. I don't think it's loser-ish to feel sad when a celeb dies, at all. They are often a part of our lives.

• r192, you didn't expect Patrice? No offense, but he was a walking time bomb who wouldn't change his lifestyle to stop his decline. Louis CK said that flat out in an interview (with Terry Gross, I think) and he was crying as he said it. I'm not dancing on his grave, but I wasn't shocked. I was sad he went when he did because he was just starting to have some success after doing things his way. I had issues with him, but I always respected the fact that he didn't sell out.

• I was still recovering from my Mom's death when Lucy died not two weeks later. Mom loved Lucy and I could still hear Mom's laughter in my head as she watched ILL. Then the person responsible for that laughter was dead too. One that I don't think I saw mentioned was Edie Adams. For some reason her death made me somewhat emotional. I really loved everything about her. I thought she was a terrific entertainer and she managed to live a good life even though she had to face some hardships.

• r192, I had always watched Patrice when he was on television, but I never really went beyond that. I did not know his lifestyle like that. He was just Patrice who cracked me up. So yes for me it was unexpected and I was sad about it.

• Davy Jones and Robin Gibb both upset me. Both because they were way too young and because they were such a part of my childhood and early teens. Davy was so sudden and unexpected, and Robin's decline was so sad, seeing him so ill for so long.

• All music icons for me.John Lennon was the first one I ever cried over. George Harrison, of course, even though I knew it was coming. Eric Carr of KISS was so incredibly sad, he was so young.Davy Jones, oh, I cried. 52 year old lesbian, and I was heartbroken! I was on my way to my uncle's funeral when my sister-in-law told me her mother had called and told her Wendy O. Williams had killed herself. My uncle died of cancer, so we expected it, and I'm kind of ashamed to say that at his funeral, I was crying over Wendy. I worshiped her when I was a young punk.

• A celebrity's death I took surprisingly personally was John Ritter's. He reminded me of my dad, who had died the year before. In some strange way I felt like I lost my dad all over again.

  yeah, yeah, mary

• Natalie Wood and Amy Winehouse I was seriously very upset about Natalie and I was just a kid. Amy had me crying for weeks.

• Davy Jones died?

• John Lennon

• When I read, years after the fact, that most of the cast of Boys In The Band had died of aids, I was pretty upset about it. Still am.

• Ritter's death brought some tears to my eyes. I remember that Johny Cash had passed the same day. Yes, some people are hystrionic over a celeb's death and it seems silly when it is taken to the extreme. They're probably crying for themselves on some level. As to the argument upthread...you need to realize that some people lack empathy like sociopaths but Aspies as well. Someone with Aspergergers is not going to get why a stranger would feel sad over a celeb death. I did notice that the death of Steve Jobs was their exception. Now that was a study in our society's oddballs. Remember that?

• Davy Jones. He was my first crush, too.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D3UdcNZqpZO4

  Hetero%20female.%20Not%20that%20it%20matters.%20

• Jon-Erik Hexum. I was mesmerized by his combination of easy-going charm, masculinity, beauty and kindness. I got the impression he was kind based on his role as Phineas Bogg on the TV show Voyagers and how patient his character was with that kid Jeffrey, who, let's face it, could be challenging.

• Paul Newman Kurt Cobain Chris Farley Princess Diana Judd Nelson

• ...this torch we'll ALWAYS carry for our nations golden child...

• Judd Nelson is alive. Is that a joke I'm not getting?

• [quote]It's actually completely normal to cry when a celebrity you followed or who was big in your life dies. Only if you're a gay man or a 14-year-old girl.

  Straight%20Guys%20and%20Lesbians

• RIP Jill Munroe Private Dective And World Class Race Car Driver

  The%20Townsend%20Agency

• The frustrating thing with Amy Winehouse, Whitney and Michael Jackson was that we all expected it and nobody prevented it.

• Charles Schulz's death was the end of an era.

• Don't understand how anyone with a brain could be upset by a celebrity death. I didn't know them. Means fuck all to me.

• I have paused for a moment and said a little prayer for most of the celebs mentioned to speed them on their way and thank them for entertaining me over the years. But the one death (don't know why) that had me upset for days was Jon Erik Hexum. He just seemed to have such promise and his loss because of a stupid accident just seemed such a waste. Even after all these years it bothers me. I hate to see waste because of stupidity.

• John Lennon's senseless murder literally had me in hysterics. Probably because I saw a tiny bit of myself in him ( unfortunately, not on the talent department) Lennon was a bit of a paradox. Here was a man who was an advocate, revolutionary and crusader for peace, justice and equality for all, yet he also had a very nasty, sarcastic almost viscous streak in him. Add in a phenomenal genius for words and music,plus artistic talent............ I'm still upset 30+ years later

• Yeah, right, R10, talk to straight guys when they lose a beloved sports figure or coach. And my best straight friend cried over John Lennon's death. Some of you cunts really are sociopaths, you know that? Please stay the fuck out of my way.

• Above is to R210, sorry.

• Kurt Cobain, Anne Bancroft, River Phoenix, Heath Ledger

• Carroll O'Connor, who in real life was about as far from Archie Bunker as possible. John Candy and to a lesser degree Chris Farley. You could see Farley's death coming and it wasn't as shocking as Candy's. Anne Bancroft. Who even knew she'd been sick? The much-mentioned Elizabeth Taylor. Princess Diana but not so much JFK Jr. Most people I know were more upset by Jr. Agnes Moorehead, because I used to fantasize Endora was my grandmother. Almost all of the cast of The Wizard of Oz, one by one over the years.

• I was upset when Bea Arthur died. I knew she was older than dirt and it was going to happen sooner rather than later, but it still made me sad because The Golden Girls was and still is one of my favorite shows and Bea just seemed like such a great person.

• Paul Newman Jack Lemmon Gregory Peck ...because they were on my radar for as long as I can remember, going from early-middle to old-age, working almost to the end (same with Jack Nicholson) Carroll O'Connor Merv Griffin ..see r4

  anonymous

• Dan Fogelberg. Gerry Rafferty. Bob Welch.

• Well, I was pretty. Upset that my father didn't live to see that I got an Oscar too.

  Prefer%20to%20remain%20Anonymous

• Princess Di Amy Winehouse Anna Nicole Smith

• Elliott Smith. Cried for days. God now I am going to start crying just thinking about him...

• John Stamos...I grew up on Full House so it was quite a shock.

• The two greatest losses of our lifetime are without a doubt, Princess Diana and JFK Jr. Nobody else even comes close.

• No, not once, not ever.

• John Lennon because it also symbolized the end of an era.

• Princess Di, JFK Jr., Larry Hagman, Elizabeth Taylor, Marvin Hamlisch (we had mutual friends, although I never met him), and - and this is SO embarassing that I can't remember her name - the young actress who played the sister on "My Sister Sam", who was murdered - 1989? Horrible; only 19 or 20ish - SO sad.

• I mortified myself by bursting into tears the morning I learned Princess Di(ed). I've felt like an ass about it ever since.

• [quote]The two greatest losses of our lifetime are without a doubt, Princess Diana and JFK Jr. Nobody else even comes close What? Not to deny their deaths were tragic, but both had no talent to be missed and were famous for nothing (equivalent to the Kardashians). JFK jr was unknown outside the US and was a bit of a failure in life, and Princess Di was headed to obscurity like Sarah Ferguson especially if she would have had the Arab guy's baby and married him. When a singer, actor, performer, writer or any kind of artist dies, its so different because we of what we'll miss.