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Notable/Celebrity Deaths | Michael Madsen (67) - Printable Version

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RE: Notable/Celebrity Deaths | Michael Madsen (67) - Moonface - Oct 16th, 2025

(Oct 13th, 2025, 06:22 PM)Mr EliteL Wrote:
I'm just glad I didn't try or get into Lostprophets so their music with Watkins in hasn't been ruined for me, but know to just avoid it.
It sucks because they put out some really good bangers on their first few albums; Last Train Home was a song I heard so often being played in peoples back gardens for parties during the late 2000's. Eh


I just saw that Tomonobu Itagaki (creator of Ninja Gaiden 2004, Dead or Alive) has passed away according to his Facebook. Harada (Tekken) put out a statement so it looks like his passing is legitimate:

Harada Wrote:
It’s hard to believe, but Itagaki-san…my senior from university and my rival as a creator has passed away. The last message I ever received from him was,

“Let’s go drinking. Let’s make some noise soon!”

To think that he’s gone at just 58 years old…

Yes, everyone dies eventually …that’s inevitable. But you… isn’t it a bit too soon?

Didn’t you say you were going to defeat me someday? Didn’t you come to my wedding, wearing your usual black leather jacket and sunglasses, and call me your comrade-in-arms? Didn’t you tell me to come to you whenever I was in trouble?

I never even got the chance to consult you about anything.

Honestly… I’m really depressed.

Tomonobu Itagaki Wrote:
—Itagaki’s final message (English translation)—

Words I Leave Behind The flame of my life is finally about to go out. If this message has been posted, it means that the time has come. I am no longer in this world. (This final post has been entrusted to someone dear to me.) My life was a series of battles. And I kept on winning. I know I caused trouble for many along the way. But I followed my convictions and fought to the very end. I have no regrets. Only one thing weighs on me — I’m deeply sorry to all my fans that I couldn’t bring you a new work. I truly am. That’s just how it is. So it goes.

Tomonobu Itagaki
——-
The cause of his passing isn't publicly known yet, but he was only 58 years old so I'm doubting he just passed away naturally. It doesn't seem he had an illness people were aware of though given the shock in Harada's statement.

RE: Notable/Celebrity Deaths | Michael Madsen (67) - Dragon Lord - Oct 16th, 2025

Definitely sounds like it was an illness he kept hidden from people. The fact that he entrusted someone with a pre-planned final message in the event of his death makes it sound like he knew he didn't have much time left. 58 is fairly young to die at in today's world, so something was definitely up. It doesn't really matter if we ever learn of the cause of his passing, but seeing a beloved creator leave the world at such a relatively young age is sad. I didn't play any of the games he was involved in, but have several friends who were pretty big fans of his games.

RE: Notable/Celebrity Deaths | Michael Madsen (67) - Mr EliteL - Oct 16th, 2025

Yeah I thought maybe the "life was a series of battles" could've alluded to an illness, and "kept winning", that he was able to suppress it for a while, but finally got to a point where it was too much. As well as probably other somewhat general things like trying to get projects approved and such too included in the "battles". 58 man, jeez. RIP good sir.

RE: Notable/Celebrity Deaths | Michael Madsen (67) - Moonface - Oct 19th, 2025

I didn't actually read the thing I quoted fully because I didn't expect the part Itagaki wrote to be a final message; I thought it was just something he had said in the past that Harada wanted to share in the moment. I'm guessing it was a family member who had the message to begin with and his family are probably the only ones who know what he was ill with. Seems rare to hear of any notable figure having an illness that was kept completely hidden from public knowledge until they've passed away.