Comments | shadowspin: RIP Steve

shadowspin

RIP Steve

Sep 04, 2006 18:53

Taken a while to actually accept it, after the kids came in from school and were telling me the news that had shot around the school like wildfire today - Steve Irwin's dead.

I admit when the guy first hit the screen I was turned off big time - thinking he was putting on this OTT 'Aussie bloke' personna to cash in on the US market which seemed to ( Read more... )

Comments 15

sarkka September 4 2006, 09:43:02 UTC

I just heard about this from an entry in Tiary's lovely Cheetah V/O fic (yeah, it sound weird but I like it ;)

and as I said to mistry89: I didn't always get his VERY VERY inthusiastic performance but I admire his work.

(((sigh)))

Why it couldn't have been Bush or someone else that caliber ? ;)

shadowspin September 4 2006, 10:03:11 UTC

Yeah, like I said, he grated at times. And for a long time I cringed at what I saw of him, and his wife. But hell, he got out there and while I didn't always agree with his methods, he damned well went out and did some good. Which is more than a lot of the people who will knock him mercilessly will ever do.

It was his passion that eventually won me over. Kinda like Troy Dan - couldn't stand a bar of him either when he first hit the screen, but then ex got to know him, a number of years ago, out in the Northern Territory. Again, no cameras and he was just as full-on about what he was trying to do, and protect. Just as passionate and enthusiastic about the outback, the heritage of the original 'residents'.

They're rare people, and most who are steeped in mediocrity find them difficult to stomach as they're so different I guess.

liars_dance September 4 2006, 10:43:12 UTC

As you say - even though he irritated the hell out of me, it's always sad to lose people with passion. But that he died the way he did was probably the way he would have wanted to go - and he would have known little or anything about it.

shadowspin September 4 2006, 10:51:53 UTC

*nods* Indeed. It was his genuine passion for what he did that was interesting to watch. I lost count of the number of times I just cringed at things he said and did, but then on the other hand I have lived in parts of Australia where people do talk like he did, where there was a total lack of 'koof and kulcha' as such, and it's a very different place, believe me! But it exists, and that was his background. He just brought it to the attention of a lot of people.

And he's probably sitting back somewhere scratching his head going 'Crikey, that was pretty amazing!'. But equally probably just as sad at not being there with his family any more.

Gotta love that passion - kinda like someone else we can think of, hey?

anann73 September 4 2006, 15:25:05 UTC

I feel so terrible for his family. And it was such a freak accident. Oh ALL things to kill him. It's horrible.

shadowspin September 4 2006, 15:36:29 UTC

TBH, it was probably the most fitting way for him to go, just totally wrong time. He was doing what he loved, making a doco, in a place he loved, the Barrier Reef, with his crew which were as close as family to him. A quick stingray barb to the heart, which they were saying tonight would probably have killed him almost instantly was basically as freaky, but also as painless as you could imagine, given the sorts of things he's done with crocs, sharks, snakes, spiders etc. One of those taking him out would have been a helluva lot more painful and or horrific ( ... )

anann73 September 4 2006, 15:39:50 UTC

Yeah, the way he died is probably the best way he could have gone. Just not now. I'm especially sad for Bindi, because she obviously worshipped him and wanted to be just like him, and she's old enough to understand. I did read an article a little awhile ago that said Terri has been notified, and has told the kids. This must be so hard for her too since they've been together so long and did so many things together. I'm sure she probably had fears something would happen to him but not anything like this.

shadowspin September 4 2006, 16:06:22 UTC

Definitely not now. Losing someone like him, his passion and enthusiasm for life, is a sad loss indeed. And especially for Bindi who absolutely adored him. As did Terri. They were a very close family, but one thing that's good is that his whole crew especially, or their whole crew, including probably all of the 500-odd staff at the Australia Zoo, were pretty close too. So she has a fairly good and strong support group around her, something again that has been brought about by his enthusiasm and love of life and the people he worked and lived with ( ... )

Thread 9

juweldom September 4 2006, 15:55:57 UTC

I just feel terrible for his family, especially his wife. Hopefully he has things covered so that the zoo and his work can be continued in his absence (rather the same way the Henson family continued Jim Henson's work after he passed.)

Sad how some bright stars go out so early.

shadowspin September 4 2006, 16:02:59 UTC

*nods* They will feel his loss terribly, as they were a very close family. There was some snippets tonight of him with Bindi, and Steve talking about how blown away he was at some of the things she would say to him, about her being proud of him and wanting to be just like him - he was just.. I dunno, beside himself, and was saying how his family was the best and most important thing to him. As I said just above, one of the great things about how he managed to bring a crew together is that Terri will have a very good support team around her, who are pretty dedicated to what he was all about. Just hope they can find leadership like his to hold it all together. Going to be big shoes to fill...