Has the news of famous persons death ever made you cry even though you never met them, or a stranger that you knew about but never met? Why did it make you cry?
Johnny Gaudreau. Hockey player. Johnny Hockey was one of my favorites that wasn’t on my favorite team. He was a small guy, who proved everyone wrong. He was a good dude from all the clips and interviews I’ve seen over the years.
I saw the comment that broke it on reddit, some random guy in the Phillies GDT. Said “Johnny Gaudreau is dead”. Spent the night following the rumors until it was confirmed by a retired league ref.
He and his brother, Matt, were in town for their sisters wedding, staying at their dad’s house. They were cycling and a drunk driver killed them both, only stopped because the bikes were still under the truck. His wife was pregnant at the time too.
I cycle, I’ve got brothers and it just hit me so hard. I was fucked up about it for a week at least.
bowie didn’t hit me when it happened, but years later blackstar made me weep
I’d say the closest I’ve come was Robin Williams. Patrick Stewart would probably be even moreso.
Robin Williams, David Bowie and Chester beddingfield. Seem to be the most common answer. Williams was a special guy, you could just tell. Probably made the people close to him feel something really loved.
I would have a breakdown the day Patrick Stewart died.
Yeah, he feels almost like a second father to me. I think if I ever met him, I’d just want to hug him.
He seems like a great guy indeed
Robin Williams is the only one I remember hitting me really hard. Sometimes it still gets me if I’m in the right (wrong) mood when I remember.
Grant Imahara from mythbusters.
Anthony Bourdain hit hard. I always thought of him as having the best job on earth. He got to see the best of the world and show it to everyone.
It just goes to show we all wrestle with our demons. Don’t ever be afraid to reach out for help.
Yeah that one was a shocker.
Same. He was out here doing his own thing, speaking truth to power while making genre defining content. He kept it real right to the end.
Sir Terry Pratchett. Actually, probably counts as multiple because the opening to The Shepherds Crown makes me bawl like a child, and it’s pretty much a step-by-step guide for mourning.
Discworld has been my comfort series for a long time. I have read most of the books more times than I can count. Spent months tearing through multiple a day.
Of course, his condition was known amongst the fans, we had all known it was going to be sooner than later, but it felt like a long chapter of my life was closed. I had looked forward to every release, cherished them. The man’s work had been beside me through some of the hardest times, always bringing a smile back to my face.
Yeah this one for me, too. It felt like humans lost one of the people who understood them best and still kept caring about them in spite of it all. It took me a long time to face Discworld again and I had to put down Shepherds Crown for a bit at that one part.
A fine answer indeed. My brother loved Discworld and used to share some stories with me.
Robin Williams. A surprising death, not a surprising break down. He was so much of my childhood, and always there for a laugh. Life got worse for everyone when he passed.
Grant Imahara. A surprising death, and for me, a surprising response. I still to this day get choked up about Grant. Even though he was on the Mythbusters B team, and was largely not on my radar after, hearing of his death really struck me. I still don’t rightly understand why. Perhaps it’s just because he was such a genuine and smart guy. Really dunno.
A man only dies when he is forgotten.
Technoblade never dies.
A bloke at work wears a Technoblade shirt all the time, he lives on
Without knowing a celebrity personally, you can still resonate deeply with what their art or identity stand for. I shed a tear when David Bowie died because his fearlessness and experimentation was like a beacon to weirdos like me that told us we would be ok if we left the shores of conformity. Plus, he was the funky funky groovy man, man.
We are exposed to enough of their life and personality that we form a bond.
With a performer like Bowie, he pushed the boundaries of what it even means to have a personality. You almost have to talk about him by each era—Ziggy Stardust, The White Duke, etc. That baffling reinvention is part of his allure and his message, in my opinion. You can make yourself into anyone you want to be, even just for a little while, and that experience can be magnificent. You aren’t just the sum of your experiences, you are also the product of your intention, so why not get a little freaky-deeky with it, man?
Anthony Bourdain hit me pretty hard. I was a huge fan starting with Kitchen Confidential and ate up basically everything he produced. But more than just his content, which was great, his worldview and philosophy really spoke to me. It was cynical and angry, without being aimless or shallow. He seemed to be doing something different from everyone else and writing his own rules in a way which had no parallels anywhere in mainstream media.
Er Robin Williams, Chester Bennington. I think suicide always harder.
So this is where the question started, was working and a song by Tim Bergling (Avicii) came on and it was one of his less famous tracks. It reminded me of the day I heard that he passed. I wasn’t the hugest fan, but I remembered seeing him play at Tomorrowland. Something about his presence was different and it intrigued me to find out more information about who he was. He was a true artist and got a lot of hate towards the end of his life as he tried to experiment with where electronic music could go. Behind the scenes he was so deeply entrenched in music. Kind of like Bob Dylan in a way. I actually wish he chose a different style of music to play, or joined a band because he was a genius, who was never really given his flowers because electronic producers rarely are. But it killed him. I cried.
David Bowie. I still miss him a lot. I usually don’t even really know the names and faces of bands I like, and I wasn’t even a big knower of his music, but when I heard he died I cried non stop for a day and a night. He was really something else, this crazy force, changing the whole discourse in music and stardom multiple times in his life. What an awe inspiring character. I wonder who could ever take his place, really.
My entire high school mourned Mr Rogers’ passing. 4,000 people and the hallways were almost quiet.
Respect is earned.
For me it was when Steve Irwin died.
It was a shock, but at the same time it gave so much credit to all the other things he did. Never faked it, was most joyous in the face of death over and over again.
Agree with all you said. His life was joyous and I think the legacy lives on with how wholesome his family is even now. :)
I mourned, legitimately mourned Terry Pratchett’s death. I don’t even have a parasocial relationship with him in the sense you get with streamers and YouTubers and whatnot. He was just a man who brought wonderful ideas into the world, who focused my understanding of life and so much more, and to hear of his end hurt me bitterly.
