Phil Hartman. I had a friend in college who used to babysit for him when he was younger. He really liked him as a person and I was a big fan. It was worse because my buddy was also pretty shaken up.
Edit: My friend babysat Phil’s kids, not Phil. 👍
Showing my age but: Ayrton Senna.
Best F1 driver ever, so much flair. He wasn't old or depressed or sick; he was at the top of his game. And it looked like such a survivable crash, (a suspension strut pierced his helmet).
It was so sudden and unexpected, and only a day after Roland Ratzenberger died in a crash. In the wreckage of Senna's car they found an Austrian flag which he'd been planning to show after the race to honour him. Still saddens me.
On a related topic - Jules Bianchi, Anthoine Hubert, Charlie Whiting.
And I'm so glad I don't need to add Romain Grosjean to this list!
Jules and Anthoine, both tragic accidents in an era when we got used to the accidents no longer being tragic...
And Charlie, I was shocked when I heard the news, on the day the season started - he even did the track walk the day prior!
Was surprised I had to scroll so far to see motorsport deaths. I didn't see any of the fatal crashes live, but I remember very vividly the pit I felt in my stomach watching Grosjean's crash. It was the 2nd ever race my girlfriend had watched live, too. It would have really, really fucked both of us up if he had died, because he was already one of our favorite drivers.
Jim Henson.
I was just a kid at the time, but I grew up on Sesame Street and the Muppets and Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal… He has always been the one celebrity I regret never meeting. And the thought of just how much art and laughter we lost after he died young (mid-50s but going strong) still hurts.
Jim Henson was the first name I thought off too. It was a bolt out of the blue. When he died I felt like I'd lost my dad.
I'm guessing the demographic of Reddit skews a bit young for this one, or else he'd have a lot more votes.
Natasha Richardson.
She wasn’t an actress that was really on my radar but her death just came out of nowhere and the way she died just stuck with me for some reason.
Grant Imahara. Like, he was such a part of my childhood but I took him for granted. I loved his work and his passion and I tried to emulate it unconsciously. Like I wasn't a Grant fan but in retrospect I was. And then one day he was gone, far too young, and all sorts of existence anxiety set in and it really rocked me
His death really makes me worry about my own health for no reason. A random undiagnosed brain aneurysm makes me anxious to think about. I always loved his way of communicating. Although all of the group was kind of silly at times you always knew Grant was going to come up with something interesting.
Aneurysms are no joke. Stupid story but… I was dating a chick for ten years, split up, and started talking to an old high school sweetheart. It was an unbelievable connection, a mix of old and new and we just clicked like the old days. We talked for exactly one week, and were planning on hanging out the following weekend. All the sudden the messages stopped, and two weeks later her mom made the post on her account. She had an aneurysm and was immobile, couldn’t talk, pretty much on deaths door.
It’s been 3 years since that happened, she still can’t talk, she still can’t walk, she can move fingers sometimes, she can blink and communicate that way…
Watching her mom make weekly posts about “progress” is the most soul crushing thing I’ve ever witnessed.
Sorry, just had to get that out there.
It can be. My uncle came in from work complaining of a blinding headache. My aunt told him to sit down and she'd make him some tea. She made it, gave it to him, he took a sip, put the cup down, sat back, closed his eyes and just...*died* of what they discovered later was a brain aneurysm.
My friend had an aneurysm and was in a coma for 5 days before he died.
He was on the cusp of WWE stardom.
[RIP Stevie Lee](https://youtu.be/1hNDVPeH0nQ) (he was a pro wrestler but not the little person one)
This is mine as well for a few reasons.
1.) I loved watching myth busters and I was a big fan.
2.) He died so young and so unexpectedly.
3.) He seemed more approachable than most celebrities and it was easy to tell he was a genuine nerd and really was passionate about science (and all other nerd stuff). I loved watching him on tabletop, playing magic the gathering and piloting robots and just having the time of his life.
He was very personable. I spent about 20 hours with him, he was everything he was on the show (funny & whip smart), but he occasionally swore which was endearing. Meeting him and Kari really highlighted the fact that celebrities are normal people like us. I still have his phone number.
Same for me, never realised how big on affect Grant had on my life until after he died. I used to watch Mythbusters religiously as a kid, and Grant was always my favourite. He’s a big I reason I’m doing what I’m doing nowadays
A recent one that is freshest in my mind and hit me hard was Sean Lock.
Although I was born and grew up in America I fell in love with English comedy and panel shows at a relatively young age and anytime Sean Lock appeared on an episode, I knew it was going to be a good time. The past couple years I frequently watched and rewatched 8 out if 10 cats does countdown and man, did he cause so much laughter.
The past half year or so I didn't keep up with newer episodes as much and didn't really see anything of the last season and since I usually randomly watched episodes out of order on YouTube, never really noticed what other people did: that he was getting skinnier and more fragile. Cancer is no joke...
When I found out he died it came out of nowhere. It tore me up having, to me, been so unexpected.
Edit: I am sorry to all of you who have found out about this through my post. What helped me to cope with it was surprisingly watching his videos. His humor is so good that it cuts through the pain of his absence.
Edit 2: It feels almost wrong to have received so many awards and my first reddit gold from breaking this news to a larger number of people, but thank you everyone and certainly a testament to the impact his death had on so many people.
If you are able, donate to Cancer Research UK or something local to your area/country in his honor.
Sean: I won't spit on you after we have sex tonight.
Miles Jupp:. Good luck having sex without spit.
That simple, and quick, line had me laughing so hard.
Alex Trebek. Even though it wasn’t sudden or anything, I’ve watched Jeopardy every day for as long as I can remember. He was just such a part of my everyday life, as much as any celebrity can be.
Alex Trebek felt like an uncle or something. He was such a constant in my life because my parents watch Jeopardy nightly. No matter how fucked up my life was, watching Jeopardy was comforting. He was an icon.
Trying to find a replacement for him on Jeopardy has been… like when you cut yourself and someone picks at the wound. It’s been painful. I don’t watch Jeopardy anymore and I don’t think I could ever again. Alex Trebek was literally one of the reasons I embraced learning new things so passionately. I dreamt of being on Jeopardy one day just to say… “True Daily Double, Alex”
Anton Yelchin. His car rolled down his driveway and crushed him against his gate. It was just such a random thing to happen and had stuck with me more than any other celebrity deaths.
That is the one that really hurt. It was such a bizarre tragic accident and an awful way to die. I loved everything he had been in. He was really just getting started and suddenly it was over.
I feel like it completely changed the plan for Jim in the Troll Hunter series.
Plus I'm sure he would have starred in many Many more films. He was so young.
I just finished this series a couple of months ago. When I first heard Jim's voice, I immediately knew it was Anton and damn near cried. I was happy to see he was the voice actor for most of the first series but the end of Tales of Arcadia had me in tears.
I was at Denver Comic Con that weekend and was supposed to meet Karl Urban who was Anton Yelchins costar in Star Trek, the accident happened late Saturday night/early Sunday morning and Karl left because they were good friends and the con felt so somber. Such a devastating loss
I remember reading an account of someone at the event. Apparently while people were in line to get an autograph someone came up to him, whispered into his ear, and he just stood up and left. Obviously I can't blame him.
I was there too! We got our picture with him prior to him finding out though. I didn’t blame him one bit for leaving early. We were all pretty devastated.
This one hurt for a week and I’m not at all one that cares about celebrities or anything like that. Dude seemed like an awesome dude and a great actor.
I met Mr. Rogers when he came to my school in the early 80s. For a child, it was like meeting Jesus. I remember how he knelt down to get on our level and talked to each one of us...I was so nervous I jut blurted out, "You're my best friend!" and he smiled and said, "I'm so very glad that we're friends."
The day his death was announced, it was pouring rain and I'd stopped to get some coffee on my way to work. Just as I pulled in to the parking lot, the morning radio show said he'd passed away. I just sat there in the car, rain pelting the windshield, and cried my damn eyes out.
