RIP Ed...and Farrah...and Michael...and now Billy...and Gale...and Fred...

[Raphael]

This week has been a rough one on the celebrity front.  I mean, three in one week, two in one day? 

First, Ed McMahon, ok not a huge shock. I'd heard over the past year or so that he wasn't well, and he was in his 80s. Still, the man was an icon.

Then, Farrah Fawcett. Let's face it, she could have just used her first name for the last 30 years and people would have known it was her. How many Farrahs are there?  Also not a shock, her battle with cancer has defintely not been a secret. It's still a little hard, since she was not only an icon but part of something I really enjoyed as a kid.  I loved watching Charlie's Angels as a kid.

And then Michael Jackson. In the back of my mind, I thought there might be a 3rd celebrity death, since these things have happened in threes in the past, but I wasn't expecting MJ to be the third one. This one goes beyond icon, really...it's going to be the news story for a while to come. People will start comparing his death to Elvis, or John Lennon, or even Princess Diana. People will be doing the "What were you doing when you heard the news?" bit.  For the most part, I would not call myself a fan of Jackson's. I've got some Jackson 5 songs and Jackson's "Thriller" album (only because I borrowed it to use the Vincent Price rap portion for a sound effects tape I was making for a Hallowe'en party - and the person I borrowed it from wouldn't take it back when I was finished). Say what you will about his personal life, and his quirks & sometimes questionable behaviour - the man had considerable, undeniable talent.

So, RIP Ed, Farrah & Michael. You will be missed.

Addendum:

And now add infomercial pitchman Billy Mays to the list.

Additional Addendum:

And add 1950's sitcom pioneer, Gale Storm, as well as 70s/80s comedian/impressionist Fred Travalena.

[Aignatius]

Sheesh, yeah, bizarre how they've occurred so close together. somepersonal memories as such...

Ed and his famous "Heeeere's Johnny."

In high school, the girls thought Farrah's hairstyle was awesome, so we all tried to emulate it... only a few succeeded. I wasn't one of them. :p

MJ: well, back in the very early 80s, my roommate got backstage passes from him because she worked for a photographer who did album covers for a lot of stars. We didn't make it into the concert at Madison Square Garden because her pass was stolen, and I didn't want to go by myself, (not a huge fan of his, though it would have been kewl to meet him.) Gave my pass away to some kid who wanted to go in with her friends, but couldn't afford it. Made her day. Didn't cost me anything, so no loss.

Michael's passing didn't hit me as hard as John Lennon's untimely death. And that of George Harrison. Was much more affected by their passing. 

[Ninjara]

  What a shock.  Two icons in one day is almost too much to take.  These were two people that had some effect on my life.

   Farrah's hair style for one.....I had it layered like hers and was so surprised to find it did the same big hair layers without curlers or blow drying.  

   Michael Jackson changed life on the Central Coast of California.  When he and Paul McCartney came into the little town of Los Alamos, CA, where I lived, to film a video.....Ebony and Ivory I think it was.....well, the L.A. crowd discovered our sleepy hamlets and started buying up property.  I didn't mind seeing him and Paul, but I sure hated what followed them.

   *sigh*  Yeah.  Sad Farrah and Michael have left us.  

      Oh....Aig....just saw your post.  Sorry about the Farrah hair thing.  You probably would have hated me back then.  A lot of girls did.  "You mean you just wash it and it dries that way??!!  I hate you!!!"   Geez.  I can still hear 'em. 

[arcade joe]

So many celebrities died lately. Don't forget Carradine. I am shocked that it happened....

I can honestly say that I really loved his early material a whole lot. I am also saddened that he went out being in debt and having some other legal problems. Is it karma? is it fate? I don't know.

All I know is that he was an amazing performer who touched many lives around the World...

[tOkKa]

 

[Aignatius]

Is okay, Ninjara, my hair does it the way I want it without any help,now.  Just, not quite like yours.

Yes, mustn't forget David Carradine, nor all those innocent civilians in Iran who are taking a horrific beating for exercising their constitutional rights as citizens. Yes, they do have a constitution, it's just the ruling parties are not honoring it.

