Death is inevitable. We're all going to go through it. It's never easy. There is a thing about when certain famous people die though. Singers, actors, writers... it can be heartbreaking.... more than the demise of a family member. Artists help define us. When they go... a piece of us, a piece of our past and present goes with them. And it can be life altering.
Redditor u/Ritzaficionado needed for all of us to share... What famous persons death affected you most and why?
It's all too random...
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Anton Yelchin, the guy who played Chekov in the new Star Trek movies. Why? Because I liked that guy, he seemed like he had a good career ahead of him and one day he was out in his driveway and his car unexpectedly rolled down his driveway pinning him against a wall. He died. He died, standing there, at 27 years old, with the whole world ahead of him, pinned by his own car, in the middle of the day. Not being rich, or happy, or liked could save him. Life is completely scary and anything could happen. It reminded me I need to appreciate what and who I have and try to not be such a complainer about everything. stylophonics
This one hurts!
Alan Rickman was probably the first celebrity death I mourned. While other deaths have shocked or saddened me, Rickman's was just...different, somehow. Llamageddon24
Who?
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Terry Pratchett. He was my favorite author, now there are no new books. Reading about his descent into Alzheimer's was heartbreaking, especially after seeing my grandfather go through a similar situation. DocZoidfarb
We Will Rock You!
Man, Freddie Mercury died a month after my dad. I was 15 and lost both my heroes. To think I'd never hear that voice again except on CD just shattered me. spartanwa
The Rainbow Connection...
Jim Henson. I understand that the Muppets are still around, but it's not the same, though I do appreciate their efforts.ravenmakah
Uncle Buck!!!
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John Candy. To me he was one of the kindest, most genuine, funniest performers out there. It's been more than 2 decades and I still miss seeing him in film & TV. ListenToTheStooges
Three's Company after....
My Dad loved John Ritter. The day he died my Dad was in his hospital bed waiting for a open heart surgery. The fact that Ritter died of a heart problem scared me so I didn't tell him. Fortunately my Dad survived the operation and he's still kicking at 85. sonia72quebec
You Gotta have Faith...
George Michael. He died way too early and he struggled with depression and demons and still was able to achieve a superb career from it. That actually inspires me.
So serious....
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Heath Ledger was tough. He was in his prime and I was excited for him to take on new roles. DC827
10 Things I Hate About You is one of my favorite films of all time. I get angry when someone calls it a 'teen movie.'cryptomicro
Best of the best...
Phillip Seymour Hoffman. He was so unbelievably talented, and young, and I had no idea he had a drug problem, so it was doubly shocking news. CreampuffOfLove
Back to Black...
We won't see another Amy Winehouse. She left us with two great albums and scores of live recordings. When she was on, there was nothing like her. She was functioning on a very high musical level and people will be listening to her stuff from now on out. mjs4x6
Say no to drugs!
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It's going to sound dumb, but Anna Nicole Smith. Yes she was a drug-addled floozy who sold herself to the highest bidder, but I always felt sorry for her. She was young and beautiful and everyone used her and abused her for fame and money. She was at her lowest point in life and they kept the cameras rolling the whole time.
I think she just wanted to be loved and to get away from the poverty she grew up in. She may have gone about it the wrong way, and that was all on her, but she was young and uneducated. I bet she felt like she had to do whatever the producers said in order to survive. AnnieB512
Mr. President...
I saw John F. Kennedy as he drove past my house when I was a little girl and remember feeling excited about his presidency. His assassination was devastating to me even as a child. The country was riveted to the TV. It was real life drama and was all anyone talked about. beyondtheridge
Nirvana!!!
Kurt Cobain, I was really into Nirvana back in the day. ripgressor1974
Tough one for me. I was all in on Grunge (still love it) and our Squadron in the Air Force made a flight patch called "Smells like teen spirit" with a tiger cub (our squadron mascot) on a leash tied to a teen girl. Not good form and we had to get rid of them, but illustrates Nirvana's impact at that time.
A year after his suicide, my wife and I got free tix to Seattle. We saw old concert promos for Nirvana ($5!) at the Central and just wished we had been in Seattle in the late 80s early 90s to experience that energy. We went to his house where he ended his life and it was really emotional to see the place you saw on TV where he did the deed. In hind site, we shouldn't have gone, but felt compelled to do so.
