First Celebrity Death

[CofyCrakCocaine]

Random thought jammed itself into my head earlier today. What's the first celebrity death from your lifetime that you remember hearing about on the news?

For me, it's got to be Andre the Giant, followed closely by John Candy.

[nukinfuts]

John Lennon, I was 6 years old but I still remember seeing it on the news. That would have to be the first memory of a celebrity death even if I didn't really know who he was at the time.

[SatCam]

Princess Diana

[IMSlacker]

Elvis

[blowmonkey]

Hate to give away my era / age but JFK.....

Bocephus

[TheGameHHH]

Billy Martin

[silks]

Elvis

[ahhdurr]

Lennon ... I remember the evening news televised the candlelight vigil... I was about 6 too.

[djjd]

3 big deaths from 1977, elvis presley, groucho marx, freddie prinze

i was 14, there's probably some earlier i might have been aware of, but these 3 were certainly the beginning of a long list of memorable celebrity deaths

[Enabler]

Ted Knight. I was 6 too, but I remember my uncles being inconsolable. I only knew him from Too Close for Comfort.
http://www.aolcdn.com/ch_celebrity/ted-knight-38822

[jonyrotn]

Freddie Prince Sr..From "Chico and the Man"..He blew his brains out..

[LaBoob]

Rebecca Schaeffer from "My Sister Sam". I remember being stunned hearing she'd been murdered, especially the way she was murdered. It was the first time the magic curtain of TV was lifted for me and I realized it none of it was real... of course I KNEW it wasn't real, but this made me think about it for that for the first time.

[OGC]

I remember hearing the news of the death of Larry Fine followed a few months later by the death of Moe Howard.

Being the high class kid that I was, those two deaths made an impact on me. :glurps:

[~Katja~]

Kurt Cobain, and I cried and cried...

any death before that was insigificant to me

[TheMojoPin]

Kurt Cobain, and I cried and cried...

any death before that was insigificant to me

Yeah, Cobain's was the first one I can think of that really made me stop and take notice, at the age of 15.

Phil Hartman's was the first and pretty much only one that really bummed me out and hit me hard.

[Sue_Bender]

Oscar Wilde.

[BoondockSaint]

Phil Hartman's was the first and pretty much only one that really bummed me out and hit me hard.

I was taking summer classes in college when that happened. Me and the girl I was living with had no cable and hadn't read the newspaper. It was 3 or 4 days before I even heard about it. I couldn't believe it.

The first one celebrity I remember was John Belushi because my older brothers were talking about it. I was 6 but they were teenagers.

[bobsnin]

I remember Jim Henson and Sammy Davis Jr. They died on the same day. I didn't know who Sammy Davis was, But I knew Henson from Fraggle Rock. I remember standing in my grandparents house watching a montage tribute on Entertainment Tonight and crying. I was only 9, and I had no idea was I was crying.

[Heather 8]

Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. No clue why that one might've stood out, other than the fact my folks wouldn't let me watch the news much when I was a kid.

[DonInNC]

Freddie Prinze here too. I vaguely remember my father talking about Bruce Lee dying, but I didn't know who he was. The same with Lyndon Johnson, only much more vaguely. I remember the old man next door going on and on about how there were no living ex-presidents.

[Sarge]

Elvis was the first for me.

[hurlmon]

2 deaths from 1977, elvis presley & freddie prinze

[cougarjake13]

cliff burton

[docgoblin]

Boris Karloff was the first for me. It was 1969. I was 8, and a huge horror movie fan. I saved this copy of Famous Monsters for years. I bought it at the local pharmacy when it first came out (well, my mom bought it for me on the way home from school), and that's how I knew he died. I finally parted with the issue on eBay a couple of years ago. I knew no star bigger than Frankenstein at that point in my life.

http://www.aintitcool.com/museum/monsters/media/famous-monsters-karloff-dies.jpg

[TiknoZero]

Add me to the Lennon list. I was 7 IIRC (I never remember the year but I THINK it was 81). I remember being at my babysitters house, lying on the couch when the news hit. I knew the name from my Mom listening to The Beatles.

As far as the first celebrity that I was a real fan of & old enough to comprehend what was going on, IDK. Most likely Eric Carr (I assume Nikki Sixx doesn't count :tongue: ).

[Ricky24]

Thurman Munson.

[FezPaul]

Boris Karloff was the first for me. It was 1969. I was 8.

Haha! You're the same age as me granpa!

The first celeb death I remember was Jack Benny 1974.

The first celeb death that bummed me out was Bon Scott. Feb. 1980.

I still miss him. Never have warmed up to the new guy.

[realmenhatelife]

I remember Jim Henson and Sammy Davis Jr. They died on the same day. I didn't know who Sammy Davis was, But I knew Henson from Fraggle Rock. I remember standing in my grandparents house watching a montage tribute on Entertainment Tonight and crying. I was only 9, and I had no idea was I was crying.


Mine was Jim Henson too, and I remember being confused about how he died. I didn't know Sammy Davis Jr died the same day.

[Mike Teacher]

Kurt Cobain

I was in the Stone Pony in Asbury Park , it had one tiny TV in the back and it seemed the entire club was watching it.

=

But the first I recall was Elvis, coz it was on my birthday.

[cozzie]

Elvis and i remember my mom played all the albums she had of him.

[K.C.]

Probably John Candy...that was about a month before Cobain.

[Sue_Bender]

Thurman Munson.

Sure.

Sure.

Number 15 performed 69 on babies.

Gross.

[Coach]

I think I was 4 or 5 when the bear named for the "Smokey the Bear" campaign died and I heard it on the radio...I didn't understand the gimmick and thought that the bear on my favorite sheets died..I cried for what was weeks for 4 year olds..about 30 min. All that is left of those sheets btw are the pillow cases.

