The last rites and wrongs of the recently deceased

It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.

Ecclesiastes 7:2(NIV)

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Michael Jackson


What's WRONG? At CLUB DEAD, The bell tolls for Michael Jackson the King of Pop, dead from cardiac arrest in Los Angeles at age 50. Some people can not be described in just a few words. He was one of those people.


How to talk to your kids about MJ's death

Michael Jackson had so many personas.

There was the "Little Michael Jackson of the Jackson Five," with the purple hat and the big Afro hair, belting out pop anthems. Seldom does anyone grow up so publicly. The Jackson family --five brothers dancing and singing happy, catchy pop songs, came to national attention when Michael was still very young. Motown head Berry Gordy spread the word that Diana Ross had discovered the group, but that was so much p.r., an attempt to use her fame to endorse their talent.

There was the actor, singing and sliding his way through Oz in the role of the scarecrow in "The Wiz."

Later, after reaching legal age, and gaining control of his money, Michael teamed with producer Quincy Jones to record 1979's "Off The Wall." It won the Grammy for Best Album, and established Michael as more than just another former child star.

"Thriller" followed in 1982, and would become the biggest selling recording in history. Michael was a fan of the movie "An American Werewolf In London," especially the scary special effects. "Werewolf" director John Landis came on board to shoot the long, long "Thriller" video that sent a standard in the early days of music video. He brought "moonwalking" into our vocabularies. His performance on the Motown 25 television special was nothing short of spectacular.

There was the entrepeneur who in the early months of MTV, threated to make a statement on CBS's morning show (Jackson recorded for CBS Records) accusing the channel of racist policies for not playing his videos. And he was the man who as his carer stumbled, brought the same charge against Tommy Mottola, the head of Sony Music.

There was the elaborate hair, the one sequined glove, the huge commercial deal with Pepsi, and the explosion on the set of one of the commercials. He had become the most popular entertainer in the world, perhaps the best-know person on the planet.

There was the host of Neverland Ranch, rejoicing in a middle-aged childhood.

There was the husband, first of Lisa-Marie Presley, then of Debbie Rowe, with whom he had two children. The thought of Michael Jackson as a father unnerved more than a few people. He had always shown a fondness for young children, but his eccentricities seemed to call for caution.

There was the bleached-faced man who dangled his child over a balcony.

There was the eternal man-child sharing his bed with young boys, drawing universal scorn, then being cleared of any wrongdoing. There was the sad recluse, the one we feared would mimic Sunset Boulevard's Norma Desmond, always working toward the next comeback.

His death came unexpectedly, when he stopped breathing as he was preparing for European concert dates. Paramedics were called to the Bel Air mansion he had been renting, but were unable to fully revive him.

Whether Michael Jackson is remembered as a sucessful, accomplished entertainer, or as a pop-culture enigma, he will be mourned as few ever have.

Then again, screw him, he's dead. Let's go look for crocodiles.



StevenK

Farrah Fawcett


What's WRONG? At CLUB DEAD, The bell tolls for Farrah Fawcett, dead from cancer at age 62. She passed with longtime companion Ryan O'Neal and close friend Alana Stewart at her bedside. With er courage in the face of illness, maybe in the end, she earned the respect to paralel her fame.



"She was an angel on Earth and now an angel forever," said former husband Lee Majors.

The hair. That's what stood out for me. There was the smile, those white teeth, the poster, and of course, the jiggle.

Farrah Fawcett was a phenomenon. Image careflly nurtured by superagent Jay Bernstein, her poster graced thousands of walls. She attained that untimate level of celberity, those who could be indentified with one name. everyone knew who Farrah was.

"Charlie's Angels" ushered in a new TV era, the "jiggle" show. The show boasted three sexy women (Farrah, Kate Jackson, and Jaclyn Smith) who worked as private investigators for the mysterious heard-but-never-seen Charlie. The show debuted in the fall of 1976 and soared to the top 5. But Farrah yearned for more challenges, and more respect.

She left Charlie's Angels at the height of her popularity, hoping for a great movie career, only become the butt of jokes. Her first film, "Somebody Killed My Husband" was such a disaster that the buzzword for it around Hollywood was "Sombody Killed My Career."

Although things didn't pan out as hoped, she did attain a measure of credibility later on. Her TV movie, "The Burning Bed," told of a desperate abused woman, and earned her an Emmy nomination. On stage, in "Extremities," she played a rape victim who wounds and imprisons her attacker. The play required her to brawl on stage night after night. The physically demanding role required that she battle on stage night after night, leaving her beaten and exhausted.

Her recent health battles have been well documented, so much so that many of her eulogies have expressed relief at the end of her suffering.

She was truly a cornerstone of the glamorous late seventies, and a woman who held her head -- and that glorious hair -- high through good times and bad, not an easy thing to do.


Then again, screw her, she's dead. Let's go look for crocodiles.


Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Ed McMahon


What's WRONG? At CLUB DEAD, The bell tolls for Ed McMahon, longtime sidekick of Johnny Carson on NBC's Tonight Show. dead at 86. McMahon died at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center surrounded by his family. Publicist Howard Bragman didn't give a cause of death, saying only that McMahon had a multitude of health problems the last few months.


In the past few years, Ed McMahon, as many in todays world, had been beset with financial troubles as well as health problems. But he will be remembered as a brave war veteran, a dedicated worker, and the man whose "Heeeeere's Johnny!" told us it was time to laugh.

Ed McMahon began his television career as a weatherman on John Facenda's Philadelphia news program. (Yes, the same John Facenda, the longtime voice of NFL films) After stints on several game shows, he was paired with Johnny Carson on a show called "Who Do You Trust?" When the young comedian inherited Jack Parr's Tonight Show, Ed followed.

In the three-channel days, Johnny and Ed were friends we saw every night. Thanks to video libraries and you tube, so many of their moments live on. Here he is, doing what he did best... setting up Johnny.



Ed showed us you can be near to greatness and enable someone else to shine, thereby increasing your own level of celebrity. Content to be Johnny's second banana, he was neverless accomplished on his own, as host of "Star Search," co-host of Jerry Lewis' MDA Telethon, pitchman for various companies and causes. He was a veteran of World War II and Korea, a devoted husband and father, an avid booster of his adopted home town of of Avalon, NJ., so much so that he even insipred good-natured ridicule from the king of late night.

One night, probably sometime during the summer of 1970, Johnny Carson did a comedy skit from his desk that brought the nation’s focus to Avalon. It’s similar to the “Headlines” segment that often occured on the “The Tonight Show” in which Jay Leno held up a funny but true newspaper headline that often has multiple meanings. Here, Johnny held up old photographs from the Wild West that showed dilapidated, old buildings. As a spoof, he identified each photo as a location in Avalon: the police station, the Borough Hall – everything was fair game.
(courtesy avalonspast.com)



Now, he and Johnny are together again. I visualize a heavenly stage, and a command performance featuring Carnac The Magnificent...

Ed: I hold in my hand the hermetically sealed envelope. Carnac will now attempt to divine the answers without ever having seen the question...

Johnny (holding the corner of the envelope to his forehead): "A rodeo bull, a chicken, and the Tonight show since we left."

Ed: "A rodeo bull, a chicken, and the Tonight show since we left."

Johnny:(opens envelope, blows in it, removes the slip of paper and reads it): "Name something that bucks, something that clucks and something that sucks."


It was Ed McMahon's childhood dream to be a broadcaster. He lived that dream. We should all be so lucky.

Then again, screw him, he's dead. Let's go look for crocodiles.



StevenK
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