A Couple Extra ‘Stars’ In The Sky

Wow what a news day it was yesterday, first with the passing of Farrah Fawcett aged 62 and Michael Jackson at aged 50.

 So let’s start with the Farrah Fawcett news story from the BBC website reporting that the star had lost her fight with cancer.

 Actress Farrah Fawcett, who became an icon of 1970s US television, has died of cancer in Los Angeles aged 62, her spokesman has confirmed.

 Fawcett is best known for starring in Charlie’s Angels, and in later years for hard-hitting TV and stage roles.

 Her battle with illness was chronicled in the television documentary Farrah’s Story earlier this year.

 Her partner Ryan O’Neal said: “After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away.”

 He was said to be by her beside when she passed away in a Los Angeles hospital.

“Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world,” he said.

 The star’s former Charlie’s Angels co-star Jaclyn Smith said: “Farrah had courage, she had strength, and she had faith.”

 The actress, who played Kelly Garrett in the hit TV series, added: “And now she has peace as she rests with the real angels.”

 Cheryl Ladd, who played Kris Munroe in the show, said: “I’m terribly sad about Farrah’s passing. She was incredibly brave, and God will be welcoming her with open arms.”

 John Forsythe, who played a mysterious behind-the-camera boss in Charlie’s Angels, said: “She put up a gallant fight against her unforgiving disease, and I send my deepest sympathies and prayers to her family and friends.”

The screen star was previously married to Lee Majors, star of The Six Million Dollar Man, from 1973 to 1982.

 ”She was an angel on Earth and now an angel forever,” Majors said.

Her death has come just weeks after her TV documentary was broadcast.

The video diary chronicled her battle with anal cancer in her final months.

O’Neal said she had wanted to tell her story on her own terms.

 O’Neal, who has been with Fawcett on and off since 1982, recently disclosed they would finally get married, but never got the chance to exchange vows.

 She and O’Neal have one son, Redmond, who is serving a prison sentence for drug offences.

 As Fawcett’s career was taking off, she posed in a red bathing suit for a poster which went on to sell several million copies.

 Her long blonde locks, made famous by her role in Charlie’s Angels, were emulated by fans across the globe.

 The actress earned a string of Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her small screen roles, but never won one of the major awards.

 In 1995, she was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

 Everyone knows Farrah best for her role in Charlie’s Angels but the woman was a style icon of the 70’s and 80’s, the Farrah flick was a phenomenon but despite not following her career she made an impact and does not deserve to be brushed under the rug by the press after the sudden passing of Michael Jackson… who’s up next, I’ll have a little more to say about this one.

Pop star Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles, aged 50.

Paramedics were called to the singer’s Beverly Hills home at about midday on Thursday after he stopped breathing.

 He was pronounced dead two hours later at the UCLA medical centre. Jackson’s brother, Jermaine, said he was believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest.

 Jackson, who had a history of health problems, had been due to stage a series of comeback concerts in the UK, beginning on 13 July.

 Speaking on behalf of the Jackson family, Jermaine said doctorrs had tried to resuscitate the star for more than an hour without success.

 He added: “The family request that the media please respect our privacy during this tough time.”

 ”And Allah be with you Michael always. I love you.”

 TV footage showed the star’s body flown from UCLA to the LA County Coroner’s office where a post-mortem is expected to take place on Friday.

 Concerns were raised last month when four of Jackson’s planned comeback concerts were postponed, but organisers insisted the dates had been moved due to the complexity of staging the show.

A spokeswoman for The Outside Organisation, which was organising the publicity for the shows, said she had no comment at this time.

 Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini said: “I always doubted that he would have been able to go through that schedule, those concerts. It seemed to be too much of a demand on the unhealthy body of a 50 year old.

 ”I’m wondering that, as we find out details of his death, if perhaps the stress of preparing for those dates was a factor in his collapse.

 ”It was wishful thinking that at this stage of his life he could be Michael Jackson again.”

 Uri Geller, a close friend of the star, told BBC News it was “very, very sad”.

Speaking outside New York’s historic Apollo theatre, civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton paid tribute to his friend.

