Date of Death: September 20, 1973
Age: 30
Cause of Death: Plane Crash

The only person on the list to die before I was born. My father had told me multiple times the story about how he had tickets to see Croce in concert shortly before his plane crashed. It never hit me until I actually listened to his albums just a couple of years ago. His voice was smooth as silk and he was a master folk lyricist. He said he was retiring after that tour, so perhaps we never would have had more Croce albums to listen to, but somehow I doubt it.

Date of Death: May 28, 1998
Age: 49
Cause of Death: Murder

I was a moderate fan of Hartman while he was on SNL. I was an avid fan of his role on The Simpsons as Troy McClure (and others). I was an enormous fan once he hit NewsRadio. I didn’t realize how much he made that show until he died. I pretty much stopped watching it afterwards, especially since it meant more screen time for Andy Dick. In fact, I don’t think I’ve regularly watched a situational comedy week in and week out since NewsRadio. Granted, I’m older now, and there is also Netflix, but I really looked forward to seeing Bill McNeil. And I’m still pissed that he’s gone.

Date of Death: June 22, 2008
Age: 71
Cause of Death: Heart Failure

The oldest death in this list. I more or less worshiped at the comedic altar of Carlin when I was a teenager. I found his general disdain for all authority very appealing, and his crazy antics made me laugh without fail. I saw two of his HBO specials live (You Are All Diseased and Life Is Worth Losing), and watched his final special about three weeks before he passed.

His death was not the least bit a surprise. He had three heart attacks, multiple angioplasties, and long-term chemical addictions. I actually thought he wouldn’t make it to 70. His last special, while funny, was also kind of sad to watch. He stuttered a lot, lost his place a couple of times, and just looked really tired. Despite this, it still hit me when I heard the news. You just knew the guy would do specials until he died, and I was hoping he’d be providing comedy for a long time.

That said, I don’t really watch his stuff anymore. I’m older and his stuff just doesn’t resonate with me like it did when I was younger. I’m less cynical about people now and I tend to appreciate comedians who are more laid back and smile while doing their jokes. But he inspired Louis C.K., who I think has taken the best of Carlin’s act and improved it three-fold. So thanks, George.

Date of Death: February 2, 2014
Age: 46
Cause of Death: Acute mixed drug intoxication

The only death on this list I learned via iPhone on my Facebook feed. I was in a room of people and exclaimed “Ah, shit!” as soon as I read it. One of my favorite actors, I liked him instantly when I first saw him in Scent of a Woman. I’m not a huge movie watcher, but I managed to also catch him in The Big Lebowski, Patch Adams, and Happiness. I didn’t really care for the last two movies in that list, but I vividly remember his performances. So far I have managed to miss Capote and Moneyball, though I want to see both. I had just watched Catching Fire when I heard the news. Even when the guy got a handful of lines in a movie that wasn’t going to win him any awards, he nailed his performance. I hear he had already filmed his scenes for the third Hunger Games movie. I’ll watch that, if nothing else, to see Hoffman one more time.

Date of Death: August 27, 1990
Age: 35
Cause of Death: Helicopter Crash

Another posthumous reaction from me, as I certainly wasn’t listening to him when I was ten years old. I was introduced by a friend, and Vaughan (in addition to John Fogerty) was responsible for my love of guitar music. The Sky is Crying and Texas Flood are two of my favorite songs. Pride and Joy is pretty awesome, too.

I had a speech teacher in college whose office was a shrine dedicated to Jimi Hendrix. If you even hinted that Vaughan was a better guitar player you might risk getting a lower grade. I don’t really see the point in debating it, as they’re both obviously incredible. Their styles are also different. I prefer Vaughan’s, and I still have never seen anyone handle a guitar with such speed and grace. I really wish I could have been collecting his music for decades.

Date of Death: January 22, 2008
Age: 28
Cause of Death: Prescription Drug Intoxication

This reaction was definitely post-mortem. When Ledger died, I had only seen The Patriot and barely remembered him. However, I was blown away by his performance in The Dark Knight. I also recently saw Brokeback Mountain. Talk about range. This guy could have had a really special career, and I am saddened that I’m going to miss out on it. And that he felt he needed all of those benzos to feel relief.

Date of Death: March 4, 1994
Age: 43
Cause of Death: Heart Attack

Date of Death: September 11, 2003
Age: 54
Cause of Death: Aortic Dissection

When rounding out my top ten, both of these guys came to mind and I couldn’t pick one over the other. In both cases, when I heard, I was like “Awww, man.” I haven’t even seen much of either guy’s catalogs. I really like Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but otherwise a lot of Candy’s movies were either not good or his skills weren’t pushed as he played the big-hearted buffoon over and over. I have a feeling Candy could have done very well with some dramatic roles, or even some GOOD comedies. As for Ritter, I wasn’t able to get into any of his TV shows, despite finding him affable. But I loved his performance in Sling Blade. Scrubs dedicated an entire episode to its main character grieving his death (as Ritter played J.D.’s father), which was a nice touch.

I guess both of these guys were just really likable. While I wasn’t expecting either of them to blow me away with future roles, it was just sad to see them gone so young.