I was thinking today after seeing the huge (and continued) outpouring after his death: What celebrities still alive would receive similar (or even more) attention if they were to die today?
I think the amount of people that care about this has to do with 3 things:
1.) What he created. His movies were nearly universally loved (those that hit, at least...of course, many no one gave a shit about, but no one talks about those)
2.) His personal life. You never heard about Robin Williams being a dick in real life. In fact, quite the opposite: We're hearing about all of the USO tours he did without seeking any type of credit or any press releases.
3.) How he died. If he were 85 and died of a heart attack, it would be quite different than 63 and dying of what perhaps everyone would think would be the last thing to take him.
Of course, Michael Jackson's death a few years ago was huge news, but it wasn't like this one. I think that was more news because people were shocked by it rather than people actually caring. I realize that's a narrow view and many people did actually care, but I don't think it was as universal as Robin's.
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