I'm not old enough to say that John Lennon had an impact on my life, but I am old enough to remember the world grieving his death. In my lifetime, no other celebrity death caused so big a reaction.
I thought, "What's wrong with these people? How can they grieve a man who doesn't even know they exist?"
Then I got the news about Jackie Gleason.
Why did his death get to me, when no others did? I don't know. He was just a cool guy, on top of being talented.
Same with this guy (can't believe nobody's mentioned him yet, but I keep forgetting that being 40 makes me the old guy around here):
And finally, if we're posting Fred Rogers links, we would be remiss to exclude
this one. If you only watch one Fred Rogers clip, watch this one.