An Ode To Stars Who Made the World Brighter
It would be easy to look at a list like that and simply feel sad.... But maybe there is another way to look at it.
Because some people don't just occupy the world while they're here. They add something to it. A little more color. A little more laughter. A little more imagination. And sometimes, a whole lot more kindness.
—> Live Like Dolly <—
If anyone demonstrated how to make the most of a life, it was Dolly Parton.
Yes, she gave us “Jolene,” 9 to 5, rhinestones, big hair and enough one-liners to fill a book. But Dolly's greatest legacy may have nothing to do with music.
Inspired by her father's inability to read and write, Dolly created the Imagination Library, which began by mailing free books to children in her Tennessee hometown and eventually grew into an international program reaching children in five countries. The program has now given away hundreds of millions of books.
And she didn't stop there. Her foundation raised more than $12 million for families who lost their homes in the 2016 Tennessee wildfires, and she famously donated $1 million toward research that helped fund development of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Dolly proved you could be wildly successful without becoming cynical. You could be glamorous without taking yourself too seriously. You could disagree with people without treating them badly.
Maybe that's the lesson: Be unmistakably yourself — and make sure somebody else is better off because you were here.
—> Tim Curry: Be Weird. Be Brave. Make People Feel Welcome. <—
Tim Curry gave us some of the greatest oddballs ever put on a screen, from Clue and It to Muppet Treasure Island and, of course, Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
But Rocky Horror became something bigger than a movie. For generations of people who felt different, strange, theatrical, queer, awkward or simply like they didn't quite fit the mold, it became a place to belong. Fans remembering Curry after his death spoke about the courage, individuality and self-acceptance they found through his work.
Curry also supported the Actors Fund — now the Entertainment Community Fund — appearing in benefit events supporting fellow members of the entertainment industry. Even after a debilitating stroke changed his life, he continued appearing before fans and remained connected to the work and communities he had helped create.
There is something pretty wonderful about a legacy that essentially says: Don't be afraid to be unusual. The unusual people make life interesting.
—> Peter Cullen: Be Strong Enough to Be Gentle <—
You might not immediately recognize Peter Cullen's face.
You definitely know the voice.
For more than four decades, Cullen was Optimus Prime, the heroic leader of the Autobots in Transformers. He was also the wonderfully gloomy voice of Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh — which means this one man somehow became part of childhood for several generations.
But the philosophy behind Optimus Prime may be Cullen's best contribution of all.
Cullen said he based the character partly on his older brother Larry, a Marine, who encouraged him not to play a hero as someone loud or aggressive. Real strength, the idea went, could also be quiet and compassionate.
After Cullen's death, his family asked fans to honor him through community service, compassion, integrity and loyalty, along with a phrase closely associated with him:
“Be strong enough to be gentle.”
That's not bad advice for Autobots... or humans.
—> Yayoi Kusama: Fill the World With Color Anyway <—
And then there was Yayoi Kusama...
Dots. Pumpkins. Mirrors. Infinity rooms. Giant flowers.
Kusama looked at an ordinary white gallery wall and apparently thought, Absolutely not.
Her work became instantly recognizable around the world, but underneath all of those spectacular colors was something deeper. Throughout her career, Kusama created anti-war happenings and returned again and again to ideas of love, peace, infinity and human connection. Her museum in Tokyo describes its mission in part as sharing her message of “world peace and love for humanity.”
Perhaps even more remarkable: she simply kept creating. Her studio said that Kusama continued painting until her final days at age 97.
There is something incredibly optimistic about that... Keep making things; Keep putting color where there wasn't any before; Keep making the world stranger and more beautiful.
—> Gloria Steinem: A Life Spent Making Room for Others <—
The loss of Gloria Steinem feels like the loss of one of those rare people who spent nearly an entire lifetime trying to leave the world fairer than she found it.
As a writer, activist, and co-founder of Ms. magazine, she helped give women a louder voice and challenged generations to question inequality rather than simply accept it.
But perhaps what makes her legacy so meaningful is that she never seemed to believe the work was finished. Even late in life, she continued speaking up, listening, encouraging younger generations, and fighting for a world where more people had the freedom to choose their own path.
At 92, she leaves behind far more than a remarkable career; She leaves behind a world that is different because she was willing to help change it.
—> Leave Something Bright Behind <—
The world can feel pretty dark sometimes. And losing so many beloved people in one year only adds to that feeling.
But Dolly Parton gave children books.
Peter Cullen reminded us that gentleness can be a form of strength.
Tim Curry gave generations of wonderfully weird people permission to be themselves.
Yayoi Kusama spent nearly a century covering the world in color, dots, mirrors and messages of love.
None of them could fix everything wrong with the world.
... But neither can we... And maybe that's not the assignment.
Maybe we're simply supposed to make our little corner of it brighter while we're here: help somebody, create something, make someone laugh, welcome the person who feels left out, paint something ridiculously colorful, give away a book, or choose kindness when being unkind would be easier.