Date of Death: May 11, 2001
Age: 49
Cause of Death: Heart Attack

In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. 

2001 was sure a bad year for 49 year-old celebrities I liked.

My first taste of Douglas Adams came with Bureaucracy, one of my favorite computer games. I then read the entire Hitchhiker series in college. It wasn’t a month after I finished Mostly Harmless that I learned of his death. I began to scavenge anything else I could read of his, including his on-line presence. I bought The Salmon of Doubt  (an amalgamation of different writings he hadn’t published) as soon as it came out and grew more sad that he was taken so young.

Adams was an unapologetic atheist, but he was never cynical or angry about it. He had the ability to make friends with just about anyone. He seemed to be a genuinely bright, happy person who had a zest for new experiences. He did radio (Hitchhiker and Dr. Who), video games, books, played piano and guitar, and was an environmental activist. He was also a pioneer for Mac’s presence in Europe, and apparently was the first European to own a Mac.

It would have been nice for Adams to see his Hitchhiker movie come to life. It would have been nice for him to enjoy another lifetime.