Has the news of famous persons death ever made you cry even though you never met them, or a stranger that you knew about but never met? Why did it make you cry?
Johnny Gaudreau. Hockey player. Johnny Hockey was one of my favorites that wasn’t on my favorite team. He was a small guy, who proved everyone wrong. He was a good dude from all the clips and interviews I’ve seen over the years.
I saw the comment that broke it on reddit, some random guy in the Phillies GDT. Said “Johnny Gaudreau is dead”. Spent the night following the rumors until it was confirmed by a retired league ref.
He and his brother, Matt, were in town for their sisters wedding, staying at their dad’s house. They were cycling and a drunk driver killed them both, only stopped because the bikes were still under the truck. His wife was pregnant at the time too.
I cycle, I’ve got brothers and it just hit me so hard. I was fucked up about it for a week at least.
I’d say the closest I’ve come was Robin Williams. Patrick Stewart would probably be even moreso.
Robin Williams, David Bowie and Chester beddingfield. Seem to be the most common answer. Williams was a special guy, you could just tell. Probably made the people close to him feel something really loved.
I would have a breakdown the day Patrick Stewart died.
Yeah, he feels almost like a second father to me. I think if I ever met him, I’d just want to hug him.
He seems like a great guy indeed
Robin Williams is the only one I remember hitting me really hard. Sometimes it still gets me if I’m in the right (wrong) mood when I remember.
bowie didn’t hit me when it happened, but years later blackstar made me weep
A man only dies when he is forgotten.
Technoblade never dies.
A bloke at work wears a Technoblade shirt all the time, he lives on
David Bowie. I still miss him a lot. I usually don’t even really know the names and faces of bands I like, and I wasn’t even a big knower of his music, but when I heard he died I cried non stop for a day and a night. He was really something else, this crazy force, changing the whole discourse in music and stardom multiple times in his life. What an awe inspiring character. I wonder who could ever take his place, really.
Without knowing a celebrity personally, you can still resonate deeply with what their art or identity stand for. I shed a tear when David Bowie died because his fearlessness and experimentation was like a beacon to weirdos like me that told us we would be ok if we left the shores of conformity. Plus, he was the funky funky groovy man, man.
We are exposed to enough of their life and personality that we form a bond.
With a performer like Bowie, he pushed the boundaries of what it even means to have a personality. You almost have to talk about him by each era—Ziggy Stardust, The White Duke, etc. That baffling reinvention is part of his allure and his message, in my opinion. You can make yourself into anyone you want to be, even just for a little while, and that experience can be magnificent. You aren’t just the sum of your experiences, you are also the product of your intention, so why not get a little freaky-deeky with it, man?
Anthony Bourdain hit me pretty hard. I was a huge fan starting with Kitchen Confidential and ate up basically everything he produced. But more than just his content, which was great, his worldview and philosophy really spoke to me. It was cynical and angry, without being aimless or shallow. He seemed to be doing something different from everyone else and writing his own rules in a way which had no parallels anywhere in mainstream media.
Chester Bennington of Linkin Park low-key destroyed me. I didn’t even hear about it when it happened due to a big storm taking out my power for a week. It wasn’t until 4 or 5 days after the news hit everyone else when I finally found out.
You can say whatever you want about Linkin Park, but Chester was fucking talented and its still so upsetting to me to think about it.
And then last year, they made Chester die again when they brought on a Scientologist to be the new lead singer. Now Linkin Park as a whole is dead to me.
I really like their new singer and album. And Up From the Bottom was on repeat for a good month.
I mourned, legitimately mourned Terry Pratchett’s death. I don’t even have a parasocial relationship with him in the sense you get with streamers and YouTubers and whatnot. He was just a man who brought wonderful ideas into the world, who focused my understanding of life and so much more, and to hear of his end hurt me bitterly.
Grant Imahara from mythbusters.
My entire high school mourned Mr Rogers’ passing. 4,000 people and the hallways were almost quiet.
Respect is earned.
Yes. At the memorial for Steve Jobs on Apple’s campus. People were speaking in moving ways about their relationships with him. It made it more personal. I can’t imagine crying over someone I didn’t know without context like that.
Were you there? Not sure if I’m reading it right but it sounds like you attended?
Yes.
For me it was when Steve Irwin died.
It was a shock, but at the same time it gave so much credit to all the other things he did. Never faked it, was most joyous in the face of death over and over again.
Agree with all you said. His life was joyous and I think the legacy lives on with how wholesome his family is even now. :)
Did not cry exactly but… if you are like me and you like Babylon 5, do not check up on the cast.
Charles Bradley. He lived on the streets for most of his life. When he became famous he died very shortly after :(
