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So, which celebrity death hit you hardest?

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R

Rich!

Member
I had to think this through quite a bit. Rik Mayall was my first choice, but despite the shock of losing such a legend of comedy, I can always go back and watch Blackadder, The Young Ones and Bottom and laugh my head off. He's still there in essence, and I am thankful for that. He will always be a joy to watch regardless of whether the bastard is dead or not.

So I had to think of what death really hit me hard. The only answer is (sorry non-UK GAF) Mark Speight. I can't watch anything he was ever in ever again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Speight

For anyone else who grew up with UK CBBC in the 90s, Mark was a regular fixture on kids TV. A brilliant cartoonist as well as a presenter, he was an entertainer who always made me laugh. He was genuinely a great guy too, President of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign for eight years and the main spokesperson for the ChildLine charity.

in 2008 his wife, fellow children's TV broadcaster Natasha Collins, was found dead of a drug overdose, in a bathtub full of scalding water that gave her 60% burns to her body. He was cleared of any involvement. He then went missing.

On 13 April, Speight's body was discovered hanging from the roof of MacMillan House, adjacent to London's Paddington Station, hidden from public view,[22] six days after he died.[1] The discovery was made by railway workers at 10:00 am,[23] and British Transport Police confirmed that the body was Speight's on 14 April 2008. An inquest into his death opened on 16 April 2008, and a post-mortem confirmed the cause of death as hanging. It was then adjourned until 20 May.[24] The police said Speight may have used a sixth floor fire exit to get to the area where he was found.[20]

He had first tried to hang himself with his belt, which was found snapped in his pocket, and had ended up hanging himself with his shoelaces; it was also disclosed that suicide notes had been found, one in his left pocket, and one addressed to his parents in his diary at his home. The notes described how he could not "contemplate life without [Collins]".
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so yeah that fucked me up for a while. they announced his death on children's TV and didn't hide anything - it was pretty shocking at the time. still sad. anyone else?
 
C

cabot

Member
MCA. It still brings a tear to my eye knowing I'll never see the Beastie Boys live again.

Two tears from my eyes whenever I listen to them.
 
L

Lucian Cat

Kissed a mod for a tag; liked it
Steve-Irwin-crocod_2847616b.jpg


Legend
 
M

moggio

Banned
richisawesome said:
I had to think this through quite a bit. Rik Mayall was my first choice, but despite the shock of losing such a legend of comedy, I can always go back and watch Blackadder, The Young Ones and Bottom and laugh my head off. He's still there in essence, and I am thankful for that. He will always be a joy to watch regardless of whether the bastard is dead or not.

So I had to think of what death really hit me hard. The only answer is (sorry non-UK GAF) Mark Speight. I can't watch anything he was ever in ever again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Speight

For anyone else who grew up with UK CBBC in the 90s, Mark was a regular fixture on kids TV. A brilliant cartoonist as well as a presenter, he was an entertainer who always made me laugh. He was genuinely a great guy too, President of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign for eight years and the main spokesperson for the ChildLine charity.

in 2008 his wife, fellow children's TV broadcaster Natasha Collins, was found dead of a drug overdose, in a bathtub full of scalding water that gave her 60% burns to her body. He was cleared of any involvement. He then went missing.



so yeah that fucked me up for a while. they announced his death on children's TV and didn't hide anything - it was pretty shocking at the time. still sad. anyone else?
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The whole Mark Speight thing was very sad. I remember how sensitively they handled reporting the news on CBBC.
 
N

Nodnol

Member
Those two are good examples. Mark Speight seemed like such a nice bloke on Smart, and Rik was a TV legend. I grew up watching the likes of Blackadder and Bottom; seeing the pictures of Adrian Edmondson at his funeral was heartbreaking.

Think Heath Ledger's death was gutting, particularly given the fact that his career was just about to explode into greatness and it was basically a mistake that cost him his life.

Edit: Steve Irwin's death honestly upset me. What a man.
 
S

SCULLIBUNDO

Banned
No celebrity death has hit me very hard. But there are guys like Martin Sheen who I know are gonna make me bawl when they go.
 
