Why are celebrity deaths so important to people?

It depends on the celebrity. I was very, very affected when Syd Barret passed away. Why? Because his music and the story of his life had a very large impact on my life. He was a personal hero to me, and I felt as though I knew him. Even though I never met him, I knew him through his writing and his music and I felt a deep connection with him. I didn't consider him a celebrity, I considered him an amazing man who had reached out to me across years and distance to share with me his pain and his struggles and his search for something better. I saw myself in him and his music. I have that same connection with a few other writers, and when they pass away I know I'll feel it the same way I'd feel if a friend passed on. Some of them do touch our lives and our hearts in ways we can't quite explain properly to other people.