Hipsy's View: Alan Rickman and David Bowie

       Like many, I felt deeply affected by the deaths of musician David Bowie and actor/director Alan Rickman earlier this month (January). The news about them has been discussed so much that I noticed that two other deaths of very well-known and beloved artists' deaths have almost been surpassed*. Both Rickman and Bowie were sixty-nine, and were taken from cancer.

1946-2016

1947-2016

     I was introduced to these two men's work when I was very young: I was four or five when I first saw the Labyrinth,  Kevin Costner's Robin Hood and Die Hard were constant favorites in my household. To tell the truth, I didn't like Alan Rickman at first because I only knew him as a bad guy. And probably like other girls that grew up watching Jennifer Connolly telling Jareth "you have no power over me", I had a small crush on David Bowie. This was the only way I knew them when I was a little girl: a really bad guy (Rickman) and the Goblin King (Bowie). But like many, as I got older and understood movies better and I learned more about these two amazing people, I could not help but admire them. Being a movie and music junkie, I learned all I could about my favorites. I was one of the few who knew who Ziggy Stardust was in my sixth grade class. Growing up (literally) with Harry Potter, I knew who Professor Severus Snape was, and thought Rickman portrayed him perfectly. The day I heard of David Bowie's death, I couldn't stop humming and singing "Space Oddity" to myself. I am still shocked to think I won't get to see Alan Rickman bring an amazing character to life. I don't know if I speak for anyone else, but both of these men will be truly missed and have certainly made an impact on my upbringing. My condolences to their families, friends, and fans.

*Brian Bedford, who voiced the popular outlaw hero in Disney's Robin Hood, and the Eagles Glenn Frey have also pasted away within the past few weeks. My condolences to their family and friends as well. Borrowing from Glenn Frey's and Don Henley's song "There's a hole in the world" with all of these great artists taken from us too soon.

1935-2016

1948-2016