13 replies to this topic

[Oswego Chris]

***caution, this has NOTHING to do with the Cubs, that's why it is being written in the "Playground"

You might have missed it if you were blindfolded in an underwater cave with your ears plugged(you would have still probably heard about it)...but Whitney Houston died a couple of weeks ago. The world mourned. To me, it registered a zero on my personal Celebrity Death-O-Meter.

You may think me cruel, and I wish death on no one(O.K, maybe a couple people), but people die everyday and Houston's death was treated as world altering news. I would like to thank the National Enquirer for publishing a picture of her in her casket, now I don't feel guilty about not attending the visitation. I also don't feel guilty about not mourning someone who once said she didn't do crack because "she made too much money" to do crack...hence she could afford much better drugs. However if you were a fan, my condolences on your loss.

As a kid growing up in the early 70's The Monkees had a huge impact on me as a kid. Thus when I read about the passing of Monkee Davy Jones, it registered greatly on my personal Celebrity Death-O-Meter. I would say it would score a 85-90(max score is 100) for me, because it actually made me sad. Actually, the recent death of Juan Epstein from Welcome Back Kotter would be a 50 or 60 for me.

I harken back to the summer of 2009, when Michael Jackson was apparently brutally murdered as his doctor forced drugs down his throat. Eh? Scored about a 10-15 for me. However, later that summer when John Hughes died(and no one seemed to care) it scored a 70-80 on my meter. I would even argue he was more talented than Michael...but that's a whole different topic. Poor Farrah Fawcett who died on the same day as Michael scored much higher for me. She...ahem....was a big influence on a kid growing up in the 70's.

So I would be interested in some of our BN readers Celebrity Death-O-Meter scores. Here are some of my all time high scores.

John Lennon 99
John Belushi 97
Phil Hartman 95
John Candy 95
George Harrsion 93
George Carlin 92
Christopher Reeves 91
Paul Newman 90 ( lived a long life)
Richard Pryor 90

and lows:

Biggie Smalls .5
Amy Whinehouse 3
Brittany Murphy 5
Corey Haim 12

[Brett]

I'm trying to think of a celebrity death that made me very sad. The only one I'm immediately coming up with (other than some you mentioned) is Mitch Hedberg. That was bullshit. He had so many more jokes to tell.

[MichiganGoat]

All I know is that when Bob Dylan is no longer with us it will register a 100 on my meter.

[Katie]

Mitch Hedberg was a funny funny guy. Let's not bring ink and paper into it. His donut bit gets me every time.

I wasn't old enough to really grasp Lennon's death but George Harrison's death was the top of the heap for me. I'm still bummed about it.

[Cubbie Blues]

Phil Hartman and Chris Farley are the only celebrity deaths I can think of that made me sad.

[MichiganGoat]

Another one that will rank high on my list when he passes: Tim Robbins. If you've never read a novel by him I suggest you stop what your reading and either read "Still Life with Woodpecker" or "Skinny Legs and All"

[Katie]

Still Life With Woodpecker is in my top 10 books of all time.

[Fishin Phil]

I hate woodpeckers!

[MichiganGoat]

Still Life With Woodpecker is in my top 10 books of all time.

Katie you rock girl, have you ever counted the "e's" on a pack of Camel cigs?

[Luke]

Ron Santo probably scores the the highest for me, but I'm not sure he's a big enough celebrity in the national sense to count here. Still, he'd be my only 90+.

Reagan comes pretty high, not in the sense of missing the guy but more in the sense of thinking about how much the world has changed since he was in office, and how much of that change he influenced. I think most of us vastly underestimate the significance of the fall of the Soviet Union as well as Reagan's part in that fall... but then I studied international relations and modeled international conflict for a couple of years, so I'm probably outside the norm on that. I'll give him a 75.

Steve Jobs scores high, for similar reasons to Reagan, plus some added shock value. Maybe a 77.

Robert Jordan, to use his pen name, probably comes second to Santo for me. He was living a big part of my dream, and racing against his illness to finish off his series while he was still alive. He didn't make it. 85, perhaps.

[TWC]

Robert Jordan, to use his pen name, ... was living a big part of my dream, and racing against his illness to finish off his series while he was still alive.

Yep. And to think we STILL don't have the final chapter!

Santo and Harry made me sad, very sad. Jerry's death upset me, too. But I think I was probably most affected by Terrence McKenna's death. Of all the people whom I have never met, his influence was, and remains, strong.

[Katie]

Still Life With Woodpecker is in my top 10 books of all time.

Katie you rock girl, have you ever counted the "e's" on a pack of Camel cigs?

I did once, eons ago when I first read the book. I've read it once since then but I definitely need to make time to read it again.

[King Jeff]

My reasoning may be different, but my brother and I actually witnessed a "celebrity" death, so it had a pretty big impact on me.

I also got beat up for making fun of my sisters and their friends for dressing in all black and crying for three days straight when Kurt Cobain died. So I guess that one had an impact as well.

[Katie]

I forgot to mention Santo's death as well.

Jeff, who's did you witness?!