Michael Jackson
1958 - 2009
They say that the celebrity deaths always come in three's. Well #3 is a biggie.
The self-proclaimed "King of Pop" is dead at 50, the victim of an apparent heart attack.
Jackson reportedly went into cardiac arrest earlier today at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him.
Jackson's career peaked in the 1980's with the release of Thriller, which yielded a shitload of hits, spent a ton of time on the Billboard chart, and made a huge impact on the still fledgling MTV generation with the movie/video of Thriller. I can still remember when MTV first aired it, and how they would replay it every hour or so, and how we all watched it over and over and over again. And that Ola Ray was in Playboy. Oh and how Eddie Van Halen played the guitar solo on Beat It, lending Jackson a slice of cool. Oh and how Michael used to be black.
Jackson's latter years, like his face, were marred. Accusations of child molestation and flat out freakish behavior over-shadowed the singer's former glory days. I honestly felt sorry for him, not for the child molestation stuff, that's unforgivable, but the guy probably never had a normal day in his life. I remember several years ago seeing some sort of Jackson 5 reunion tour on TV, and I noticed how comfortable and happy Michael looked performing with his brothers. I imagined that it took him back to a time when his life was much simpler, and dare I say normal.
Farewell your majesty.
Update 6-26-09
The loons have begun nesting; at the family compound, his boyhood home, his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
I'm sure one could get a front row seat at Ed McMahon's star, if he even has one.
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