Celebrity death thread

[Zydar]

I can dig it.

[Orbert]

[ProfessorPeart]

Excellent tribute to Shaft right there.

[T-ski]

Dwight Twilley passed away last week….

https://variety.com/2023/music/news/dwight-twilley-dead-im-on-fire-1235761600/

[T-ski]

Richard Moll, “Bull” from Night Court, has passed a the age of 80.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/27/entertainment/richard-moll-night-court-dead/index.html

[ReaperKK]

RIP Matthew Perry https://people.com/matthew-perry-dead-at-54-7501992

I saw his interview with Bill Maher a few months back and it seems like he went through hell and back with his addictions but was on the mend.

[Anguyen92]

^^ Oh no.....  I think when it comes to the Friends main cast, Chandler may have been my favorite character.

[XJDenton]

Christ...that's young. :/ RIP

[faizoff]

Wow that was unexpected

[jammindude]

Wow that was unexpected

I was fairly shocked by it, but then I remembered that of all of them. He probably had the biggest problem with alcohol. Like, really bad.

Still, he’s my age. I knew he was in pretty bad shape, but I am still a little stunned.

[TAC]

Wow, that's shocking.

[ReaperKK]

Whatever you might think of Bill Maher you should check out that interview, it's on hbo max. I've read and heard a lot of addiction stories but his was one of the craziest. Pretty tragic considering his age and that he was seemingly on the mend.

[jammindude]

Drowned in his hot tub.

I don’t want to cause speculation…but one of the leading causes of drowning in your hot tub is drinking.

[Lonk]

That sucks, shocked by the news.

I felt bad for him when I saw the Friends reunion. He clearly looked out of place among the rest.

[ProfessorPeart]

Seeing cardiac event being called out. Said no drugs, not sure about alcohol.

EDIT: And just saw he died not long after a 2 hour game of pickle ball.

[MirrorMask]

That's sad 

[KevShmev]

I have been watching a bit of Friends lately (I go in spurts with revisiting my favorite sitcoms), so this was a bit stunning when I heard the news last night considering how visible the show has been to me lately.

How utterly sad, after all that work he did to get clean. 

R.I.P.  Your long and grueling fight is over; you can rest easy now. 

[Orbert]

I was never a big Friends fan, but of the male stars, Matthew Perry was probably my favorite due to his work other than Friends.  I thought he great in The Whole Nine Yards and even The Whole Ten Yards (it wasn't his fault that the script for that one kinda sucked), and also a few mediocre rom-coms back in the 90's.  I thought Studio 60 had potential and he was funny in that, even if he was basically playing the same character he always plays.  Oh well.  R.I.P. Matthew.

[Indiscipline]

I haven't seen much, and more or less the same character type, but done extremely well.

He fought, no matter the end result, hence my respects.

[pg1067]

Wow that was unexpected

I was fairly shocked by it, but then I remembered that of all of them. He probably had the biggest problem with alcohol. Like, really bad.

Still, he’s my age. I knew he was in pretty bad shape, but I am still a little stunned.

During the run of the show, he yo-yo'd between alcohol and pills.  I didn't read it, but he supposedly said in his recent autobio that, when Chandler appears skinny, he was on pills, and when Chandler looks "fat," he was drinking.  The last episode of season 6 ended with Chandler proposing to Monica, and Chandler looked about as heavy as he ever looked.  The first episode of season 7 began in the same scene.  However, over the summer, Perry had gone into rehab and lost about 20-30 pounds.  I don't think we noticed when the show was airing, but it's really bizarre when you binge the show and see the two episodes back-to-back.

Drowned in his hot tub.

I don’t want to cause speculation…but one of the leading causes of drowning in your hot tub is drinking.

My thought was that he was drunk or had a heart attack.

Too bad, really.  Per CNN:

"The medical examiner updated its online record for Perry on Sunday afternoon, listing his cause of death as 'deferred.'

'In cases where the cause of death cannot be determined at the time of autopsy, a deferred certificate will be issued until additional studies have been completed,' according to the LA coroner’s guidelines.

