Who's the first celebrity death you can remember?

[Katharine]

I think it must have been Elvis Presley for me. Not because I was a fan, but a close friend of mine was a massive fan so understandably she was quite upset. I would have been 11 at the time.

The next significant one that I can think of was John Lennon - again I wasn't a Beetles fan, but I think I was quite shocked that someone could just go up to someone and shoot them in the middle of a street.

I think I probably I don't remember any earlier ones is partly due to the lack of media access back in the 1970s and 80s. Yes, there was the news, but that was only on a couple of times a day, and I mostly wouldn't have seen it, as I'd have been at school for the lunch time news, the early evening news would have been while we were eating dinner, and I'd have been in bed before the 10.00 o'clock news. So it would take something quite major to filter through to me at that age.

The other notable deaths that left an impression on me were Princess Grace of Monaco, probably because it was sudden and she was fairly young, plus of course there was I believe some suggestion at the time that her underage daughter was actually driving the car at the time, although I don't think that was true.

I also remember Eric Morecombe - I was sad at that as I'm a big fan of Eric and Ernie. Also remember Tommy Cooper, mainly because I often watched the TV programme with my family, but had gone out with a friend that evening, and returned home to hear my parents saying that he'd collapsed live on TV - I think they put the news on to see if there was an update on him. Dick Emery too. There seemed to be a cluster of comedians passing away in the early 1980s, but maybe I was just at the age when I was becoming aware of such events. Chances are I'd heard of others prior to that time, but wasn't really aware of who they were.

Then there was of course Diana, Princess of Wales. I remember coming downstairs and my husband saying 'Diana's dead' and I didn't believe him - I thought the news had got it wrong. It's funny how time moves on, I was trying to explain to my children a while back just how big a news story that was at the time. They had no idea of the turmoil there was in the Royal Family at the time.

[Katharine]

I haven't noticed anyone remembering Enid Blyton's death. I wonder if it was considered news worth at the time?

[Daisy]

I remember hearing of Enid's death and feeling so sorry there were to be no more books. I was reading them to my children and just beginning to finish off my collections which had stopped when I left home and only started again after my children were born. There was then an enjoyable time while I caught up on the later books in the various series.

[Boatbuilder]

I haven't noticed anyone remembering Enid Blyton's death. I wonder if it was considered news worth at the time?

I don't think it's that nobody remembered it, Katharine but was it the FIRST one they remembered as that is the topic's name? Like many things in life, it is always the 'first' of something that you remember more so than subsequent ones - like 'first love' etc.,

[Rob Houghton]

I must have answered this before, but it was definitely Elvis. I'm not sure I recall his death exactly, but just after it there was a song 'I remember Elvis Presley' - and that was when I realised he had died. It didn't really mean much to me in a way as I was only 6 at the time.

[Lucky Star]

there was a song 'I remember Elvis Presley' -

By a guy called Danny Mirror. I don't think he ever had any other hits.

[Courtenay]

I'm sure I've answered it before, but the first I definitely remember was Princess Diana — I was 15 at the time. There must have been plenty of other deaths of famous people in the years before that, but none of them really registered with me. Probably most of them were people I was too young to know much about, and in any case I didn't tend to pay much attention to the news until I was in my teens. But Diana's death was so sudden and unexpected and horrible that it wasn't just routine news but a huge shock to millions around the world — one of those unforgettable "where were you when you heard..." moments. (In my case, I was at home and Gran rang to tell us it was on the news that Princess Diana had been in a car crash — we put the TV on at once and the hospital had just announced Diana's death. That was early morning in the UK, but in the afternoon for us.)

[Darrell71]

I've answered before too, but definitely Michael Jackson. I was 7 at the time and getting on to the school bus when we heard the news. I barely knew who he was, just that he was really famous and had died. Everyone over the age of 15 seemed shocked, but I really didn't care at all.
The one that actually registered better was Paul Walker. I wasn't a huge Fast and Furious fan, but Walker was cute, and so very young. And the irony of it, the almost movie like sense, wasn't wasted on me, even though I was 11. And the resulting song tribute, See You Again, is still one of my fav songs.
Also, definitely not the first, but I really liked Avicii and still can't believe that he committed suicide...

[Machupicchu14]

I remember Michael Jackson's death but it really didn't have a big impact of me. In the TV they showed fans crying but for me it didn't really mean much.. (I find it hey sad he died though)
The first which I clearly remember and which shocked me was Mercedes Sosa's death. One of the most famous and loved Argentinean singers. I just couldn't believe she had died, because in my house her songs were part of our everyday life. I remember seeing her picture in the coffin in one of the newspapers and this was one of the times I began thinking "what is death? Why do people die?". It was 2009 so I was 7 at that time.. It was a great tragedy that such an amazing singer had to leave us.
That's literally the first one I can recall well but the ones that followed also had a big impact on me too.. that is in 2013 two great people died: Hugo Chavez (former president of Venezuela) and Nelson Mandela. It feels as if it was yesterday and even today, I get really sad and depressed to think Hugo Chavez had to die, at such a young age. That is one of the deaths that will forever remain in my memory.

[Fiona1986]

Mine was probably Princess Diana too. My mum and I came downstairs in the morning to find my sister (aged 7) crying in front of the TV. We were both touched by her sadness at the loss of Princess Di, only to find out she was crying because there was no children's TV on either channel!!

I remember feeling so very sad for William and Harry as I was just a couple of years younger than Harry.

[Courtenay]

I'm only slightly older than Prince William, so I felt the most for the boys, too. I can't imagine how awful it must be for any children to lose their mother so suddenly and horribly, but for it to all be in the public eye like that... I'm not surprised that both William and Harry have only recently been able to talk about her death openly and the effects it had on them — it was very moving to hear that William often talks to his children about Granny Diana so that they'll grow up knowing who she was and how special she was, even though they can't meet her in person.

[Darrell71]

We were both touched by her sadness at the loss of Princess Di, only to find out she was crying because there was no children's TV on either channel!!

Probably something I'd do, tbh, minus the crying.