Today’s post could not be about anything else other than the events that went on yesterday. As I am on the web most of the day for my job, I can often catch breaking news, so I was saddened but not surprised when the news of Farrah Fawcett’s death came over the wire. It was disheartening, but not altogether unexpected and I planned on mentioning a few words about it in my weekly round-up on Saturday. But then in the afternoon, one of my colleagues instructed me to jump on Twitter (something I don’t normally do during work hours, except maybe lunch), and to search on Michael Jackson. And that’s when the flood gates opened.The news instantaneously exploded like gun powder. TMZ and Perez Hilton were reporting the death of Michael Jackson and it was being re-tweeted like crazy; however most people were discussing and commenting that they were waiting for a reliable news source to confirm. Eventually it was confirmed, and so you have it. It struck me as an interesting turn of events that we are now going to Twitter for the news. Not CNN, not BBC or France 24, but Twitter. This the is revolution.
It got so crazy that at one point in time, there were several account of Jeff Goldblum dying in an accident in New Zealand. But after much speculation, friend Kevin Spacey chimed in on his account with: “Jeff Goldblum is alive and well. I just spoke to his manager. Stop these stupid rumors.” So while Jeff Goldblum is alive and well, we lost 3 greats in the last 2 days: Ed McMahon, Farah Fawcettt and Michael Jackson. While watching the news on TV5 last night, I realized how lovely the French put it, the newscaster said: “l’etoile est éteint” which means :the star (as in those in the sky) has extinguished, doesn’t sound as nice translated, but I think it is poetic.
As a child of the 70′s each one of these stars had a profound effect on my childhood.
I am so sad about the final passing of Farrah Fawcett. Her character on Charlie’s Angels is deeply rooted into my childhood memories. Although I was always Jacklyn Smith and my sister was actually Farrah Fawcett, it doesn’t matter, she was there (as if I could have got rid of my sister!). Her acting in The Burning Bed was terrifying, she showed she was not just the blond bimbo on a poster stuck up on every teenage boys bedroom.
I think it is really sweet (and sad) that she finally agreed to marry Ryan O’Neal, her lifelong on-again/off-again partner. They were just waiting until she could speak the word yes. It is a testament to not ever giving up on love.
I was too young to stay up for The Johnny Carson show, nor was I particularly interested in winning the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, but Ed McMahon as the host of The Star Search was a weekly event in my house in the early 80′s. I remember watching it and discussing who should win, the pros and cons of each contestant, etc. And Mr. McMahon had a great calm demeanor that kept you in suspense. He was a great host, and television has lost a legend.
Of course I was part of the MTV generation and I distinctly remember watching the world-premier of Thriller. It was the longest video ever made at the time and more like a mini-musical. It was thrilling and I remember watching it over and over. My parents listened to Jackson 5, we had the 8-tracks, we watched the television specials, and we played the Thriller cassette tape until it was threaded and wore a rut into the LP.
Someone on the French news last night attributed the impact of Michael Jackson and Michael Jackson’s death on my generation to the death of Elvis Presley for my parent’s generation, and I guess that is probably true. I had not started to think about things in this perspective until the election of Obama, when people in my parents generation related the hope and admiration that my generation feels for Obama with the hope and admiration they felt for President Kennedy. So now I am at an age where I can see the cycle of events that affected the generation ahead of me, and I can also turn my head back and wonder what is in store for the one behind me? It is an odd place to be in.
Who will be the Ed McMahon, Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson of my nieces’ generation?
For now, I wish the families of the etoiles éteintes peace.
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I am so grateful for your eloquent words, Andi, which truly echo my sentiments. It is a very sad time and my heart goes out to his family.
i was stunned when i heard about Michael Jackson; he was still relatively young
MJ’s death to me was also like a part of childhood got cut off….sad