[Diddle E. Squat]

I am trying to think of a similar icon that could be lost here in the US, and I can't think of one.

I'd say it is kinda like if Will Rogers, Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, or Lucille Ball had been killed in their prime while filming a simple stunt or not wearing a seatbelt. Irwin was a goodwill ambassador.

[Rte66]

Well, Will Rogers was only 56 and was still in his prime. It just wasn't this day and age of instant information.

He was our national ambassador of goodwill, had a syndicated newspaper column and radio show and was the top box office draw in the movies at the time; he even hosted the Oscars that year (1935).

I wish he'd lived to be 80-plus, so I could have enjoyed him in person and not just through archives and museums.