First celebrity death you remember?

xi5yvm0owc1s2b

With the sad passing of Aretha Franklin today, what was the first celebrity death you remember or that affected you?

I have early memories of my mother in tears when John Lennon died.

For me personally, the first that really hit me was Freddie Mercury.

yerwanthere123

Princess Diana for me, it was just before my 6th birthday. It was so sad, I never even knew she was ill.

Grayson

Thinking back for it's probably River Phoenix or Kurt Cobain. They were both when i was in my late teens. I don't think I really knew of any celebrities that died before that.

I can remember the state funeral of Indira Gandhi on TV. I'm trying to think if there were I can remember before that. I'm sure that someone here will post something and I'll go "Oh yeah. i remember"

AudreyHepburn

Princes Diana - I know Versace died the same year but for some reason I have very little recollection of that. I vaguely recall seeing his face on the news but that’s it.

Diana though I remember with absolute clarity - I was 11 at the time and was sitting in my granny’s dining room having lunch and the news was showing footage of the car in the tunnel. The outpouring of grief was extraordinary.

DellyBelly

Yeah princess Diana for me although I was very young so maybe I more remember my parents reaction. OP you must be fairly old if you remember John Lennon's death

TheIrishGrover

I remember Lennon. I also barely remember Elvis dying (I was about 5)

xzanti

Freddie Mercury.

I was about 9.

I listen to Queen everyday. I don't think we'll ever see the likes of his talent again in our lifetimes.

Working class heroes

DellyBelly wrote: »

Yeah princess Diana for me although I was very young so maybe I more remember my parents reaction. OP you must be fairly old if you remember John Lennon's death

It was only 1980(?) not 1880!

alan partridge aha

Elvis but I had to be told who he was.
The 1st I knew who they were was the great John Wayne.

Grayson

xzanti wrote: »

Freddie Mercury

Oh yeah. I remember that.

eviltwin

Mel Appleby. Most of you won't know who she was ( 80's pop star ) but she was very young when she died and it was quite tragic.

squawker

the one that I really remember was Rory Gallagher

chakotha

Just about remember Elvis I think - or it might have been a tribute show a year or two later.

Definitely John Lennon.

Hector Bellend

ive no interest in them when they are alive

their death doesnt change that

Giraffe Box

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Princess Diana for me, it was just before my 6th birthday. It was so sad, I never even knew she was ill.

brevity

I suppose the one that stands out the most would be Princess Diana.

I remember Ayrton Senna only because friends of mine at the time were fans of his. I would have been maybe 13ish...

valoren

Ayrton Senna.

It was deeply unsettling as a 13 year old to see the crash but then to hear the news he had subsequently died was shocking. He was the quintessential F1 driver.

Cina

I mainly remember Diana because there was basically nothing else on TV for the rest of the week then and as a 10 year old that really annoyed me.

ohnonotgmail

Probably Elvis. cant remember anybody before that.

Yer Da sells Avon

Eamonn Andrews. I was in senior infants and the teacher solemnly announced that he had died the night before. She must have been a fan.

Sonics2k

Freddie Mercury too. I loved Queen even as a kid, possibly due to the likes of Flash Gordon but I was genuinely really sad when he passed away.

xi5yvm0owc1s2b

eviltwin wrote: »

Mel Appleby. Most of you won't know who she was ( 80's pop star ) but she was very young when she died and it was quite tragic.

Better known as one half of the '80s pop duo Mel and Kim, who had a number one hit with "Respectable." She was only 23 when she died of cancer.

seamus

Yeah, probably Cobain. And not long after, Ayrton Senna. Not that I cared about racing, but there was a lot of talk about it.

I never watched the news as a kid or paid attention to names, so if you had said Freddie Mercury or River Phoenix to me at the time I wouldn't have had a clue who you were talking about. I liked Nirvana though, so I knew who Cobain was.

zapitastas

Bobby Ewing but then he showed up again in the shower so all was right with the world again

jmayo

alan partridge aha wrote: »

Elvis but I had to be told who he was.
The 1st I knew who they were was the great John Wayne.

Yep I remember the death of Elvis being huge news.
I did know who he was, but I don't recall the likes of RTE making much of the fact he died in the john.

chakotha wrote: »

Just about remember Elvis I think - or it might have been a tribute show a year or two later.

Definitely John Lennon.

Yeah remember Lennon going and then a few of his songs getting to number 1.
Always wondered what exactly Yoko Ono did as she was always hangin around him in the videos.

valoren wrote: »

Ayrton Senna.

It was deeply unsettling as a 13 year old to see the crash but then to hear the news he had subsequently died was shocking. He was the quintessential F1 driver.

Nah he was far from the quintessential or typical F1 driver when he arrived.
He along with probably Lauda before him changed the whole thing.
It got very serious with them.

BTW would the youngsters stop makin us feel so old. :mad:

major bill

Gianni Versace

I remember as a kid at the time when all over the news that it was a big thing, famous fashion designer murdered. There was comments at the time he was killed for been gay which I thought was odd that someone would be killed cos of that (Motive still unclear years later), an eye opener to a 10 year old.