 ”I knew him 35 years. When he had problems he would call me,” he said.

 ”I feel like he was not treated fairly. I hope history will be more kind to him than some of the contemporary media.”

 Melanie Bromley, west coast bureau chief of Us Weekly magazine, told the BBC the scene in Los Angeles was one of “pandemonium”.

 ”At the moment there is a period of disbelief. He was buying a home in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles and the scene outside the house is one of fans, reporters and TV cameras – it’s absolute craziness.

 ”I feel this is the biggest celebrity story in a long time and has the potential to be the Princess Diana of popular culture.”

 Musical icon

Tributes from the world of music and film have already flooded in from celebrities including Madonna, Arnold Schwarzenegger and ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley.

 Large numbers of fans have also gathered outside Jackson’s home and at the UCLA medical centre with lit candles to mourn the star while playing his greatest hits. Facebook groups have also been set up for fans to share their memories.

The singer’s albums are occupying the top 15 slots of online music retailer Amazon’s current best-seller chart, led by his 1982 smash hit Thriller.

Paramedics were called to the singer’s house in Bel Air at 1221 (1921GMT) following an emergency phone call.

 They performed CPR on Jackson and rushed him to the UCLA medical centre.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department said the robbery and homicide team was investigating Jackson’s death because of its “high profile”, but there was no suggestion of foul play.

 Jackson began his career as a child in family group The Jackson 5.

 He then went on to achieve global fame as a solo artist with smash hits such as Billie Jean and Bad.

Thriller, released in 1982, is the biggest-selling album of all time, shifting 65m copies, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

 He scored seven UK number ones as a solo artist and won a total of 13 Grammy awards.

 ”For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don’t have the words,” said Quincy Jones, who produced Thriller, Bad and Off The Wall.

 ”He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.”

 The singer had been dogged by controversy and money trouble in recent years, becoming a virtual recluse.

 He was arrested in 2003 on charges of molesting a 14-year-old boy, but was found not guilty following a five-month trial.

 The star had three children, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Jackson II.

 He is survived by his mother, Katherine, father, Joseph and eight siblings – including Janet, Randy, Jermaine and La Toya Jackson.

So the man who lived his life in a bubble and in the public eye gets to his final moments scrutinized in the press.  It was interesting to see how fast the news broke, there I was doing my usual Big Brother 10 commentary on Twitter when all of a sudden someone ‘Retweeted’ the Jackson death news story.  This was when the story first hit the headlines, off went Big Brother and on went CNN.

There was no confirmation of the Michael Jackson’s death, just a mildly confused CNN presenter going over the same facts every five minutes, Michael had been rushed to hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest, then he was in a coma but as I flicked through the news channels it was interesting to see how conflicted the information was for each news outlet.

Then came the text messages from friends, you see I had a ticket for one of the London dates in January and although the Death of the King of Pop will save me £90 in the long run (if there are refunds) even the texts had conflicting messages, was the man dead or was he alive?

It was TMZ that threw the cat amongst the pidgeons early on announcing their source had confirmed the passing but as CNN, Sky News and the BBC were playing catch up, 45 minutes later the LA Times also confirmed the story.

Tis a sad day as the 13 time Grammy Award winner will mainly be remembered for those allegations and the court case that split so many people’s opinions and they’re not the kind of allegations that go away as many of the jokes making their way round now prove.  A Musical Icon has died and folks coulda given it at least 24 hours before coming out with kiddie fiddling jokes.  Shame on you, they’re funny but still… shame on you!!

Now for Perez Hilton who said when the news broke that it was all a publicity stunt to get out of the Come Back Tour.  Hopefully his shitty comments and attitude in general will mark a somewhat reduced number in his readership and maybe Will I Am from the Blackeyed Peas will go back for another shot at the corny bloggers butt ugly mug (Not that I’m Advocating violence but sometimes people deserve it)

All in all it was an interesting news day yesterday and the legacy of these two stars will live on for some time to come… no doubt Charlie’s Angels will hit the remake circuit again in 10 years.

Jackson however, will he be remembered for the music and his contribution towards the industry or will he be known for the allegations and settlements out of court?

*sigh*