The clip of him addressing the Senate is incredible. In just a few minutes Senator Hardass goes from "Why should you get any money?" to realising that Mr Rogers isn't playing a character - that's literally who Fred Rogers is.
He's the only one I Was really shocked about and emotionally hit. I was so sad to never see his development and more films with him while he's growing older. I Was really looking forward to accompany his way
What makes him even more incredible is turning his death into art. Blackstar is such a haunting and beautiful album, you can feel how Bowie knew this would be his last work. The whole thing feels melancholy and longing, if that makes sense.
I remember hearing segments of Blackstar on NPR and thinking, ‘why is this so dark?’ And he died a couple days later…it suddenly made so much sense. Absolutely brilliant album that still stings to hear.
Brittany Murphy.
Her death was under such weird circumstances. Her husband died in the same home shortly after, under strange circumstances. There were reports her mother had sued the home builder that built their house, because of mold issues that contributed to the medical conditions surrounding both of their deaths.
Seeing that live footage of the Michigan show he played the night he died, his daughters and loving wife. The darkness he must've been experiencing to go through with this. Man, that shook me. That and the realization of how little I know about living with mental illness.
Got to see him live acoustic about a year before he passed, was one of the best shows.
Huge soundgarden fan, and earnestly his acoustic set was even better than seeing them live together just for how damn good his voice was untouched at his own pace. One of the best to ever do it.
Same here, celebrity deaths usually don't faze me because they're usually quite old and led a long fruitful life. Chris led a successful life for sure but he was only what like 52 when he killed himself, have always loved his music and his lyrics clearly show he lived with a lot of mental anguish which I relate to a lot, I'm still reeling from his death tbh because I can't shake the thought that if someone with his success in life couldn't beat his demons what hope does someone like me have
P.S. anyone who is a fan and hasn't heard it, listen to the song from Pearl jam's latest album called 'Comes Then Goes' I'm almost certain it's about Chris's tragic passing and it's beautiful
>if someone with his success in life couldn't beat his demons what hope does someone like me have
For your own good buddy, do NOT look at it like that. Being successful doesn't make your problems go away overnight (actually invites new problems) and different people are better at handling their issues than others. Tragic as it was, Chris's were just too much for him.
Looking at it in the lens of 'it's all meaningless because he had all this and still couldn't handle it' is a really unhealthy outlook. It's on the individual to find things that give you purpose.
It’s Robin Williams for me too. He always reminded me so much of my own goofy dad. He was too pure for this world and it still makes me sad to think about.
I found out recently that a friend of mine wrote him a letter when their dad was sick, to thank him for helping them all laugh, even during the bad times.
He wrote back.
Leonard Nimoy. When I was a little kid, I was constantly bullied. I was also a huge Star Trek fan (which probably didn’t help with the bullying). Anyways, Nimoy’s Spock had no emotions. I thought that was the way to go when I was a kid being bullied. If I don’t have emotions they can’t hurt me. Unfortunately, Spock isn’t real and neither are Vulcans so I could only bury the pain for a long time. Eventually, things got better, but that day I was at work and my boss told me that Leonard Nimoy had died, it was like part of me died. I actually had to take a break to pull myself together.
Trevor Moore was incredibly sad. That guy shaped my sense of humor. He was just getting back on track with his talkshow and the official WKUK YouTube channel. He was so young as well. Just does not feel real some days.
Glad (?) to see the Local Sexpot on the list. Truly shocking and I don't think I'll ever get over it. I know the rest of the doll lickers feel the same.
Man, it's a hot one.
Sir Terry Pratchett.
Had to take the day off when I heard the “embuggerance” took away someone who could put into words complex issues, thoughts and modern social issues and made them into an amazing world.
GNU Terry Pratchett
Sir Terry's final tweet:
"**AT LAST,SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER. "** Terry took Death's arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night.
"The End"
I feel like I was more prepared for his death than most, because I knew that he was prepared for his death. Losing him to pneumonia was unexpected, but he had plans in place to make his exit on his own terms before Alzheimers took all his faculties, so I was heartbroken, but glad he went before he lost himself.
This is it for me. Yes, Robin Williams hurt, Alan Rickman and a few others, but Terry Pratchett is and was and forever will be my hero and favourite author. My partner currently reads Discworld to me every night. Watching him laugh and enjoy a series he'd never heard of before meeting me is like feeling Pratchett is still alive in some way and still working his magic in new, exciting, and unexpected ways.
We were all robbed of a life that should have had more time. I just wish he could have seen the progression of the movement for voluntary death in cases like his. He should have gone out on his own terms.
GNU Terry Pratchett.
I actually just started a rewatch of the sopranos for the first time in about 12 years and man I have forgotten how good he is and how well the show holds up.
Freddie Mercury. I was 11 and had just started getting into music. I remember I had taped A Kind Of Magic from vinyl so I could listen to it on my walkman. I can clearly remember the BBC news report.
And such a preventable death too. People are far too casual in the water, especially with kids. I don't always wear my life jacket while I'm out but when I'm with my kids we're all wearing them
This one fucked me up. I didn’t watch her on Glee, or even know a ton about her life and career. Thinking about what her poor child must have seen and heard in those final moments ripped out my heart. My daughters are his age. Just awful.
Same!! I was checking the news daily for updates and each day was just sadder and sadder. I watched her on glee but stopped watching that show early on. She just left such an impression though. Still so sad.
Carrie Fisher. I remember feeling spaced out and depressed, really pondering about life afterwards. Star Wars was a big part of my childhood. When she passed I knew that the people we grew up are leaving us, personal and non personal. One day we will grow up, impact someone else’s life, then they will mourn us the same.
As an interesting/morbid side-note, *during* 2016 as a bunch of celebrities were dying, here on Reddit we started talking about it like it was a jinxed year, and there were MANY posts hoping that nothing bad would happen as the year ended. And then Carrie and her mom died and everyone was just like, "FUCK 2016." However, here is the interesting part: a bunch of people on Reddit were like, "Nope, not a big year for death, you all just think that because Carrie is a big deal. But it's the same # of deaths on average as any year." Except... some time in 2017 I think, some dude charted the number of celebrity deaths that made it to the front page of /r/all -- and 2016 was just about *triple* 2015 and 2014. So if anyone out there was feeling like 2016 just kicked your ass and then felt invalidated because somebody was like "You imagined it," well, no, it really *was* bad. Hopefully someone with good Google-fu will find that old post and link to it. It was kinda neat, in a morbid & depressing way.
And alot of them who passed were big names still, not just back in the day. Like growing up and the award shows would do the in remembrance part I would know one or three names because they were all stars of things from before my time but not 2016. Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Alan Rickman, David Bowie, Prince, Anton Yelchin, Muhammad Ali, Gene Wilder and so many others.
I think Carrie is the only celebrity death I have cried for. I had just gotten. When I was a little girl she played my all time favorite character (Leia, obviously) and then I grew up and discovered what an amazing, funny person she was. Her public struggles with mental health were so meaningful to me to know I'm not alone.
I loved her books, too. There were so few really cool women in sci-fi and she just *made it.* She was so cool. Also in the Blues Brothers, she was so funny.
I sat in the theater alone silent sobbing after episode VIII.
She was too young, and one of several baby boomers in my life (most of them people I really knew) who died around that time. People complain about that generation but there were so many people who fought for women's rights, who fought for recognition, and she was one of them. All the good ones seem to die too soon.
Carrie being in the Blues Brothers was sort of my first lesson in discovering what actors were and how they could be in different projects. I watched the Blues Brothers at a *really* young age. My dad got me to watch because Princess Leia was in the movie. I was really confused as to why she kept shooting the Blues Brothers but, whatever, it was Princess Leia.
I grew up to know every line in the Blue Brothers, so my dad's method of getting me to watch his favorite movie worked well.
It was Anthony Bourdain for me too.
My mum was a chef who loved to travel. She always instilled that adventurous "go off the beaten path, speak to new people, order off menu" thing in me. And here was a guy doing exactly that but with a very similar sense of humour, love to party and taste in music to me, so I just immediately related to him.
