# The news of whose death shocked you most? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 17, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359 "2007-03-17T19:21:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/1 "2007-03-17T19:21:20Z")
This will probably break out into generational groupings and that’s fine. Outside of family members and close friends and classmates, whose death came as the most shocking and with the most direct impact on your own life? If you can recall the details of where you were and what you were doing at the time you learned of this death, feel free to add those impressions to your response. In my case, it would have to be JFK. I was at lunch in a little cafe that was half a block from where I’d seen him in a parade less than two months earlier. Others that came close: Elvis Buddy Holly Paul Desmond – alto sax playing member of Dave Brubeck Quartet Chet Baker – jazz trumpet player Miles Davis Robert Mitchum – even though he was old and sick Princess Di Robert Kennedy Martin Luther King, Jr. And I’m willing to bet that I’ll want to say “Oh, yeah. Sure. Him, too or Her, too.” as soon as one of you posts a new name. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/2 "2007-03-17T19:35:01Z")
**Kurt Cobain** I was 15/16 years old and really into Nirvana. Huge shock for me. [David Angell](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0029628/) I remember seeing him on TV talking about shows he was involved in. He died in one of the airplanes on 9/11/01. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/3 "2007-03-17T19:35:35Z")
Cobain, without a doubt. I’d say Robert Heinlein for personal reasons but he was elderly and had been in declining health for many years so, while it was a blow to the chest, it couldn’t really be called a surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Alistair\_McCello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/58956e/32.png) [@Alistair\_McCello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alistair_McCello)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/4 "2007-03-17T19:46:13Z")
Being young as I am the only one that comes immediately to mind is Douglas Adams in 2001. I was 17 and had just finished the first few Hitchhikers books and was starting to really get into his stuff when I heard about his death. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/5 "2007-03-17T19:46:33Z")
I’d say Kurt Cobain and Phil Hartman. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/6 "2007-03-17T19:50:25Z")
John Lennon- I cried and was stunned. Princess Di- so unexpected and tragic! I don’t know if this counts, but when the Challenger exploded. All I could think of was that poor teacher and that her class and parents were watching the lift off. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/7 "2007-03-17T19:52:25Z")
JFK John Lennon Princess Diana Elvis John Ritter Johnny Carson Anna Nicole (I know, I know :p…still, I wasn’t expecting it.) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/8 "2007-03-17T19:57:13Z")
JFK, followed by John Lennon. I can’t say I’ve reacted anywhere near as strongly to any other notable public figure demises. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/9 "2007-03-17T20:02:45Z")
Probably Isaac Asimov. He died when I was three, but I didn’t find out until I was ~17 and had read a _lot_ of his books. It was shocking; _This guy wrote so much, and died in my lifetime, but I’ll never have the chance to meet him or thank him for his work_. ---
**Author:** ![Crispy\_McCloud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Crispy\_McCloud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crispy_McCloud)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/10 "2007-03-17T20:06:43Z")
Jim Henson ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/11 "2007-03-17T20:10:48Z")
Ronald Reagan. (Although it was expected) Stan Kenton Martin Luther King Al Capp Charles Schultz And, as above, Issac Asimov ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/12 "2007-03-17T20:11:53Z")
Princess Di followed closely in order by John Ritter and JFK Jr and Chris Farley ---
**Author:** ![wonder9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c57346/32.png) [@wonder9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonder9)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/13 "2007-03-17T20:15:28Z")
Helen Keller. I had read everything I could about her and Annie Sullivan (everything written for a child that is; I was only 9 when she died) and I had somehow imagined that someday I’d get a chance to meet her. I was devastated when I read that she died and shocked that she was so old. I had pictured her in my mind as forever the young college graduate I’d seen in a picture. And Princess Di as well. Nearly my age, with two sons around the age of my sons and with a train wreck of a life, I’d always felt sorry for her but never expected her to die so young. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/14 "2007-03-17T20:22:14Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Carrot] Probably Isaac Asimov. He died when I was three, but I didn’t find out until I was ~17 and had read a _lot_ of his books. It was shocking; _This guy wrote so much, and died in my lifetime, but I’ll never have the chance to meet him or thank him for his work_. [/QUOTE] You’ve prompted me to mention a couple of others whose deaths came before I was even aware of their lives. First would be James Dean. I remember somebody in my Sunday School class mentioning “some guy” who was “killed in a car wreck in a movie” in what would probably have been late 1955. It was the next spring before I saw _Rebel Without A Cause_ and I can’t really remember if I knew Dean was dead when I saw the movie. I must have known because I remember thinking how tragic it was to be watching a young man on the screen who seemed so promising and full of life. By the time _Giant_ came out I was already a rabid fan and joined what must have been thousands of kids my age seeing that movie on opening day. The other would be Duane Allman. I got into the Allman Brothers by way of a co-worker and it was after I had decided there was finally something in Rock that I could really relate to, that I learned of Duane’s and Berry Oakley’s deaths years earlier. There really wasn’t any shock involved with that news, just sadness and a sense of loss. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/15 "2007-03-17T20:25:26Z")
Mr. Rogers Jim Henson Both icons of my childhood and I was sad to see them go, and know that my (future) kids won’t get to experience their magic. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/16 "2007-03-17T20:30:24Z")
It was Princess Di for me. I was stuck sitting in my car waiting for some friends after work when I flipped to an AM station and heard their breaking news about a possible car crash she was in just half an hour earlier in Paris. I am still convinced I was one of the first people around in the U.S. that heard about it. I couldn’t find anything else about it for another 90 minutes. I went out drinking with my friends that night and we were drunk and ended up at a sit-down place with silent TV overheard late in the night. A steady image on the TV caught our eye with the banner or her birth and death year right below it. The girls with us got quite upset (probably because they were drunk) so I remember the time and place quite well. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/17 "2007-03-17T21:08:44Z")
A sad commentary on my emotional life, perhaps – but as a matter of _shock_ (“omigod, you’re kidding, I can’t believe it”): Princess Di, closely followed by JFK Jr. JFK, I was in third grade: I had no particular expectations about how the world worked. MLK, RFK – it was the '60s, man, people got shot. (Note, I was upset about these deaths, but not particularly “shocked.”) But for both Di and JFK Jr. – they were young and healthy, they were handsome, they were larger than life – how could they suddently just not be there? I was truly shocked by both of those deaths. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/18 "2007-03-17T21:09:29Z")
Princess Di Stephen Jay Gould John Belushi ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/19 "2007-03-17T21:10:07Z")
I don’t recall any celebrity deaths as having really shocked me. Perhaps it’s because I’ve had a couple of close brushes with death myself and I realise that shit happens. But planned murders are a different matter. 9/11 and the [Brighton Bomb](http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/12/newsid_2531000/2531583.stm) stand out. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359/20 "2007-03-17T21:11:13Z")
Steve Irwin. I mean… logically, it wasn’t surprising at all that a critter finally bit back, but he’d been wrangling animals for so many years and filmed so many television shows, and he was always okay–I just assumed that he always would be okay. It was so sudden, too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-news-of-whose-death-shocked-you-most/396359.md?page=2)