Deaths that Completely Shocked You

This is certainly an odd topic to discuss.   I thought it might have some relevance for some people though.   There definitely are deaths that occur that completely shock us.   To make this a topic that will apply to everyone - I am only using the deaths of famous people.    I was born in 1965 so I am going to list 5 deaths that completely shocked me - including the dates of these deaths.   I will place them in chronological order:


12/8/1980:   It wasn't actually this date that I found out, I found out the next morning while getting ready for school.   My mother sat myself and my sister down at the breakfast table with the most concerned look in her eyes.    She said something terrible happened last night.   I can remember getting a bit nervous because of the look in her eyes.  Such sadness but at the same time, so much concern.  So my sister and I said "What is it Mom??  What happened??".   I remember her taking a deep breath and speaking very slowly.  "John Lennon was shot and killed last night".     This was so shocking I remember I couldn't quite grasp it at first.  To put it in perspective -my sister and I were both huge Beatles fans.  I just sat there stunned.   The next group of words that came out were from my sister "Well, I guess The Beatles are never gonna reunite".    I left the table and went to my room and turned the radio on.  Sure enough - every single station was discussing Lennon's death.   It was at that moment I realized it was true.   Completely stunning.   A tragedy of unimaginable proportions.

4/5/1994:    Music had changed quite a bit in the early 1990s.   The 1980s was the birth of MTV, hair metal, new wave.    In the 90s a new musical movement known as Grunge was attaining major status and airplay.   I didn't particularly care for the Grunge sound.  Bands like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Jane's Addiction - they didn't do too much for me.   I did like Nirvana though.  Their sound kind of grew on me.   By 4/5/94 - it's safe to say I was a pretty big Nirvana fan.    At that place and time MTV had a news program.   I don't know if it does now because I haven't watched MTV in probably 20 years now.  Anyway, I'm flipping channels and when I get to MTV I see a picture of Kurt Cobain.  The anchor was a girl named Tabitha Soren.   She was explaining that Cobain was dead from what appeared to be a self inflicted gunshot wound.   This was a complete shock.  Cobain was only 27 years old.  It was pretty well known he didn't live the healthiest of lifestyles but I in no way saw this coming.   It was later ruled that he had committed suicide.   I can just remember that day and hearing Tabitha Soren speak - just like with Lennon -I was stunned.  Another shocking death.

1/22/2008:   This death didn't really affect me too much personally because I wasn't really a big fan of the person that died.   I can just remember surfing the internet one day and seeing a picture of Heath Ledger with a caption underneath that said "HEATH LEDGER - Dead at 28".    When I read that I got that same stunned feeling.   Even though I wasn't a fan of his, it was still shocking.   The thing that is so tragic about his death is it occurred just before the release of "The Dark Knight".  Ledger played the Joker and was outstanding.    That film showed just how good he was.   Undoubtedly,  "The Dark Knight" would have made him a major star.  Too bad he didn't live to see all the accolades he would receive for that performance.

6/25/2009:   This death, for me anyway,  kind of gave me the same feeling as Heath Ledger's death.  I wasn't a fan of the decedent, however, his death came out of nowhere.   I found out about this death the same way I found out about Ledger - I was simply surfing the internet and saw a picture.  The picture was of Michael Jackson and the caption was "MICHAEL JACKSON DEAD".   Once again,  I can remember a little jolt and sitting back in my chair.  Completely stunned.   Stunning but I must admit, I wasn't personally injured.   Jackson had become a complete freak by then.   Even though he had just recently announced some concert dates (the "This Is It" dates) - he hadn't done anything in years.    However, if you were born in 1965 as I was, Michael Jackson was an entertainer who was always there.  First with The Jackson 5, then The Jacksons, and then as a solo artist.   It was well known he was quite eccentric but all of the info that came out later, primarily concerning his massive drug use, was unknown at that time.   So, there was no reason to see his death coming.  When it did, to put it mildly, it was a shock.

2/2/2014:  Funny but just a couple days before 2/2/2014  I was on the phone with my Father discussing a film I had just watched - "Jack Goes Boating".    I told my Dad it was pretty good, didn't blow me away but it was worth a look.  Then I told him that pretty much anything Phillip Seymour Hoffman is in is at least worth a look.  Both my Dad and I were huge fans of his and he agreed with my assessment.   Coincidentally, on 2/2/14 I was on the phone with my Dad.   I was flipping channels while lying in my bed speaking with him.   When I got to the "E" channel there was an alert at the bottom of the screen: "Phillip Seymour Hoffman found dead in his apartment.  He was 46.  Drug use suspected".    I saw that and I said "Dad, you are not going to believe this!!!".  He said "Well, what?"  I said, "Are you sitting down?"  He said he was.  I told him that Hoffman just died.   Both of us kind of freaked out.    This was one of those HOLY SH&*(^$T moments!   Completely out of left field.  No warning signs.  No clue that this was coming.  Of course it would come out later that Hoffman had in fact fallen off the wagon and was taking hard drugs and had overdosed.  But in that moment, at that time- none of this was known.   Once again- a completely shocking death. 

These were the 5 deaths that shocked me the most.  Have there been any that have shocked you???? 

 

PS: Since I wrote this article I unfortunately have to add another absolutely shocking death.  Basketball star Kobe Bryant died in a  helicopter crash 1/26/20 at the age of 41.