An autopsy has been conducted, but examiners are awaiting the results of toxicology reports in order to determine Perry’s cause of death, the medical examiner’s office told CNN on Sunday. Such reports can take weeks to complete.

Investigators are planning to use the toxicology reports to determine whether any foreign substances may have contributed to Perry’s death, according to a law enforcement source."

[El Barto]

Drowned in his hot tub.

I don’t want to cause speculation…but one of the leading causes of drowning in your hot tub is drinking.

My thought was that he was drunk or had a heart attack.

I've been out of the death watching business for a while, but as a rule it's never just alcohol. There are almost always pills involved. Most alcoholics won't get so loaded they drown in the tub. Throw in some benzos or an opiate and all bets are off, however.

That said, it was pretty early in the day, and he'd been working out. Heart attack seems more likely. Particularly given that he probably wasn't all that healthy anyway given his past.

[soupytwist]

but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?

[KevShmev]

Yeah, it's always interesting when I re-watch Friends to see how much Chandler's appearance changed from season to season. 

There are so many great ones, but I have long thought that Chandler Bing is one of the funniest sitcom characters ever, and I stand by that today.  Joey from the same show is also on that list.

[Stadler]

I actually watched a couple episodes the day before, the first ones I've seen in a long time.  Ross's teeth was one, Rachel and Phoebe taking self defense classes the second, and Chandler giving Monica the mix tape that his ex gave him the third (I think they were different ones).

They were mildly funny, with bits of really amusing in there as well.  Phoebe making out with Kenny the Copy Guy thinking it was Ralph Lauren was good.   Ross talking about "sensing" your enemy, and then going to the instructor and asking how he can assault two women was - darkly - funny. 

The sarcastic snark from Chandler didn't age well, though, I have to say.  Now I feel bad for thinking that.  I didn't really mean that Matthew had to die over that.  In all seriousness, I find these deaths to be sort of senseless. I know they happen, but it's hard not to wonder if that all would have went down if Perry was, say, a journalist in Ottawa.   But then again, he did have problems as early as age 14, so maybe that was his path. Who knows?

[XJDenton]

All deaths are, to a degree, senseless. Accidents and acute medical issues can happen to anyone at any time. I lost a schoolfriend to an aneurysm when she was only 27. My best friends sister died to an unfortunate car accident in her early 30s. I lost two other friends from university and high school to cancer before they hit 30. Maybe if they'd made different choices they'd still be alive, or maybe they would have died sooner from some other freak accident.

I don't think its productive to dwell on the "What ifs". We can only do the best we can given the info and hand we were dealt at the time, and given that all our stories will end the same way (death) and likely not in a manner or time of our choosing, the best we can do is try to ensure the journey there is as good as one that is good as possible. Perry ended up making the whole world laugh, and then went on to dedicate his time to helping others who were suffering from the same hardships as he suffered earlier in life. In that respect, it was one to celebrate.

Yeah, it's always interesting when I re-watch Friends to see how much Chandler's appearance changed from season to season. 

There are so many great ones, but I have long thought that Chandler Bing is one of the funniest sitcom characters ever, and I stand by that today.  Joey from the same show is also on that list.

I'd say he and Rachel probably had the best development on the show, and it was great to see the commitment-phobe be the one who first settled down and made a stable family with Monica. There's a lot about friends that has not aged particularly well but the character writing was always on point.

[Harmony]

I read somewhere he was taking medication for COPD.  People with COPD have something like a 5x risk of sudden cardiac death.  My mom died from cardiogenic shock due to COPD.

I really hope for his sake that he went out sober.  I mean, I can see why someone would say hey - if you're going to die anyway, why not die high.  But after dealing with his own demons and the things he said about wanting his sobriety - and helping others with their sobriety - to be what he was ultimately remembered for, I wish that for him.

I understand the inclination to make assumptions based on his history.  But I don't find that to be fair until the facts are released.

And that's another thing.  Why if someone is a celebrity does their cause of death carry an expectation that we all get to know?  It seems like none of our business really.

