Aw, jeez. I saw the headline on Yahoo, and immediately came over here to get the straight dope on what happened.
My first thought (after “cripes, he was only 44”) was “Oh man, his kids are so young, too.” 
When I heard the news “Steve Irwin killed by Stingray,” my first thought was an automobile accident.
The idea of anything other than a Corvette never entered my mind.
gma reported that his wife may not know yet. reports are that she is hiking in tasmania.
i hope they are able to get to her before she hears it elsewhere. i’m figuring that they would know she left x and was heading for y, and intercept her.
rocking chair, I posted a link in that other thread to a more recent news article which says she now knows, as do his children. See post 48 of that thread for the link.
:eek:
Damn, that sucks. My wife and I really liked his shows and he seemed like a decent fellow, even if he was a little touched in the head. We used to joke that he would film his own grizzly death one day, not quite so funny today.
You gotta admire anybody with that much passion and enthusiasm. I, too, am really sadder about this than I ever thought I’d be.
Crikey. This hurts.
It’s a real shame. I’m shocked but not surprised.
If any celebrity was going to be killed in the line of duty, I would have called Jackie Chan before Steve Irwin, but Steve still played it close to the edge.
Here is a link to a transcript of the interview I mentioned earlier. Overseas Dopers may want to check the home page as Denton is arguably the best interviewer on earth and has interviewed lots of people.
Irwin, more than anything, was passionate about preservation and conservation. Say what you will about his goofy enthusiasum and nonchalant handling of his subjects, but he inspired a lot of kids (and adults) to become more aware of the plight of animals worldwide. We need peple like him.
RIP, Steve.
I liked his goofy enthusiasm. To be sure, it lent itself to parody. (My first reaction upon hearing the news last night was ‘Crikey!’ And who can forget the claymation bits on one show or another, or the ‘I’m going to put my thumb up its bum!’ bit on South Park?) But goofy enthusiasm can be an effective teaching tool. Who would you rather watch: Mr. Wizard, or Bill Nye the Science Guy? My favourite weather reporter was Dr. George Fishbeck.
Indeed.
Major bummer. RIP Steve.
He did lend himself to parody, but he recognized it and could even laugh at himself. He cared very much for what he did, and had fun doing it.
Like many others, I was put off my his feeding his crocs while holding his infant son Bob, but he still do a lot of good by highlighting (and bringing the message to future adults) the message that nature was beautiful and had a place, even when it wasn’t cute and fuzzy.
StG
I’m in shock over this. There had been a thread about whose celebrity death would impact you the most. I’m sure a lot of us are feeling the impact of Steve Irwin. I never would have seen this coming at this time. Steve took a lot of risks, but they were calculated ones. I’m sure he knew that stingrays have caused few fatalities and I’m sure he did not feel he was in any danger. He wasn’t handling it in any manner, just swimming above it. It might have been spooked by his shadow and thought Steve was a predator. I hope his children carry on with his work for conservation. He was working on a TV show for his daughter, Bindi Sue. I really do hope that in about fifteen years we’ll be seeing her and brother Bob, along with Terri, taking us off on incredible adventures and furthering the preservation of habitat for wildlife.
I heard about him on the radio on the way home from work. It was quite upsetting for sure. Damn!
I always enjoyed watching his shows. I can only hope I have that much enthusiasm for my job when I’m that old.
RIP, Steve. Gonna miss ya.
I’d much rather watch Attenborough than Irwin, any day.
But it’s a bummer he’s dead, for sure. Toxic barb to the heart can’t be a good death by any standards, even if he was doing what he loved. I must go and re-read the Sluggy Freelance “Demon Hunter” parodies in his memory.
Australian interviewer Andrew Denton described Irwin as a combination of Sir David Attenborough and the Tasmanian Devil cartoon.
Heh. Surprisingly, many of the journal papers on that turtle which passed away recently that was thought to have been collected by Darwin list Steve Irwin as a co-author.