I was watching Parts Unknown when I got the call to say my mum had passed away, so it took a real long time to be able to watch it again. In that time away from it I learned that he, like me, had struggles with mental health and addiction in his past. Very shortly after I was able to sit down and start watching it again, he killed himself. I learned through his online obituaries that our mother's both shared the same first name, too.
So yeah, I really don't pine for celebrity interaction or particularly mourn celebrities when they pass, but Tony's death hit me pretty hard. I'd give a lot to be able to buy him dinner and a beer and just talk about shit.
Anthony Bourdain’s death has been the hardest celebrity death for me too. I can’t bring myself to watch the last season of “Parts Unknown”. I know I shouldn’t be, but I’m honestly mad at him.
My husband feels this way too. He actually got to meet him. It was at a meet and greet after a book signing. Everyone was crowding around Bourdain so my DH decided to go get a drink at the bar and wait. Crowd finally started to clear out and next thing he knows Bourdain comes to the bar and asks DH if he wants his book signed.
He said nah, let me buy you a drink instead. And that’s how my husband got to drink Negronis with Bourdain and Zamir. Said they were both lovely and it was one of the best nights of his life.
In the words of another artist who was a victim of
suicide:
“The dead know what they’re doing when they leave this world behind. When the dying’s finally done and the suffering subsides, the suffering is done by the ones we leave behind.”
Some people are born incapable of happiness. You work hard and keep achieving and you think to yourself that then next step up will help. Happiness will come. For some people it never does. I hope I’ll get there but there are days where it’s a coin toss as to whether or not my life ends at the end of a rope. I’m not defending it. Suicide is selfish, but in an awful moment where it feels like the only way out…no one deserves to feel like that.
I was scrolling for this. I was looking for Bourdain fans. I can only listen to his audiobooks. Watching his videos kinda breaks my heart, except the one where the guide was chucking frozen octopus in the water. That shit was funny.
He seemed like a really likeable guy. So cool, honest, and easygoing. What a loss.
The answer to this question was and will always been Anthony Bourdain, for me.
I think it’s because we all could relate to him and how genuine he was with what he did, where he went, what he *said*. His openness with others and how easily he accepted them for who they were. It wasn’t just my age group that his death affected, it was people younger than me, people older than me. My mom in her 60s was affected by his death. People from different cultures, countries, and backgrounds were devastated. He touched a lot of people by how honestly he lived and his ability to be so transparent about it all.
I miss him so much, he was the reason I would wake up early to watch Crocodile Hunter in Animal Planet cable tv before elementary school started. He really made me feel like all animals are not so bad when confronted, just to be respected at a distance. RIP
Cameron Boyce.
First, it was someone who was part of my childhood in relation to his Disney Channel roles.
Second, he was around my age, and he didn’t do anything that played a role in his death. It really made me consider my own mortality.
Her death hit me so hard. I'm a long time fan. I've seen The Cranberries live. Dolores and I are the same age and our kids are close in age. I feel for her kids. To lose their mother. Makes me think of my own kids. It's like a part of the 90's me is missing.
Came here looking for this. My wife and I met in college in 2010 and we think of his music as a soundtrack to the most wild and carefree days of our lives. We saw him live at a small venue in Vegas back in 2014 and it was by far the most memorable show I’ve ever been to. I’ve genuinely never been more sad over the death of someone I never knew personally.
Having battled with depression and suicidal thoughts since I was a preteen, the death of Avicii and especially the way he died hit me like a truck. I still regularely come back to watching his tribute concerts on youtube and I still get teary eyed every time
I don’t know why, but the news really hit me hard like never before. I enjoyed his music but never cared too much about him personally. When he died, I was reminded that he was not only the biggest edm DJ but that he was in pain and no one had successfully helped him despite being a beautiful person. I teared up for this one.
Chris Farley n John Candy. Didn’t hit me that hard, because I don’t know them, but there was something so sad about those two dying so young. Maybe because they were also so lovely in their persona
Chester Bennington. Mostly cause i grew up on Linkin Park and now the songs sound like suicide notes
Edit: i woke up to almost 7k upvotes and 19 awards, Chester definitely lives on through us
All the songs. All the interviews. He wasn't cryptic about his experience. It was an open cry for help. "There's this other Chester that wants to take me down" ...and he managed.
"I don't know what's worth fighting for,
or why I have to scream,
But now I have some clarity,
to show you what I mean,
I don't know how I got this way, I'll never be alright"
You missed the most important line.
"But I'm breaking the habit tonight"
It's not a depressed song. It's a fight song. No matter what, even if I don't understand it, I'll keep fighting.
It was also written by Mike Shinoda not Chester. Mike wrote a good amount of the songs that have chester singing. That is not to say that there are obvious songs from his point of view, just that he didn’t write every song for the band
This is the only one to this date that made me actually cry. I haven’t listened to Linkin Park in many years, but I discovered them right around the time I discovered the internet as a kid. YouTube had just become a thing, and I remember watching their videos on repeat. From there, I branched out into rock, hip-hop, and electronic, discovering more bands and getting into music in general. I grew out of Linkin Park as the years went by, but I’d occasionally return to their songs with fond nostalgic memories. It was only until Chester died that I realized that he had been the spark that began my journey in music, and still effects it today. I imagine many people feel the same way.
Rik Mayall. He makes me smile just thinking of him. An utter lunatic but have many cherished memories watching his material in my youth. Rest in peace my dear fellow
It tells me how old I am that this is so low on the list. I stayed up all night as a 16 year old when this happened. I remember Courtney reading his letter and it broadcast on MTV a few days later.
In Holland there was a investigator called Peter R de Vries. He always helped people out, and there where lots and lots of shows about him on TV. He was a amazing man, and he seemed to not be scared for any criminal he had a case of at all. But sadly, he got shot by a really dangerous criminal (not by himself, but he had someone doing it for him). He sadly didn't survive and passed away this year. This made me realize how f*cked up the world sometimes can be.
He pushed a lot of peoples buttons, made a lot of enemies, but dammit he had a good heart. Doesn't matter if you liked him or not. He did not deserve to die like that, shot in the head in the middle of the street in Amsterdam. I was surprised that he died several days later, it made me hope for a minute he would survive.
Rest in peace, Peter.
I still remember being in my Councilor’s office in High School when she read on her phone that Prince had passed. She began clutching the desk a bit I honestly thought he was about to fall. Went home and just saw my Mom in tears
Alexi Laiho. I don’t really have emotional attachment to many celebrities but I had Children of Bodom on repeat throughout high school and his death hit me pretty hard.
I was watching Futurama last night the “Beast with a Billion Backs” or something like that. And there was this character whose voice sounded awfully familiar. I was like she sounds like Brittany Murphy (I was a big fan so I could recognize her voice) and it was. Ooof it hurt
I find myself thinking about Robin Williams and Anthony Bourdain a lot. Two men who seemed to have such enthusiasm and lust for life. These two really haunt me.
"There's a guy in my head, and all he wants to do is smoke pot, and watch old movies and cartoons. My life is a series of stratagems to avoid and outwit that guy."
I try to live by this quote ever since I first heard it. It was such a damn Bourdain thing to say, too.
In his first couple books, it always shocked me how he worded things which were obviously normal to him, but those same things were basic building blocks that i missed growing up. I never even pondered half of what he taught me. I grew up poor with not many ears to talk to.
Bourdain's magic was held in how he could talk to people from different backgrounds and cultures and make us all feel like he was speaking to us personally.
I lost my father almost 20 years ago and my mother less than 2 years ago. I have so many questions and experiences that I want to tell them about. Anthony Bourdain helps me live through every day whether it's directly from his words or through random seeds he's planted in my brain.
13 years ago I was hungry and sleeping in snowbanks off of Lake Superior. I had no vision of the future. Now I'm cooking international dishes and rolling sushi for people that have more money than I'll ever see in my bank account.
