Alan Rickman dead

[HVC]

Was awesome in Galaxy quest

[grumbler]

Wow.  One of the greats.  Doomed to be the only redeeming virtue in several big-budget artistic stinkers, but the most memorable role for me was in Truly, Madly, Deeply.  He turned a very ordinary movie into something magical - and I don't even like those kinds of movies.

[lustindarkness]

Wow he was 69? Looked younger. RIP. Slytherin House will miss you.

[grumbler]

Was awesome in Galaxy quest

Indeed.  But I'm still amazed that a movie with that cast was not brilliant, rather than just 'good."  Rickman was the only one who came out of that flick with his acting chops enhanced.

[Syt]

Ok, this is becoming a seriously depressing celebrity death month.

[Martinus]

This sucks. RIP. 

[Duque de Bragança]

Ok, this is becoming a seriously depressing celebrity death month.

I even wonder who's next.

RIP

[sbr]

If we count lemmy that's three so we should be safe for awhile.

[Martinus]

Based on obituaries posted by various celebrities I follow on Facebook, he seemed to have been a really lovely man and a class act in addition to being a great actor.

[The Brain]

He was dreamy. RIP

[Syt]

From 2008:

http://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2008/may/30/aformulafortheperfectvoic

A formula for the perfect voice?

A study claims to have found an equation for the most pleasing male and female voice. Listen to the results here and let us know what you think

Researchers claim to have worked out a formula to find the perfect human voice. The study, which asked people to rate 50 voices then analysed the results, found a combination of Mariella Frostrup, Dame Judi Dench and Honor Blackman makes up the perfect female voice, while the most appealing male voice is a mixture of Alan Rickman, Jeremy Irons and Michael Gambon.

The equation represents the most pleasing blend of tone, speed, frequency, words per minute and intonation. The ideal voice should, apparently, utter no more than 164 words per minute and pause for 0.48 seconds between sentences that fall in intonation.

The research was conducted by linguistics Professor Andrew Linn, sound engineer Shannon Harris and singer Lily Allen.

You can listen to a computer simulated sample of the perfect male voice here, and one of the perfect female voice here. Let us know whether you agree with the findings - or nominate your choice for the best-sounding voice.

[Caliga]

He won't be joining us again for the rest of his life.

(I'm sorry, but it had to be said.  RIP Alan Rickman  )

[Josquius]

This year it's getting to the stage where the news is better off just reporting which celebrities are still alive

[dps]

Can the next celebrity who dies be a non national treasure we won't miss, please.

If you're opening the floor for nominations, how about Pauly Shore?

[Martinus]

Can the next celebrity who dies be a non national treasure we won't miss, please.

If you're opening the floor for nominations, how about Pauly Shore?

List of other celebrities who are currently 69: http://www.famousbirthdays.com/year/1946.html