I’ve been quiet for nearly two weeks now as I observed the drama and spectacle that was the death of Michael Jackson. His death came way too young, and his funeral and memorial was the extended fermata at the end of a busy line of celebrity deaths including David Carradine, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays and Steve McNair; each one presenting their own take of despair, irony, and sadness. These are things the media over-extends themselves on to the point of ad nauseum and the general public loves to devour.
Some may argue my including David Carradine in this line of celebrity departures from this mortal coil since his death was nearly a month before the others. Others may debate the inclusion of Billy Mays and Steve McNair in the group as well, disagreeing with my giving them such an iconic celebrity status. My defense in such is that 6 notable deaths of folks in the public eye within 4 weeks are a rarity, and an occurrence that is certainly not the norm.
Deaths of iconic public figures have always been time line events in people’s lives, especially when they are generally unexpected. John F. Kennedy, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Princess Diana; the list can go on and on. Most folk can recant the “Where were you when…” stories that each passing’s milestone invokes in one’s memory banks.
Another part of a death event of a public figure that invokes our emotions is the age at which they die. All but Ed McMahon and David Carradine left us too young than what we are accustomed to as a “death age”. Farrah was only 62, Mays and Jackson just a mere 50 years old, and McNair left us at the young age of 36.
The commonalities that make famous people’s deaths memorable in the public’s minds are life choices and the circumstances surrounding these folk at the time of their death. David Carradine was into erotic asphyxia which reportedly contributed to his death. Ed McMahon was a heavy drinker in life and was near destitution and homelessness when he expired. Farrah was into drug use for a good number of years, which may have played a role in her cancer (something not proven but notable). Steve McNair made the choice to have an extra-marital affair with a 20-year-old, whom we are now finding out was mentally unstable. However, whether you like or dislike him, the biggest of these is Michael Jackson.
Though I never considered myself a fan, Michael Jackson was a talented individual. The Jackson 5’s first single “I Want You Back” was a #1 hit in 1970 for Motown Records and was getting tons of airplay on Detroit radio stations (which is ironic since it was recorded in 1969 at Hitsville West in Los Angeles as Motown was preparing their move from Detroit to L.A. in 1970). The Jackson 5 became a phenomenon. Their first four singles on Motown went to #1 (“I Want You Back”, “ABC”, “The Love You Save” & “I’ll Be There”), the first time in recording history a musical act had ever done this. Tons of appearances, a cartoon show on TV, and marketing galore propelled the Jackson 5 to mega-star status. But the true talented star of the group was Michael, and everyone knew it: his dad Joe, Berry Gordy, Gladys Knight, Diana Ross, and even the brothers themselves. Unfortunately, so did all the unscrupulous people that handled Michael's affairs throughout his career.
In my observations through life meeting many celebrities over the years I’ve noticed that many people who reach celebrity status, whether on a global, national or a local scale, seem to have demons that plague them. Broken homes, rough childhoods, psychological stigmas, unhealthy habits and addictions; all tend to have this denominator. And it seems that these demons feed the same things in each of them; ego, insecurity, paranoia, and making a litany of bad choices in life.
The iconic “King Of Pop” status of Michael Jackson shares quite a number of parallels with the other “King” Elvis Presley – even down to the link of Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis’ daughter and Michael’s ex-wife. Both were mismanaged, had major demons, faced accusations of alleged bad behavior, engaged in unhealthy addictions, had major insecurities, made numerous bad choices, and died untimely deaths. And it seems that the abuse of prescription meds will also be a commonality as both officials in California and the DEA are investigating the circumstances surrounding Michael’s death with reports of his abuse of lethal pain medications.
But the saddest part of Michael’s passing in my eyes is the whoring out of the deceased for either financial gain, political cause, or greedy grabs of face time in the media. The observation by me of so many hitching themselves to a dead “star” disgusted me.
The “heading to Mecca” of every major TV news anchor to Los Angeles for the funeral/memorial in my opinion was a sorry display of our over-indulgence – right down to the multi-hour coverage of the memorial. I’m sure others in the world (especially our enemies) were watching the wall-to-wall coverage in amazement and considering us laughing stocks. He was given the same coverage as the death of a head of state or a princess. In my opinion, he was not anywhere near warranting that level of coverage at all.
What did it for me in reaching my disgust threshold were two quotes from the Jackson memorial service: one from the Rev. Al Sharpton, “Michael Jackson paved the way for us to have a black president.” and from Lansing’s very own Earvin “Magic” Johnson, “Watching Michael made me a better point-guard.” Huh? What?!? That was when I turned it off before I had to reach for a barf bag.
Michael Jackson was an individual blessed with extraordinary talent and sadly, like others so equally blessed, failed to realize that the talent was a gift; whether divine, genetic, or by exposure…causing the rewards and benefits of such a gift to be used and abused by others bent on their own selfish desires, allowing the rewards of the talent to cloud their perception of reality and feed their demons. Should Michael Jackson be honored as an iconic figure in the world of music and show business? Certainly. Should he be revered as a god? No.
The next thing I'm now expecting is a report on Entertainment Tonight of Michael Jackson and Elvis being sighted together at a Burger King in Kalamazoo.