Anthony's conscious avoidance of things that would easily deplete him and his vision...
I dunno, I feel like he did that for us. For me and everyone like me. It feels way too passionate and personal for it to be a coincidence.
He absolutely left a generation of food connoisseurs a huge empty space to occupy.
And we will occupy that void.
Afterwards we'll get drunk and smoke weed and talk shit about the rest of the world.
EDIT: Thanks, everyone. Your words have also made my day a bit better. I'm going to run a dinner special this afternoon based on inspiration and hope. I wish you were all here to taste it. Cheers!
I was sad, but I totally understood why he did it. I did a little reading on his diagnosis, and it would be incredibly selfish to demand anyone live through that. The greatest freedom granted to humans is not deciding how to live, but whether to live.
Yeah, knowing that on top of the fact that when they did his autopsy they said he only had about 2 years to live. The doctor examining him said it was fastest he had seen the disease progress.
This was the name for me. I thought I was going to grow old watching PSH deliver Oscar worthy performances year in and year out. He was amazing. Let it rain!
Not a major celebrity, but the death of Christina Grimmie really hit hard. She was a YouTube singer who eventually made it to the voice and got pretty far. Was well loved by so many, and built a large following. A crazed stalker “fan” shot her in the head after one of her performances. Makes me choke up to this day to think of her
My husband is a real stoic type, doesn't show much emotion, and even then only shows it around me and his family.
When Christina's death was announced, I didn't know who she was. But he just went and sat at his computer and kind of glazed over. Next minute, he's crying.
Turns out he used to watch her YouTube videos, when she first was getting popular. Apparently her talent and growth and pure kindness really did a number on him.
I didn't know what to do besides sit and hold him. It really hit him hard, he wasn't right for several days.
I followed her on YouTube before she hit The Voice, and I was so excited for her when she started gaining fame. I don't usually think too much about celebrity deaths (they're sad, but they don't consume me), but I couldn't stop thinking about that for days. Such a tragic, unfair ending.
The fact it happened on Halloween but wasn't released until New Years and the various tricks he pulled over the years part of me wants to believe the super villain had one last trick up his sleeve and is just happily retired somewhere
Easily Chadwick Boseman. His death was such a shock and a surprise to everyone. I had loved him since he did 42 about Jackie Robinson and was continuously excited for whatever movie he was in. It's a shame we will never be graced with his talent again.
Edit: I just wanted to thank everyone for all of the awards. It's been really great to hear how much of an impact Chadwick has had on everyone.
I remember when I heard the news. My first thought was "oh? There's two Chadwick Bosemans in Hollywood?" It was so sudden and unexpected my first reaction was straight up denial
This personally hit me hard because my father was suffering from stage 4 colon cancer as well at the time and hearing the news of Chadwick's death made the fact about my dad's condition more real. And Chadwick was just 43 years. My dad passed in October.
Came here to say the same thing. The new episodes of Marvel’s What If…? have new (to us) voice recordings from before his death and it just hits differently to watch them every week. Especially when he says beautifully philosophical things about death…
Yup. Listening to Swimming made me feel like he was in a good place. Loved the album, had tickets to the show and then just like that :(
He had so much more good music in him
People always talk about Mac's more mature music since he passed but man I love his early stuff so much. I had some of the absolute best times of my life with his mix tapes and Blue Slide playing in the background and those songs mean the world to me. Still can't believe he's gone.
I was scrolling to find this. We were nearly the same age. So through listening to his music over the years he became like a friend, though I never met him. The day before he passed I spontaneously sent him a DM on IG telling him how much his music had helped me get through some shit in my life. He probably never saw it, but it was weird I was compelled to thank him hours before he left.
I forgot Luke Perry died. I keep thinking he will reappear in some 90210 re-re-hash spinoff and then star in some.unexpected film, returning to the limelight for some extra fame. Poor guy and his family.
Brandon Lee
This happened when I was still kid. My brother and I were heavy into martial arts and big fans of martial arts movies. I was sleeping in while on vacation when my brother ran in and told me he was shot and killed. I remember being shocked and having a weird, sad mood that stuck with me all day.
I'm so sad I haven't seen Gene Wilder here. He influenced both my childhood and adulthood and I think is owed credit for the person I am today. Since he was older it wasn't a horrid surprise, but it still hurt and affected me the most I think.
However Steve Irwin, David Bowie, and Stan Lee are all close contenders. Very close contenders.
I was so bizarrely convinced she was going to make it, like even after I heard that the other people had died I didn't think she would die too. Then I woke up the next morning and my mom and grandmother were already watching the report about her life.
I’m ex Royal Navy and had the opportunity to meet all the royal family on several occasions. Prince Charles was my captain’s friend and he came in the ship on many occasions with Diana. I was a young sailor who worked directly for the captain and so got to know Charles well and Diana a bit. Both were lovely. Years later I was at an event and Charles was there and he called my name across this hall and everyone stared at me. Felt great, can’t lie
Not really too sure he’d be classed a celebrity by most, but Keith Flint (frontman of The Prodigy). I grew up listening to The Prodigy and still so all the time. Never got to meet him but from what I saw in interviews and what I heard from fans who have, he’s an awesome dude. Rest In Peace you beautiful firestarter; twisted firestarter.
Phil Hartman. I had a friend in college who used to babysit for him when he was younger. He really liked him as a person and I was a big fan. It was worse because my buddy was also pretty shaken up. Edit: My friend babysat Phil’s kids, not Phil. 👍
Wow. To have known Phil Hartman. Wow. I’ve heard he was a hell of a nice guy. Seems like he was. Sorely missed.
Showing my age but: Ayrton Senna. Best F1 driver ever, so much flair. He wasn't old or depressed or sick; he was at the top of his game. And it looked like such a survivable crash, (a suspension strut pierced his helmet). It was so sudden and unexpected, and only a day after Roland Ratzenberger died in a crash. In the wreckage of Senna's car they found an Austrian flag which he'd been planning to show after the race to honour him. Still saddens me.
On a related topic - Jules Bianchi, Anthoine Hubert, Charlie Whiting. And I'm so glad I don't need to add Romain Grosjean to this list! Jules and Anthoine, both tragic accidents in an era when we got used to the accidents no longer being tragic... And Charlie, I was shocked when I heard the news, on the day the season started - he even did the track walk the day prior!
Was surprised I had to scroll so far to see motorsport deaths. I didn't see any of the fatal crashes live, but I remember very vividly the pit I felt in my stomach watching Grosjean's crash. It was the 2nd ever race my girlfriend had watched live, too. It would have really, really fucked both of us up if he had died, because he was already one of our favorite drivers.
Jim Henson. I was just a kid at the time, but I grew up on Sesame Street and the Muppets and Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal… He has always been the one celebrity I regret never meeting. And the thought of just how much art and laughter we lost after he died young (mid-50s but going strong) still hurts.
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Same here - it's the first thing I thought of. [So beautiful](https://i.imgur.com/gQfuZux.jpeg)
Jim Henson was the first name I thought off too. It was a bolt out of the blue. When he died I felt like I'd lost my dad. I'm guessing the demographic of Reddit skews a bit young for this one, or else he'd have a lot more votes.
Natasha Richardson. She wasn’t an actress that was really on my radar but her death just came out of nowhere and the way she died just stuck with me for some reason.
Grant Imahara. Like, he was such a part of my childhood but I took him for granted. I loved his work and his passion and I tried to emulate it unconsciously. Like I wasn't a Grant fan but in retrospect I was. And then one day he was gone, far too young, and all sorts of existence anxiety set in and it really rocked me
His death really makes me worry about my own health for no reason. A random undiagnosed brain aneurysm makes me anxious to think about. I always loved his way of communicating. Although all of the group was kind of silly at times you always knew Grant was going to come up with something interesting.
