Have you ever been greatly saddened by the passing of a celebrity/well known person?

[Goldenbrowntexturelikesun]

As sad as it is with anyone passing away I can’t recall many celebrity deaths ever having any lasting impact on me, except for two.

For me, it was the death of Terry Wogan.

I suppose it was mainly because I grew up with him as a constant in the background, mum always had him playing and when I became an adult I automatically carried that on. He had me in stitches and he had the most perfect voice and personality for radio.

I bawled my eyes out when he passed away and I still miss his shows.

As I say, I really don’t get sentimental over such things but the passing of Terry Wogan and my first love, George Michael really did hit me hard when they went.

Oh yes and Alan Rickman too. Of course.

I was sad about Hilary Mantel and Philip SH because they were such great talents, and I wanted to see more from them.

David Bowie.

Generally, I just feel a little sad, or think it's a shame when a celeb dies.

But when Prince died, I was genuinely upset, and did cry. I've been a massive Prince fan since the early days, and have seen him over 40 times in concert. I bonded with my DH when we first met as teenagers over our mutual love of Prince's music. So when he died, it felt like a massive part of my life was over. I know that sounds dramatic, but I still feel sad when I think that I won't ever go to his concerts again. He was a musical genius, and taken far too young.

Robin Williams. Not sure why but it hit me hard! I wasn’t able to watch anything with him in it for a very long time.

Matthew Perry and Alan Rickman also made me very sad.

Antony Sher. Robin Gibb. Alan RIckman

Diana
George Harrison
Victoria Wood
Alan Rickman
Paul O'Grady
The Queen

Felt very sad each time. They gave a lot to the world in different ways.

David Bowie and George Michael. I couldn't listen to any George Michael music for about a year after his death as it upset me too much. Even now I sometimes cry a little when I listen his music

No, never. At most, I feel a momentary 'Oh that's a shame' and sympathy for their family. The only ones I have ever felt a bit more sad about were Terry Pratchett (big fan) and Matthew Perry (just such a familiar person having watched Friends umpteen times). Otherwise I don't really feel much of a reaction, even if it's a musician, actor etc whose work I like. Mostly I find it odd that some people react to celebrities as though they know them.

Terry Pratchett, miss his lovely books.😭

Amy Winehouse, but really only after I had watched the 2015 documentary about her, which I think was such a powerful film. I think I just felt a sense of what a sad series of things happened. The documentary really showed her personality but also her vulnerability, and it was so sad to see her decline from a seemingly happy, healthy person, to one so haunted (and hunted). I think she was exceptionally talented.

Victoria Wood - I absolutely loved her. I used to go to sleep when I was a kid listening to her stand up on cassette tape. I didn’t even understand a lot of it (no idea what the menopause or a hysterectomy was) so I think initially I was just laughing with the audience.

She had a real talent for writing characters that felt on the outside of things which I really related to as a teenager (I wasn’t pretty or slim, I was a bit nerdy, terrified of breaking rules and desperate to be noticed by the popular girls and by boys. My best friend was a gorgeous dancer and I was always in her shadow. I’ve always been told that I’m ‘funny’ or ‘witty’ but that doesn’t tend to be what teenage boys are after…). I saw a play of hers a couple of years ago (Talent) and there was a moment that I 100% related to that took me right back to being an awkward 18 year old at freshers - I’ve never had that sort of intense connection with other authors or characters.

She was also an absolute inspiration that you could be a woman, from a normal background and be funny. If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have signed up for a comedy society at uni which changed my life (completely brought me out of my shell, made me realise that a lot of my ‘weaknesses’ were actually strengths, made so many friends and connections).

I was still at university when she died and I sobbed and sobbed. It felt like losing a mentor even though I’d never met her.

John Lennon for me. I was bought up on the Beatles music. My brother was mad about them and they were a soundtrack to my early life. I remember getting ready for work when Les Ross on BRMB radio (our local Birmingham radio in the 80's) announced it. He was upset, the station playing Lennon and Beatles music only. Work was a daze. On the Sunday there was a vigil that Yoko Ono I think organised and BRMB had a special programme for listeners to have silence then share memories and music. I was in my early 20's and radio was an important part of most people's life way before social media.
Any alennon music still pulls at my heart and takes me back to that time.

Avicci. So sad. 'Wake me up' is always on the radio and is very poignant.

Yes, I agree with all of this. You have written a lovely tribute.

John Denver. Was a massive fan of his. Even now it's hard to listen to his music without feeling overwhelmingly sad.

The French actor Gaspard Ulliel. I remember seeing him in the noughties and getting that feeling that someone is going to be a big influence in the future.

Not really sad but a passing 'aww that's sad' for some people especially if they have died young. Nothing more than I'd feel for another stranger though.

I really didn't understand the deep grief some people seem to feel for people they don't really know. (Unless it's something particularly awful such as the murder of a child). The grief shown for the Queen and Princess Diana was really strange. Princess Diana's death was sad though as it was unexpected but the over the top response from some people seemed strange to me.

Steve Irwin

Oh yes, me too.

Oops, that was meant in reply to the post from CrunchyCarrot about John Denver.

Wow - I didn’t know he had died? He was bloody gorgeous, especially in that aftershave advert he did.

I was very upset when Ayrton Senna died. And Terry Pratchett - reading his last book was so hard, knowing it was the last.

Of course I feel a little sad when celebrities I like die, but I guess that’s just normal?

How upset I was by the Queen's passing really took me by surprise. I still don't really understand why, because I'm not particularly a royalist. I think it was possibly because she'd just been a solid quiet presence for me my whole life. I never gave her much thought to be honest, but when she died it felt like a chunk of the floor had fallen away.

George Michael ….he really was/ is my favourite musician.

Peaches Geldof. I really thought she’d broken the cycle (although she did look very thin) and seemed so happy with her babies. To find out she’d died of an overdose with her baby in the house was awful, total echoes of her mother too. She always seemed so sad about it, and now she’s passed that on to her boys.