Princess Diana died not long after which was huge and then Mother Teresa to complete the Trio.

jmayo

zapitastas wrote: »

Bobby Ewing but then he showed up again in the shower so all was right with the world again

Speakin of which remember when JR was shot.

How the hell they managed to keep that secret and the time difference between the show been shown this side of the pond.

AudreyHepburn

major bill wrote: »

Gianni Versace

I remember as a kid at the time when all over the news that it was a big thing, famous fashion designer murdered. There was comments at the time he was killed for been gay which I thought was odd that someone would be killed cos of that (Motive still unclear years later), an eye opener to a 10 year old.

Princess Diana died not long after which was huge and then Mother Teresa to complete the Trio.

I knew there was a third person that year that I was forgetting! I remember Mother Teresa too, very well.

It’s beyond me why I can really remember Versace though.

major bill

AudreyHepburn wrote: »

I knew there was a third person that year that I was forgetting! I remember Mother Teresa too, very well.

It’s beyond me why I can really remember Versace though.

All in the space of something like 3 months.

Freddie Mercury I reckon. I was about 10.

mikeymouse

J.F.K
came home from school, my mother was in bits.
don't know how she found out as we didn't have a wireless

helimachoptor

Ayrton Senna, was really into F1 as a kid, died on my confirmation day

RockDesk

Freddie Mercury is the only that comes to mind.

Although I remember I was about 9 and the radio station was playing news from years earlier, but I thought it was current news. It must have been a radio version of Reeling in the Years or something. They were announcing the death of JFK. So I told my mam who strangely wasn't that surprised! So technically that was the first one I remember hearing!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I remember Lionel Barrymore, from Dr Kildare and It's a Wonderful life, dying in 1954 or 55 and Alexander Fleming around that time too.

Pauliedragon

Freddie Mercury. I was about 10. All I remember is seeing it on the front page of the paper. To this day I've ticked off every live show on my to do list but if I could turn back the clock and see one more it would be Queen with Freddie, what a showman.

Gwynplaine

Deleted User wrote: »

Freddie Mercury I reckon. I was about 10.

Same here. My brother had all the albums on Vinyl. He was in tears.

Ger Roe

Forty one years ago today - Elvis.

I remember the sense of shock on hearing the radio reports. I was thirteen, just discovering pop music and had only just started looking in to who Elvis was (his last single 'Way Down' was on release at the time)

Ironically enough, The King of Rock and the Queen of Soul have now passed on the same day - August 16th.

Harry Palmr

Probably Elvis Presley or Charles Chaplin. Not that it made any particular impression at the time. It was the cull of 1980 that was the first really terrible year for celeb deaths in my era. Bon Scott, John Lennon, John Bonham, Steve McQueen, Ian Curtis, Hitchcock, David Janssen, Mae West, Peter Sellers, and a few more well known names

Sardonicat

Elvis
I was six at the time. Was spending the summer with relatives and was staying up late watching Ben Hur when a News Flash came on with the news. I think I remember it so clearly 'cos my cousin who was about 17 was in floods of tears and inconsolable.

John Lennon.
I was 9. I knew well who he was and was very sad. It was incredibly shocking. Couldn't for the life of me understand why anyone would want to kill a Beatle
Fugging scumbag Chapman, shooting him in the back.

freshpopcorn

I'd be between Princess Diana and Veronica Guerin. I didn't know much about them just the news coverage.

goose2005

I don't know if it counts, but I remember how desolate I felt when I learned that Roald Dahl was dead and there would never be any more books from him

mad muffin

Jesus Christ. May he rest in peace

pawdee

Elvis Presley (funnily enough 41 years ago today!). I was 9 and at my auntie's house when it came on the news. I remember there was a big piece of squashed, boiled carrot down the side of her brown vinyl sofa. They're my two standout memories from that day.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

I vaguely remembering hearing about the deaths of Elvis and John Lennon when I was about 6 and 9 years old respectively. Not sure they effected me, as I didn;t know who they were.

Mildred from George and Mildred was the first time soemone died whom I was familiar with (probably means **** all to you young'uns but I loved the show at the time!)

TheValeyard

mikeymouse wrote: »

J.F.K
came home from school, my mother was in bits.
don't know how she found out as we didn't have a wireless

Hmmmmm.


Did she have any connections with Lee Harvey Oswald or Jack Ruby?

Yer Da sells Avon

mikeymouse wrote: »

J.F.K
came home from school, my mother was in bits.
don't know how she found out as we didn't have a wireless

Old-fashioned dial-up connection, probably.

Sardonicat

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

Mildred from George and Mildred was the first time soemone died whom I was familiar with (probably means **** all to you young'uns but I loved the show at the time!)

Poor Yootha Joyce. Very talented lady.

shamrock55

Freddy mercury

Rubberchikken

Elvis. Didnt like his music but loved radio Luxemburg and heard it as a newflash. S

drake70

Phil Lynott

AudreyHepburn

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I'd be between Princess Diana and Veronica Guerin. I didn't know much about them just the news coverage.

I wasn’t sure if Veronica counted as a celebrity but I remember her death clearly as well as the British presenter Jill Dando. Didn’t know the full details until later but I knew both were murdered.