Parasocial bereavement is still bereavement
I woke up this morning to the news that Hayden Panettiere and Screaming Mad George had died and it got me thinking about the fact that we’ve lost so many from all walks of the entertainment industry this year: editor Marcia Lucas, comic book writer Gerry Conway, special effects wizard Brian Johnson, Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir, Bonnie Tyler, as well as actors like Bud Cort, Daveigh Chase, Tom Noonan, Eric Dane, James Van Der Beek, Vincent Pastore, Robert Duvall, Anthony Head, Sam Neill and Catherine O’Hara to name just a few. All talented artists, performers and craftspeople who, no matter how big or small their involvement may have been, still played a part in making the films, shows, music and other forms of art and entertainment that we love and cherish.
It’s weird because obviously, I never knew any of these people personally and I’m fully aware that whatever connection I may have had with them was purely parasocial on my part, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t feel sadness when they’re gone. I think it’s perfectly OK to mourn someone you never knew personally when their work has had such an effect on you. Catherine O’Hara was an outstanding performer who brought so much energy and even warmth and humanity to her roles, Sam Neill made for the perfect surrogate father figure in Jurassic Park, Vincent Pastore was one of the great “hey, it’s that guy” actors who made a lasting impression as Big Pussy in The Sopranos, Tom Noonan was quietly chilling as the Tooth Fairy in Manhunter, Gerry Conway’s run on Spider-Man brought us “The Night Gwen Stacy Died”. The list goes on.
As for Hayden Panettiere, my earliest memory of her was in A Bug’s Life where she voiced the ant princess, Dot. Sadly, I only ever watched a few episodes of Heroes way back in the day and I don’t remember all that much about it, so I don’t think I can say much about it. Same goes for Nashville and the Kingdom Hearts games, although I will try to play them at some point. Nevertheless, Hayden was always a welcome presence in the horror genre, especially in the later Scream sequels and Until Dawn.
And as a horror fan, I’d be greatly remiss if I didn’t mention Screaming Mad George, the special effects legend who passed away several months ago, but his death has only just been made public. Much like with Hayden, he was always a welcome presence in the horror genre thanks in no small part to his work on the original Predator, the third and fourth Nightmare on Elm Street films, the Re-Animator sequels (or literally just about anything producer Brian Yuzna had his name attached to) and who could forget Society. Fuck, that movie is absolutely twisted and a prime example of the man’s talents. So much so that even the movie’s credits literally state that his makeup effects are “surrealistic”. Also, fun fact for anybody who’s a Slipknot fan, he made the masks that they wore during their Iowa and Vol. 3 eras.
I don’t really know how to wrap this one up other than by simply saying… rest in peace, Hayden, and as contradictory as it might sound, rest in peace, Screaming Mad George.