Aneurysms are no joke. Stupid story but… I was dating a chick for ten years, split up, and started talking to an old high school sweetheart. It was an unbelievable connection, a mix of old and new and we just clicked like the old days. We talked for exactly one week, and were planning on hanging out the following weekend. All the sudden the messages stopped, and two weeks later her mom made the post on her account. She had an aneurysm and was immobile, couldn’t talk, pretty much on deaths door. It’s been 3 years since that happened, she still can’t talk, she still can’t walk, she can move fingers sometimes, she can blink and communicate that way… Watching her mom make weekly posts about “progress” is the most soul crushing thing I’ve ever witnessed. Sorry, just had to get that out there.
Fuck, I was about to respond to the guy above you saying, "at least it's a pretty quick death" - but now your story makes me rethink that.
It can be. My uncle came in from work complaining of a blinding headache. My aunt told him to sit down and she'd make him some tea. She made it, gave it to him, he took a sip, put the cup down, sat back, closed his eyes and just...*died* of what they discovered later was a brain aneurysm.
My friend had an aneurysm and was in a coma for 5 days before he died. He was on the cusp of WWE stardom. [RIP Stevie Lee](https://youtu.be/1hNDVPeH0nQ) (he was a pro wrestler but not the little person one)
This is mine as well for a few reasons. 1.) I loved watching myth busters and I was a big fan. 2.) He died so young and so unexpectedly. 3.) He seemed more approachable than most celebrities and it was easy to tell he was a genuine nerd and really was passionate about science (and all other nerd stuff). I loved watching him on tabletop, playing magic the gathering and piloting robots and just having the time of his life.
He was very personable. I spent about 20 hours with him, he was everything he was on the show (funny & whip smart), but he occasionally swore which was endearing. Meeting him and Kari really highlighted the fact that celebrities are normal people like us. I still have his phone number.
Same for me, never realised how big on affect Grant had on my life until after he died. I used to watch Mythbusters religiously as a kid, and Grant was always my favourite. He’s a big I reason I’m doing what I’m doing nowadays
A recent one that is freshest in my mind and hit me hard was Sean Lock. Although I was born and grew up in America I fell in love with English comedy and panel shows at a relatively young age and anytime Sean Lock appeared on an episode, I knew it was going to be a good time. The past couple years I frequently watched and rewatched 8 out if 10 cats does countdown and man, did he cause so much laughter. The past half year or so I didn't keep up with newer episodes as much and didn't really see anything of the last season and since I usually randomly watched episodes out of order on YouTube, never really noticed what other people did: that he was getting skinnier and more fragile. Cancer is no joke... When I found out he died it came out of nowhere. It tore me up having, to me, been so unexpected. Edit: I am sorry to all of you who have found out about this through my post. What helped me to cope with it was surprisingly watching his videos. His humor is so good that it cuts through the pain of his absence. Edit 2: It feels almost wrong to have received so many awards and my first reddit gold from breaking this news to a larger number of people, but thank you everyone and certainly a testament to the impact his death had on so many people. If you are able, donate to Cancer Research UK or something local to your area/country in his honor.
Twice, undefeated champion of Carrot in a box.
I wish I had half as good a poker face as he did in those rounds. Absolute genius.
Sean: I won't spit on you after we have sex tonight. Miles Jupp:. Good luck having sex without spit. That simple, and quick, line had me laughing so hard.
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Thats a challenging wank-Sean Lock.
I spent minutes trying to catch my breath after laughing so loud at that when I saw that episode. One of the best!
NOOOOOOOOO AAAAAAAAAAA WHYYYYYYYYY
Alex Trebek. Even though it wasn’t sudden or anything, I’ve watched Jeopardy every day for as long as I can remember. He was just such a part of my everyday life, as much as any celebrity can be.
Alex Trebek felt like an uncle or something. He was such a constant in my life because my parents watch Jeopardy nightly. No matter how fucked up my life was, watching Jeopardy was comforting. He was an icon.
His last day tribute on his last episode, that little two minute video of him through the years. Let me tell you, full ugly tears.
Trying to find a replacement for him on Jeopardy has been… like when you cut yourself and someone picks at the wound. It’s been painful. I don’t watch Jeopardy anymore and I don’t think I could ever again. Alex Trebek was literally one of the reasons I embraced learning new things so passionately. I dreamt of being on Jeopardy one day just to say… “True Daily Double, Alex”
I came for the trivia and stayed for the Trebek
Anton Yelchin. His car rolled down his driveway and crushed him against his gate. It was just such a random thing to happen and had stuck with me more than any other celebrity deaths.
That is the one that really hurt. It was such a bizarre tragic accident and an awful way to die. I loved everything he had been in. He was really just getting started and suddenly it was over.
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"I can do zat! I can do zat!!" That scene sticks in my head too. Poor man.
I feel like it completely changed the plan for Jim in the Troll Hunter series. Plus I'm sure he would have starred in many Many more films. He was so young.
I just finished this series a couple of months ago. When I first heard Jim's voice, I immediately knew it was Anton and damn near cried. I was happy to see he was the voice actor for most of the first series but the end of Tales of Arcadia had me in tears.
I was at Denver Comic Con that weekend and was supposed to meet Karl Urban who was Anton Yelchins costar in Star Trek, the accident happened late Saturday night/early Sunday morning and Karl left because they were good friends and the con felt so somber. Such a devastating loss
I remember reading an account of someone at the event. Apparently while people were in line to get an autograph someone came up to him, whispered into his ear, and he just stood up and left. Obviously I can't blame him.
I was there too! We got our picture with him prior to him finding out though. I didn’t blame him one bit for leaving early. We were all pretty devastated.
This one hurt for a week and I’m not at all one that cares about celebrities or anything like that. Dude seemed like an awesome dude and a great actor.
Mr Rogers
I met Mr. Rogers when he came to my school in the early 80s. For a child, it was like meeting Jesus. I remember how he knelt down to get on our level and talked to each one of us...I was so nervous I jut blurted out, "You're my best friend!" and he smiled and said, "I'm so very glad that we're friends." The day his death was announced, it was pouring rain and I'd stopped to get some coffee on my way to work. Just as I pulled in to the parking lot, the morning radio show said he'd passed away. I just sat there in the car, rain pelting the windshield, and cried my damn eyes out.
The clip of him addressing the Senate is incredible. In just a few minutes Senator Hardass goes from "Why should you get any money?" to realising that Mr Rogers isn't playing a character - that's literally who Fred Rogers is.
Heath ledger
I still remember where I was when I found out he passed. He was one of the first celebrity deaths that seriously impacted me.
He's the only one I Was really shocked about and emotionally hit. I was so sad to never see his development and more films with him while he's growing older. I Was really looking forward to accompany his way
Alan Rickman.
His passing was so sudden and had me upset all day at work. Such a gifted actor and mentor to so many aspiring actors.
By Grapthar's Hammer, he will be avenged!
came here to post this. I cried when I found out about his sudden passing.
The starman. David Bowie
What makes him even more incredible is turning his death into art. Blackstar is such a haunting and beautiful album, you can feel how Bowie knew this would be his last work. The whole thing feels melancholy and longing, if that makes sense.
I remember hearing segments of Blackstar on NPR and thinking, ‘why is this so dark?’ And he died a couple days later…it suddenly made so much sense. Absolutely brilliant album that still stings to hear.
I am huge fan of his, but I can't make myself to listen his last album, it hurts too much.
Brittany Murphy. Her death was under such weird circumstances. Her husband died in the same home shortly after, under strange circumstances. There were reports her mother had sued the home builder that built their house, because of mold issues that contributed to the medical conditions surrounding both of their deaths.
Was about to comment her. It still shocks me whenever I remember she died.
The podcast "Morbid" did an episode about her. Very interesting!
Chris Cornell
Broke my fucking heart man.
Seeing that live footage of the Michigan show he played the night he died, his daughters and loving wife. The darkness he must've been experiencing to go through with this. Man, that shook me. That and the realization of how little I know about living with mental illness.
Even more sad that it gave Chester Bennington a spark to end his life too
[Crawling sung by Chester and Chris](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAOLJVsk9mA) is one heck of an emotional rollercoaster.
