On January 10th, 2016, David Bowie, an iconic music legend, died at the age of 69 after an “18-month battle with cancer,” the family says. His tragic death happened just two days after the release of his latest album, Blackstar, and fans across the world are mourning the loss of “one of the most influential musicians of his era,” as BBC News has named him. Not only has the world suffered the great loss of this musical icon, but just four days later, on January 14th, Alan Rickman, a very successful actor, died also at the age of 69, and also from cancer. Rickman is best known for his role as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series, but also stared in popular films such as Die Hard and Love Actually. The deaths of these two world-renowned entertainers has called people across the globe to commemorate their outstanding achievements.

Born January 8th, 1947, from a young age, David Bowie always had gifted musical abilities. His biggest inspiration when he was little, he said, came from Elvis because Bowie’s father would bring Presley’s records to play around the house. Bowie’s career began in 1962 when he hopped from band to band, trying to find the right fit to further his dream of becoming a music sensation. His self-titled debut album flopped in the charts, but that did not stop Bowie from continuing to pursue his goals. The kick-off to his career really started in 1969 with his first hit single “Space Oddity,” and later, the early 70s was the beginning of the iconic era when Bowie was known as Ziggy Stardust. All of his career can be divided into several different eras where he personified different characters such as Ziggy Stardust or The White Duke in the later 70’s. David Bowie had an immense impact on the world on many different facets. One of his major influences stemmed from his androgyny, especially apparent during the Ziggy Stardust era, and his bisexuality, announced in 1976, at a time when the LGBT community did not have much representation at all, and was still largely not accepted. He also impacted how music is performed even today with his theatricality and different personalities, which can be seen in modern artists such as Katy Perry or Lady Gaga.

Alan Rickman, born February 21st, 1946, began his career in theatre, staring in several Broadway productions in the 80s and TV movies before hitting the silver screen with Die Hard. Throughout his career, he was nominated for several awards including a Tony, Golden Globe, and Emmy. His death has brought the hundreds of people who have worked with him to share their memories of him through social media, and all posts about him have described him an incredible man that will be sorely missed.

The Harry Potter cast, who spent eight films working with Rickman, are especially saddened by the news. “People create perceptions of actors based on the parts they played so it might surprise some people to learn that contrary to some of the sterner(or downright scary) characters he played, Alan was extremely kind, generous, self-deprecating and funny,” Daniel Radcliffe, aka Harry Potter, said about Rickman. “As an actor he was one of the first of the adults on Potter to treat me like a peer rather than a child.”

Fans across the globe have also commemorated both of these outstanding artists in different ways. At the announcement of Bowie’s death, fans gathered together in remembrance and celebration of his life. There has also been a memorial concert planned for the musician at Carnegie Hall in New York, and there will be a tribute to him during The Brits this year. Alan Rickman also has fans, specifically Harry Potter ones, who are commemorating his life and career in their own way. At Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter, at the announcement of Rickman’s death, fans gathered together and placed their wands in the air in remembrance, replicating a scene from the books where the students of Hogwarts point their wands to the sky after the death of Albus Dumbledore.

These two entertainers come from vastly different career paths and backgrounds, but the similarities between their deaths have brought the fans of both men together in mourning. Both families are mostly staying out of the spotlight to grieve and have had private funerals, according to the Telegraph. Although the world will sorely miss these two beloved entertainers, both David Bowie and Alan Rickman led incredibly lives that will go down in history. Whether it be with reinventing the music industry or portraying the most complex characters on the silver screen, the world remembers both performers with admiration.