Notable/Celebrity Deaths | Michael Madsen (67)

[Moonface]

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.

---

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:

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.

—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.

[Dragon Lord]

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.

[Mr EliteL]

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.

[Moonface]

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.

[Kyng]

As a long-time chess enthusiast, this one saddens me greatly.

Chess grandmaster, streamer, and educator Daniel Naroditsky passed away at the age of only 29:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c15pz8vpjp9o

To say that this shocked the chess world would be an understatement. He was not only a very strong chess player (indeed, one of the very best in the world at fast time controls, such as Blitz), but his YouTube channel was one of the most highly-regarded chess channels in terms of its educational value. Some of his videos gave refutations of dangerous openings, or tutorials on difficult endgames - but he was most famous for his speedrun videos, where he would register a new Chess.com account; play lots of games against increasingly-strong opponents to build his new account's rating up to grandmaster level; and explain his thought process as he was going. This series provided tips of educational value to basically everyone - from beginner level right up to grandmaster level - and he never asked a single penny for any of it. 

We don't yet know the cause of death - but we do know that, for the past year or so, he had been struggling with baseless cheating accusations from former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik. Naroditsky wasn't the only player who faced Kramnik's cheating allegations - he's accused player after player, without ever providing any credible evidence - but he harassed Naroditsky with them more than most other players. And... it took a serious toll on his mental health, as he explained in this interview, about 6 months ago. 

Kramnik is now under investigation, over his cheating allegations. Which I'm glad to see: at best, he made the last year or two of Naroditsky's life miserable - and at worst, he's the main reason why he's no longer here.