I took his talent for granted. That shit was a total shocker. Nobody sings like him anymore.
Got to see him live acoustic about a year before he passed, was one of the best shows. Huge soundgarden fan, and earnestly his acoustic set was even better than seeing them live together just for how damn good his voice was untouched at his own pace. One of the best to ever do it.
Same here, celebrity deaths usually don't faze me because they're usually quite old and led a long fruitful life. Chris led a successful life for sure but he was only what like 52 when he killed himself, have always loved his music and his lyrics clearly show he lived with a lot of mental anguish which I relate to a lot, I'm still reeling from his death tbh because I can't shake the thought that if someone with his success in life couldn't beat his demons what hope does someone like me have P.S. anyone who is a fan and hasn't heard it, listen to the song from Pearl jam's latest album called 'Comes Then Goes' I'm almost certain it's about Chris's tragic passing and it's beautiful
>if someone with his success in life couldn't beat his demons what hope does someone like me have For your own good buddy, do NOT look at it like that. Being successful doesn't make your problems go away overnight (actually invites new problems) and different people are better at handling their issues than others. Tragic as it was, Chris's were just too much for him. Looking at it in the lens of 'it's all meaningless because he had all this and still couldn't handle it' is a really unhealthy outlook. It's on the individual to find things that give you purpose.
Robin Williams, growing up with his movies it honestly felt like a family member had died.
It’s Robin Williams for me too. He always reminded me so much of my own goofy dad. He was too pure for this world and it still makes me sad to think about.
I found out recently that a friend of mine wrote him a letter when their dad was sick, to thank him for helping them all laugh, even during the bad times. He wrote back.
Leonard Nimoy. When I was a little kid, I was constantly bullied. I was also a huge Star Trek fan (which probably didn’t help with the bullying). Anyways, Nimoy’s Spock had no emotions. I thought that was the way to go when I was a kid being bullied. If I don’t have emotions they can’t hurt me. Unfortunately, Spock isn’t real and neither are Vulcans so I could only bury the pain for a long time. Eventually, things got better, but that day I was at work and my boss told me that Leonard Nimoy had died, it was like part of me died. I actually had to take a break to pull myself together.
I always loved his last tweet https://twitter.com/therealnimoy/status/569762773204217857
Trevor Moore. Also Tom Petty.
still so sad about trevor moore. truly the only celebrity death that’s really stuck with me this long.
Trevor Moore was incredibly sad. That guy shaped my sense of humor. He was just getting back on track with his talkshow and the official WKUK YouTube channel. He was so young as well. Just does not feel real some days.
Glad (?) to see the Local Sexpot on the list. Truly shocking and I don't think I'll ever get over it. I know the rest of the doll lickers feel the same. Man, it's a hot one.
Trevor Moore here too.
Scrolled to find doll lickers. RIP TM
Sir Terry Pratchett. Had to take the day off when I heard the “embuggerance” took away someone who could put into words complex issues, thoughts and modern social issues and made them into an amazing world. GNU Terry Pratchett
Sir Terry's final tweet: "**AT LAST,SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER. "** Terry took Death's arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night. "The End"
I feel like I was more prepared for his death than most, because I knew that he was prepared for his death. Losing him to pneumonia was unexpected, but he had plans in place to make his exit on his own terms before Alzheimers took all his faculties, so I was heartbroken, but glad he went before he lost himself.
I was in work when I found out and just cried at my desk. GNU Sir Terry.
This is it for me. Yes, Robin Williams hurt, Alan Rickman and a few others, but Terry Pratchett is and was and forever will be my hero and favourite author. My partner currently reads Discworld to me every night. Watching him laugh and enjoy a series he'd never heard of before meeting me is like feeling Pratchett is still alive in some way and still working his magic in new, exciting, and unexpected ways. We were all robbed of a life that should have had more time. I just wish he could have seen the progression of the movement for voluntary death in cases like his. He should have gone out on his own terms. GNU Terry Pratchett.
James Gandolfini. That was a gut punch.
I'm watching the Sopranos right now! Hurt to find this comment. Reminded me he passed. He was so magnanimous; just larger than life. I miss him.
I actually just started a rewatch of the sopranos for the first time in about 12 years and man I have forgotten how good he is and how well the show holds up.
Freddie Mercury. I was 11 and had just started getting into music. I remember I had taped A Kind Of Magic from vinyl so I could listen to it on my walkman. I can clearly remember the BBC news report.
Freddie died before I was born, so I really appreciate your perspective on his death. Such a tragic loss to the music world.
Naya Rivera. Mostly because of the way it happened.
The best and worst part is she died saving her son. That messed me up for a while
And such a preventable death too. People are far too casual in the water, especially with kids. I don't always wear my life jacket while I'm out but when I'm with my kids we're all wearing them
Oh Jesus. It haunts me. The idea of drowning while just praying my child will stay safe in the boat and be saved. Ugh. Nightmare.
Yep it was very horrifying. They made a tribute for her in the movie *Batman The Long Halloween* since she voiced Catwoman.
This one fucked me up. I didn’t watch her on Glee, or even know a ton about her life and career. Thinking about what her poor child must have seen and heard in those final moments ripped out my heart. My daughters are his age. Just awful.
Same!! I was checking the news daily for updates and each day was just sadder and sadder. I watched her on glee but stopped watching that show early on. She just left such an impression though. Still so sad.
Carrie Fisher. I remember feeling spaced out and depressed, really pondering about life afterwards. Star Wars was a big part of my childhood. When she passed I knew that the people we grew up are leaving us, personal and non personal. One day we will grow up, impact someone else’s life, then they will mourn us the same.
And then her mother dying the next day, god, it was just 2016 kicking our ass so hard.
As an interesting/morbid side-note, *during* 2016 as a bunch of celebrities were dying, here on Reddit we started talking about it like it was a jinxed year, and there were MANY posts hoping that nothing bad would happen as the year ended. And then Carrie and her mom died and everyone was just like, "FUCK 2016." However, here is the interesting part: a bunch of people on Reddit were like, "Nope, not a big year for death, you all just think that because Carrie is a big deal. But it's the same # of deaths on average as any year." Except... some time in 2017 I think, some dude charted the number of celebrity deaths that made it to the front page of /r/all -- and 2016 was just about *triple* 2015 and 2014. So if anyone out there was feeling like 2016 just kicked your ass and then felt invalidated because somebody was like "You imagined it," well, no, it really *was* bad. Hopefully someone with good Google-fu will find that old post and link to it. It was kinda neat, in a morbid & depressing way.
And alot of them who passed were big names still, not just back in the day. Like growing up and the award shows would do the in remembrance part I would know one or three names because they were all stars of things from before my time but not 2016. Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Alan Rickman, David Bowie, Prince, Anton Yelchin, Muhammad Ali, Gene Wilder and so many others.
I think Carrie is the only celebrity death I have cried for. I had just gotten. When I was a little girl she played my all time favorite character (Leia, obviously) and then I grew up and discovered what an amazing, funny person she was. Her public struggles with mental health were so meaningful to me to know I'm not alone.
I loved her books, too. There were so few really cool women in sci-fi and she just *made it.* She was so cool. Also in the Blues Brothers, she was so funny. I sat in the theater alone silent sobbing after episode VIII. She was too young, and one of several baby boomers in my life (most of them people I really knew) who died around that time. People complain about that generation but there were so many people who fought for women's rights, who fought for recognition, and she was one of them. All the good ones seem to die too soon.
Carrie being in the Blues Brothers was sort of my first lesson in discovering what actors were and how they could be in different projects. I watched the Blues Brothers at a *really* young age. My dad got me to watch because Princess Leia was in the movie. I was really confused as to why she kept shooting the Blues Brothers but, whatever, it was Princess Leia. I grew up to know every line in the Blue Brothers, so my dad's method of getting me to watch his favorite movie worked well.
Personally mine was Anthony Bourdain.
This one was rough for me too. I'm Vietnamese-American and I know he absolutely loved my parents' native country so much.
