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Different people have different timelines for their achievements. Some, like Colonel Sanders, open their first restaurant at 55, coming to fame late in life. And some manage to become world famous by their early twenties, leave behind a colossal creative legacy - and then pass away like a meteorite in the night sky.
Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Alexander the Great, Jim Morrison, John Belushi - the question is rather that the people around them didn't feel how young they actually were when they passed away. And this viral thread in the AskReddit community is about exactly such people. Many of whom we have already actually outlived...
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#1
The musicians on Titanic, who played on ‘til the end? Most of them were in their early twenties. Young guys with really bright futures ahead of them. Jock Hume, one of the violinists, had a pregnant fiancée back home in Scotland! The oldest was Wallace Hartley, and he was only 33 years old!
Their legend and sacrifice looks a bit different when you realize how young they all were. Brave as hell.
Shark bait hoo haha 1 year ago
The one in the upper left picture makes me think of Sheldon Cooper
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#3
Otis Redding was 26. Had just recorded “Dock of the Bay,” but didn’t live to see it released.
Listening to his music, it is absolutely astounding that his incredibly soulful voice belonged to someone so young.
Lost Panda 1 year ago
He actually hadn't finished Dock of the Bay, the whistling was added in lieu of the final verse. Or so I heard.
In fact, world history knows examples of people who achieved fame at completely different ages - both very young and extremely old. For example, the famous Byzantine commander Narses was an ordinary courtier in the emperor's palace until he was 74 years old - and only by chance did he discover his great military talent.
But still, situations when a person achieves a lot in this life at a relatively early age are much more common. And people manage to do so much in the short time allotted to them on this Earth that later, when we read their biographies, we are actually amazed - did they really die so young?
#5
Buddy Holly died at 22. He left enough unfinished recordings and transcriptions behind that his label was able to release Buddy Holly singles for 10 years after his death.
A significant part of the people presented in this list are representatives of art who led, let's say, not the healthiest lifestyle. The so-called "27 Club", which includes celebrities who passed away at this age, has acquired wide (and sad) fame. It is believed that the "27 Club" appeared in the 20th century, but in fact, similar cases occurred earlier.
It's just that the modern world, with its fixation on numbers and celebrities, simply couldn't ignore the fact that three rock'n'roll superstars (Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin) died at the same age, 10 months apart. And later, many began to consider the number "27" almost 'fatal' for the music stars.
#8
Bruce lee was only 32, crazy right.
#9
Van Gogh was only 37 when he died.
DennyS (denzoren) 1 year ago
Damn, I'm 36. I've always felt sad he wasn't really recognized while alive.
However, deaths at a young age were more of a pattern in the old days - especially considering the state of medicine at the time. "We shouldn't forget that a couple of centuries ago there were no antibiotics or basic hygiene rules - even among doctors during abdominal surgeries," says Valery Bolgan, a historian and editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian news agency Intent, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment here.
"And the average life expectancy in the old days was much shorter - so, for example, Mozart's death, which happened at the age of 35, was not perceived by his contemporaries as something out of the ordinary. Moreover, 35 years at the end of the 18th century was perceived as maturity and a rather respectable age."
And adulthood for many people began much earlier, Valery also says. "Teen years several centuries ago were already considered the age when a person was perceived as a true adult. The same Alexander the Great became a king at the age of 20. It's just now, when people's life expectancy has increased significantly, we perceive history differently."
#10
Freddie Mercury was only 45, I just surpassed him in age.
Lost Panda 1 year ago
This was the one in my head when I clicked. Was listening to Queen the otherday and thought "Man... the universe where Freddie is still alive got lucky"
#12
Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison were all 27.
And still, when a person passes away at such a young age, literally in a couple of years, doing so many wonderful things that many of us are not destined to do in our entire lives - this cannot but cause sadness.
So let’s just scroll this list to the very end, pay tribute to the memory of the famous people mentioned here - and maybe try to do something outstanding ourselves. After all, the examples of Narses and Colonel Sanders are also damn inspiring!
#13
Bob Marley was only 36.
zububonsai 1 year ago (edited)
Note to myself: make an skin doc appointment to get checked (no, seriously, i've always procrastinated in that respect and work outdoors for the last 25 years and up until I was 20 I've never even heard of sun screen lotions, so I had a lot of sun burns in my childhood...)