[Alice S. Fuzzybutt]

I suppose it was Elvis. I can't remember a significant celebrity death before then (I was born in 1967). I was at my friend's house when I heard the news.

I was at a depression support group when I found out Kurt Cobain had killed himself. Hand to God!

I think the one celebrity death that bummed me out the most was Joe Strummer. It was so unexpected and he had so much more to give. I remember John Lennon, but I was too young to truly grasp the situation. Wow-- he died when he was 40. I'm one year older than that. He accomplished SO much in his short life.

[PapaBear]

I know there were ones that were earlier, but this is the oldest one I can think of right now. Jack Cassidy.

http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/3232585.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=9724400E855F9263E201214B494F230EA55A1E4F32AD3138


As for Elvis... I remember his death vividly. A friend and I were playing pool at my house, and listening to the radio. The fucktard DJ's that were on announced it. I call them fucktards, because they were laughing about it like it was really funny. I actually didn't think it was real, because of the way they were laughing. It wasn't until I tried another station, that I found out it was real.

A few days later, I remember hearing Paul Harvey postumately appologize to Elvis for once saying that R&R and Elvis were fads. He said that this moment was the first time he had ever admitted that he was wrong about that one.

[WhistlePig]

That's funny Papabear--I remember Jack Cassidy too!

But before him I remember Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin died around the same time. I was only 5 but I remember my brothers being really bummed out.

http://altamontapparel.com/images/contributors/jimi-hendrix.jpg

http://gravitando.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/janis-joplin-0.jpg

I also remember when "The Chief" from Get Smart died.

http://www.deanfan4ever.com/edwardprbl.jpg

[Snoogans]

The first one I really remember was Reggie Lewis. I remember watching the game live on like TNT or whatever and seeing him collapse on the court. That one stuck with me

[Phil_Nubbs]

Sure.

Sure.

Number 15 performed 69 on babies.

Gross.

Trying a bit too hard, aren't we? :thumbdown:

[A.J.]

3 big deaths from 1977, elvis presley, groucho marx, freddie prinze

Probably the same for me. Add John Wayne to the list as well.

[Jujubees2]

Jesus


or

Roberto Clemente

[eeroomnhoj]

Elvis

Mine too.

[sailor]

lenny bias. that one shook me the hell up (and still does).

http://www.garbage-time.com/files/page0_blog_entry40_40.jpg

[tileslinger]

Elvis was my first

Adam Petty bummed me out the most I almost cried at the restaurant I was at he was a hell of a kid.

[Alice S. Fuzzybutt]

My dad used to buy the Daily News on Sundays. Their "magazine" (which would now be Parade) ran a story about Nancy Spungen. It couldn't have been too long after Sid or Nancy died when they ran the story. I couldn't have been more than 11 or 12. It was about the heartbreak of a mother and the SCOURGE of punk rock. I was FASCINATED. I had seen The Ramones on Sha Na Na around that time and it seemed so... well, fascinating.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k203/petrina_02/nancy-spungen.jpg

[EliSnow]

The one that comes to mind is Grace Kelly.

But I also remember when Cary Grant died and then wgn had a movie marathon for him and I remember being home for the first time watching To Catch a Thief, eating the first real meal I ever cooked for myself - two cheeseburgers and fries. I think it was even a New Years Eve day.

To this day, To Catch a Thief is still my favorite Cary Grant and Hitchcock film.

[FUNKMAN]

Sharon Tate

[yarpwizard]

The first death I remember is JFK,,,,long time ago....

[djjd]

http://www.aintitcool.com/museum/monsters/media/famous-monsters-karloff-dies.jpg

damn i loved that magazine as a kid

[BlackSpider]

3 big deaths from 1977, elvis presley, groucho marx, freddie prinze

i was 14, there's probably some earlier i might have been aware of, but these 3 were certainly the beginning of a long list of memorable celebrity deaths

Freddie Prince Sr..From "Chico and the Man"..He blew his brains out..

Freddie Prinze here too. I vaguely remember my father talking about Bruce Lee dying, but I didn't know who he was. The same with Lyndon Johnson, only much more vaguely. I remember the old man next door going on and on about how there were no living ex-presidents.


That's the first one I remember also.
- "Chico and the Man" fan since day one...

[PapaBear]

That's the first one I remember also.
- "Chico and the Man" fan since day one...
Wasn't so great, when they tried to replace him with a chicken? How fucking insulting is that?

[ChrisTheCop]

Elvis for me, too. At least thats the first one I can think of.

I had a fake seance and everything.

[Bellyfullasnot]

2 deaths from 1977, elvis presley & freddie prinze

I remember my parents and teenage neighbors crying about Chico and the King. I was too young to understand or care. Thurman Munson was the first death in my life that I understood. My parents were upset. All of my friends talked about it,and we were allowed to watch the first game after his death.

[ANC]

Yeah, Cobain's was the first one I can think of that really made me stop and take notice, at the age of 15.

Same here, I was 15 and a huge Nirvana fan....still am.

Phil Hartman's was the first and pretty much only one that really bummed me out and hit me hard.

Yeah his was awful because it was so senseless and unnecessary..

Chris Farley's was sucky too. I think because he's on screen personality was more fun loving, silly and then the reports come back of the drugs and the hookers.. I mean I'm not naive, I had an idea, but it was still a little off-putting..

I can't recall the first celebrity death I remember as a kid...

[Yosammity]

Lennon for me too.

[Furtherman]

http://www.missthing.net/assets/images/Elvis_Dead.jpg

[trogdor2k]

First one I can remember carring about was Kurt Cobain