We have seen some major celebrity deaths this week. We don't plan on it, but celebrities become a part of our lives. When we lose one who we grew up with, it can leave a void. Maybe not like when we lose a family member, a colleague or an old neighbor.
The Steinbeck line I chalked, “It’s darker when a light goes out than if it had never shone," hits different today. It speaks to the bittersweet truth of human experience. The darkness after the light isn’t just an absence. It is a reminder that something once burned bright in the world and during our lifetime.
The difference between a celebrity and, say, Uncle Gilbert or Larry Dodd, the boss who gave me my first shot after college? Celebrities leave behind their art, their music, their characters. Uncle Gilbert’s cigar smoke is long gone and Larry Dodd hung up his trading jacket well before 9/11.
But if you hit play, you can still hear David Bowie. You will still be able to hear Ozzie Osbourne howl at the moon.
The older we get, and I speak for Gen X here... we start losing our MTV crushes and sports idols at a faster clip. That is when we realize they weren’t that much older than us. They just seemed old when they were 29 and we were 15. We all know where we were when John Lennon was shot or when Elvis was found on his crapper. It lives with us and continues to linger with the drop of the needle on a record.
Pop in an old VHS tape and Hulk Hogan is still slamming Andre the Giant in WrestleMania. In fact, maybe they wrestled again the moment the Hulkster arrived in heaven.
From now on, when I hear thunder, I’m not saying Jesus is bowling and just nailed a strike. I am saying Andre just body-slammed Hulk Hogan down on the mat and created that thunderous clap.
That is why I chalked this particular Steinbeck quote today.
Famous people, at their best, shine a brief light on the world stage and that is better than if they had never found their stage at all.
What celebrity death hit you the hardest?
For me.... I just play a record or watch an old movie, and the loss doesn't seem so bad after all.
No smile on the sun today, but you might hear a body slam after a bolt of lightning this afternoon.
