First Celebrity Death You Remember

[Slackhurst Broadcasting 374]

I actually do remember Picasso's death being in the news, and it saying that he was 91, which seemed to me a very old age - as indeed it is.

[Shamalka Amarasekera 5]

Michael Jackson 

[prussianblue 1,038]

I have the dimmest memory of news coverage of Gene Kelly dying. I would have been 7 (February '96). Slightly stronger memory of James Stewart (July '97), and then shortly after that the indelible one of Diana's death. My shocked parents broke the news, but I had no idea who she was, and was completely indifferent.

[Lord Fellatio Nelson 6,219]

Judy Garland.

[Sly Ronnie 886]

Peter Sellers.

[One shot Paddy 1,206]

Airey Neave was the first I remember (or hairy knees as I thought he was called on the news). 1979 was the year I first remember celebrity deaths, a few weeks later Suzuki Moto GP rider Tom Herron (though to me he was just my Dad's friend) was killed then John Wayne and Louis Mountbatten (for years I thought I had heard him being killed but it was the simultaneous bomb attack at Warrenpoint.

Wayne's death probably led to me finishing up here as back then they would do a tribute season to big name celebs which started me talking an interest in who had popped thier clogs.

[TQR 14,399]

4 hours ago, Lord Fellatio Nelson said:

Judy Garland.

Old bastard 

[the_engineer 1,415]

Princess Diana.

[Cerberus 302]

Duke of Windsor in 1972. Aged nine I can remember discovering, and being intrigued that there was a former King still living - and not even the last one, but the one before him. Next thing I knew, he was dead. I wonder if he'd been on the news because of the Queen's visit to the Duke and the Duchess in Paris. 

[Sean 6,330]

I remember the concorde crash of 2000 and 9/11 which involved numbers of deaths.First specific individual death I remember is Princess Margaret whose death was announced during the children`s TV slots on a Sunday morning I believe.I very vaguely remember when Diana died my mother shouting out to my Dad "Oh my God she`s dead" but I remember nothing of the coverage itself.Thought I may have imagined that as was a few days shy of 3 but after speaking with my mother my recollection checked out and she remembers shouting out to my father in a different room whilst I was resting at the bottom of my parents bed.

[Sean 6,330]

Other early deaths I remember are the Queen Mother , Adam Faith, Laura Sadler and Bob Hope.

[Murdoc 18]

I vaguely remember my father being sad upset shocked notably disappointed when Stanley Kubrick died. I thought 71 at the time was an old age and I remember Douglas Adams being a big deal in my house at the time. I also remember the queen mother, Joe Strummer, Johnny Cash and one that upset me at the time was Fred Rogers.

[Spade_Cooley 9,535]

1 hour ago, Sean said:

First specific individual death I remember is Princess Margaret whose death was announced during the children`s TV slots on a Sunday morning I believe.

 

Princess Margaret died on a Saturday. I know this because I always used to go to the cinema on a Saturday and I remember the ticket-checker telling me she was dead as I went in to watch The Royal Tenenbaums.

[Sean 6,330]

9 minutes ago, Spade_Cooley said:

 

Princess Margaret died on a Saturday. I know this because I always used to go to the cinema on a Saturday and I remember the ticket-checker telling me she was dead as I went in to watch The Royal Tenenbaums.

You are right.I knew it was a weekend .

[RoverAndOut 4,746]

34 minutes ago, Spade_Cooley said:

Princess Margaret died on a Saturday. I know this because I always used to go to the cinema on a Saturday and I remember the ticket-checker telling me she was dead as I went in to watch The Royal Tenenbaums.

 

February 9th if memory serves. I was on a coach going to see Blackburn Rovers play Fulham at Craven Cottage with a schoolfriend and my dad texted to just make me aware there may be more media presence in London as it had just been announced she'd died.

[DeathClock 379]

I was 8 when Michael Jackson died. I sort of remember listening to the news the day he died. I have a memory of watching his funeral with my mom. The next name I can think of is the death of Whitney Houston. My mom couldn't stop watching the news and I remember watching Houston's funeral with her. The first death that I vividly remember is Robin Williams because that was the first time I heard about the concept of suicide and I couldn't believe that was a thing. 

[DeathClock 379]

6 minutes ago, DeathClock said:

I was 8 when Michael Jackson died. I sort of remember listening to the news the day he died. I have a memory of watching his funeral with my mom. The next name I can think of is the death of Whitney Houston. My mom couldn't stop watching the news and I remember watching Houston's funeral with her. The first death that I vividly remember is Robin Williams because that was the first time I heard about the concept of suicide and I couldn't believe that was a thing. 

The first celebrity death that I heard of that I felt sadness about was Ken Stabler (former Raiders QB) in 2015, because he was my Dad's favorite football player and he has a signed jersey from him. 

[RoverAndOut 4,746]

On 16/01/2023 at 20:01, Windsor said:

Princess Diana. When I had just turned 10. 

I can also remember feeling sorry for John Major being thrown out his house. 

 

Just catching up on this thread. Princess Diana is the one that immediately comes to mind for me. I was 9. In a baby book my parents have, John Major is listed as one of the things I most enjoyed seeing on the television as a baby. 