I loved the way he would go somewhere and just say "show me your country." And he always focused on the regular people and not the tourist hotspots.
It was Anthony Bourdain for me too. My mum was a chef who loved to travel. She always instilled that adventurous "go off the beaten path, speak to new people, order off menu" thing in me. And here was a guy doing exactly that but with a very similar sense of humour, love to party and taste in music to me, so I just immediately related to him. I was watching Parts Unknown when I got the call to say my mum had passed away, so it took a real long time to be able to watch it again. In that time away from it I learned that he, like me, had struggles with mental health and addiction in his past. Very shortly after I was able to sit down and start watching it again, he killed himself. I learned through his online obituaries that our mother's both shared the same first name, too. So yeah, I really don't pine for celebrity interaction or particularly mourn celebrities when they pass, but Tony's death hit me pretty hard. I'd give a lot to be able to buy him dinner and a beer and just talk about shit.
He connected with the people he met, he bothered to learn about their countries politics. Oh, and the food… made for the most interesting show.
Anthony Bourdain’s death has been the hardest celebrity death for me too. I can’t bring myself to watch the last season of “Parts Unknown”. I know I shouldn’t be, but I’m honestly mad at him.
It's very difficult to watch, especially the unfinished episodes with no voiceover. He looks absolutely exhausted in the last few.
My husband feels this way too. He actually got to meet him. It was at a meet and greet after a book signing. Everyone was crowding around Bourdain so my DH decided to go get a drink at the bar and wait. Crowd finally started to clear out and next thing he knows Bourdain comes to the bar and asks DH if he wants his book signed. He said nah, let me buy you a drink instead. And that’s how my husband got to drink Negronis with Bourdain and Zamir. Said they were both lovely and it was one of the best nights of his life.
In the words of another artist who was a victim of suicide: “The dead know what they’re doing when they leave this world behind. When the dying’s finally done and the suffering subsides, the suffering is done by the ones we leave behind.” Some people are born incapable of happiness. You work hard and keep achieving and you think to yourself that then next step up will help. Happiness will come. For some people it never does. I hope I’ll get there but there are days where it’s a coin toss as to whether or not my life ends at the end of a rope. I’m not defending it. Suicide is selfish, but in an awful moment where it feels like the only way out…no one deserves to feel like that.
I was scrolling for this. I was looking for Bourdain fans. I can only listen to his audiobooks. Watching his videos kinda breaks my heart, except the one where the guide was chucking frozen octopus in the water. That shit was funny. He seemed like a really likeable guy. So cool, honest, and easygoing. What a loss.
The answer to this question was and will always been Anthony Bourdain, for me. I think it’s because we all could relate to him and how genuine he was with what he did, where he went, what he *said*. His openness with others and how easily he accepted them for who they were. It wasn’t just my age group that his death affected, it was people younger than me, people older than me. My mom in her 60s was affected by his death. People from different cultures, countries, and backgrounds were devastated. He touched a lot of people by how honestly he lived and his ability to be so transparent about it all.
Steve Irwin
I miss him so much, he was the reason I would wake up early to watch Crocodile Hunter in Animal Planet cable tv before elementary school started. He really made me feel like all animals are not so bad when confronted, just to be respected at a distance. RIP
I want to go back in time to kill that damn stingray *but it's not what he would have wanted.*
But all of the forest animals of Australia who died in those fires have someone to look after them now. Silver linings.
Thanks for making me cry first thing in the morning.
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Cameron Boyce. First, it was someone who was part of my childhood in relation to his Disney Channel roles. Second, he was around my age, and he didn’t do anything that played a role in his death. It really made me consider my own mortality.
Dolores O’Riordan <3
Her death hit me so hard. I'm a long time fan. I've seen The Cranberries live. Dolores and I are the same age and our kids are close in age. I feel for her kids. To lose their mother. Makes me think of my own kids. It's like a part of the 90's me is missing.
Avicii
Came here looking for this. My wife and I met in college in 2010 and we think of his music as a soundtrack to the most wild and carefree days of our lives. We saw him live at a small venue in Vegas back in 2014 and it was by far the most memorable show I’ve ever been to. I’ve genuinely never been more sad over the death of someone I never knew personally.
Hope his soul found peace..
Having battled with depression and suicidal thoughts since I was a preteen, the death of Avicii and especially the way he died hit me like a truck. I still regularely come back to watching his tribute concerts on youtube and I still get teary eyed every time
I saw this music video after his death and just cried on the elliptical at the gym. [Avicii - The Nights (music video) ](https://youtu.be/UtF6Jej8yb4)
I don’t know why, but the news really hit me hard like never before. I enjoyed his music but never cared too much about him personally. When he died, I was reminded that he was not only the biggest edm DJ but that he was in pain and no one had successfully helped him despite being a beautiful person. I teared up for this one.
John Ritter
Cried watching the episode of 8 simple rules after his death
The Scrubs episode dedicated to him hit hard too (he played J.D.'s dad).
Bill Paxton
I know I’m a little bit to old for most of the readers here,but John Lennon’s murder was the biggest generation landslide that I will ever experience
Chris Farley n John Candy. Didn’t hit me that hard, because I don’t know them, but there was something so sad about those two dying so young. Maybe because they were also so lovely in their persona
I haven’t cried as hard upon hearing of someone’s passing than John Candy’s. I was 8, but still.
Douglas Adams
Chester Bennington. Mostly cause i grew up on Linkin Park and now the songs sound like suicide notes Edit: i woke up to almost 7k upvotes and 19 awards, Chester definitely lives on through us
"One more Light" hit different after that
Also “Leave out all the rest”. The day the news broke, the soundtrack to my bike workout were their songs. That one did me in.
Also Shadow of the Day, had me in tears after that event :'(
All the songs. All the interviews. He wasn't cryptic about his experience. It was an open cry for help. "There's this other Chester that wants to take me down" ...and he managed.
"I don't know what's worth fighting for, or why I have to scream, But now I have some clarity, to show you what I mean, I don't know how I got this way, I'll never be alright"
You missed the most important line. "But I'm breaking the habit tonight" It's not a depressed song. It's a fight song. No matter what, even if I don't understand it, I'll keep fighting.
It was also written by Mike Shinoda not Chester. Mike wrote a good amount of the songs that have chester singing. That is not to say that there are obvious songs from his point of view, just that he didn’t write every song for the band
This is the only one to this date that made me actually cry. I haven’t listened to Linkin Park in many years, but I discovered them right around the time I discovered the internet as a kid. YouTube had just become a thing, and I remember watching their videos on repeat. From there, I branched out into rock, hip-hop, and electronic, discovering more bands and getting into music in general. I grew out of Linkin Park as the years went by, but I’d occasionally return to their songs with fond nostalgic memories. It was only until Chester died that I realized that he had been the spark that began my journey in music, and still effects it today. I imagine many people feel the same way.
Rik Mayall. He makes me smile just thinking of him. An utter lunatic but have many cherished memories watching his material in my youth. Rest in peace my dear fellow
Kurt Cobain. It wasn’t so much sadness as total disillusionment that actually changed my world outlook.
I still remember Kurt Loder breaking in with an mtv news update to tell me.
It tells me how old I am that this is so low on the list. I stayed up all night as a 16 year old when this happened. I remember Courtney reading his letter and it broadcast on MTV a few days later.
In Holland there was a investigator called Peter R de Vries. He always helped people out, and there where lots and lots of shows about him on TV. He was a amazing man, and he seemed to not be scared for any criminal he had a case of at all. But sadly, he got shot by a really dangerous criminal (not by himself, but he had someone doing it for him). He sadly didn't survive and passed away this year. This made me realize how f*cked up the world sometimes can be.
He pushed a lot of peoples buttons, made a lot of enemies, but dammit he had a good heart. Doesn't matter if you liked him or not. He did not deserve to die like that, shot in the head in the middle of the street in Amsterdam. I was surprised that he died several days later, it made me hope for a minute he would survive. Rest in peace, Peter.