[CriticalCrittles]

Oh Michael....as I've said several times before in different areas of the interweb I hang out...I'm a MAJOR 80s girl...and I feel like a HUGE part of me has died...yes, I was even one of those fans that cried over him. Not at first...I was EXTREMELY shocked and just refused to believe it....then I started reading the articles and seeing the pics of him and seeing pics of all the fans gathering to pay tribute, and that's when I started to break. I really just dunno what to say. That man was just....EPIC in the music world. I dunno why some people are actually being rude and cold enough to say good because blah blah blah, pointing out certian issues and flaws of his lifestyle. He was a MAN, and NO man is perfect, and NO man has the right to judge another because of that fact, in my humble opinion. We all have issues and flaws. Remember him for his epic accomplishments and talent in the music world...which I think will live on forever...at least in MY heart. RIP, Mr. Jackson

[Raphael]

Ninjara, the song would have either been "The Girl Is Mine" (from Jackson's Thriller) or "Say Say Say" (from Macca's Tug of War).  "Ebony & Ivory" was Macca's duet with Stevie Wonder (also from Tug of War).

I knew a few people who tried the Farrah cut (and one that did the Dorothy Hamill one). I never had the patience to try such hairstyles.

[TurtleNinja]

I remember Ed mostly from the Bloopers & Practical Jokes show and the Publishers Clearinghouse commercials he did for, well YEARS when I was growing up. Won't be able to watch another one of those without thinking of him now, even though he hasn't done one in awhile.

Farrah...I'm just BARELY old enough to remember watching reruns of Charlie's Angels when I was a tiny tot. Don't remember a heckuva lot about the show, just that I did watch it when I was small. I was actually laying on the sofa yesterday afternoon trying to get rid of a rare migraine(brought on by the heat and allergies that are coming from the guys tearing up our street out here) when I heard it. Earl told me. Was shocked. Knew she had cancer, but I hadn't heard a peep about how she was doing, so I thought she was all right.

And Michael Jackson...not a fan, although Thriller's not a bad song. That came as a shock, too. I grew up when the Moonwalk and single white glove were big. I remember kids my age when they all had the posters and everything. I read the news with shock on Yahoo while doing my evening routine yesterday around 5 or so, first that he was hospitalized, then that he was in a coma, and right after that, as soon as I clicked on a story I wanted to read, the blurb at the top of the page was that he was dead.

Even if I wasn't a fan, it shocked the heck out of me. Couldn't believe it. I looked all over the news trying to confirm it besides TMZ.com. Did manage to get to the LA Times page before turning over to CNN to find out it was indeed true. Still having a hard time believing it, he was such a recognizable American icon.

And yes, David Carradine, too. Earl told me about him one afternoon and that shocked me, too, since I adored him from Kill Bill, Kung Fu, and his hosting of Wild West Tech on the History Channel. We actually watched Kill Bill the next day in honor of him.

Too many icons have been passing this year. The world's really not gonna be the same without 'em.

[Aignatius]

And then there's Billy Mays, the rather loud TV infomercial guy. Also dead at 50. Now what happened to him?

[DisheveledAngelo]

Seems this week was just not weird enough already. 

[Raphael]

They don't know for certain yet, but it looks like it may have been a head injury. He flew yesterday and the plane had a really rough landing (blew out a few tires) and things flew around the cabin - something heavy hit him on the head. He laughed it off...but then his wife found him unresponsive this morning.

Been a bad week.

[Ninjara]

Ninjara, the song would have either been "The Girl Is Mine" (from Jackson's Thriller) or "Say Say Say" (from Macca's Tug of War).  "Ebony & Ivory" was Macca's duet with Stevie Wonder (also from Tug of War).

I knew a few people who tried the Farrah cut (and one that did the Dorothy Hamill one). I never had the patience to try such hairstyles.

  Thank you, Raph.  I searched the video files on Youtube and it is indeed Say,Say,Say.  That is beautiful Los Alamos, CA in the backgrounds.  One road in.....one road out. The perfect place to put up roadblocks and isolate. 

[BubblyShell22]

Billy's death was due to a heart attack, not a head injury. It was a sudden thing.

Yes, it's sad that these people have left us, though I wasn't familiar with Farrah except about her battle with cancer. We can also add TV journalist Walter Cronkite to this list as well.