Celebrity deaths that shocked you

[OneCosyCrow]

Which celebrity’s death do you feel shocked at?

I would probably say Robin Williams. Which is probably an obvious one. George Micheal and Bowie also.

Not well known by Brits maybe, but the guy they called Twitch. He was part of Ellen Degeneres' show. He always seemed so happy but he committed suicide. Also Princess Diana's death was so unexpected and sad.

Yes, I was really sad about Twitch. (We spend lots of time in the US)

Sadly, so many ‘celebrities’ must feel that they can deal with the effects of drugs, and that they will beat the statistics. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter how rich and famous you are, your physical and mental health will suffer, and therefore a premature death is very common amongst drug users.

If Diana had been wearing her seatbelt, she would almost certainly have survived.

Also Diana, that was a tragic accident, or was it? But how does someone with so much protection die that way?

They die that way by being driven by a pissed person who was doing more than twice the speed limit (at least), and crucially, not wearing a seatbelt. It was Diana’s choice to refuse police protection.

Anne Heche shocked me. She was a big star back in the day. The crash which eventually killed her was caught on camera and it never really seemed clear what was behind her sudden change in behaviour.

I think there are people on the thread who are struggling to separate being sad from being shocked. I was shocked by MJ's death. It was sudden, he was a huge star and I knew loads of people with tickets to his shows. It really was a "where were you when you heard" moment. However I knew all about the allegations, he was dodgy AF and I wasn't sad.

If she still had her HRH, she might be alive today, cos the driver would have been an ex police security escort.

And, like you say, she wasn’t wearing her seatbelt.

Karen Carpenter
Jo Cox
Elizabeth Sladen
Angharad Rees

I don’t believe the people if I’m being completely honest. I am not disputing he was a troubled man but he had such a genuine love for children. I just feel very strongly he was innocent.

Steve Wright, George Michael, Princess Di, Freddie Mercury, Jonny Kingdom 💔💔

She didn't need her HRH to have official protection - she was offered it anyway and turned it down.

Michael Hutchence.

And what really killed me is that Philip Seymour Hoffman, though so great, was apparently insecure about his talents.

Whitney Houston was tragic, she had such talent. Her daughters death was also disturbing, I never quite understood what happened there. I wonder how her life would be different had she met a decent man and not one who dragged her down.

I don't have any names to add to the above, but wanted to say that I thought the Caroline Flack documentary was incredibly thought-provoking, in terms of a reminder of media persona mixed with what might really be going on for someone behind the scenes.

First person that came to my head was Steve Irwin.
it was so unexpected and tragic.
such a lovely man.
i wish he could have survived and lived to see his lovely family

Agree with 'most' mentioned also -

Elvis - even though I was young & didnt really know his music then, I'm sadder now
Lisa-Marie Presley - sad
Johnny Owen - a young Welsh boxer
Caroline Ahearn - genuis

David Bowie 100%

Whitney wasnt really the angel she was portrayed to be - Clive Davis manufactured her image when actually she was from the hood like say Mary J Blige. The same Clive Davis who went ahead with his party in the hotel where she died that same day. There's a lot of rumours about him being at the top of this pyramid of abuse of artists. Re Whitney - at the time, Bobby Brown was a massive star and they were well matched due to where they were from. I would however say that i wonder whether if she knew the repercussions of her death on both her 'step' son and her daughter, whether she would have got help earlier. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I’ve read that Whitney introduced Bobby Brown to drugs, while Bobby Brown introduced Whitney to alcohol.

Wasn't Brown physically abusive?

I think they were both volatile/passionate together really - she was the biggest star but he was also a superstar in his own right. I used to see loads on them and you could see they were crazy about each other. I just think the media portrays her as all innocent but she came from the same world he did.

You think physical abuse is a sign of 'passion'? I'm sorry to hear that.

Yes definitely Steve Wright and also Johnny Walker

Jerry Orbach. How could I forget him! I cried when he died. He was so good in Law and Order and as the Dad in Dirty Dancing.

No smoke, without fire. There's having a love of children, and creating a theme park, paying off poor families, and sleeping in the same bed - completely different things.