Most of my favorites are already gone, but a few remain, and some of them are younger than I am:
Dick van Dyke
Mary Tyler Moore
Carol Burnett
Leonard Nimoy
Betty White
Meryl Streep
Bernadette Peters
Adrien Brody
Itzhak Perlman
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Damn, I could list another 20.
I generally have a hard time feeling much when celebrities die, but this actually came up earlier this week with my SO. He was watching some YouTube video of Betty White and I remarked that it will be a sad day when she dies. She’s an amazing, hilarious woman.
He was sad when he heard about Dio’s death.
Neil Young. He had an aneurysm a few years back and recovered. I would miss hearing new Neil.
Edward Norton, seems like everything I see him in I like.
Patrick Stewart, another captain of the enterprise with a long career outside of trek.
Diane Neal from L&O: SVU, just because I couldn’t want her more even if she was wrapped in bacon.
Jon Stewart, this country would be the worse without The Daily Show.
Adding new names to the depressing roll-call:
Hugh Grant, even though most of his movies of late have been mediocre, and George Clooney.
The [full] Monty [of] Pythons – I love them all, and I hope they all defy the actuarial tables and live to be 100.
Harrison Ford (whose Han shot first, dammit!) and James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader. It’s going to be a different experience watching the original trilogy once any of the principles – or George Lucas, for that matter – is gone. Sadly, Harrison Ford’s movie choices have declined as Hugh Grant’s have – and what the heck happened to his onscreen charisma? – but he’s still a superstar.
Steve Martin, for so many reasons, his fiction being the least of 'em.
David Byrne (and the other Heads). Andy Partridge (and the others of XTC, including their original drummer, Terry Chambers). Phillip Glass. Robert Fripp. Adrian Belew. Kate Bush. Prince (by any name or symbol). Chrissie Hynde. John Fogarty. Matt Johnson (The The), Johnny Marr, Morrissey, Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Johnny Greenwood, and Muse (Matt, Dom, Chris).
Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society.
Some of the sad days have unfortunately already been, but the ones that I’ll miss most:
Tom Brokaw - the man was in my living room every night for a couple of decades. I’ll probably be as sad as when Walter Cronkite died.
Andy Griffith - another regular visitor to my home, via TV, losing him will mean that a part of my childhood is gone.
Willie Nelson - this man has entertained me with the songs he has written and sung over the years and has demonstrated that good music comes in all genres.
Bill Clinton - the first president that I actually helped vote into office, when he’s gone, it will be somehow the end of an era for me.
Oprah Winfrey - I’m not really much of a fan, but she has demonstrated how a fat girl from Mississippi, via Nashville and Chicago, could go to the top with hard work and determination.
Mine!
I’m famous, right?
I used to be a bit concerned about how Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling was doing. Nothing obsessive, but I used to keep an eye open for publicity blurbs and news stories about her, just to make sure she seemed fine.
Now that she’s finished the series, though, I have to admit that it wouldn’t be that big a deal to me. I mean, I still wish she lives a thousand happy years and all that, but if something terrible happens it’s not going to ruin anything major for me. If she’d checked out before finishing the series, however, I would have been PISSED.
Nowadays I’m keeping a bit of an eye on Amitabh Bachchan. He isn’t 70 yet, though, so he should be okay for the near future. Knock wood.
Cecil Adams
Beat me to it. I can’t think of any movie/TV/showbiz people whose deaths would knock me for a loop, but Neil…definitely.
From what I recall, the aneurysm thing was pretty serious. I’m grateful he came through it.
Neil would be last of the series of three musician deaths that I can really say devastated/would devastate me. The first two were Gene Clark and Alex Chilton.
John Linnell and John Flansburgh, aka They Might Be Giants.
Also Terry Pratchett. I was pretty devastated to hear the news of his Alzheimer’s, although he seems to be doing OK so far.
Amitabh Bachchan for sure, but Lata Mangeshkar even more. Her voice is in so many ways the soundtrack to “my” India.
Lee Scratch Perry
KRS-1
Also a few previously mentioned: Bob Dylan and Nelson Mandela
David Bowie. Mainly because I’ve been re-discovering his early stuff and watching a lot of his Ziggy-era performances.
My first thiought when I saw the thread title.
Whatever the disputed details along with Kirby et al he gave me growing up so much pleasure and escape through the Marvel comics of the 60s & 70s .
James Garner.
I’ve loved everything he’s been a part of but every time I see him I worry that he will die. I think the world will be a lesser place without him in it.
Probably Robert Downey Jr, my longest running celebrity crush would be one of the few that would make me really cry. When I’m feeling down, I watch one of his movies to cheer me up, and I don’t think it would work so well after he’s gone.
Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie (either or both) would also hurt. They’ve both made me laugh so much.
Michael J Fox, one of the first celebrities I learned to recognize in my childhood.
Actually, the death of any star who I’m familiar with is a little sad to me. Their entire job revolves around making people laugh and cry and take two hour journeys with them, and it’s hard not to fall a little in love with someone when you’ve shared a good cry with them.
I used to read a lot more science fiction than I do now, and the Big Three for me were Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein and Arthur C Clarke. The first two have already died, so I’ll be sad when Clarke dies as well.
And among musicians, I agree that the day we lose Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan or Paul Simon will be a really sad one.
Hate to be the one to do this to you, but:
(Unless I’ve been whooshed)