Michael Jackson dies at age 50

[Guest]

Michael Jackson's Foreword from Joan Howard Mauer's 1985 'Curly' book:

"My memories of the Three Stooges, and especially Curly, are still with me to this day. In my childhood, around our house in Indiana, it was a daily ritual for me to watch the Three Stooges on television. All my brothers loved them then and even more so now. Chaplin and the Stooges are the greatest to me--their humor survives each generation. Even my mother love to see us have fun watching them. Rehearsing as a team and watching the Stooges were the only times we got together as a whole family.

The Stooges' craziness helped me to relax and to escape life's burdens. They influenced me so much that I even wrote a song about them.

Curly was definitely my favorite Stooge. He was unquestionably a comic genius who understood ad-libbing better than anyone. I loved the Stooges' slapstick action and especially Curly's funny noises and his silly, child-like mannerisms and attitudes. He should be honored much more than what has been done for him in the past, for everyone who loves him.

As a kid, I imitated Curly all the time, and I enjoyed feeling superior to and smarter than those three, silly grownups. I owe so much to them that I feel they belong to me. That's why I had to write the Foreword for this book.

Joan, the author, asked me whether I thought that Curly had suffered when he had to shave off his wavy head of hair in order to become a Stooge. My answer was that I was sure he did, that underneath the smile may have been a tear--after all, he was a clown. But it is our duty as entertainers to satisfy the people--to give of our souls even if it hurts.

Curly had a magic. He was God-gifted--a natural. Even when he didn't intend to be funny he was magic.

Today, thirty-three years after his death, Curly still has legions of fans because he was a natural. Such people appeal to the masses young and old--like the color blue.

I love everything about Curly and I would give anything to really know what he was like.

Thanks to the author, this book will clear up much of the mystery of Curly for me and his millions of devoted fans."

Michael Jackson

[OldFred]

Michael Jackson's Foreword from Joan Howard Mauer's 1985 'Curly' book:

"My memories of the Three Stooges, and especially Curly, are still with me to this day. In my childhood, around our house in Indiana, it was a daily ritual for me to watch the Three Stooges on television. All my brothers loved them then and even more so now. Chaplin and the Stooges are the greatest to me--their humor survives each generation. Even my mother love to see us have fun watching them. Rehearsing as a team and watching the Stooges were the only times we got together as a whole family.

The Stooges' craziness helped me to relax and to escape life's burdens. They influenced me so much that I even wrote a song about them.

Curly was definitely my favorite Stooge. He was unquestionably a comic genius who understood ad-libbing better than anyone. I loved the Stooges' slapstick action and especially Curly's funny noises and his silly, child-like mannerisms and attitudes. He should be honored much more than what has been done for him in the past, for everyone who loves him.

As a kid, I imitated Curly all the time, and I enjoyed feeling superior to and smarter than those three, silly grownups. I owe so much to them that I feel they belong to me. That's why I had to write the Foreword for this book.

Joan, the author, asked me whether I thought that Curly had suffered when he had to shave off his wavy head of hair in order to become a Stooge. My answer was that I was sure he did, that underneath the smile may have been a tear--after all, he was a clown. But it is our duty as entertainers to satisfy the people--to give of our souls even if it hurts.

Curly had a magic. He was God-gifted--a natural. Even when he didn't intend to be funny he was magic.

Today, thirty-three years after his death, Curly still has legions of fans because he was a natural. Such people appeal to the masses young and old--like the color blue.

I love everything about Curly and I would give anything to really know what he was like.

Thanks to the author, this book will clear up much of the mystery of Curly for me and his millions of devoted fans."

Michael Jackson

[Dunrobin]

What do you mean "may"? HE PAID THE KID OFF! You don't pay someone off if you are innocent!

I disagree.  I can believe that a famous celebrity might ultimately decide to pay off someone like that, especially if the truth is likely to be extremely embarrassing even if nothing actually illegal took place.  I'm not saying that Michael Jackson was necessarily the picture of lily white innocence (deliberate pun), but unless you were peeking through the windows you have no real proof that he ever actually abused any kids.

Personally, I've long suspected that South Park came the closest in depicting the "real" Michael Jackson.  I think he was a sad, rather pathetic person who grew up being used and manipulated by his family and deprived of any real childhood.  I strongly suspect that he was just trying to "be a kid" and was too far off in his own little world to even realize the impression he left by his behavior.

[OldFred]

I disagree.  I can believe that a famous celebrity might ultimately decide to pay off someone like that, especially if the truth is likely to be extremely embarrassing even if nothing actually illegal took place.  I'm not saying that Michael Jackson was necessarily the picture of lily white innocence (deliberate pun), but unless you were peeking through the windows you have no real proof that he ever actually abused any kids.

Personally, I've long suspected that South Park came the closest in depicting the "real" Michael Jackson.  I think he was a sad, rather pathetic person who grew up being used and manipulated by his family and deprived of any real childhood.  I strongly suspect that he was just trying to "be a kid" and was too far off in his own little world to even realize the impression he left by his behavior.

I agree with that analysis. We don't know what really happened and we're presumptuous to think we do. Jackson was such an incredibly talented performer that to see how his life ended is very sad and tragic.

[shemps#1]

What could be so embarrassing that you would let the world think you molested a child? I can't think of much that would top that, if anything.

[metaldams]

No matter what the guy did or didn't do, he became a tabloid freak show later in life.  His celebrity, like Elvis, will grow even bigger in death, and for all the wrong reasons.

Never been a Michael Jackson fan.  I have a second hand copy of THRILLER my Aunt gave me on vinyl, and I may have played it once for the McCartney track.  I realize the guy culturally has an impact, but I personally never got it.  To each their own. 

Personally, the guy creeped me out.