It is like another layer of grief the family has to be put through. 

[KevShmev]

I agree with most of that.  It is natural for us to want to know why a celebrity (actor, musician, athlete, etc.) we liked/followed died, but ultimately it is none of our business.

[Stadler]

I read somewhere he was taking medication for COPD.  People with COPD have something like a 5x risk of sudden cardiac death.  My mom died from cardiogenic shock due to COPD.

I really hope for his sake that he went out sober.  I mean, I can see why someone would say hey - if you're going to die anyway, why not die high.  But after dealing with his own demons and the things he said about wanting his sobriety - and helping others with their sobriety - to be what he was ultimately remembered for, I wish that for him.

I understand the inclination to make assumptions based on his history.  But I don't find that to be fair until the facts are released.

See the Portnoy thread; I'm with you 100% percent. But that's our society. We LOVE to speculate, whether it's Perry on vodka, or Mike Johnson and his adoption (that whole line of reasoning is too sick to put into words, and I'm not talking about Johnson, I'm talking about the responses), or whether Mangini was fired or left of his own accord.  We all know - or think we know - better.  We all know - or think we know - how things "should" go. 

Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way.  People don't always play by "our" arbitrary rules.

And that's another thing.  Why if someone is a celebrity does their cause of death carry an expectation that we all get to know?  It seems like none of our business really.

It is like another layer of grief the family has to be put through.

Part and parcel with the speculation; "they're public, they put themselves out there, what did they expect?"  It's certainly an unanswered question though; celebrities often do seem to want their cake and to be able to eat it too; the fame and scrutiny is great when it's the new album or new book or new movie, but how do you arbitrarily close the door when it's subjectively "too much"? Jada Pinkett Smith comes to mind  here, Britney Spears is another.   EVERY bit of their lives are or have been scrutinized, because often THEY put the info out there to start with. How do you flip that switch when it's death?

[cramx3]

I read somewhere he was taking medication for COPD.  People with COPD have something like a 5x risk of sudden cardiac death.

I'm not following too closely but I haven't seen any talk of this.  It would make a lot of sense.  Maybe people should be talking more about this for awareness of such risk.

[ProfessorPeart]

His death actually brought to light something about his guest spot on Scrubs that I never knew.

A patient is in need a of kidney transplant and JD tracks down his estranged son (Perry) to see if he'd be willing to donate a kidney only to find out that they are not biological Father/Son. The Dad in the episode is Perry's actual biological father and Perry also directed the episode.

Scrubs is to me what Friends is to a lot of people. A comfort show that I have seen too many times to count and I cannot believe I never knew these tidbits.

[Stadler]

His death actually brought to light something about his guest spot on Scrubs that I never knew.

A patient is in need a of kidney transplant and JD tracks down his estranged son (Perry) to see if he'd be willing to donate a kidney only to find out that they are not biological Father/Son. The Dad in the episode is Perry's actual biological father and Perry also directed the episode.

Scrubs is to me what Friends is to a lot of people. A comfort show that I have seen too many times to count and I cannot believe I never knew these tidbits.

And Perry's stepdad is Keith Morrison from Dateline.

[Harmony]

Part and parcel with the speculation; "they're public, they put themselves out there, what did they expect?"  It's certainly an unanswered question though; celebrities often do seem to want their cake and to be able to eat it too; the fame and scrutiny is great when it's the new album or new book or new movie, but how do you arbitrarily close the door when it's subjectively "too much"? Jada Pinkett Smith comes to mind  here, Britney Spears is another.   EVERY bit of their lives are or have been scrutinized, because often THEY put the info out there to start with. How do you flip that switch when it's death?

I'm not sure I agree with this.  "Putting themselves out there" is literally their jobs....whether an athlete, an author, a politician, a television star, a musician...this does not give the public the RIGHT to personal/private information unless/until the person in question chooses to do so.  That would encompass what Jada and Britney are doing.  THEY are making that choice as you correctly state.  But that does not give me or anyone else the right to private information such as protected health information.  It doesn't matter what you or I want with regard to the flip of that switch.

