2009 – Worst Year for Celebrities

This has got to be the worst year when it comes to the number of celebrities we lost. I turn on my computer and every few months, my homepage informs me that someone -we (we as in the whole world!) know and most probably like- is dead. It doesn’t matter if they are young- although it makes a deeper impact if they are- it just plainly sucks to wake up to hear that another person has died. I am in no way comparing a movie-goer’s or a record buyer’s sense of loss to the people who are actually close to these people, but still it does make you feel bad. Really bad, if you also happen to like them.

It still feels weird to think that Heath Ledger is gone and he died in 2008. This year? (not attempting a chronological order) Natasha Richardson, Farah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Stephen Gately, Patrick Swayze and now Britanny Murphy!

You see, it is a different case when you start to like or know about a celebrity after they were already dead. It’s a shame Elvis died, it is a shame how he died. He had a velvet voice and an amazing talent for song-writing. He was truly the rock-n-roll king. But, Elvis was already dead way before I was even born. Kurt Cobain died when I was 10 – an age when I had no idea he existed. So it is a shame, but by the time I heard Nirvana songs and learned his life story, he was dead. But it feels worse when celebrities you are a fan of, or at least know of, die. It feels sudden and somewhat more tragic. At least to me.

I have always liked Natasha Richardson and her movies. Her husband Liam Neeson is a terrific actor and I have thought they made a great couple ever since I saw the movie Nell. Another striking fact was that they were so mad about each other after being married for so many years. So I was shocked to hear Natasha died in a skiing accident, at the age of 45!

I was 3 when my parents took me to see Dirty Dancing. And I loved it. You might think I was too young to acknowledge what the hell was going on but I have seen the movie more than 10 times since then. It is lovely and fun and romantic. A true classic. I also saw a lot of other Patrick’s movies: Ghost, Waking up in Reno, Donnie Darko, Forever Lulu, Letters from a Killer, Point Break, City of Joy, Roadhouse and more…I have been a Swayze fan for long. It is not often that an actor is that multi-talented: He is a professional dancer, a talented singer, a cowboy… And yeah, he was a good actor too. Having grown up with his movies, I miss him the most.

Farah Fawcett was one of the three original Charlie’s Angels! She was one of America’s sweethearts and sex symbols- titles that are not easy to acquire together.

Michael Jackson? It is safe to say that again, I grew up with that guy. I don’t even like pop music but he didn’t do a regular kind of pop music we hear everyday, did he? His songs had some of the catchiest electric guitar riffs I ever heard. Beat it, I’m Bad, Smooth Criminal, Black or White…He also touched environmental and racism issues- stuff that not many pop stars are concerned of. I wish I could have seen him live.

Now, I don’t like boy bands but I grew up in the 90s where boy bands and girl bands were all the rage. And who grew up in the 90s and did not hear of Boyzone? Stephen Gately – one of the members of Boyzone- died this year and he was in his early 30. Crap! So young!

And today I found about Brittany Murphy -the pretty and funny girl I got to like after watching Just Married in 2003. She went on to star in many more movies but for me she will always be the unfortunate honeymooner from Just Married. Rest in Peace is all I can say to her and to other celebrities that died. I just hope 2010 doesn’t turn out to be like 2009.