She was loved a lot. And she was the first royal consort who was open and friendly. Even the Queen Mother, who was loved greatly, wasn't as friendly/charitable. Diana was also really liberal, which got a lot of people to love her. She was, as far as the general public can know, a good woman. Trying to have her children interact with common people on a regular basis was also a huge step.
The Establishment considered her a Royal Rebel & a Loose Cannon & believe me she nearly brought the Royal Family down When AIDS was a hot topic during the 80's & people really believed that you could catch AIDS from a toilet seat & Gay People were being ostracized for being HIV Positive or having AIDS & even people catching it though dirty needles & Blood Transfusions, Princess Diana went into a Hospital in London onto a ward where people had AIDS & she sat with a Guy that was dying of AIDS & held his hand, that picture did more Good for the AIDS cause than any publicity than you could ever imagine, that picture was beamed all around the world I am no Royalist by a long shot, but that Lady was Special
Michael Jackson - i dont care about all the things everyone said about him i liked his music and That's what matters.
Man what's his name? He was an actor in the fifties I think. He got into a car accident and died... Does anyone remember his name?
I have 2, both from way before I was born: Karen Carpenter and Minnie Riperton. Karen because listening to her music you can just hear the melancholy of the anorexia that kills her, and Minnie because she was so talented and she left behind her children when she died of cancer- seriously, listen to the last minute of Memory Lane and try not to be moved by the torment of what she knows is to come.
I forgot earlier on, the circumstances of Robert Knox's and Danny Lockin's deaths were pretty tragic.
Doubt they'd even count themselves as celebrities, but.. Jon Lee. Drummer with Feeder. Committed suicide Jan 2002. Cant believe it was so long ago now. Mark Speight. Alot of folk won't know who he was, esp outside UK. Big star on bbc kids tv. His gf died of an overdose in Jan 2008, he hung himself in April that yr. One of those horrible instances of not feeling able to survive without his partner. Little fish in the big pond that is the world, but 2 people who it upset me greatly to lose :'(
My thought is Marilyn Monroe. So sad, she was beautiful, had a sad upbringing , and life in general. I have studied a lot about her, and sadly I don't believe she committed suicide, I believe she was involved in many affairs with very powerful and prominent political people who feared being publicly humiliated and have careers and families ruined in the public eyes during that era. She was murdered, sadly . This is my own opinion though :/
John Lennon. This man was way ahead of his time, and a bullet sadly proved so. And now we can't hear all the great music he'd have from LOADS of experience if he didn't get killed. Seriously, if that was his work THEN, imagine what he'd have done by now. And the world might have been changed more than we know. And now I'd better stop before I post my own article about John Lennon.
You mentioned Minnie! Thank you! I'm glad someone remembered her, even though she had a number 1 hit she seems to be largely forgotten by now... I'm pretty sure Mariah Carey wouldn't be considered such an awesome singer if Minnie was still alive, since she was also able of singing in whistle register. I don't like memory lane, although her desperation is clear in the lyrics, but I think Lovin' You is , despite its cheesiness, a beautiful love song. I'm pretty sure her husband still cries everytime he listens to it on the radio, and the first line is Minnie's epitaph. Rest in peace. Karen also had a great voice, but since she died from anorexia, she could have avoided her fate by psychological treatment. Minnie could have done nothing to save herself, and this is why her departure is tragic. Have you ever heard of Eva Cassidy? She suffered a similar fate.
For me it's a toss up between Leslie Nielsen, Rodney Dangerfield, and John Candy. While Leslie and Rodney were comedic gold, they were up there in age and had full careers. John Candy was far too young to die of a heart attack. I always felt like we were robbed of his performances.