Celebrities you like that have died

[Jessica]

What celebrities that have died do you like or look up to?

I like

Heather O'Rourke. She was the greatest child actress.
http://i26.tinypic.com/33fcjmh.jpg

Michael Jackson. King Of Pop, one of the greatest artists of all time.
http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/Previews/Michael-Jackson-p06.jpg

John Candy. Awesome comedian and a talented actor.
http://www.johncandy.com/images/Photos/Small/imgPhoto_16_s.jpg

Elvis Presley, King Of Rock N' Roll, great artist.
http://blogs.e-rockford.com/applesauce/files/2009/01/elvis-portrait2.jpg

John Hughes. He made some of my favorite movies.
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm285/Werklozer/JohnHughes.jpg

[tv star collector]

Wayyy too many to mention them all; it seems that virtually all of my childhood heroes are gone. So, I'll just list a few:

Don Adams
Steve Allen
Lucille Ball
Jack Benny
Milton Berle
Bill Bixby
Dan Blocker
Humphrey Bogart
George Burns
Johnny Cash
Perry Como
Bing Crosby
Sammy Davis Jr.
John Denver
Walt Disney
James Doohan
Jimmy Durante
Buddy Ebsen
Larry Fine
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Jackie Gleason
Lorne Greene
Fred Gwynne
Oliver Hardy
George Harrison
Gabby Hayes
Bob Hope
Curly Howard
Moe Howard
Shemp Howard
Michael Jackson
Boris Karloff
DeForest Kelley
John F. Kennedy
Don Knotts
Michael Landon
Stan Laurel
Pinky Lee
John Lennon
Shari Lewis
Dean Martin
Dick Martin
Groucho Marx
Roger Miller
Marilyn Monroe
Elizabeth Montgomery
Carroll O'Connor
Buck Owens
Elvis Presley
Freddie Prinze
Christopher Reeve
George Reeves
Roy Rogers
Dan Rowan
Rod Serling
Dinah Shore
Phil Silvers
Frank Sinatra
Red Skelton
Buffalo Bob Smith
Hank Snow
James Stewart
Danny Thomas
Porter Wagoner
John Wayne
Dennis Weaver
Jack Webb
Johnny Weissmuller
Hank Williams
Flip Wilson
Paul Winchell
Robert Young

O.K. More than "a few." But I miss them all. The 20th century gave us
some brilliant and highly talented individuals. I feel lucky that I had a chance
to grow up in the mid-1950s and early 1960s. Question: who will be the
heroes that the next generation looks up to?

[Retro4Life]

Ones that come immediately to mind (those that affected me a lot) include Jim Henson, John Belushi, Princess Di, JFK Jr., Gilda Radner, Jack Soo, Carol Wayne, Johnny Carson, Wally Cox, Chris Farley, John Candy and I'm sure many, many others.

[Retro4Life]

P.S. tvstarcollector,

Awesome list. I recall most of those passings and am ashamed that I didn't include more of them in my own list.

[ekkostar]

Robert Palmer
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/ekkostar/RP_Pink.jpg
I've looked up to him off and on since I first saw the Addicted to Love video when I was around 5 years old. I was crushed when I heard that he had died and after that I found out how unappreciated most of his work was, so I ended up collecting just about every album of his. Now I'm working on collecting bootleg concerts. Over time he has pretty much become my idol. The suits, the talent, the personality, that man had it all.

Aaliyah
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/ekkostar/Aaliyah-one-in-a-million.jpg
I remember hearing some initial buzz about her album a few weeks before the unexpected event happened and her death was another one I felt really terrible about. She was also trying to make it as an actress at the time. I didn't realize until later on how much influence she had on the industry after her first two albums.

Phil Hartman
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/ekkostar/phil-hartman-sized.jpg
I recall being a huge Simpsons and SNL fan at the time he died and felt crap about it for a long time. It sucked to hear about it one afternoon coming home from school and was even worse to find out how it had happened.


Everyone has talked about MJ, Billy Mays and John Ritter so I won't add that to the mix and I'm sure there are others that really struck a chord with me that I've forgot and I'll add later.

[Jessica]

Ohh, yes. Walt Disney too.

[dawsongirl]

Bill Bixby

[tv star collector]

Ones that come immediately to mind (those that affected me a lot) include Jim Henson, John Belushi, Princess Di, JFK Jr., Gilda Radner, Jack Soo, Carol Wayne, Johnny Carson, Wally Cox, Chris Farley, John Candy and I'm sure many, many others.

I'm glad that you mentioned Jim Henson, Princess Di, JFK Jr,. Jack Soo, Johnny
Carson, Wally Cox and John Candy. I couldn't mention everybody in my post
(I'd be sitting here all day!), but all of them are much missed by their many
fans and admirers.

[TheGreatPretender]

I'm still not believing that MJ is gone....he's in a better place, love you mike. :bighug:

[Penny Lane]

Oh! There are so many!!!!!!

Paul Newman
Carroll O'Connor
Freddie Prinze
Elizabeth Montgomery
James Broderick
Barbara Bel Geddes
Howard Rollins
John Lennon
George Harrison
Frank Sinatra
Suzanne Pleshette
Mary Frann
Harvey Korman
Tom Poston

[Tweety]

Professional athletes who die while still active players always creates a major shock for me. Guys like Roberto Clemente and Thurman Munson come to mind. Also, the deaths of some retired all time greats came as just as much of a shock... guys like Jackie Robinson, Wilt Chamberlain, Gil Hodges, Johnny Unitas...

I put professional athletes in a different category though, than Hollywood or music industry celebrities.

