It amuses me somewhat to hear people bewailing the terrible frequency of deaths lately–this week, it’s all Betty White, and Bob Saget, and whoever–because it’s only natural (inevitable, really) that as one gets older, the celebrities who die also happen to be the celebrities you’re most familiar with. When I was a little kid King Farouk and Benny Goodman and James Dean all dropped dead and I read the shocking headlines but I didn’t give a crap because I’d never paid attention to them in the first place. I’m sure older people were freaking out OMIGOD DID YOU SEE THAT SOANDSO DROPPED DEAD!!! but not me. Well, now I know pretty well every SOANDSO in the obits and it would freak me out except that I, unlike many of my contemporaries, fully expect to be shocked on a daily basis by celebrity deaths and am more surprised when two or three celebrities DON’T drop dead on a given day.
My question is: When does this phenomenon abate? Presumably, at some point if I live long enough, the celebrities who die will be celebrities I never cared much about when they were living: i.e., pop stars after I stopped following pop culture avidly, politicians after I stopped engaging in politics very much.
I lost a good friend earlier this year, 99 years old, and I wanted to ask him if he’d reached the point that he stopped noticing the frequency of deaths, but unfortunately he died before I could bring the question up.
I’m guessing around one’s late 40s into 50s, when aging TV and movie stars that one grew up with who were a generation or so older start to die off, and one’s sense of impending mortality really starts to kick in and be felt on an emotional level.
For example, I remember watching the Mary Tyler Moore Show in its prime time run as a kid, and now in the last several years we’ve seen MTM, Gavin MacLeod, Ed Asner and now Betty White pass on. With the possible exception of Betty White, they were all younger while doing the show than I am now.
I’m in my late 50s and have already gotten used to the fact that the famous people ten years older than me will soon be shedding that coil at more and more frequent intervals. And it was only in my 50s that the pace of celebrity deaths my own age have finally matched that of my 20s when celebrity excesses, self destruction, and misadventure takes an inordinate toll.
That said, there is also a demographic anomaly at work now. The generation between Betty White and Bob Saget is just so huge compared to any other and came of age in decades that ruled popular culture like no others, that it’s soon going to seem like celebrities are dropping like flies in the years to come.
To be frank, when someone I have basically always known as old dies, it doesn’t have that hard an impact. A young celeb dying before their time tends to have more impact, but that’s irrelevant to the OP as we all (sadly) see that kind of death throughout our lives.
I would WAG that about 50-55 is the point where celebs that you grew up knowing as young start passing away for age related reasons, and that would probably make you most aware of your mortality and generally seem sad.
ETA: I see I got ninjad and ended up repeating solost
My first thought is: it will be absolutely unique for each individual based on how (and how much) they engage with pop culture.
But then I remembered a bunch of studies suggesting that people stop listening to new music in their 30s. So maybe not entirely unique. You’d still have to figure out when, on average, people fall completely out of pop culture.
I suspect people stop noticing new music long before they stop watching new movies, for example.
At 85 you become aware that many, or most, people passing away are younger than yourself. Celebrities are among them but some celebrities have risky lifestyles so are not a reliable referent. The area of interest is normal people. As you approach 90 your viewpoint changes. Everyone is younger than you and the end is inevitable but the date uncertain.
The perception of others toward your death also changes. Beyond 85 you fall into the category of ‘he had a full life’. I find that attitude annoying in my doctor.