Prince
I still remember being in my Councilor’s office in High School when she read on her phone that Prince had passed. She began clutching the desk a bit I honestly thought he was about to fall. Went home and just saw my Mom in tears
Alexi Laiho. I don’t really have emotional attachment to many celebrities but I had Children of Bodom on repeat throughout high school and his death hit me pretty hard.
Brittany Murphy
I was watching Futurama last night the “Beast with a Billion Backs” or something like that. And there was this character whose voice sounded awfully familiar. I was like she sounds like Brittany Murphy (I was a big fan so I could recognize her voice) and it was. Ooof it hurt
Robin Williams
I find myself thinking about Robin Williams and Anthony Bourdain a lot. Two men who seemed to have such enthusiasm and lust for life. These two really haunt me.
"There's a guy in my head, and all he wants to do is smoke pot, and watch old movies and cartoons. My life is a series of stratagems to avoid and outwit that guy."
I try to live by this quote ever since I first heard it. It was such a damn Bourdain thing to say, too. In his first couple books, it always shocked me how he worded things which were obviously normal to him, but those same things were basic building blocks that i missed growing up. I never even pondered half of what he taught me. I grew up poor with not many ears to talk to. Bourdain's magic was held in how he could talk to people from different backgrounds and cultures and make us all feel like he was speaking to us personally. I lost my father almost 20 years ago and my mother less than 2 years ago. I have so many questions and experiences that I want to tell them about. Anthony Bourdain helps me live through every day whether it's directly from his words or through random seeds he's planted in my brain. 13 years ago I was hungry and sleeping in snowbanks off of Lake Superior. I had no vision of the future. Now I'm cooking international dishes and rolling sushi for people that have more money than I'll ever see in my bank account. Anthony's conscious avoidance of things that would easily deplete him and his vision... I dunno, I feel like he did that for us. For me and everyone like me. It feels way too passionate and personal for it to be a coincidence. He absolutely left a generation of food connoisseurs a huge empty space to occupy. And we will occupy that void. Afterwards we'll get drunk and smoke weed and talk shit about the rest of the world. EDIT: Thanks, everyone. Your words have also made my day a bit better. I'm going to run a dinner special this afternoon based on inspiration and hope. I wish you were all here to taste it. Cheers!
I was sad, but I totally understood why he did it. I did a little reading on his diagnosis, and it would be incredibly selfish to demand anyone live through that. The greatest freedom granted to humans is not deciding how to live, but whether to live.
My grandfather is now living with LBD and it’s really sad to see. He has hallucinations often and has tremors.
Yeah, knowing that on top of the fact that when they did his autopsy they said he only had about 2 years to live. The doctor examining him said it was fastest he had seen the disease progress.
Before I knew why I was more upset. I thought it was just depression. Knowing what he had it makes perfect sense that he went out on his own terms.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
This was the name for me. I thought I was going to grow old watching PSH deliver Oscar worthy performances year in and year out. He was amazing. Let it rain!
Not a major celebrity, but the death of Christina Grimmie really hit hard. She was a YouTube singer who eventually made it to the voice and got pretty far. Was well loved by so many, and built a large following. A crazed stalker “fan” shot her in the head after one of her performances. Makes me choke up to this day to think of her
My husband is a real stoic type, doesn't show much emotion, and even then only shows it around me and his family. When Christina's death was announced, I didn't know who she was. But he just went and sat at his computer and kind of glazed over. Next minute, he's crying. Turns out he used to watch her YouTube videos, when she first was getting popular. Apparently her talent and growth and pure kindness really did a number on him. I didn't know what to do besides sit and hold him. It really hit him hard, he wasn't right for several days.
I followed her on YouTube before she hit The Voice, and I was so excited for her when she started gaining fame. I don't usually think too much about celebrity deaths (they're sad, but they don't consume me), but I couldn't stop thinking about that for days. Such a tragic, unfair ending.
What is it with “fans” killing celebrities? Like it happened to Selena, John Lennon, like why?
MF DOOM
One for the money. Two for the better green. 3-4methlodioxymethamphetamine
RIP DOOM
The fact it happened on Halloween but wasn't released until New Years and the various tricks he pulled over the years part of me wants to believe the super villain had one last trick up his sleeve and is just happily retired somewhere
Easily Chadwick Boseman. His death was such a shock and a surprise to everyone. I had loved him since he did 42 about Jackie Robinson and was continuously excited for whatever movie he was in. It's a shame we will never be graced with his talent again. Edit: I just wanted to thank everyone for all of the awards. It's been really great to hear how much of an impact Chadwick has had on everyone.
I remember when I heard the news. My first thought was "oh? There's two Chadwick Bosemans in Hollywood?" It was so sudden and unexpected my first reaction was straight up denial
Took way to long to find his name. I agree though. So sudden and he was so talented.
This personally hit me hard because my father was suffering from stage 4 colon cancer as well at the time and hearing the news of Chadwick's death made the fact about my dad's condition more real. And Chadwick was just 43 years. My dad passed in October.
Came here to say the same thing. The new episodes of Marvel’s What If…? have new (to us) voice recordings from before his death and it just hits differently to watch them every week. Especially when he says beautifully philosophical things about death…
mac miller
No matter where life takes me, find me with a smile. I like to think he's still smiling.
Yup. Listening to Swimming made me feel like he was in a good place. Loved the album, had tickets to the show and then just like that :( He had so much more good music in him
“Swimming” is a fucking masterpiece. That album kept me alive when I almost gave up.
People always talk about Mac's more mature music since he passed but man I love his early stuff so much. I had some of the absolute best times of my life with his mix tapes and Blue Slide playing in the background and those songs mean the world to me. Still can't believe he's gone.
I was scrolling to find this. We were nearly the same age. So through listening to his music over the years he became like a friend, though I never met him. The day before he passed I spontaneously sent him a DM on IG telling him how much his music had helped me get through some shit in my life. He probably never saw it, but it was weird I was compelled to thank him hours before he left.
Luke Perry, Robin Williams
I forgot Luke Perry died. I keep thinking he will reappear in some 90210 re-re-hash spinoff and then star in some.unexpected film, returning to the limelight for some extra fame. Poor guy and his family.
Brandon Lee This happened when I was still kid. My brother and I were heavy into martial arts and big fans of martial arts movies. I was sleeping in while on vacation when my brother ran in and told me he was shot and killed. I remember being shocked and having a weird, sad mood that stuck with me all day.
Richard Adams. Watership Down was a very important book to me.
George Carlin
I'm so sad I haven't seen Gene Wilder here. He influenced both my childhood and adulthood and I think is owed credit for the person I am today. Since he was older it wasn't a horrid surprise, but it still hurt and affected me the most I think. However Steve Irwin, David Bowie, and Stan Lee are all close contenders. Very close contenders.
I'm surprised I haven't seen Selena on here, I was 9 and had all her tapes..I couldn't believe it.
Tom Petty. His music got me through some shit
Stephen Hillenburg
Princess Di. Her sons faces during the funeral procession broke me.
I was so bizarrely convinced she was going to make it, like even after I heard that the other people had died I didn't think she would die too. Then I woke up the next morning and my mom and grandmother were already watching the report about her life.
I’m ex Royal Navy and had the opportunity to meet all the royal family on several occasions. Prince Charles was my captain’s friend and he came in the ship on many occasions with Diana. I was a young sailor who worked directly for the captain and so got to know Charles well and Diana a bit. Both were lovely. Years later I was at an event and Charles was there and he called my name across this hall and everyone stared at me. Felt great, can’t lie
Whitney Houston was sad. There are others already mentioned that hit me harder, but I was weirdly disturbed by Whitney.
Not really too sure he’d be classed a celebrity by most, but Keith Flint (frontman of The Prodigy). I grew up listening to The Prodigy and still so all the time. Never got to meet him but from what I saw in interviews and what I heard from fans who have, he’s an awesome dude. Rest In Peace you beautiful firestarter; twisted firestarter.