What Was The First Celebrity Death That Affected You? — Page 3

The earliest one that sticks in my mind was John Wayne - he was such an icon it was like a piece of America disappeared that day

I was shocked and saddened by many mentioned here, but the only one that I cried and sobbed for days about, was Diana !

This may date me young, not to mention place me geographically, but it would probably be back in the summer of 02 just over five years ago, in the middle of June, the peak of Major League Baseball season. On (I believe) a Tuesday, legendary Cardinals baseball announcer, Jack Buck, died, which was a HUGE deal to the city of St. Louis and Cardinal Nation, which, you may be surprised to know, spands much of southern Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky, some of Oklahoma, and parts of Iowa, mainly because of Jack Buck and KMOX's signal which I've heard stories of people setting up special antennas in the Carribean and being able to pick up. That week was the first time that a major league club held public ceremony for a deceased man in their ballpark since Babe Ruth, and thousands (I mean THOUSANDS) showed up. While I did listen to KMOX Cardinal broadcasts with him before that, I never really understood how much he meant until that day.

However, the one that really got to me was that Saturday. I was at a local water park that day for my sister's birthday, but I wanted to hear the Cardinals game, as they were playing the Cubs. On our way home we turned on the radio, and the game wasn't playing, and I was kind of ticked, since the game the day before was really short 'cause we couldn't hit so I missed it, and assumed the same thing happened this day. Then I heard the announcement that Cardinals pitcher Daryl Kyle had died that morning. The city was is mourning after that. Lines of fans circled all around Busch Stadium to pay their respects to the two of them, mostly around the Jack Buck statue. Hats, towels, papers, posters, cardboard, anything some fan could find and put on it "JFB" and "DK 57" they left. I was lucky(???) enough to have tickets already for the second game back at Busch after Kyle's death, which ended up being their first win. It was a memorable evening, because while we all were there to cheer on our beloved Redbirds, we were harshly reminded that it was just a game.

I realize that most of you might not consider those two "celebrities," but they certainly affected me deeply.

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elvis presley. i remember hearing it on the news from our tv in the family room and running into the kitchen to tell my mom and babysitter that he died. they didn't believe me ( and him popping up in random fast food joints across the US is not helping matters...)

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Another I remember was Mama Cass. At the time, I hadn't heard any of the M&P music, but I knew her from HR Puffenstuff and the variety shows. When you are a kid, you get involved in all the rumors that fly around. We talked for weeks about how she had choked to death on a ham sandwich even though our parents kept telling us that's not how it happened. Then we went back to talking about how Mikey on the Life cereal commercials had died from pop rocks and Coke. LOL.

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When I first started reading this thread, I thought my answer would be John Lennon, but jam_man's post reminded me that the first celebrity death to really affect me was Thurman Munson, in 1979. Dark days in the Bronx.

Political figures: President Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. I was in kindergarten when JFK died and I remember laying on the floor in front of our Black and White Television set watching the funeral cortege.

For MLK and RFK, my parents were so upset. That really made an impression on me. My mom sobbing that first Martin and now Bobby had been killed. My Dad was very, very quiet & kept watching the TV coverage. And, he collected the newsclippings to use in the Social Studies classes he taught.

Entertainment Personalities: Jim Croce shocked me. I really liked his music. And, I remember having to comfort a neighbor who was so distraught when John Lennon was murdered. It really seemed impossible to believe he was gone.

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Updated On: 7/16/07 at 02:48 PM

none yet, but the national review's death squads have yet to start executing liberal icons, so i'm sure it's just a matter of time.

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Ethel Merman.

Princess Di and Mother Theresa. Two of the best people in the world died within a week of each other. I was only 6, but although I didn't understand why they were famous, I saw the pictures on TV of them helping so many people, and couldn't understand why God would take two people like that away from the world and yet there were still people causing trouble everywhere.

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timing is everything.

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Mother Teresa = overrated.

Mind you, Diana Spencer = overrated an' all...

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