Which celebrity death was the most shocking, in your opinion?

I voted for Heath, because it was completely unexpected at his age and how fast his stardom was rising with the release of the Dark Knight soon afterwards.

Others that were left out were Princess Diana, Steve Irwin, Brittany Murphy who was my celeb crush, Paul Walker, and John Lennon.

I think overall, Princess Di was the most shocking though worldwide, not for me personally.

(08-23-2017, 12:08 PM)Millhouse Wrote: I voted for Heath, because it was completely unexpected at his age and how fast his stardom was rising with the release of the Dark Knight soon afterwards.

Others that were left out were Princess Diana, Steve Irwin, Brittany Murphy who was my celeb crush, Paul Walker, and John Lennon.

I think overall, Princess Di was the most shocking though worldwide, not for me personally.

Yeah. I just threw in a few names I could remember off hand.

I thought about Steve Irwin. But then I thought that some nasty critter was bound to get him in the end anyway. So, maybe not as shocking.

I voted Robin Williams. That was a real shock to me.

Chris Henry.

I went with Heath Ledger too.  But a case for Princess Di and Robin Williams could easily be made. 


I just know 2016 was a terrible year for celebrity deaths.  A lot of great minds were lost.

Michael Jackson for me, hands down.

The thought never even passed through my mind that one day he even would die.

Prince really caught me off guard. Chris Cornell was also very unexpected.

(08-23-2017, 01:03 PM)jason Wrote: Prince really caught me off guard. Chris Cornell was also very unexpected.

I agree, I almost went with Prince.  

Chose the youngest one on the list...which was Buddy Holly..only 22. Dying young sucks. Hendrix only 27, etc

My other, not listed, would be Terry Kath of Chicago.

(08-23-2017, 01:03 PM)jason Wrote: Prince really caught me off guard. Chris Cornell was also very unexpected.

Ya, these two are definitely up there on my list. 

Robin Williams.

He was still pretty much A-List as far as his career went. It wasn't like he was somebody who the limelight had moved on and he was living out of a box. He had (I think) a pretty decent family life, too. As the details came out it made some sense, but I'm still surprised.

(08-24-2017, 12:41 PM)Benton Wrote: Robin Williams.

He was still pretty much A-List as far as his career went. It wasn't like he was somebody who the limelight had moved on and he was living out of a box. He had (I think) a pretty decent family life, too. As the details came out it made some sense, but I'm still surprised.

I pretty much feel the same. So many of us grew up watching Robin Williams for so long that it felt like a huge piece of childhood was just gone. Any time I watch Mrs. Doubtfire or Jumanji I feel sad that he isn't around anymore. He was so damn funny.

I voted Elvis. Those too young may not understand, but it was HUGE. I mean, there were a handful of tv channels and it was on all of them. Modern day equivalent, I would argue, would be Michael Jackson. The King of Rock and the King of Pop.

One that really got me, and maybe only me, was John Candy. I grew up a huge SCTV fan, and I was very sad when he died. I remember me and the ex were taking some family to a minor league hockey game that night, and I found myself at the game just kind of randomly coming back to his death.

(08-23-2017, 12:22 PM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: I voted Robin Williams.  That was a real shock to me.

Same here.  I never knew he had problems #1, and #2 He had already been battling his demons for so long, to finally give into them made it a double shock.

Heath Ledger made me sad but didn't shock me.  Young people dying in the movie industry will never shock me even when drugs are involved, accidental or not.

(08-24-2017, 08:52 PM)Stewy Wrote: Heath Ledger made me sad but didn't shock me.  Young people dying in the movie industry will never shock me even when drugs are involved, accidental or not.

That's sort of the way I see it. How much should we have been surprised by the deaths of Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janice Joplin, etc. when they led such lives that they abused themselves so much. Same with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, John Belushi.... even Elvis.

But someone like John Lennon (assassinated) or Buddy Holly (plane crash) or even Princess Di (paparozzi crash), those seem to have a little more shock value.

I'll say this for Elvis, though: his death possibly got the greatest amount of attention. Consider that here we are 40 years later and people are still impersonating him or denying he died. In a way, he was bigger AFTER he died than he was before.

I forgot about Marilyn Monroe. But she was sort of before everyone here's time anyway.

Chris Farley was a tough one for me. I loved that guy!

For me?

Chris Cornell.

James Dean. 

(08-24-2017, 11:44 PM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: Chris Farley was a tough one for me.  I loved that guy!

Wow, completely forgot about Farley. And that reminds me of John Belushi too, who could have went on to have an amazing career.