Showbiz Luminaries Mourn Eddie Van Halen

Tributes are pouring in for the rock legend
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 7, 2020 4:12 AM CDT
Showbiz Luminaries Mourn Eddie Van Halen
This June 1, 2012 file photo shows guitarist Eddie Van Halen of the band Van Halen performing in Los Angeles. Van Halen, who had battled cancer, died Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020. He was 65.   (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, file)

Eddie Van Halen, who died Tuesday at age 65 of cancer, is being mourned across the world of entertainment. The AP and other outlets round up reactions to the Van Halen guitarist's death:

  • “Heartbroken and speechless. My love to the family," tweeted Sammy Hagar.
  • “Sad to hear Eddie Van Halen has passed away. A guitar innovator with a fierce spirit of musical and technical exploration. Prayers and thoughts with his family and friends," Yusuf/Cat Stevens tweeted.
  • “Rest in peace guitar legend Eddie Van Halen. Broken heart We will miss you," tweeted Billy Idol.
  • “Two of the best hours of my life were spent chatting with Eddie Van Halen. A great musician, yes - also a funny and lovely guy who will be missed terribly. Sending love to Janie, Wolf, Alex & all those who loved him," Jimmy Kimmel tweeted.
  • “My heart is broken. Eddie was not only a Guitar God, but a genuinely beautiful soul. Rest in peace, Eddie!," Gene Simmons tweeted.
  • “I’m so grateful Wolfie and I were able to hold you in your last moments. I will see you in our next life," Van Halen's ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli wrote on Instagram.
  • “Crushed. So (expletive) crushed. RIP Eddie Van Halen. You changed our world. You were the Mozart of rock guitar. Travel safe rockstar," tweeted Nikki Sixx.

  • “Oh NO! Speechless. A trailblazer and someone who always gave everything to his music. A good soul. I remember first seeing him playing at the Starwood in 1976 and he WAS Eddie Van Halen. So shocked and sad. My condolences to Wolfie and the family," Paul Stanley tweeted.
  • “I’m just devastated to hear the news of the passing of my dear friend Eddie Van Halen. He fought a long and hard battle with his cancer right to the very end. Eddie was one of a very special kind of person, a really great friend. Rest In Peace my dear friend till we meet again," Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi tweeted.
  • “Guitars are gently weeping everywhere. Shred In Power Eddie Van Halen," songwriter Diane Warren tweeted.
  • “Apex talent. An unparalleled titan in the annals of rock n roll. One of the greatest musicians in the history of mankind. Rest In Peace, King Edward," Tom Morello tweeted. (The Rage Against the Machine guitarist also offers a lengthier tribute in Rolling Stone.)
  • “It wouldn’t be an hour of the day or a day of the week in the year 2020 if we didn’t at least get 22 simultaneous pieces of awful every few minutes. RIP #VanHalen," actor Josh Gad tweeted.
  • “Rest In Peace to a Eddie Van Halen, Rock God. Favorite riff: Eruption. What’s yours?," tweeted Papa Roach.

  • “RIP Eddie Van Halen. Van Halen were a tremendous influence on both Vinnie & Dime & Pantera. Hopefully they are all rocking out together now," heavy metal band Pantera tweeted.
  • “I lost my mom to cancer at 66.. too damn young. Eddie Van Halen was 65.. too damn young. Another lifetime of memories ahead of them should have been made. This hurts my heart. My mom and I would drive around in her car and blast Panama.. we both loved Van Halen music," comedian Dane Cook tweeted.
  • "Anybody after Eddie Van Halen was in second, as far as I’m concerned," says Ozzy Osbourne in a Rolling Stone tribute. "There were some other good players, and there are some very clever ones, but it’s not just playing an instrument. You’ve got to put the emotion behind you, and Eddie had all that. He made it look so easy."
  • "It sounded like Eddie was from another planet and the energy from Van Halen was undeniable," Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready tweeted. "Eddie was like Mozart for guitar. Changed everything and he played with Soul."
  • "Eddie was a one of a kind guitarist and human being,” Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh says in a statement to Rolling Stone. “He was a master at his craft, a peer I was in awe of and a friend I loved."
(More Eddie Van Halen stories.)

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