Okies ... Let me get this straight (Celebrity Deaths)

[CaroPhoenix]

Yes, but why are the baby boomers dying so young? With the exception of Karl Malden and Mollie Sugden, they're not what I call "old".

[Evil Queen]

Billy Mayes and Michael Jackson were both just 50. hat's not old in my book either (boy, otherwise Dad is old!).

[Rine]

Jan Rubes is dead at 89. Good long life. He was "Nick Ballard" in Stargate SG-1's "Crystal Skull." (Which is mainly where I remember him.) He was also in the 1985 movie "Witness."

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2...ubes-obit.html

[tropicsgoddess]

Damn, all these celebrities are dying like crazy and most of them were young too! Except for Ed McMahon and Karl Malden.

[One-Fang]

Now hang on, what's our definition of "celebrity" here?

Someone who appeared in a couple of movies? The mayor of a town in Nicaragua? We're really putting these people into the same collective group with Michael Jackson? When exactly do we stop 'counting' someone for this?

[CaroPhoenix]

Now hang on, what's our definition of "celebrity" here?

Someone who appeared in a couple of movies? The mayor of a town in Nicaragua? We're really putting these people into the same collective group with Michael Jackson? When exactly do we stop 'counting' someone for this?

The mayor of Nicaragua was also a professional boxer who won a couple of bouts before becoming Mayor.

The ones I'm counting at the ones found at www.findagrave.com they usually have the readily available celebrity deaths.

But yes, what defines "celebrity"?

[Ree]

Now hang on, what's our definition of "celebrity" here?

Ummm...obviously people are simply referring to deaths of people who have made the news at any given point in their lives, either by appearing on TV or in movies, or by having 15 minutes of fame or more.

I didn't realize this was something that was going to require parameters and rules and definitions.

I didn't see this added to forum games, so, I don't know why it should be such an issue.

Honestly....

[edible_hat]

Yes, but why are the baby boomers dying so young?

Proportionally, they're dying at the same ages as everyone else. Just that there are so many baby boomers. Even more will die in the next 40 years.

ETA: A celebrity is somebody I've heard of before I heard somebody call them a celebrity. So that rules out Paris Hilton.

[Jester]

Now hang on, what's our definition of "celebrity" here?

To me, a celebrity is someone that most people you know know of just by you speaking the name. Or they did at one time. Which, my friends, really does rule out Billy Mayes.

Michael Jackson? Yes. Farrah Fawcett? Sure. Ed McMahon? Karl Malden? Absolutely? David Carradine? Famous actor, bordering on celebrity.

The rest? Not to my way of thinking. But that is just my opinion.

[Ree]

To me, a celebrity is someone that most people you know know of just by you speaking the name. Or they did at one time. Which, my friends, really does rule out Billy Mayes.

I think people are taking the "celebrity" thing way too seriously.

I think if you say to many people on the street, "Did you hear about Billy Mays dying?" they will probably say that they have seen it in the news.
If they say, "Billy who?" and you tell them, "You know, that guy with the dark hair and beard who was always shouting in his commercials about Oxi Clean or Orange Glo, or Mighty Putty, or some other cleaning product," they will go, "Oh yeah. Those commercials were so annoying. That guy bugs me."

We could go back and forth on it all day, and while, yes, you're right that he isn't Triple A List status celebrity, and his name is not a household word, he was well known enough that his death has made the news stories, and that his status as a celebrity is actually being discussed and questioned on an internet message board.

There was a Discovery Channel documentary that he hosted called, "Pitch Men" and only days before his death, he appeared on Conan OBrien.

More than I can say for the Average Joe.

[Rine]

Odd...because a lot of people I know knew about Billy Mays passing and not Farrah Fawcett. Perhaps it depends on the region. Mays was a pretty big pop culture icon, at least on the web.

I figure...if they are "good" enough to be mentioned frequently on the news, then that's celebrity enough for me.

[Jester]

...a lot of people I know knew about Billy Mays passing and not Farrah Fawcett.

I think part of that may well be that Farrah's death was buried in the news by the death later that day of Michael Jackson.

Another part of that may be that Farrah is not as relevant to pop culture today as she was 30 years ago when she was THE sex symbol.

Or perhaps your friends just watch way too many commercials......

[dendawg]

Another part of that may be that Farrah is not as relevant to pop culture today as she was 30 years ago when she was THE sex symbol.

Meh, I preferred Cheryl Tiegs.

Or perhaps your friends just watch way too many commercials......

No comment.

[Jester]

Meh, I preferred Cheryl Tiegs.

Nothing wrong with that. And many people did. That does not, however, change the fact that she was the main sex symbol of the day in the general public's mind.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

Celebrity... I had to look it up. Dictionary.com has oen definition as:

3. A person of distinction or renown; -- usually in the plural; as, he is one of the celebrities of the place.

Now, does it count when the person is not well known in your town, state/province or country, but is well known (and respected) within their 'field of expertise'?

I ask because I am a fan of pro-wrestling, and on June 13th of this year, one of the biggest wrestlers in Japan, Mitsuharu Misawa, died in the ring during a match.

Now, I don't think that many of the regular posters here would have heard of him, but in Japan he was big... nearly as big as Hulk Hogan. He was also highly respected within the North American wrestling community... whenever people would talk about the greatest in the world, Misawa's name would be near the top of the list, even though he only appeared in the US a handful of times. Bootleg copies of his matches have become required viewing for fans of wrestling who are tired of the stupidity of the WWE (and TNA).

When Misawa died, all the fans of Japanese wrestling around the world mourned.

So, he may not have fallen into the category of 'celebrity' for some of you, but he was to me and a lot of other fans.