Celebrity Death

Full confession: I'm a Howard Stern show fan. I know there are many who hate the words "Howard Stern" but hear me out. I think there are brilliant observations on life that are touched upon on a daily basis on this show if people could just patient enough to get past the sexual content of the show.
One recent example of the outstanding observations that are made on the show by Howard and his staff is a comment made by co-host Artie Lange. Lange is an excellent comedian with keen observational abilities. A guy who had called into the show and had written a song for Howard to be used at his upcoming wedding had died very suddenly when Lange made the comment that when someone who was well known died he always liked to be the first one to tell his friends and family. He said that he liked to be the first one to know just so he could get people's reactions.
I've never admitted it to anyone nor have I ever heard those feelings articulated before but, as much as I hate to admit it, I feel the same way. When someone famous dies, I also like to be the first one to tell others about it to see what their reaction is.
This was never more true than when Heath Ledger died recently. Now, I'm really sad to hear that he died. He seemed to have so much promise careerwise and I'm truly sorry for his family but when I heard it I couldn't wait to get to the phone so I could tell my ten year old daughter as we had watched a trailer for the new "Batman" flick only two days earlier. I wanted her reaction and I wanted to be the one to tell her.
Another thing about celebrity death that bums me out is when celebrties that you grew up with start passing away. Roy Scheider is the latest case in point. He was a brilliant actor who delivered what I believe were four of the greatest performances from the 70s. "Jaws", "All That Jazz","Sorcerer", and "The French Connection". When people like Mr. Scheider pass on, it reminds us that we are getting older, and that one day all of the people who made our essential pop culture list as a child will also one day be gone. Time moves on and I really hate it when we lose those who meant so much to us but it is nice to be the first one to know when it does happen.