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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.

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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.

[Deleted User]

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