Loved & Lost: Celebs Who’ve Dealt With The Passing of a Parent

Chris Rock

Father Julius Rock | 1988

Just as Christopher Julius Rock III saw his career takeoff, his father Julius Rock passed away in 1988 after undergoing ulcer surgery.

In a 1997 interview with the Herald-Journal Rock said, had he not come to grips with his grief over the death of his father, his professional and personal success wouldn’t have been possible.

“I guess I went into a shell. I mean, I’m kind of still in that shell…I don’t know, I was just in maintain mode after my dad died. I’m still not over it. Just…time passes and…some people drink, some people get high I just hung out and chased girls.”

His success continued in movies and stand-up, even hosting the 77th Academy Awards in 2005, but he and his family suffered tremendously behind the loss of his father.

“We cried a lot the first few years,” Rock’s mother Rose says. “Every time Chris would do something he would come off stage and say: ‘I wonder did daddy see that?’ Even at the Academy Awards, it was like ‘Do you think he saw?”

It’s clear that Chris’ success is fueled by making his father proud. Decades later he’s still pushing. We’re all looking forward to the Rock x Chappelle mega tour supposedly in the works. Only time will tell.