The death of which famous person upset you most?

A little shocked that no one has mentioned it yet, but for me it was most certainly Seamus Heaney.

I was only 5 at the time, but the death of John Lennon has had the most impact on me - from the point of view of what could've been. The Beatles would've no doubt reformed, but then you could say would the Beatles be as revered had Lennon not died? Would they just be another (big) 60s band? So much hinges on the fact that he died.

At the time, I was amazed Kurt Cobain died. I wasn't exactly upset about it, even though I was a big Nirvana fan. But it was a "wow!" moment.

Maria de Villota was a recent one that made me sad, she was a test driver for the Marussia Formula 1 team and was in an accident where she lost an eye. She seemed to make a recovery and even become known for her strength and inspiration and so on, but she died as a result of the accident a year later, last October. It was the first F1 death since Ayrton Senna.

I haven't really been "upset" at a famous person dying. Maybe more so on reflection, or when you see those documentaries; like the George Harrison one. I had tears rolling down my face during the part where Ringo is talking about the last words he shared with George. But I wasn't bawling crying when he died.

Same with Syd Barrett - was sad that he never "got better" or made some kind of comeback. That would've been weird and looking at it now, certainly impossible.

Ella Fitzgerald. It just made me actually sad when I heard of her death (1996). Don't usually get sad when famous people die, but I did that time.

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Michael Jackson, but for a strange reason maybe.
He died two days after my brother died.
This sounds completely irrational, but it upset me that everywhere everyone was talking about Jackson's death, and why weren't people making a big deal because my brother was dead, and that was so important for me (I know this is because of the grief and the shock). I don't know if I'm explaining it clearly!

When you lose someone close to you especially a young person you can't understand why people are still just going about doing normal things. You want the world to stop and grieve with you.

Don't know about upset but a few really saddened me.

Dermot Morgan, due to Father Ted's significance in my household growing up.

Jeff Hanneman: guitarist from Slayer, he was out of action from the band for a while, he got some flesh eating disorder on his arm, from what was believed to be a spider bite, as far as I knew he was recovering well then I see something on Facebook that he had died aged only 49. Turned out his death was unrelated to the spider bite. He was a bit of a drinker, cirrhosis of the liver. Great metal guitarist, he made sounds like no other, like something from a horror movie.

Dimebag Darrell: Learned about his death in school the day after. Shocking that a fairly famous guitarist can get shot onstage in this day and age along with 3 others that tried to save Dimebag. One of a kind performer, never got the chance to see him live.

Stuart Adamson lead singer with Big Country. Under rated under estimated but highly respected by those who listened to his music. His death was made all the worse as he died by his own hand.

kfallon wrote: »

None tbh, I don't see how I could grieve over somebody I never had any personal contact with just because they were famous.

I would say the only times I shed tears for anybody I didn't know was in tragic instances like watching 9/11 unfolding and the poor people deciding that jumping from the twin towers was the better option of a quick death....heartbreaking!

It's not grieving over someone "just because they're famous"...
People grow attached and have bonds with people they've "grown up with" through entertainment...

For example, I was very upset over the death of MCA (Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys) I grew up with his music since I was 12. His music was the soundtrack to many a great time I've had in my life. Same with Michael Jackson. He was always there in since I was born. I've never had personal contact with MCA but his music touched me personally. It provided hours of happiness, laughter and entertainment.

Watching someone commit suicide for me is sad...and I can say your comment back...how can you grieve over some stranger you never met!? But I know it's not so black and white. Personally, I've had more of a bond with musicians than I've had with strangers jumping off buildings to put it frankly.

Ayrton Senna...guy was my hero.

Dimebag Darrell.

As a metal fan this had a huge effect on me. One of the greatest guitarists of all time, murdered on stage.

Michael Jackson for me.