#14
John Candy (uncle Buck) was only 44 when he died.
#15
Steve Irwin was only 44.
“That’s a ripe old age for a Crocodile Hunter!”
-Norm; about 2 days after Steve was killed.
#18
Franz Kafka was about to turn 41. Most of his works were published after his death and against his last will, so he didn’t even get to see his success.
Judith Barsi was only 10 when she was murdered by her father shortly after finishing her lines for Anne-Marie in "All Dogs Go to Heaven“.
Stephanie Did It 1 year ago (edited)
Judith Barsi is more famously known as the voice of Ducky in The Land Before Time. Her sweet, lilting voice will always be with us.
#20
Robert Wadlow - tallest man in the world died of a foot infection at age 22. He went to high school with my husband's grandparents. He was 8' 11.1" tall when he died. He had to go up the stairs at school sideways.
Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 1 year ago
Due to sepsis from a wound on his lower leg. Hard to feel pain and treat it when your head is so far away from your feet...
#21
Ritchie Valens he was 17! Could’ve passed for 30.
#23
I always think about John Keats being 25 when he died. From the same disease that killed two members of his family too, he had months of knowing he was dying and even wrote his own gravestone.
T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago
I often think of his poem "When I have fears that I may cease to be". It really gives you perspective.
#24
Alexander the Great was 32.
DennyS (denzoren) 1 year ago
Imagine people being like "damn, that guy is great...we should let him know....hey! Alexander, the Great!"
#25
Still can’t believe Hank Williams Senior was only 29 when he died.
Robin Roper 1 year ago
Heart failure caused by the combination of alcohol, morphine and chloral hydrate.
#26
Patsy Cline was 30. Plane crash.
#27
Al Capone was only 48 when he died. He was just 26 when he became the crime boss of Chicago.
#28
Aaliyah. 22.
tarryn norwich 1 year ago
I know its not the best movie, but she slayed in Queen of the Damned.
#30
The Notorious BIG was only 24. He always seemed a lot older due to his huge size, deep voice and intimidating presence.
#31
Selena, was only 23 she could have been massive.
Stephanie Did It 1 year ago
To her admirers in South Texas and Mexico, she already was. We grieve her still.
#32
Pocohontas was 22, Sacagawea was 24. They both were influential in American history while enduring abuse from white men (John Smith, John Rolfe, the men who kidnapped Pocohontas and those who forced her to convert to Christianity. Sacagawea’s husband Toussaint Charbonneau).
Stephanie Did It 1 year ago
Matoaka (Pocahontas) was only a child when the encounter with John Smith took place. There was no romance; Disney studios portrayed a complete lie. She was held hostage by English colonists, forced to convert and had a child amazingly quickly after being married to Rolfe. Displayed as a"civilized savage" in England, she quickly died of a disease that she had no resistance to.
#35
Jim Croce was 30 when he died in a plane crash.
#37
Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales and elder brother of Henry VIII, was 15 when he died.
Roxy222uk 1 year ago
Henry VIII was never meant to be king and wasn't raised to be king, which explains a lot.
Emma S 1 year ago (edited)
As was the norm at the time, he had married Catherine of Aragon five months earlier having been betrothed since they were children. Catherine had been 'trained' to be Queen of England for most of her life. Several years after Arthur's death, she married Henry instead. Henry relied on the fact that Catherine had been married to his brother as grounds for his annulment.
#38
Richard III was 32 when he died at the Battle of Bosworth.
#39
Jon Bonham and Keith Moon were 32.
Cliff Burton was 24.
What do you think ?
Lost Panda 1 year ago
Chris Farley... Only 33... Could you imagine what other comedic gold he could have made...
john doe 1 year ago
By now he would have made 2 more good movies and about 30 really bad ones. Just going with how most of his SNL alum turned out.
Load More Replies...
MagicJacket 1 year ago
John Lennon - 40. The Beatles would have definitely regrouped or at least Lennon and McCartney would have done some music together again. John and Paul were friends again, all rifts smoothed over. Still undecided on if that would have been good or bad. It would suck if they did regroup and it was sh!t.