In terms of entertainment celebrities who died "before their time", I'd include people such as:

Anissa Jones

Elvis (yeah, I remember where I was when I heard the news)

A lot of guys named John:

John Lennon

John Denver

John Ritter

John Candy

Paul Lynde & Wally Cox (we were big fans of Hollywood Squares growing up, you couldn't pay me to watch the newer version though)

Darla Hood (Little Rascals/"Our Gang")... also, Buckwheat, Farina and Stymie all died within a couple of years of each other in the late 70s/early 80s. Darla was in her late 40s.

Carol Wayne

Phil Hartman - died in just about the most shocking way imaginable.

Gilda Radner - I remember that Steve Martin hosted SNL's next show after Radner passed away... he just about broke down on stage in the opening of the show, and he introduced that great skit the two of them did together, where the kind of meet in a dance hall and do this sometimes crazy/sometimes elegant dance together.

John Belushi's death was quite a shock (in its suddenness, once the shock wore off, then we said "yeah, it's a wonder he lived as long as he did). Same with Michael Jackson... shocking when it happens, but not when you actually consider how he lived.


tv star collector's list looks pretty good and seems to hit just about everybody, including a number of celebs who lived long lives (doesn't mean we still can't miss 'em!)... that list is what we mean when we say "the great ones are all gone now".

[coffield3]

Oh gosh..there are too many to mention! :D

[MrCleveland]

Here's another good one....

Nilsson

[browneyes106]

Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes
http://cm1.theinsider.com/media/0/102/55/lisa_lopes.0.0.0x0.400x600.jpeg

[browneyes106]

Aaliyah
http://www.jayepurplewolf.com/AALIYAH/aaliyah14.jpg

[browneyes106]

Heath Ledger
http://img.listal.com/image/50932/600full-heath-ledger.

[Ohio8]

Phil Hartman
Farrah Fawcett

[Ohio8]

Johhny Carson
Suzanne Pleshette
Bob Denver

[Schmoopie]

The one that hurt the most and hit me the hardest was Stanley Kammel of Monk. I've talked quite a bit about this on the Monk board but it really affected my love for the show. It used to be one of my favorites, but now it seems that there is a big piece missing, even though Stanley wasn't in every episode, nor was he a main character. I think what drew me to him was when he would come on the USA Monk board and chat with us. I was touched when he answered one of my questions. I felt like I knew him then. I really wish I would have written him a letter. Now I don't have that opportunity.

After he died, I posted like crazy on the USA Monk board. That was the first time I learned that message boards can be very therapeutic. Although there is a new doctor on Monk (Dr Bell), it's just not the same.

[MrCleveland]

All the Marx Brothers...even Zeppo.

[Darren J.]

http://www.ebonyjet.com/bigideas/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/mcnair.jpg - Steve McNair


http://beehivehairdresser.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/owen_hart.jpg - Owen Hart


http://aaronblomberg.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/Bernie-Mac-1.jpg - Bernie Mac


http://patterico.com/files/2008/11/tupac.jpg - Tupac

[browneyes106]

Estelle Getty and Beatrice Arthur
http://static.tvguide.com/MediaBin/Galleries/Celebrities/A_F/Eq_Ez/Estelle_Getty/estelle-getty06.jpg

[browneyes106]

Chris Farley


http://latimes.image2.trb.com/lanews/media/photo/2008-05/39108312.gif

[Janice Johnson]

Selena and Michelle Thomas. I STILL have a pain in my heart whenever I think of them......:( I felt utter SHOCK when I saw, "Michelle Thomas, "Myra" on Family Matters has died of cancer!" on a tabloid.:eek: :( I found out Selena died when I was at my friend's house, and I made a dispariging comment about Selena's outfitr, saying, 'Put some clothes on Selena!(she was wearing pants and a bustier:crazy: ) My friend said, 'Go tell her that to her grave." I was like, 'Selena's dead?":eek: :(

[Jessica]

Yeah, Michelle was a great actress.

http://www.kellie.de/articles/callie.jpg

[Jessica]

Well, is there someone else here who likes the child actress, Heather O'Rourke, she was the star of the Poltergeist films, they're not really my favorite but I like them cause she was in them, and she was guest starring in many TV-shows. I think she was very talented.

http://i25.tinypic.com/md2j2g.jpg

[m campbell]

Cathryn Damon
John Ritter
Jim Hanson

[Janice Johnson]

Yeah, Michelle was a great actress.

http://www.kellie.de/articles/callie.jpg

Cries at seeing her picture......:(

[Furienna]

Michael Jackson, of course. I can't even describe my sadness about losing him. But yeah, Michelle Thomas's death was a tragedy too. :(

[Faith]

Johnny Cash
John Ritter
Phil Hartman
Heath Ledger
Carroll O'Connor

[thebigcookie]

Aaliyah
Michael Jackson
Bob Denver
Lucille Ball
Desi Arnaz
Alan Hale
Robert Reed
Carroll O'Connor
Redd Foxx
Esther Rolle
Isabel Sanford
Roxie Roker
Franklin Cover
John Ritter
Don Knotts
Dana Plato
Heather O'Rourke
Michelle Thomas

[Faith]

Johnny Cash
John Ritter
Phil Hartman
Heath Ledger
Carroll O'Connor

How could I forget Estelle Getty.

[browneyes106]

Elliott Smith

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/83282/Elliott+Smith.jpg

[Jessica]

Patrick Swayze is for sure added to the list now.

[DLevine2]

Bea Arthur
Estelle Getty
John Ritter
Yvonne DeCarlo
Al Lewis
Don Knotts
Ed McMahon
Ronald Reagan
Johnny Cash
Buck Owens
Johnny Carson
Bob Hope
Eddie Albert

[TheLandfordLunchBox]

Heath Ledger
Lucille Ball
Anna Nicole Smith

[treky]

Jack Benny`
George Burns
Bob Hope