Hell, yes, Ruffian counts. So does Barbaro.
Larry Mudd, I’m with you on Spalding Gray. Such a brilliant writer/performer, then that horrible car accident in Ireland that sent his life into a downward spiral. My heart sank when he was reported missing, because I knew what was coming.
I cried when Marvin Gaye died. I was a little girl, and I cried mostly because my dad seemed so upset by it. He actually raged about it, and called Marvin’s dad (the shooter) all kinds of names. It wasn’t until many years later, long after my dad had died, did I realize that he was kind of putting on being so upset. My dad had a strange sense of humor.
I remember feeling pretty choked up while watching her funeral, when I saw those boys walking behind her casket. The sad-but-determined-not-to-cry look on little Harry’s face was so heartbreaking. I don’t care who you are…losing your mother at such an age is a tragedy.
Luiclle Ball was such an icon in my life. She was the Only Celebrity I cried for. I loved Lucy.
Forgive the bump…
I did not cry for Warren Zevon, devoted fan though I was and am. He seemed to have such a pall over him in life, being diagnosed with a terminal illness just seemed logical. After a while, that is; I had thought he would live long enough for his age to catch up to his cantankerousness. As it was, though, the way he faced up to his impending death was tremendously dignified. And now, having read his biography, I think it may be that he himself felt that he was one of those people who is born to die.
So I didn’t cry for him at any stage. There seemed no need for it; since he’d accepted it, why couldn’t I? This is highly apparent during his last appearance on Letterman, and in the biography released after his death. Someone on the Dope was kind enough to mail me a cassette of Letterman’s tribute to Zevon, but I put off watching it, and then it disappeared. I suppose it’s just as well; I might break my streak. If it included clips of past performances, I saw most of them anyway.
I just came in here to post John Ritter. I think that’s the only one that truly upset me.
Also, although I’m was too young, seeing the people crying in New York and singing “All you need is love” after John Lennon died moves me. Still, to this day, I get verklempt.
Kirsty MacColl. Brilliant songwriter, and tragically under appreciated.
It’s not so much her senseless death, but the circumstances. She was scuba-diving in a marked area in the Gulf of Mexico with her children when a drunken idiot in a speed-boat raced through the buoys and was headed for her son. Kirsty pulled her son out of danger and was struck and killed. The drunken idiot was heir to a grocery fortune and claimed a boathand was driving. Mexican law allows restitution based on wages, and the boathand paid $2150 to Kirsty’s family and $90 in lieu of serving time.
Just thinking of this wonderfully talented and genuinely nice woman’s life being cut short is tragic enough. But sacrificing herself to save her child - I’m tearing up right now as I type this.
The Challenger astronauts - The pioneering spirit represented by them being silenced brought me to tears.
Fred Rogers, Bob Keeshan and Roy Rogers - They represented happy, innocent times in childhood, never to come again.
John Kennedy - One of the two then remaining remnants of Camelot, the one closest to my age. A chapter of my history was closed that day.
June Carter and Johnny Cash - Not only was I greatly influenced by them as a musician, I knew them as part of my community.
Yah. I was only three when Challenger was lost, but Columbia was my freshman year of college. I’ll always remember that day - waking up in a cold dorm room, cursing my freezing-ass floor and trying not to wake my roommates while I checked my email and Slashdot. First I learned of the accident was when I saw the Slashdot headline - there was a “what the … ?” moment for you. Then I turned on the television and saw the video of the shuttle debris burning up on reentry - that was not a good start to the day.
Though I seldom tear up at the announcements of celebrity deaths, reading this thread has brought some tears to my eyes. All the tender hearts that are here revealed.
I felt saddest over George Harrison’s death, and his song, “All Things Must Pass”, is the quintessential grief song – I would want it played at any memorial for me, as well as being a gentle reminder of the essential nature of life.
I cried for Freddie Mercury, but I was just 13 and had become a huge Queen fan in just the year or two previously. I still get misty overy Freddie!
