RIP: Alex Higgins
Jul. 25th, 2010 11:03 am![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
julesjonesAlex Higgins has died, at the age of 61, and in a pitiable state. He was by all accounts mad, bad, and dangerous to know. Like that other renowned sportsman from the back streets of Belfast, George Best, he was ill-equipped to handle the fame and fortune his great talent brought him. He was a volatile, violent drunk who burnt through his winnings and died penniless. At his worst, he famously threatened to have his teammate Dennis Taylor shot during the World Team Cup.
None of which takes away the fact that it was indeed a rare and great talent, and one that through television brought joy to millions. The Hurricane was the living embodiment of the phrase "poetry in motion", and I regret that I never had the chance to see him play live. Snooker was his life and his death, and when he came to the table at the top of his form, what you were given was art at its finest. For all the shambles and emotional damage he inflicted upon himself and others, I think the world is a little better for his art having been in it these last forty odd years.
Rest in peace, Alex. You had little enough of it in life.
None of which takes away the fact that it was indeed a rare and great talent, and one that through television brought joy to millions. The Hurricane was the living embodiment of the phrase "poetry in motion", and I regret that I never had the chance to see him play live. Snooker was his life and his death, and when he came to the table at the top of his form, what you were given was art at its finest. For all the shambles and emotional damage he inflicted upon himself and others, I think the world is a little better for his art having been in it these last forty odd years.
Rest in peace, Alex. You had little enough of it in life.