I think, with my generation, Michael Stipe will just be the most depressing death.
Ronald Reagan, because I love him. When he leaves us, I’ll
be crying for weeks afterward.
Queen Elizabeth II, because then Charles will be king. Yuck!
After Princess Diana met her untimely end, some friends and I were discussing what American public figure would cause a similarly large outpouring of grief. After a few moments of thought, the answer was obvious: Oprah.
but you and your mother need to read the paper more. It’s time to find yourselves some new icons.
For readers of Science Fiction, the biggest death will be that of Arthur C. Clarke, the last of “The Big Three” (Heinlein and Asimov, being the other two).
For me personally, as a reader of Science Fiction, I dread the day Jack Williamson passes. He is about 93 now, in as good health as can be expected, though he is being crippled (by arthritis, I assume), as footage of him shows him walking extrememly stooped. Still writes and publishes though. He just seems like a good, decent man. Ellison even loves him. Which brings me to…
Harlan Ellison. Like Reagan, love him or hate him, you can’t deny his impact and influence. An era will pass when he is gone.
Sir Rhosis
Oh my heck! Say it ain’t so!
Oh, well. At least we still have Elvis.
(In case it ain’t clear, my original comment was a joke.)
Remaining Beatles? Whaddaya mean, “remaining”?!?!?
Stephen King
Simply because he will probably leave the #(@()*$@() Dark Tower books unfinished!!!
I am soooo not looking forward to Madonna passing on…it would be the end of pop culture for women as we know it…b/c Britteny Spears, and Christina Aguliara sure aren’t going to hold it down… 
I do NOT want ANY MORE Beatles to die, EVER!!!
They must not, MUST NOT die!!! Hell, I’ll buy all their new CD’s, books, all that ripoff merchandise. I am perfectly willing to keep making them rich(er), as long as they STAY ALIVE.
Also, I don’t want my parents to die.
What the hell, the Beatles practically ARE my parents!
I’d have to go along Sir Rhosis. When Asimov died, I mourned, and when I heard over the radio that Heinlein died I almost ran off the road. I do not know how I would handle the death of Harlan Ellison. His influence on my life is immeasurable, for he has taught me, entertained me, and shown me how to live large.
Well, if Dick Cheney goes, that’d suck pretty bad. We’d have to go through all the coverage of the funeral. Watching the news would be like taking a course on heart failure. Then after all that we have to go throught the speculation of who’s next and what the difference is going to be, etc. So yeah, Dick Cheney would suck.
HEY!!!
It was a sad day, alright? (Though it would be funny to see all the “Lars Shrines”, and distraught Metallica fans gathering in parks, with guitars, and singing “Enter Sandman”.)
Okay, so John Lennon is dead. Thanks for finally cluing me in, people.
Sigh. First Paul, now John…
Let me put this into categories:
Actor: Any surviving Monty Python member. Somehow Ronald Reagan doesn’t make this list.
Writer: Harlan Ellison, Stephen King, Garrison Keillor(damned if I know how to spell it). I hadn’t thought about it until I saw it here, but Arthur C. Clarke will be a blow. Still can’t believe Asimov and L. Sprague De Camp are gone.
Musician: Ian Anderson, Weird Al, Angus Young. A long way down the road.
The person I am least looking forward to dying? Me. Hopefully by the time I reach, oh, 65 or so, I’ll be able to afford that Robot Body ™.
[ul][li]Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, etc. - The death of any of the 60’s musical icons will send the whole Baby Boomer generation into paroxysms of grief, coupled with that traditional Baby Boomer self-absorption and self-aggrandizement.[/li][li]**Ronald Reagan- Reagan is to Republicans as McCartney is to Baby Boomers. Republicans in government will fall all over themselves (even more so than they now) to name every new federal facility, school, ship, etc. after the doofus. I only pray that some vestigial sense of propriety keeps them from naming a national forest after him. Also, please keep him off my coins.[/li][li]Clint Eastwood Noooooooooo…Clint can’t die! Can he??? A generation of men will face mortality. This is the “John Wayne Effect.”[/li][li]Pope John Paul II- The media blitz to end all media blitzes.[/li]Reggie Jackson- Any time a New York sports star kicks the bucket, the rest of the country has to endure the Big Apple’s media-enhanced grief.[/ul]