3 years ago at Burning Man, my wife pointed out a small note in the temple that said something like "Dear Kurt, we know you never intended to become the face of angst. We miss you dearly and love you very much. Love Mom, Dad, Courtney and Frances Bean." Not sure which one of them actually wrote it, but moving none the less. THE-Prominent-Beaver
The Happy Ones...
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With Robin Williams I see myself as him. If you know me in person I'm a happy positive person who is always smiling and laughing. I truly enjoy making other people laugh and having good conversations. I hate seeing other people suffer because I know what it's like and I want to help them. I probably enjoy making others laugh because it masks myself who is hurting inside. On the inside I'm an emotional wreck. I hate talking about my problems to others because it sucks the good energy in the room. I don't have insurance to seek professional help but I'm working on it to get back on track.illplatano
England's Rose...
Princess Diana was so shocking to me because she was like a fairy tale princess.
What will be worse for me when it happens is when the Queen passes. My boss already knows that if it's announced while I'm at work, I'll be leaving for the rest of the day. ReadontheCrapper
Sounds of youth...Sounds of youth...
Chris Cornell, followed by Chester Bennington [who killed himself due to Cornell's death]. I'm 30 years old, and over the years when people have died, famous people, I've been concerned bit not upset. When Cornell died, it really hit me hard.
His music helped me through a lot of dark times in my teenage years, from Soundgarden/Temple of the Dog/Audioslave and his solo stuff. His voice/music/lyrics really connect with me on a personal level and he still is to this day my favorite artist of all time.
When he died, I was shocked beyond all belief. Even now I can't fully understand it. When Chester killed himself due to a deep depression which in itself was brought on by Cornell's death, I was hit again. Bennington was another teenage influence and the Meteora album is still something I listen to, to this very day.
Chris and Chester, I miss you both as a fan and as somebody you both helped get through their own darker times, in the past and more recently as well. DonKiddic
The Voice.
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Christina Grimme. She was incredibly talented. I started watching her YouTube channel years ago and was so excited when she got a chance to sing on The Voice (USA). Although she didn't win, she was incredibly talented. I got so see her open for Selena Gomez and she was honestly so energetic and fun to watch live. I cried all night when I heard she got shot and murdered at one of her own shows. It was a random act of violence and she didn't deserve it. It was also in the midst of a big gun control debate and literally no one cared that someone easily obtained a weapon and open fired at a concert. Everyone just said "that sucks" and moved on. I was heartbroken for weeks. Hope her family found some peace in the last year or so since it happened. mecohen3264
Do you hear the music?
Avicii also affected me because I follow the EDM music industry very closely and am a DJ myself. I understand how people can fall into addiction in this industry because it is extremely stressful and competitive. Like I mentioned earlier I hate watching people suffer and his death also affected me because Avicii was my same age. illplatano
The Princess...
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Carrie Fisher because she was my girl. Princess Leia was like my idol since I was a little girl. imradmad
Carrie Fisher was the first celebrity death I've ever actually shed a tear over. Star Wars has been a huge part of my life since I was a little kid. What boy hasn't had a crush on the Princess? That was a really rough one. During the lead-up press to The Last Jedi, hearing Mark Hamill talk about Carrie was overwhelming. I miss her. Other celebrities I've felt sad over, sure, but when Carrie died it was the first time I've ever felt grief over a celebrity. LeanMeanWeenMachine
***WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SENSITIVE MATERIAL. PROCEED WITH CAUTION!***
I can't think of anything hilarious at the moment. Make us LOL.
Lady
Shocked Oh No GIF by Yêu LuGiphy"I have this friend, love him to bits, but his wife has a tendency of just constantly showing everyone pictures of their son at every social event. At the start it was understandable, but now I'm just like 'Lady, it's been two years; they're not going to find him.'"
UnoriginalUse
at 9am...
"Not the most morbid but I love Anthony Jeselnik’s story about his neighbor who has Alzheimer’s. 'One of my next door neighbors is a 90 year old man suffering from Alzheimer’s. And every single morning at 9am he knocks on my door and asks me if I have seen his wife.'"
"'Which means that every single morning at 9am I have to explain to a 90 year old man suffering from Alzheimer’s that his wife has been dead for quite some time. Now I’ve thought about moving. I have thought about just not answering my door in the morning. But to be honest, it’s worth it… just to see the smile on his face.”
dreagan021
Comedy?
"Why can't orphans play baseball? They don't know where home is."
