Which celebrity deaths genuinely made you sad?

[Bicycles_Biatch]

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OMG I bawled like a little kid when he died. When Vin Scully passes it will be a million times worse.



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This one hurt.

[Bicycles_Biatch]

I was really hurt when Ryan White died...

for a couple years he was the "changing" face of the aids epidemic.

at his funneral when Elton John played 'Candle in the Wind'... I cried like a little girl.

I still have the "People" magazine that chronicles his last couple hours of life.

This sounds cruel, and I know he contracted Aids from a blood tranfussion, but I know a few 100 guys my age that religiously wear condoms because of the horrible death Ryan White suffered.

[DrewDevil]

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Lou Gehrig. The Wikipedia entry about Lou Gehrig Day was incredible.



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The New York Yankees celebrated "Lou Gehrig Day" on July 4, 1939, between games of a holiday doubleheader against the Washington Senators. Dozens of people, including many from other major league teams, came forward to give Gehrig gifts and to shower praise on the dying slugger. The 1927 World Championship banner, from Gehrig's first World Series win, was raised on the flagpole, and the members of that championship team, known as "Murderer's Row", attended the ceremonies. New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and the Postmaster General were among the notable speakers, as was Babe Ruth. During the twilight of Ruth's career, which coincided with Gehrig's rise, Ruth made snide remarks about the streak, saying that Gehrig needed to either sit on the bench or go fishing (a passion shared by both men).

In his speech that day, Ruth suggested again that Gehrig go fishing, but it was an encouragement this day instead of a wisecrack. That was the first time Ruth had spoken to him since the incidence where rumors had that Eleanor and Ruth were having an affair. Joe McCarthy, whose relationship with Gehrig was almost a father-son bond, was apprehensive about speaking, because he knew if he started crying it would make it harder for Gehrig to get through the ceremony.

After describing Gehrig as "the finest example of a ballplayer, sportsman, and citizen that baseball has ever known", McCarthy could stand it no longer. Turning tearfully to Gehrig, the manager said, "Lou, what else can I say except that it was a sad day in the life of everybody who knew you when you came into my hotel room that day in Detroit and told me you were quitting as a ballplayer because you felt yourself a hindrance to the team. My God, man, you were never that."

The Yankees retired Gehrig's uniform number 4, making him the first player in history to be afforded that honor. Gehrig was given many gifts, commemorative plaques, and trophies. Some came from VIPs; others came from the stadium's groundskeepers and janitorial staff. The Yankees gave him a silver trophy with their signatures engraved on it. Inscribed on the front was a special poem written by New York Times writer John Kieran. The trophy cost only about $5, but it became one of Gehrig's most prized possessions ([1]).

After the presentations, Master of Ceremonies Sid Mercer realized that Gehrig was breaking down and said directly to the fans, "I shall not ask Lou Gehrig to make a speech. I do not believe that I should." The crew started to remove the microphones, and for a moment, it appeared that Gehrig was leaving the field with McCarthy. The crowd rose to its feet and began to chant, over and over, "We want Gehrig!" Suddenly, Gehrig turned around, and with the assistance of a surprised McCarthy, headed back to the microphones at home plate. Gehrig took a few moments to compose himself, then approached the microphone, and addressed the crowd:

“ Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been to ballparks for seventeen years and I have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t have considered it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky. When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat and vice versa, sends you a gift, that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in the white coats remember you with trophies, that’s something. When you have a father and mother who work all their lives so that you can have an education and build your body, it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed, that's the finest I know. So I close by saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for. Thank you. ”

The crowd stood and applauded for almost two minutes. Gehrig was visibly shaken as he stepped away from the microphone, and wiped the tears away from his face with his handkerchief. Babe Ruth came over and hugged him. Gehrig left the field, and did not calm down until he was home with Eleanor.

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I got chills reading that.

[By-Tor]

can we get a thread of celebrities that will make people genuinely happy when they die?

[dlk9s]

They've all been mentioned already, but there are three that genuinely made me sad:

1) Mr. Rogers
2) Walter Payton
3) John Ritter

[RiverFenix]

I searched his name in the thread and I cant believe no one has mentioned Mitch Hedberg.

[NicksDad1970]

Dale Earnhardt

[bearly]

otis redding, townes van zandt, tony lema, john kennedy, john ritter.....................b

[FrogMouth]

Watched his death and not afraid to say I shed a few tears.

[MotTrieuDong]

Bruce Lee
Brandon Lee