Didn’t the Queen Mother get a state funeral? I know they based Diana’s funeral off of the plans for her’s.
Hmmm… I missed her death altogether, so maybe Michael Jordan can move a space ahead of the queen, media-frenzy-wise.
The Queen Mother is QEII’s mom.
Yes, I know that, but I still missed her death entirely when it happened.
No, it was a step down from that, which is why Diana’s could use the same plan. Still plenty spectacular though!
The wiki article is a fairly interesting read:
I like that Newton and Darwin both got one, and I suppose the military and political ones are mostly good bets too. I’m slightly ashamed to admit that I have never even heard of Edward Carson, who got one in 1935.
“Witnesses initially mistook it for a dry-season wildfire…”
Many of the people listed in here will be recognized when they die, and rightfully so for the works they accomplished. But in order to get that media frenzy like Michael Jackson and Anna Nicole Smith there has to be a story.
First, the person has to be famous for who they are, not just what they have done. The person needs to make regular apperances in main stream news sources, not just celebrity gossip magazines and talk shows. All too often it’s because of outrageous behavior, but there are exceptions.
Second, the person has to be relevant. If a person hasn’t done anything noteworthy or newsworthy in a number of years then their death won’t spark much media interest. These first 2 reasons are why Neil Armstrong was covered, but didn’t generate a media frenzy. He was noteworthy for an action that happened more than 40 years ago and his personal life was so guarded that none of us really know who he was as a person.
Third, there needs to be a story. If a young person dies the media can tell the story of a tragic life cut short. If drugs were involved then they can tell a cautionary tale.
For the full media blitz you need to have a celebrity with a lot of drama. A promising start to a career with a lot of highlights followed by a series of tragic choices leading to dark times. If the dark times include repeated substance abuse, prison, eratic behavior, and public outrage then all the better - the media frenzy will focus on the trainwreck. If there is any possible redemptive action they can glean then all the better.
Applying this formula, the most likely celebrity to get the media frenzy, in my opinion, is Lindsay Lohan. Time will tell, she’s almost 27 and is a prime candidate for that elite club.
Plus two obvious also’s, with the obit themes I’d expect:
Keith “he couldn’t cheat death after all”
and
Ringo “now there’s only one”
Honey Boo Boo.
No, actually, my vote (defining “celebrity” to exclude heads of state/government) is for Bob Dylan.
Seriously? :dubious:
He’s the kind of hasn’t-been-relevant-in-decades celebrity who I’d expect to get a brief mention somewhere in the last 10 minutes of the news broadcast.
I’d think Charlie Sheen would ignite a frenzy, particularly because there would be no shortage of people with scandalous stories to tell about him.
Hello!!! Steven Seagal!!!1
My initial thought for celebrity dying (of natural causes) was Angeline Jolie.
But I wonder if we had did this early July 1999 if many people would have thought John F Kennedy Jr. A lot was the randomness of his death but before that he was a Presidential child who couldn’t pass his law boards on his first two and who published a moderately successful but since defunct magazine. He got more attention than other Presidential children do.