I never did get around to watching Steve Irwin's Crocodile Hunter movie. From what I did see of him on television though, he always came off as a genuinely likable, incredibly stupid guy. It was impossible not to like Steve Irwin.

After years of throwing himself into dangerous situations, Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter has paid the ultimate price. In the freakiest of freak accidents, he was killed Sunday morning at 11am after a stingray barb went through his chest while shooting an underwater documentary off Port Douglas in Queensland. Irwin was 44.

You see divers swimming with stingrays so often in documentaries, that I'd almost forgotten they could even be dangerous. After wrestling crocodiles and boa constrictors, it's a shocking way for the beloved nature hunter to be taken down. Steve was known for risking life and limb to get close to nature. That's how he made his name. Were the headline "Steve Irwin Eaten By Alligator", then let's face it, I don't think anyone would be surprised.

To be honest, we all assumed he was crazy, and I'm sure few watched his show or his movie without thinking at least once or twice, "he's going to get himself killed some day". Of course that, and his incredible zest for life was why we all paid attention in the first place.

Most reports from the Associated Press seem to indicate that Steve was killed almost instantly after being impaled on the stingray barb. Apparently he didn't suffer, and was dead long before medical assistance arrived.

His film career was a short one. Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course came and went from theaters back in 2002 at the height of his fame. Before that, a cameo role in Doctor Doolittle 2 was his only movie credit.

Somewhere along the way, imitating Steve Irwin became the default for anyone parodying over-the-top naturists. "Crikey" became the catchphrase of anyone about to do something dumb around an animal. Whenever he talked about his often mocked notoriety, Steve never seemed irritated by it. Loved by kids and nature channel viewers the world over, his uniquely energetic, ultimately gentle style and reckless approach to touching nature won't soon be forgotten.