[xraffle]

I'm not going to get involved in this child molestation debate. But let's move this thread to another direction by reading this:
http://new.music.yahoo.com/michael-jackson/news/jackson-lived-like-king-but-died-awash-in-debt--61990761

Michael Jackson's debt is about $400 million. Now that is something!

[Dunrobin]

No matter what the guy did or didn't do, he became a tabloid freak show later in life.  His celebrity, like Elvis, will grow even bigger in death, and for all the wrong reasons.

Never been a Michael Jackson fan.  I have a second hand copy of THRILLER my Aunt gave me on vinyl, and I may have played it once for the McCartney track.  I realize the guy culturally has an impact, but I personally never got it.  To each their own. 

Personally, the guy creeped me out.

I tend to agree.  I was never a Michael Jackson fan, although I didn't mind his early stuff too much.  I tend to prefer the Weird Al versions of his songs over the originals.   

[JazzBill]

I wonder if his nose fell off in his oxygen mask ? Or if he died with his glove on ?

[xraffle]

Seriously, is this all they are going to talk about on the news? I just watched an hour of news today on TV when I got home and EVERYTHING was all about Michael Jackson. Nothing else. Sheesh! I didn't know he was THAT popular.

I agree with Metaldams. He is scary, mostly in appearance. Why the heck did he have to go through that plastic surgery?!

I was never a fan myself. I only like a couple of his songs. What mostly shocked me was the age he died and how his cardiac arrest was just so sudden. That's the main reason I started this thread. Had I known this was going to be the only news on TV, I wouldn't have bothered starting this topic. I actually thought more people would make a big deal about Farrah Fawcett's death.

[JazzBill]

Seriously, is this all they are going to talk about on the news? I just watched an hour of news today on TV when I got home and EVERYTHING was all about Michael Jackson. Nothing else. Sheesh! I didn't know he was THAT popular.

I agree with Metaldams. He is scary, mostly in appearance. Why the heck did he have to go through that plastic surgery?!

I was never a fan myself. I only like a couple of his songs. What mostly shocked me was the age he died and how his cardiac arrest was just so sudden. That's the main reason I started this thread. Had I known this was going to be the only news on TV, I wouldn't have bothered starting this topic. I actually thought more people would make a big deal about Farrah Fawcett's death.

Get used to it, this will go on for a while. I thought that living close to Gary In. I was getting more than my fair share, but it seems like you people are getting your fair share of over-exposure.

[xraffle]

Get used to it, this will go on for a while. I thought that living close to Gary In. I was getting more than my fair share, but it seems like you people are getting your fair share of over-exposure.

That's strange. None of my friends or relatives are Michael Jackson fans. I know he used to be very popular in the 80s, but I didn't know a lot of people listen to him now. That's why this over-exposure is such a shock to me.

[metaldams]

That's strange. None of my friends or relatives are Michael Jackson fans. I know he used to be very popular in the 80s, but I didn't know a lot of people listen to him now. That's why this over-exposure is such a shock to me.

Michael Jackson was HUGE in the 80's.  I was born in 1978, and I have kind of an idea how big he was from first hand experience, but I think a few years older than me and you really get it.  Look at it this way -  go to Wikipedia, and THRILLER is the best selling album of all-time, at 100 - 109 million albums sold.  The number two album is AC/DC's BACK IN BLACK, and that "only" sold 45 million.  That alone means we're going to be hearing about this death for awhile.

If you also add in the media hoopla this guy has been creating for twenty plus years, Bubbles the monkee, Macauley Culkin, Lisa Marie Presley, Liz Taylor, child molesting, plastic surgery, skin bleaching, hanging an infant off the balcony, and all the other shallow bullshit our culture has become obssessed with, and you will be hearing about this death for a LONG time.  There is absolutely no shock at all in the over-exposure for me, and we're just beginning.

[xraffle]

If you also add in the media hoopla this guy has been creating for twenty plus years, Bubbles the monkee, Macauley Culkin, Lisa Marie Presley, Liz Taylor, child molesting, plastic surgery, skin bleaching, hanging an infant off the balcony, and all the other shallow bullshit our culture has become obssessed with, and you will be hearing about this death for a LONG time.  There is absolutely no shock at all in the over-exposure for me, and we're just beginning.

What really shocks me is that this is the only thing they're talking about in the news. No exaggeration. Well, they did manage to squeeze in 3 minutes to update us on the weather, but that's it. The rest of the one hour news was all about Michael Jackson. This is all gossip and should not be shown on local/national news, only on shows like "Access Hollywood" or whatever other gossip show is out there.

[locoboymakesgood]

This is pretty big. I wasn't alive in the 70s, but I recall people saying the Elvis death was a big thing. This is similar I believe. Jackson pretty much defined a decade of music. His songs are iconic, hate him or not, the man made a cultural and significant impact on the world. This is pretty huge for this to have happened.

Anyone remember the Pepsi commercial where his hair had caught on fire in real life?

[BeAStooge]

Some interesting Jackson videos...


THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW (March 1974)
Not a great skit, but interesting for what happens 1/3 into it... L.A. had an earthquake aftershock. Burnett quickly adlibs, and the show goes on, barely missing a beat.


THE FLIP WILSON SHOW (October 1972)
The ol' burlesque routine, 7x13=28, performed by Flip Wilson and Michael Jackson


THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW (December 1969)
Usually/erroneously credited as the Jackson 5's first national performance... actually, they premiered October 1969 on ABC's Saturday night THE HOLLYWOOD PALACE, in an episode hosted by Sammy Davis Jr. & Diana Ross.  But, SULLIVAN's Sunday night show had good ratings, and PALACE had low ratings (it was cancelled in 1970). So, this video often gets the [improper] credit...

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