# Celebrity death that would make the biggest headline today **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 15, 2012, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776 "2012-09-15T08:35:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/21 "2012-09-15T17:44:55Z")
Elizabeth II, Charles and William dying together. ---
**Author:** ![JoseArcadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc348/32.png) [@JoseArcadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseArcadio)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/22 "2012-09-15T18:01:25Z")
Continuing on the ‘Royals’ theme - Prince Harry. He’s serving in Afghanistan at the moment and so a prince dying in combat would be pretty big. Also, there’s an outside shout of a naked drug overdose. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/23 "2012-09-15T18:11:15Z")
See, I was thinking of someone like Charlie Sheen, because for weeks the media would be obsessed with all the tawdry details. Kind of like when Whitney Houston died but x10. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/24 "2012-09-15T18:18:44Z")
> [@The\_Shroud](#): > > Maybe a humanitarian movie star like George Clooney? Or Tom Hanks. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/25 "2012-09-15T18:19:22Z")
Nothing throws the media into a frenzy like the death of a head of state. So, Barak Obama, HRH Queen Elizabeth, Vladimir Putin, and so forth. If it is a celebrity entertainer, that is entirely different. Someone from either “the old gaurd” or the top stars of today Paul McCartney, or Lady Gaga for musicians, Jack Nicholson or say Brad Pitt for actors. (Please no debate about Lady Gaga and or Brad Pitt as being top current stars. Maybe they are not, I don’t know, Im old and out of touch) ---
**Author:** ![littlespeedysuperbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@littlespeedysuperbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/littlespeedysuperbike)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/26 "2012-09-15T19:11:33Z")
For the biggest effect possible in America, the right-wing echo box would have to crank up. Mitt Romney or Rush Limbaugh dying in questionable circumstances would certainly do it. An American colonel or general dying in battle in the wrong place (Iran, North Korea) would set off a huge firestorm, even if 99 1/2% of American soldiers wouldn’t have been able to identify him when he was alive. ---
**Author:** ![littlespeedysuperbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@littlespeedysuperbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/littlespeedysuperbike)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/27 "2012-09-15T19:16:56Z")
For “massive and immediate recognition that Very Bad Things Are About To Happen” it would be hard to top Angela Merkel or Francois Hollande being assassinated by a Greek or Spaniard. The S&P 500 would drop fast enough to hit the automatic shut-offs, and then do it again once trading resumed. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/28 "2012-09-15T19:27:20Z")
Circumstances are key. _“Pope die of heart failure”_ would be a major story but not earthshaking. _“Pope shot by police in nude chainsaw rampage at gay BDSM club”_ would be a rather larger story. Or more plausibly, _“Pope dies of autoerotic asphyxiation”._ ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/29 "2012-09-15T19:59:40Z")
I’m going to limit myself to celebrities in music or show business. I think the biggest impact person needs to be youngish, for the wasted potential, already has hits and accolades under their belt, to bring in the historical perspective, close to at the top of what they’re doing now, so that everyone in their industry would be affected and they wouldn’t trying to run simply on nostalgia, and elicit strong opinions of love or hate to bring out people of both sides In movies and TV, I think Angelina Jolie would be somewhere on top. She’s won an Academy Award, is still fairly hot, does lots of work not only with movies but with humanitarian efforts, is part of a power couple, and still has a few good number of years left. TV has to be Oprah. Most successful self-made billionaire, TV and media empire, and has her hands in everything from magazines to food to the book industry. But right now, if they died this minute, I think Lady Gaga would create the biggest headline. She’s still huge, really young, has a ton of followers and haters, and despite being associated with pop, she can really sing and write her own music. Plus she’s political, speaks out against bullying and kids, and is an icon in the LGBT movement. ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/30 "2012-09-15T20:44:09Z")
**Bono**! I can picture the media coverage already: a multiple-hour montage of his visits to war torn regions while U2 songs play in the background… (so I hope he does not die for a very long time) Similarly, Bruce Springsteen. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/31 "2012-09-15T20:53:34Z")
Snooki’s baby. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/32 "2012-09-15T20:59:15Z")
Elvis. ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/33 "2012-09-15T21:30:08Z")
Muhammad Ali’s death would hit the front pages in every country and lead every newscast. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/34 "2012-09-15T22:47:13Z")
Julian Assange. One half of the media would be celebrating his demise, the other would become obsessed with conspiracy theories. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/35 "2012-09-15T22:57:07Z")
A lot of people are already expecting it, but if Assad dies in Syria it would be HUGE. And Mitt Romney’s death would be followed by like a thousand conspiracy theories on how Obama did it. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/36 "2012-09-15T23:34:29Z")
Steven Hawking. Steven Speilberg. and, Stephen King. Steve Jobs could’ve been on here. Any more big-time “Steves” out there? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/37 "2012-09-15T23:38:28Z")
Also, Joss Whedon. Peter Jackson. George Lucas. J.J. Abrams. I was thinking John Williams, but I don’t think it’ll get huge press. ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/38 "2012-09-15T23:47:46Z")
I suspect that Margaret Thatcher will get some major publicity. I get the feeling that she will benefit from conservative nostalgia and receive a lot of sanctified revisionist history, similar to Reagan. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/39 "2012-09-16T00:05:12Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > I suspect that Margaret Thatcher will get some major publicity. I get the feeling that she will benefit from conservative nostalgia and receive a lot of sanctified revisionist history, similar to Reagan. The queues that will form at her graveside for those wishing to either dance or piss will put the queues outside apple stores to shame. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776/40 "2012-09-16T00:19:37Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Or more plausibly, _“Pope dies of autoerotic asphyxiation”._ That story would never see the light of day. It would be reported as a heart attack, probably while doing something Pope-ly, like praying for the poor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-that-would-make-the-biggest-headline-today/634776.md?page=3)