Celebrities hold a special place in our hearts. We see them on screen, we read their books, we listen to their music and podcasts, and we hold them in a high regard.
Our societies celebrates celebrities, as the name suggests, so as we see our hero's lives come to an end, it can feel like a huge loss.
Reddit user aliensockmonkey asked:
Which celebrity's death actually made you cry?
In this thread of emotional comments, people shared their fondness and influence of those no longer with us and celebrated the lives they lead.
This article does contain mentions of suicide and death.
Those who showed us to love science.
"Grant Imahara from Mythbusters and Gran Thompson, they made me get into science."
"I'm not going to go digging for it but I remember I didn't cry at his death, I cried over a tweet from Kari Byron that she posted not an hour later I believe. It wasn't long or thoughtful or beautifully written; it was something like "I was just talking to you this morning" with a picture of him and that was it. It felt like she was broken inside."
"One of the rare individuals out there to have both a keen intellect, a practical engineering and scientific curiosity AND the onscreen presence and charisma to bring knowledge to the masses."
"There were so many years in him to teach. Truly a tragedy."
A wonderful actor and person.
"Alan Rickman. That was just such an unexpected one, & I genuinely cried when I read it. He was such an amazing actor & human, it's still sad he's gone."
- poohfan
"Same. Such a phenomenal actor and a great guy. He kept his cancer diagnosis private so it was such a shock to all of his fans that he was even sick. I'm still trying to figure out how to make Siri sound like him."
It didn't matter what film, so many of us loved Alan Rickman.
"Same. I remember standing in my bedroom, scrolling on my phone and when I saw the news it felt like the wind completely went out of my sails. I sat on the edge of my bed and cried a bit. It feels a little silly to be sad about the loss of someone you've never met but I loved him in Harry Potter, Love Actually, and Dogma. And even though I hated the Hitchhiker's Guide adaptation that he was in, I loved him as Marvin."
A man with great spirit and love for wildlife.
"Steve Irwin. That man was so passionate about wild life and it's good to see his wife and in these past few years his children keeping up the fight."
"I've been thinking about this one a lot since Bindi had her little girl. Steve would have been the most amazing granddad.
I remember Terri talking about how Steve would get up early with the kids, and she'd wake up to the sounds of laughter coming from the living room every morning that he wasn't carting them around the zoo. I could imagine Bindi waking up to Steve just hanging in her house, doting on the grandkids, teaching them everything he knew. That family is missing a lot for having lost him."
The game show host that so many loved.
"Alex Trebek. My immigrant family used to watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy religiously. He was always on TV when I was alive.
And hearing how he died really broke me. Just on his back porch swing with his wife as he went. It made me really think that one day, it will be your last day. And what you wear that day, everything you do, what coffee or breakfast you had or whatever, is going to be your last, and that's it. And just the way he went out was so beautiful."
The commenter later went on to edit his thoughts to say this:
"I want to clarify. I come from a family of immigrants who worked hard their entire lives and continue to, and they worked very hard to learn English. And game shows is what they would watch to help them learn. So these shows remind me of being with my family too."
Two people who shared their art and joy with us and left too soon.
" Robin Williams and Chester Bennington. Linkin Park got me through the darkest parts of my life and kept me alive. Chester's death rocked me, and so did knowing i would never get to see them live. I saw the tribute concert they did for him. I remember vividly during Numb I think, they called out to the audience "I want you guys to sing so loud Chester can hear you!" And I broke down."
"I could hear the audience start sobbing. Every lyric hit me before his death, and hearing Leave Out All the Rest or Numb makes me realize he was telling us his story the whole time."
"Robin was just a pure soul who made me and millions of others laugh, all while hiding such pain and an illness he couldn't control. Its a bit like how we say in Narcotics Anonymous, what happens when the person who kept you from relapsing relapses? It was such a cold and empty world after they left us, and I never even met them in person."
A mother and daughter that we lost so close to one another.
"Carrie Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds when they died within a few days of each other."
"I wasn't sure how close. Debbie told her son she wanted to be with Carrie and died hours later. Mother and daughter were very close. It must have been really hard on Carrie's daughter, Billie. She was very close to both of them."
"In her book she's very forthcoming about how she literally stayed alive for Billie. As much as she struggled with mental illness and addiction, her daughter was always her biggest priority, and she wanted to be healthy for her."
A chef that touched kitchens everywhere.
"Anthony Bourdain"
"I'm a chef and his impact on pretty much everyone in my industry is immeasurable. Kitchen Confidential is easily the most impactful book for most all of us. The most amazing way of translating and speaking about food/chef culture. His shows had an amazing way of highlighting other cultures and the way food brings people together no matter where you are from and showing that alot of our differences are purely cosmetic."
"That day was easily the quietest day I've ever spent in a professional kitchen in my life, everyone was just silent and upset."
- Napo2212
"Anthony Bourdain's death inspired me to go back to therapy. It hit me so hard because I loved his food travel shows."
"I loved how he had such a genuine love of food. High class food, low class food, spicy food, sweet food, whatever it was, if it was good food, he liked it."
- Ryan0413
This comment allowed a space for many to open up about their own feelings, so the original commenter added this:
"Thanks to everyone who shared their feelings about him. It's crazy to me to see how much influence he had in so many people's lives of all walks of life, even if they aren't a part of the culinary industry. It's a credit to who he was as a person."
"For alot of the comments here, I just want to say really quickly. If your suffering from depression or having suicidal thoughts, please, please, please, talk to someone. Friends, family, therapist, phones lines, anyone, everyone. You matter, no matter what you may think, and you matter to others around you. Please open up and talk to people."
- Napo2212
An actor that brought us so many laughs brought many tears when they heard the news
"Gene Wilder. I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news; I was sitting down in a sandwich shop and it was broadcast on the store radio. I heard it but it didn't really register at first, but as soon as I got home it hit me and I had to lie down and cry for a few minutes."
"According to his family while taking his last breath he was listening to Over the Rainbow. Such a poetic way to depart, I don't know how to describe it. May he rest in peace."
- GSavvage
A man who defined our childhoods.
"Jim Henson for sure, maybe not a traditional celebrity, but the Muppets, Fraggle Rock...man, I'm still sad thinking about his death."
- gavreaux
"I was 14 when he died, lifelong muppets fan. My dad was reading the paper (the paper! How quaint) and told me Jim Henson died. I immediately said "no he didn't" my dad again confirmed that he died and I remember yelling "No! He didn't!" Then I sat down and cried. First time I ever cried over a celebrity death. Jim Henson defined my childhood and I still mourn his passing."
Though there are so many more we could name, these few were influential to so many people during their short times here. Whether we were influenced by their work, defined our childhoods, or helped us fall in love with their passion for life, their lives will hold a special place in our hearts.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
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