 

2 hours ago, Sean said:

I very vaguely remember when Diana died my mother shouting out to my Dad "Oh my God she`s dead" but I remember nothing of the coverage itself.Thought I may have imagined that as was a few days shy of 3 but after speaking with my mother my recollection checked out and she remembers shouting out to my father in a different room whilst I was resting at the bottom of my parents bed.

 

This is almost identical to my memory. It was early on a Saturday or Sunday morning. We were having a lazy morning in bed. I could hear my parents talking in bed next door, dad got up and went downstairs. Dad suddenly shouted upstairs 'Diana's Dead!' and my mum said 'Diana who?' I didn't really understand how big a deal it was - I thought my parents would be happy as they must've complained a lot about the royals when I was young (The Firm in the early 90s was a bit of a shit show I've since learned) but they were devastated. I remember we had an assembly about it on the first day back at school a few days later.

 

Think I remember the Dunblane Massacre in 1996, as it struck close to home for mum having a young child of her own. Been trying to remember anything from earlier in the 90s but nothing comes to mind. My dad was a huge F1 fan in those days but I have no memory of Senna's death. I remember a minute's silence at the football for Stanley Matthews' death, which I think was 2000? I also remember Blackburn owner Jack Walker dying in August that year, and September 11th 2001 vividly.

 

Shocked that so many on here are younger than me, I thought I was ages with a good few who are clearly around 5 years+ younger than me. I was at uni when Michael Jackson died - it was the night of my brother's Y11 Prom. 

[Lord Fellatio Nelson 6,219]

This thread only serves to remind me that I am getting on a bit.

Too many posters here that are considerably younger than my own kids.

[Sean 6,330]

43 minutes ago, RoverAndOut said:

 

Just catching up on this thread. Princess Diana is the one that immediately comes to mind for me. I was 9. In a baby book my parents have, John Major is listed as one of the things I most enjoyed seeing on the television as a baby. 

 

 

This is almost identical to my memory. It was early on a Saturday or Sunday morning. We were having a lazy morning in bed. I could hear my parents talking in bed next door, dad got up and went downstairs. Dad suddenly shouted upstairs 'Diana's Dead!' and my mum said 'Diana who?' I didn't really understand how big a deal it was - I thought my parents would be happy as they must've complained a lot about the royals when I was young (The Firm in the early 90s was a bit of a shit show I've since learned) but they were devastated. I remember we had an assembly about it on the first day back at school a few days later.

 

Think I remember the Dunblane Massacre in 1996, as it struck close to home for mum having a young child of her own. Been trying to remember anything from earlier in the 90s but nothing comes to mind. My dad was a huge F1 fan in those days but I have no memory of Senna's death. I remember a minute's silence at the football for Stanley Matthews' death, which I think was 2000? I also remember Blackburn owner Jack Walker dying in August that year, and September 11th 2001 vividly.

 

Shocked that so many on here are younger than me, I thought I was ages with a good few who are clearly around 5 years+ younger than me. I was at uni when Michael Jackson died - it was the night of my brother's Y11 Prom. 

I wasn`t born when Senna died.Dunbaine was too early for me to remember.I have no memory of Matthews or Walker either.I also have absolutely no recognition of Arafat and Reagan.

 

I was 14 when Jackson died.I remember that extremely vividly and similarly I can remember vividly also Reg Varney , Maggie Jones, Danny La Rue , Gerald Ford, Robin Cook, Ronnie Barker,James Brown, Charlton Heston,Jane Tom Linton,Jade Goody, Sir Clement Freud,Mo Mowlam, Benazir Bhutto,Humphrey Lyttleton, Ned Sherrin, Saddham Hussein, Ken Bigley ,Patrick Swayze , Farrah Fawcett, Paul Newman, Clive Hornby,Wendy Richard , Mike Read,Hilda Braid, Ingmar Bergman, Sir Bobby Robson ,Sir Norman Painting,Sir Edmund Hillary and Pope John Paul II

[Sean 6,330]

Just now, Lord Fellatio Nelson said:

This thread only serves to remind me that I am getting on a bit.

Too many posters here that are considerably younger than my own kids.

I think my parents are older than you. They can both remember JFK dying. Strangely though neither can remember Churchill dying.

[Lord Fellatio Nelson 6,219]

4 minutes ago, Sean said:

I think my parents are older than you. They can both remember JFK dying. Strangely though neither can remember Churchill dying.

Churchill died the month that I was born.

[TQR 14,399]

10 minutes ago, Lord Fellatio Nelson said:

Churchill died the month that I was born.

Oh that’s not too bad then, you’re a full sixteen years younger than my nan!

[Commtech Sio Bibble 2,052]

17 minutes ago, Lord Fellatio Nelson said:

This thread only serves to remind me that I am getting on a bit.

Too many posters here that are considerably younger than my own kids.

It's having the reverse affect with me.

A lot of people here are older than my parents (born 67/68), resulting in me sitting here feeling like a child.

[msc 18,476]

13 minutes ago, Lord Fellatio Nelson said:

Churchill died the month that I was born.

 

Ignoring the LFN is actually ancient jokes, this actually makes you legit younger than I thought you were!