i have important news for the world

[davemerrill]

You know something? People die. Especially people in their 80s. So you can quit acting all surprised and devastated when some elderly actor dies. HE WAS AN OLD, OLD MAN, he had a long happy life doing what he loved and died peacefully in his sleep with his wife at his side. Not naked, leech-covered and bullet-riddled in a South American hellhole, not screaming under the flaming wreck of a semi truck, but quietly in his sleep. It's not a supreme tragedy. It's sad, sure, but shocking? No. World-shattering? Not in the slightest.

You know who else is going to die? EVERYBODY. Every actor in Hollywood, every sci-fi author, every director - EVEN THE YOUNG, HOT ONES - they're all going to die. You, me, Quentin Tarantino, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Mike Nesmith, Justin Bieber, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Matt Groening, Stan Lee, that guy over there, that kid in the stroller, the politican you hate, the politican you love, that jerk who just cut you off at the corner, we're all going to kick the bucket. Today, tomorrow, sixty years from now. It's what we do. Get used to it; it'll save you some trouble down the road.

And guys? Your heartfelt memorials ring sort of hollow when it concerns talent whose body of work you've ignored for the past twenty years. These are people who literally had to drop dead to get your attention. Better you should find some actual living people and celebrate THEIR lives, while they're around to appreciate it. I realize it's a bit more difficult to wax enthusiastic about living creators - somebody might disagree with you about a live person, as opposed to a corpse, whom nobody wants to speak ill of - but by golly, sometimes you have to go out on a limb and compliment live people.

Sorry if this is kinda harsh. But every time some nerd icon drops dead, LJ, Facebook, Twitter, are all jam packed with amateur obituaries all competing to see who can shed the most crocodile tears. The recent death of (INSERT CELEBRITY HERE) was merely the last straw. Save your energy for the living. They appreciate it more.

Comments

[mr-sadhead.livejournal.com]

Not Michael Nesmith??

However, I feel that even though people might not have thought much of (elderly actor) recently, he still once meant something to them, so they feel a pang of loss.

I was cheered by the couple FB posts today that said "(elderly actor) is gone, but Abe Vigoda is still alive."

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

I love Mike Nesmith's work and I want him to know it while he's still alive. That's why I will defend the entertaining work of The Monkees and his solo career against any and all comers. Bring it, bitches!

[sobieniak.livejournal.com]

He wrote a song named after my mother, that's all there is!

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

I'm sure Kirshner was a nice guy and a beloved father and grandfather and the gang down at the golf course will miss him, but I didn't know him. You didn't know him. He impacted our lives in a very superficial and tangential way. To pretend that we share in the authentic sadness felt by those who DID know him; well, it's false, and it presumes a lot that we don't have the right to.

Also: Robocop 2.

[lord-darkseid.livejournal.com]

Dayum man... is it ok to do both? O.o

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

The rule is that if it's somebody whose work you've written about or in some way communicated your love of in the past, prior to his or her death, like, say, Satoshi Kon, then by god knock yourself out, rend those garments, weep and wail. If it somebody who had to die to make you say "he was still alive?" then there's a limit to the public mourning you're allowed to display. That's the rule.

I kept my mouth shut when Shotaro Ishinomori died and all these jagoffs who had never heard of him or his work in their lives were suddenly Mister Sadness, when Mitsuteru Yokoyama kicked and everybody who didn't have a nickel for Mars or Ninja Akage were suddenly OH GOD WHY HAVE YOU TAKEN THIS MASTER FROM US, I held my tongue when they were showing the world how deeply they felt the loss of these art heroes whose name they'd only that day learned to spell correctly. Not any more.

[lord-darkseid.livejournal.com]

Gotcha. I actually did like 3 of Kershner's films though: Star Wars ESB, Never Say Never Again, and Robocop 2. (Yeah, that last one's not a popular choice but I still dug it. Go fig.)

[ferricide.livejournal.com]

*claps*

[youngfreud.livejournal.com]

Is it okay if I view (elderly actor)'s death as merciful? Because no matter how much I enjoyed his buffoonery in my youth, I felt he became shoehorned in as he got older, to the point that was the only thing he could play. To me, that was his hell and now he's been released from it.

[tochiro998.livejournal.com]

I'm still dealing with Nishizaki's death, and you know I've been pretty vocal in my attempts to get people to understand he was more that 'that dude that made Odin' or dismiss him as a money grubbing bastard, so that's what I got.

Otherwise, yeah, everybody dies. doesn't mean we have to like it.

I gotta get off my ass and pick up Forbidden Planet.

[jasonrmerrill.livejournal.com]

I agree with the bottom line:

If you appreciate someone, tell them now. It does no good once they are gone. It doesn't matter who they are. Famous actor or guy at the corner coffee shop who makes your usual. Tell them "I like your work" now while you have the chance. You will probably both feel better for it. Too many things go left unsaid in this world...

[efathefinger.livejournal.com]

Friend of mine posted note about how his mentor from work had died, in their fifties and currently believed to be a suicide, and people were posting comments about Leslie.

I recently had the pleasure of finding out that James Motherflipping Hong was still alive. I think he's the _only_ autograph I own. I conveyed my pleasure in the most sincere fashion, paid him cash money.

[sixstop.livejournal.com]

okay, House.

[sobieniak.livejournal.com]

I know how you feel Dave, it gets to the point I stopped caring as well despite bothering to show some respect either way.