I cried for Steve Irwin, because it was sad and because of the way his death affected my son, who had been a huge fan all his life and who, because of that, had already decided to go into biology and study snake venom. He was devastated, but he’s only 12ish. Plus, we’d been to Australia Zoo on a day that Steve was there and my son got to shake his hand and have a picture taken and all that, so it was pretty sad for him.
(No, seriously, it’s all the kid has ever talked about doing in life, he’s never wanted to be a fireman or a policeman or any of the stages kids go through. It’s morphed from a very early - around age 4 - “snake scientist” to the current wish to study the medical properties of snake venom.)
Cheers,
G
Princess Diana for me. I was sad when I heard about her death, but it wasn’t until her funeral that I really cried. By a random twist of fate, my mom, grandmother, and I ended up in London on the morning of her funeral. We watched it live on the tv in our hotel room and the combination of jet lag and watching the emotion of the entire country really got to me.
Going to see the memorials that were placed for her was also emotional. I don’t think I cried, but it was deeply touching. (Of course the touching part was broken up by constant reminders to my grandmother that, no, just taking one flower or teddy bear would really not go unnoticed…)
John Kennedy is the only one I remember actually crying over.
Fred Rogers is the only one that I recall being startled and getting teary-eyed immediately (kind of awkward at work when you’re a big strapping 32 year old guy!)
I was more shell-shocked by the Columbia thing, actually. My roommate and I had planned to get up and watch it go over (I live in Dallas) that morning, and I’d woke up, but hadn’t got out of bed yet (was going to go out in my boxers), when my roommate burst into my room and said “I think something went wrong- you gotta come see!”. I went out, and rather than one streak, saw several. At that point, we were both kind of stunned for about half an hour, then we started watching the news.
You know, I thought of another one… and it may be a tad embarrasing.
I actually teared up seriously when I read the Houston Channel 13 (KTRK) obituary/tribute to Marvin Zindler, a Houston celebrity, investigative reporter, weirdo and general do-gooder.
At first, I didn’t actually believe that Challenger had exploded. A friend called me way too early that morning and blurted out “The space shuttle just exploded!” I probably began with an expletive, and ended with something like “Jesus, Jack, you can’t even come up with decent bullshit” and went back to sleep.
But that night, watching Reagan give the most amazing speech of his life, I cried my eyes out. It was like it wasn’t real until he told me about it. I cry every single time I see that tape, or think about those astronauts “touch(ing) the face of God.”
One November day, when I was in fifth grade, I came home for lunch. My mother told me the tv said the president had been shot. My reaction was, “he’s the president, he won’t die.”
Later that day we all were informed that President John F. Kennedy had died.
Wasn’t he immortal? Aren’t president’s immortal? Can presidents die? to this 10-year-old, this didn’t make sense.
I cried two days later, watching a riderless horse go by, with the boots backward in stirrups. That’s when it hit me that an immortal was dead.
I don’t remember tears, but the ones that made me realize that the world had changed for me are JFK, Lowell George, John Lennon, John Belushi, Challenger, Columbia, and Steve Irwin. I know I am leaving out some others.
I can’t say for sure that I cried - in fact, I probably didn’t - but I want to contribute. The closest to crying over a celebrity’s death were Frank Zappa, Curt Cobain, and George Harrison. I felt very sad when Gene Siskel and Jim Henson died. I might very well cry when Tom Waits dies.
Joe
ETA : I didn’t feel much at the time, but more and more, I mourn Freddie Mercury - every time I hear a Queen song, I miss him a little more.
Definitely. I was very sad hearing that he’d died, and cried a bit. Then I watched the episode of 8 Simple Rules filmed after his death about his character passing away. I was distraught, and so were my mum and younger sisters, who were watching with me at the time.
Another vote for Elliott Smith. He was (and still is) my absolute favourite singer/songwriter. Hearing about his death on the news felt like a horrible joke. There will be times now, listening to one of his albums, when I get a bit choked up. There will also be times while I’m listening where I curl up and cry like a baby. I think some of his songs would have that effect on me anyway, even if he was still around.