And once someone is dead, those rights are left to the next of kin or appointed executor of the estate.  Even in death, our health information is protected.  And I think often families of celebrities are pressured to release information even if they don't want to in order to AVOID erroneous speculation.  Or in order to call attention to a condition or disease, such as Robin Williams' Lewy Body Dementia.

What the public wants/demands =/= illegal disclosure of PHI.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

His death actually brought to light something about his guest spot on Scrubs that I never knew.

A patient is in need a of kidney transplant and JD tracks down his estranged son (Perry) to see if he'd be willing to donate a kidney only to find out that they are not biological Father/Son. The Dad in the episode is Perry's actual biological father and Perry also directed the episode.

Scrubs is to me what Friends is to a lot of people. A comfort show that I have seen too many times to count and I cannot believe I never knew these tidbits.

wasn't this a Lost plotline with John Locke?

[Stadler]

Part and parcel with the speculation; "they're public, they put themselves out there, what did they expect?"  It's certainly an unanswered question though; celebrities often do seem to want their cake and to be able to eat it too; the fame and scrutiny is great when it's the new album or new book or new movie, but how do you arbitrarily close the door when it's subjectively "too much"? Jada Pinkett Smith comes to mind  here, Britney Spears is another.   EVERY bit of their lives are or have been scrutinized, because often THEY put the info out there to start with. How do you flip that switch when it's death?

I'm not sure I agree with this.  "Putting themselves out there" is literally their jobs....whether an athlete, an author, a politician, a television star, a musician...this does not give the public the RIGHT to personal/private information unless/until the person in question chooses to do so.  That would encompass what Jada and Britney are doing.  THEY are making that choice as you correctly state.  But that does not give me or anyone else the right to private information such as protected health information.  It doesn't matter what you or I want with regard to the flip of that switch.

And once someone is dead, those rights are left to the next of kin or appointed executor of the estate.  Even in death, our health information is protected.  And I think often families of celebrities are pressured to release information even if they don't want to in order to AVOID erroneous speculation.  Or in order to call attention to a condition or disease, such as Robin Williams' Lewy Body Dementia.

What the public wants/demands =/= illegal disclosure of PHI.

I'm with you with respect to PHI. No question.  But beyond that, I'm really just calling out the fine line; I think I'm parked more in your territory than not. I'm just asking the question how do you put out parts of information and not all of it - and is it even reasonable to expect that the "incomplete" part will be ignored? And how do you police it if you do?  I'm sorry I keep going back to the political, but our (national) politics are such a shit show that they are a sort of harbinger for this stuff.   You have "body language experts" and "trained pychologists" weighing in on Trump and Hilary and others, and the excuse is, "they put themselves out there".   Matthew Perry has most certainly put his substance issues "out there", for better or worse, and I think there's a certain critical mass - helped/hurt depending on how you look at it - by the media who has made it their job, their reason for being, to uncover these details, that believe this opens the door.

I'm not arguing with you, I'm being critical of this mindset.  While I like my information as much as the next guy, I think our level of speculation and the degree to which mere "speculation" has too often transcended into perceived "fact" is really problematic.   Like I said, see the Portnoy thread in the main DT section; there ARE people here that are CONVINCED beyond any doubt that Mangini was FIRED, unceremoniously, and that he cried over his leaving in Rodrigo's interview.   Three lawyers and a couple people close to the band have indicated that there is no evidence to that effect (and that even if Mike was asked to leave, that's not tantamount to a "firing", with all that that entails). It's like we can't help ourselves.

[pg1067]

His death actually brought to light something about his guest spot on Scrubs that I never knew.

A patient is in need a of kidney transplant and JD tracks down his estranged son (Perry) to see if he'd be willing to donate a kidney only to find out that they are not biological Father/Son. The Dad in the episode is Perry's actual biological father and Perry also directed the episode.

Perry's father also appeared on an episode of Friends, playing the father of one of Rachel's love interests, Joshua (aka Josh-OO-AH).