I hadn't realized this thread had this much traction. I posted, and thank you,
GNTLGNT, for the very nice acknowledgment of that one.
I don't get worked up with celebrity deaths, because they're not personal, but as
MadamMack and others have said, for Robin Williams and Leonard Nimoy.... well, it just feels personal.
There was a TV Guide article long ago by, I believe, Isaac Asimov satirically expressing his distress that while he had striven his whole life to be cool to be not-smart, the girls in his life were agog at Spock because he was "so smart"! (I don't know what Mr. Asimov's IQ was, but we all know it was
up there.)
Leonard Nimoy, as Spock, made smart cool. He made logical analysis cool. As a teenager, I wore my hair straight down in bangs, and I swear it was not a fan-emulation of Spock, but more of a matter of looking at the character and saying, "Yeah, that makes sense. No part, no fuss. Just comb it down and be done with it."
Robin Williams' death affected me unexpectedly. He died too soon and too full of potential still. He was the comic genius of our time, and no matter where I was, or what I was doing, or what time it was, I could tune in to him and get blown away.
Leonard Nimoy's death was not so unexpected. He was 83, the doctor and the engineer had preceded him, and it's all just a matter of time for all of us. But it's not just that. It's an icon of my life that has suddenly had the real-life imprint flash brightly and just as suddenly removed. The captain and the helmsman will go too, maybe before I do, maybe not. But this one stands out.
So many of us want to make an impression on the world during our time here, and we do so to greater or lesser degrees. But Mr. Nimoy, your footprint on this planet was great and forever appreciated. I'll say it, as an inconsequential viewer, one of the millions - you changed my life, and for the better.
Thank you, Leonard.