Michael Jackson dies at age 50

xraffle · **on:** June 25, 2009, 05:30:32 PM

Breaking news- Michael Jackson has just died at age 50 from cardiac arrest. Now, 50 is a young age to die! That's shocking and very sad to hear. May he rest in peace.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_michael_jackson
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2009/06/tmzcom_says_michael_jackson_ru.html

JazzBill · **Reply #1 on:** June 25, 2009, 05:42:37 PM

Quote from: xraffle on June 25, 2009, 05:30:32 PM

Breaking news- Michael Jackson has just died at age 50 from cardiac arrest. Now, 50 is a young age to die! That's shocking and very sad to hear. May he rest in peace.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_michael_jackson
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2009/06/tmzcom_says_michael_jackson_ru.html

I didn't care for him as a person, but he sure was a talent.

falsealarms · **Reply #2 on:** June 25, 2009, 05:43:12 PM

Certainly had some great songs -- Thriller, Billie Jean, Beat It to name 3.

Very unexpected news.

OldFred · **Reply #3 on:** June 25, 2009, 06:41:16 PM

This is really very sad. An exceptional talent in the league of Elvis, Sinatra, The Beatles and just a handful of others. Despite the freak show his life later became, he was an amazing performer and musician who will be remembered as one of the greats in music.

RIP Michael

Stooges#1 · **Reply #4 on:** June 25, 2009, 06:46:20 PM

RIP Michael Jackson. What a sad day, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson and apparently Jeff Goldblum in New Zealand. They say he fell off a cliff whilst filming in New Zealand.

xraffle · **Reply #5 on:** June 25, 2009, 06:51:37 PM

Quote from: Stooges#1 on June 25, 2009, 06:46:20 PM

...and apparently Jeff Goldblum in New Zealand. They say he fell off a cliff whilst filming in New Zealand.

Jeff Goldblum too??? Wow, I didn't hear a thing about that.

shemps#1 · **Reply #6 on:** June 25, 2009, 09:20:48 PM

Now religious figures stand alone as the #1 threat to little boys.

Dunrobin · **Reply #7 on:** June 25, 2009, 09:29:00 PM

Quote from: xraffle on June 25, 2009, 06:51:37 PM

Jeff Goldblum too??? Wow, I didn't hear a thing about that.

That one, at least, was apparently a false rumor:

Don't believe the rumors: Jeff Goldblum is alive and well in Los Angeles

xraffle · **Reply #8 on:** June 25, 2009, 10:02:32 PM

Quote from: Dunrobin on June 25, 2009, 09:29:00 PM

That one, at least, was apparently a false rumor:

Don't believe the rumors: Jeff Goldblum is alive and well in Los Angeles

Yeah, OldFred just started a new thread and cleared that up.

Dunrobin · **Reply #9 on:** June 25, 2009, 10:08:53 PM

Thanks, x - just saw it.

curlysdame · **Reply #10 on:** June 25, 2009, 11:33:48 PM

R.I.P. King of Pop. You'll be missed.

The Stooge tie-in: He wrote the forward to Curly's biography

falsealarms · **Reply #11 on:** June 26, 2009, 12:21:32 AM

Quote from: curlysdame on June 25, 2009, 11:33:48 PM

R.I.P. King of Pop. You'll be missed.

The Stooge tie-in: He wrote the forward to Curly's biography

Good point. I forgot all about that.

shemps#1 · **Reply #12 on:** June 26, 2009, 01:19:54 PM

When Charles Manson dies is everyone going to say "rest in peace" and conveniently forget about the Tate/LaBianca murders?

Michael Jackson was a child molesting prick, plain and simple. He paid the kid off to keep quiet! An innocent person doesn't give someone millions of dollars to stop lying. It is an admission of guilt. He didn't want to go to prison so he bought his way out of it. That should be his legacy, not "Beat it".

For fuck's sake!

OldFred · **Reply #13 on:** June 26, 2009, 02:08:52 PM

The analogy with Manson is an extremely poor one because Manson was a murderer who convinced some delusional people to kill for him. As far as we know Jackson never physically hurt anyone. This is not to condone anything he may have done. Sinatra had alleged ties to mobsters, Charlie Chaplin chased after under-aged girls, John Belushi and Richard Pryor abused drugs, Ted Healy was an abusive drunk, etc. Many celebrities have darker sides that we really don't want to acknowledge, but that side sadly exists.

Again, this is not meant to condone anything Jackson may have done, and he's more of a tragic figure to be pitied. Just like today we admire Sinatra, Chaplin and other celebrities despite their dark sides, history will still recognize Michael Jackson's extraordinary talent.

shemps#1 · **Reply #14 on:** June 26, 2009, 02:16:27 PM

What do you mean "may"? HE PAID THE KID OFF! You don't pay someone off if you are innocent! Child molestation is just as bad as murder in my eyes so the comparison is an apt one. Oh wait, Charlie never had any hit records, I'm sorry! As for your comparisons, the only one that comes close is Chaplin. Belushi and Pryor abusing drugs was their choices as adults and for the most part hurt themselves, and is nowhere near child molestation. Neither is Healy being a drunk (besides, Healy was never as big a celebrity anyway).

OldFred · **Reply #15 on:** June 26, 2009, 02:31:50 PM

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 · **Reply #16 on:** June 26, 2009, 02:36:49 PM

Quote

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 · **Reply #17 on:** June 26, 2009, 02:47:58 PM

Quote from: Dunrobin on June 26, 2009, 02:36:49 PM

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 · **Reply #18 on:** June 26, 2009, 02:49:41 PM

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 · **Reply #19 on:** June 26, 2009, 02:59:52 PM

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 · **Reply #20 on:** June 26, 2009, 05:04:48 PM

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 · **Reply #21 on:** June 26, 2009, 05:10:33 PM

Quote from: metaldams on June 26, 2009, 02:59:52 PM

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 · **Reply #22 on:** June 26, 2009, 05:51:23 PM

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

xraffle · **Reply #23 on:** June 26, 2009, 06:13:14 PM

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 · **Reply #24 on:** June 26, 2009, 07:12:31 PM

Quote from: xraffle on June 26, 2009, 06:13:14 PM

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.