# Celebrity Deaths

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-deaths/293025>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [March 5, 2005, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-deaths/293025 "2005-03-05T03:44:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-deaths/293025/41 "2005-03-07T00:35:53Z")

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I remember when Helen Keller and Bobby Kennedy died, both in June, 1968. I was 7. I knew that Helen Keller had something to do with being blind, but I had no idea who Bobby Kennedy was. I just remember my older sister waking me up one morning saying “Senator Kennedy’s been shot!” (although he was probably already dead by morning).

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**Author:** ![MaddyStrut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@MaddyStrut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaddyStrut)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-deaths/293025/42 "2005-03-07T01:06:34Z")

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The earliest one I remember is Elvis. It didn’t really affect me. I just remember all the news coverage. We were in England at the time, and they were showing scenes of crying people. I remember wondering if everyone in the US had gone crazy. Mom had to tell me who he was.

John Lennon’s death was the first one that I saw affect people first hand. I was in high school at the time, and many of my classmates were really upset. I wasn’t, but then I was never affected by celebrity deaths…

…until Mr. Rogers. Damn. He should have been immortal.

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**Author:** ![Detritus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@Detritus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Detritus)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-deaths/293025/43 "2005-03-07T01:34:09Z")

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The first famous death I recall was a multiple: the Challenger disaster when I was 10 (in 1986). We were going to get to watch the shuttle launch on TV in school that day, but I got sick and stayed home, so I was watching a soap opera with my Grandma instead of watching the launch. When they broke in to announce the explosion I thought that if I had watched it like I was supposed to they would have been fine, but my inattention had allowed the shuttle to blow up.  
I never had much of a problem with low self-esteem as a child. 😃

> [@matt\_mcl](#):
>
> Couldn’t tell you, but I will tell you in my usual irrelevant fashion that my first memory of grasping the concept death came when I realized that, yes, even _Wayne Gretzky_ will eventually die.

**matt\_mcl** , that is a horrible thing to think! The Great One is eternal!

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