When Celebrities Die Too Young

In Early Death Do Famous Stars Become Immortal?

Jul 2, 2009 Jan Peterson

When a celebrity dies young, the media goes wild. Television channels and headlines blast the news. The shock eventually subsides, but does the star ever really die?

When a shining star is taken away too soon, old Paparazzi pictures and tabloid stories are plastered everywhere. The star's movies, or artist's music are replayed ad nauseam for weeks. Fans mourn but remain fans forever, because in some media form, celebrities will stay alive for a long time.

Movie Stars and Models Never Really Die

Once an actor or actress dies, the general public may accept their death, but they also continue to see the star in television reruns or on the movie channel, just as if they had never left. A young model’s death is a tragic loss of beauty, but those photo shoots will live on, published in magazines and calendars for decades.

Because these beautiful celebrities died young, their fans will never see them age or gain weight. They become frozen in time, with their image and persona forever fixed. The vanished sex kitten remains sensuous and alluring, just as the handsome, leading man becomes an eternal heart-throb. Immortality!

Entertainment Weekly covered the death of Natasha Richardson in Josh Rottenberg's Mar 18, 2009, article, "Natasha Richardson Dies at 45". He reminds us that Natasha died suddenly of a brain injury sustained after a skiing accident. Rottenberg recaps a few of Natasha's films such as The Handmaid's Tale and The Comfort of Strangers. Apparently, she also recruited Neeson to costar with her in a 1993 Broadway production of Anna Christie before their marriage. Many people who did not know of Natasha Richardson, certainly knew her after the media immortalized her memory.

Singers and Musicians Never Stop Singing

When a famous rock star dies of an overdose, his fan club grieves, and everyone else in the world shakes their head at losing such a talent. The media covers the sad story and people auction memorabilia of the star on eBay. But the radio stations keep playing the rock star’s songs, and the record companies keep distributing the artist’s "best of" CD’s. The artist’s legacy and revenues continue for his heirs, with his catalog of songs becoming more valuable every year. And everyone visualizes him with that rock star hair in some outrageous outfit even when he would have been seventy had he lived. No one ever sees him bald, or performing as a washed up has been. He becomes a youthful legend and is immortalized in some Hall of Fame.

Elvis Presley is probably the best example of how an iconic singer can be immortalized. At 42, Elvis had lived a lot of life, and his fans were beginning to see his looks and health slipping, but he died before he totally destroyed his image from his earlier years. His death was so traumatic to fans that rumors lived for years that he had somehow faked his death and was really alive somewhere!

Examples of Celebrities Who Became Immortalized After Death

The Disabled World website has a comprehensive list of famous people who died young on their September 7, 2008 article “Famous People Who Died Young”. Following are celebrities who have reached immortal star status:

Dorothy Stratten – Dorothy was a model and playboy bunny murdered at 20. She will always be that sexy girl in the bunny ears.
Buddy Holly – Another rock’n’roll fifties singer dies in an airplane crash and becomes a legend.
River Phoenix – This talented actor died of a heart attack related to a drug overdose at 23.
Selena - A beautiful Hispanic singer - now immortalized as the “Queen of Tejano Music” - her promising life snuffed out by her fan club president at 23.
James Dean – Our favorite bad boy of the fifties will forever be remembered as 24, a rebel without a cause in a white t-shirt and jeans.
Jean Harlow – Jean is still that Thirties blonde sex symbol, after dying of kidney failure at 26.
Jimi Hendrix – This hard rock guitarist became a legend at 27, after fatally chocking on his own vomit!
Marilyn Monroe – Who will ever be more immortalized than Marilyn? Her 36 year old image still shows up in magazines, on the internet, and in her movies. Can any living sex symbol compete with those sexy curves she's maintained over the past 47 years since her death?
John Ritter – After John’s passing at 55 due to an undiagnosed heart defect, John became an immortal comedian that will always be remembered as Three's Company's Jack.
Michael Jackson – The Pop icon dead at 50? Never! His music and videos will play on for decades. Per Wikipedia, " Thriller was listed by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers at number three in their Definitive 200 Albums of All Time."
Farrah Fawcett – Charlie’s famous Angel became a real angel at 62 after battling cancer for years. Her fans watched as she aged gracefully, and died beautiful. She will never be imagined as anything less. Her red bathing suit poster may still be taped to boy's lockers.

Of course this list isn’t complete, but it demonstrates how celebrities may disappear from this Earth, but never really die. Their star spirit remains and their creative work goes on without them, proving that these larger-than-life-itself souls have truly become immortal.