Richard Graham 1 year ago
Anne Frank died aged 15. Freddie Prinze was only 22 at his death. Selena was just 23. Lou Gehrig died of ALS at 37. Patsy Kline and Sylvia Plath were just 30. Andy Kaufman succumbed to lung cancer at 35. George Gershwin, Roberto Clemente, and John F. Kennedy, Jr. all died 38 years old. Baseball player Josh Gibson had a stroke at age 35. Bruce Lee, Karen Carpenter, Brian Epstein, and Keith Moon all died at 32.
Fellfromthemoon 1 year ago
Theophile de Viau and Cyrano de Bergerac died both at the age of 36.
SomeoneTookMySweetRoll 1 year ago
Bobby Darrin (Splish Splash, Beyond the Sea, Mack the Knife) was 37. He released 27 studio albums in 14 years before his death.
Shark bait hoo haha 1 year ago
So many tears shed over the years when these actors, actresses, singer/songwriters passed away. I like to believe they were here just to touch our hearts and souls for only a moment and are now somewhere else doing the same for others. May the all rest in peace
Joanne Mendonza-Earle 1 year ago
The guys & woman in Lynyrd Skynyrd were young too. Jerry Garcia was 52 but he looked older.
Brian Droste 1 year ago
Sandy Allen, the tallest woman at the time. She wasn't that young only 53 when she died. She lived in a town close by where I live. Never got to meet her but had some friends that did. She was 7'7"/231 cm.
Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 1 year ago
Thuy Trang (the original yellow ranger from MMPR) died at 27. Auto accident.
Richard Graham 1 year ago
Heather O'Rourke, child actor (Poltergeist) died of a Bowel obstruction at age 12.
Richard Graham 1 year ago
Bix Beiderbecke, one of the greatest jazz musicians ever (coronet and piano), was 28 when he died.
Lost Panda 1 year ago
Chris Farley... Only 33... Could you imagine what other comedic gold he could have made...
john doe 1 year ago
By now he would have made 2 more good movies and about 30 really bad ones. Just going with how most of his SNL alum turned out.
Load More Replies... MagicJacket 1 year ago
John Lennon - 40. The Beatles would have definitely regrouped or at least Lennon and McCartney would have done some music together again. John and Paul were friends again, all rifts smoothed over. Still undecided on if that would have been good or bad. It would suck if they did regroup and it was sh!t.
Richard Graham 1 year ago
Anne Frank died aged 15. Freddie Prinze was only 22 at his death. Selena was just 23. Lou Gehrig died of ALS at 37. Patsy Kline and Sylvia Plath were just 30. Andy Kaufman succumbed to lung cancer at 35. George Gershwin, Roberto Clemente, and John F. Kennedy, Jr. all died 38 years old. Baseball player Josh Gibson had a stroke at age 35. Bruce Lee, Karen Carpenter, Brian Epstein, and Keith Moon all died at 32.
Fellfromthemoon 1 year ago
Theophile de Viau and Cyrano de Bergerac died both at the age of 36.
SomeoneTookMySweetRoll 1 year ago
Bobby Darrin (Splish Splash, Beyond the Sea, Mack the Knife) was 37. He released 27 studio albums in 14 years before his death.
Shark bait hoo haha 1 year ago
So many tears shed over the years when these actors, actresses, singer/songwriters passed away. I like to believe they were here just to touch our hearts and souls for only a moment and are now somewhere else doing the same for others. May the all rest in peace
Joanne Mendonza-Earle 1 year ago
The guys & woman in Lynyrd Skynyrd were young too. Jerry Garcia was 52 but he looked older.
Brian Droste 1 year ago
Sandy Allen, the tallest woman at the time. She wasn't that young only 53 when she died. She lived in a town close by where I live. Never got to meet her but had some friends that did. She was 7'7"/231 cm.
Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 1 year ago
Thuy Trang (the original yellow ranger from MMPR) died at 27. Auto accident.
Richard Graham 1 year ago
Heather O'Rourke, child actor (Poltergeist) died of a Bowel obstruction at age 12.
Richard Graham 1 year ago
Bix Beiderbecke, one of the greatest jazz musicians ever (coronet and piano), was 28 when he died.
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