GW2RNGR
"Why can't orphans play tennis? They get confused when they hear love."
JayDub506
People who make comedy are evil. LOL.
The Darkness
That 70S Show Reaction GIF by LaffGiphy"Dark humor is like food; not everyone gets it."
storm_the_castle
God Laughs?
"A Holocaust survivor dies and goes to heaven, where she meets God. To break the tension she tells God a joke about the Holocaust, but God doesn’t laugh. The lady shrugs and says 'I guess you had to be there.'"
“'I guess you had to be there' is a common expression used when someone doesn’t laugh at a joke. It means that the comedy may not translate without the context of the situation."
"In this case the Holocaust survivor is saying it, meaning that during the Holocaust God was nowhere to be found. It’s not really a joke about the Holocaust, but the absurdity of belief in a benevolent God. Hilarious right?"
semimillennial
Oh Baby
"How many dead babies does it take to fix a light bulb? More than 3 cause my garage is still dark."
sirnibs3
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Because I don't know what it says about us as people if we laugh. Oye.
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Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor Liam_Tang asked:
"People who've divorced, aside from adultery, what were the irreconcilable differences that ended the marriage?"
You think you know a person when you walk down the aisle.
These Redditors were in for a rude awakening.
Pet Neglect
"My wife divorced her ex for many reasons, but the final straw was when she went out of town for a few days, and when she got back he had not fed or given water to the dog. The dog lived a long and happy life after that."
– StrangeCrimes
Obsessed With A Crush
"Not me, but I had an old coworker that divorced his wife for spending their entire savings on candy crush and games of the same type."
– Hexis40
Compatibility Musts
"ITT: Intimacy (sex/romance), beliefs (religion/spirituality/politics), kids, and I haven’t seen it yet but it’s coming: finances."
"The big four. You REALLY need to discuss these things in detail BEFORE getting married."
– rabbiskittles
Physical violence is a legit reason for people to peace out of a relationship.
The Flattening
"She threatened to hit me with a hammer."
– michaelrohansmith
Hitting The Bottle
"She became an abusive alcoholic. It was sad but I had to get out."
– diegojones4
Emotional pain is too damaging to recover from.
Truth Hurts
"She told me as we stood in front of the judge ending our 7 year marriage, 'I never loved you, I just wanted kids.'"
– Pinch_Dogs
Can't Fix Angry
"She was beautiful/smart but an angry angry person. I thought I could be sweet to her and 'fix' that. Heh. She kicked the crap out of me emotionally. Wife II has been a walk in the roses for 32 years now :)"
– lowlandr
A change of heart is worthless if comes too late.
"We Could've Had A Nice Marriage
"He could not understand that my wants and needs were as important as his wants and needs. We tried to make it work for 7 years. During that time, for things that were really important to me, I tried explaining logically, asking nicely, begging, crying, yelling, passive aggressiveness... cycled back through all of these options multiple times."
"(If I knew something was important to him, I would do that. For example, he was really into sports, so I went to all his events, even though that is not at all my thing.) When I finally threw up my hands and told him it was time to get a divorce, he suddenly panicked and said 'What can I do? Do you want me to do half the chores? I'll do it! Do you want me to get a job? I'll do it! Do you want me to buy you presents for your birthday? I'll do it!'"
"So, in other words, he could have been doing that all along, but just couldn't be bothered. That made me so angry. We could have had a nice marriage that we both enjoyed, but no, by the time he saw the light, that ship had sailed."
"We are both happily remarried now (to different people) and I joke that his new wife owes me a thank you note. It was his experience with me that taught him to listen to her and take her needs seriously."
– Bluebird-True
"What Can I Do?"
"My ex was exactly like this. I didn't marry him but when I told him let's break up, he went all like, what can I do? Let's get engaged, let's look at houses, etc. Basically all the pre-marriage topics that we should be discussing about after being together for 7 years."
"I got so angry and straight up told him it's too late... I don't need you anymore."
– gudetarako
As much as a couple wants to stay together, unforeseen circumstances can eventually tear people apart.
Very few people can maintain healthy long-distance relationships.
When a new job opportunity takes a significant other away, would you begrudge them for wanting a better position to earn more money? Or is it better for them to reluctantly turn down the opportunity so they could stay with you? Do either scenarios breed resentment?
These were questions I've often asked myself with past relationships, and my answers varied depending on the person I was with.
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