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?
bowie didn’t hit me when it happened, but years later blackstar made me weep
Grant Imahara from mythbusters.
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.
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. :)
Yes. At the memorial for Steve Jobs on Apple’s campus. People were speaking in moving ways about their relationships with him. It made it more personal. I can’t imagine crying over someone I didn’t know without context like that.
Were you there? Not sure if I’m reading it right but it sounds like you attended?
Yes.
Charles Bradley. He lived on the streets for most of his life. When he became famous he died very shortly after :(
My entire high school mourned Mr Rogers’ passing. 4,000 people and the hallways were almost quiet.
Respect is earned.
I cried when they canceled The Venture Brothers.
My best friends and I watched every new episode when they aired while we were in college. After I graduated we all pretty much drifted apart, but when Publick and Hammer would actually get around to putting out another season it felt like I was back in that dorm lobby on that smelly couch, watching this show on a huge rear protection TV, with a group of people that were closer to me than anyone ever before or since.
When they canceled the show it felt like there was this unicorn at the zoo, and then one day the zookeeper just went out into the enclosure, blew its brains out, shrugged, and announced “Too expensive to feed!” I was devastated.
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.
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.
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.
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?
Omayra Sánchez. Brave in the face of a needless death.
I am actually familiar with this story. Incredibly sad and cruel. I remember thinking that if we do come to life to balance our Karma what must she have done to deserve this.
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.