H

Hasney

Member
Celebrity deaths don't usually have too much of an effect on me, I get a bit bummed out I'll never see their work again if I like them, but that's about it.

Owen Hart though... Fuck. Because of the way it happened live on TV, it's like I actually saw it, even though it wasn't actually shown. Then the tribute show afterwards as well. That was just awful.
 
Pyccko

Pyccko

Member
Not exactly a celebrity, but the only death of someone I didn't know that really effected me hard was Ryan Davis. Tore me up for weeks.

Dragonzord said:
He was on Jimmy Fallon on twitter so it counts, Ryan Davis was bad for me. Like.. thinking about it several days later levels of bad.
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I think it was Kimmel, actually.
 
D

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
He was on Jimmy Fallon on twitter so it counts, Ryan Davis was bad for me. Like.. thinking about it several days later levels of bad.
 
D

dejay

Banned
Strangely enough, Whitney Houston. She was part of my youth but I was never a big fan or anything, although I liked her music for the most part.
 
R

Rich!

Member
Scullibundo said:
No celebrity death has hit me very hard. But there are guys like Martin Sheen who I know are gonna make me bawl when they go.
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It's kinda scary how if you think about it, we haven't had a James Bond die yet. Roger Moore is getting on a bit...he's by far the oldest at 86. It's gonna happen sooner or later, him or Connery. Or maybe Lazenby, but that won't be as big news.

Also, it'll be sad when Monty Python start dying off a bit quicker. I kinda worry that John Cleese will be next. Terry Gilliam will live forever though so thats alright
 
D

Dirtyshubb

Member
I think the 2 biggest for me would be:

1) Rik Mayall - I was brought up on Young Ones, Bottom etc. and his style of humour probably shaped my entire families humour in general and he was a real comedy hero to us all. Finding out about his death was a real shock and i had to hold back the tears, my wife was a huge fan too and she was the same.

2) Chris Benoit - I remember my friend calling me in the middle of the night to tell me that him, his wife and child died, at this point the true nature of the event wasn’t known and to hear they had all died was a terrible shock. Of course, then the full story came out and the whole thing became so surreal, it’s the sort of thing you see in a film, not happen in real life.
 
S

Slowdive

Banned
No celebrity death has hit me very hard but those mentioned in the OP were sad for me.

I'll be really upset when David Bowie dies though.
 
R

Rich!

Member
Dirtyshubb said:
I think the 2 biggest for me would be:

1) Rik Mayall - I was brought up on Young Ones, Bottom etc. and his style of humour probably shaped my entire families humour in general and he was a real comedy hero to us all. Finding out about his death was a real shock and i had to hold back the tears, my wife was a huge fan too and she was the same.
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I think what makes Rik Mayall's death easier to deal with for me is because he's essentially still here with us - his comedy is never going away, and we can rewatch it as if it was yesterday. I mean, his death was a shock...but it was a heart attack. Something like owen hart or Speight is much harder to deal with.
 
NekoFever

NekoFever

Member
George Harrison. It wasn't a surprise because he'd been suffering from various cancers for years, but he was my favourite Beatle :(

Michael Jackson was another one. I'd always loved him and was trying to get tickets to one of his London shows.

HassanJamal said:
This legend
dont-call-me-shirley.jpg
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Oh man, yes. Watched Airplane and all three Naked Gun movies in the couple of days after he died.
 
D

Dirtyshubb

Member
richisawesome said:
I think what makes Rik Mayall's death easier to deal with for me is because he's essentially still here with us - his comedy is never going away, and we can rewatch it as if it was yesterday. I mean, his death was a shock...but it was a heart attack. Something like owen hart or Speight is much harder to deal with.
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Yeah that is all true, we will have his work to rmeember him by. I just htink its one of those things that you dont think about, and then suddenly they are gone.
 
S

Senator Soufflé

Member
Might have to agree with Mark Speight. I remember going into school following it and everyone being so shocked.

They stopped showing repeats of SMart after that.
 
P

Pizza Luigi

Member
Yeah, definitely MJ. It wasn't so much the fact that he died so young, but more his tragic life and the amazing legacy he left behind nonetheless.
 
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