The Deaths Of Michael Jackson & Farrah Fawcett

It’s strange how what is considered the big news story of the day can get knocked out of the top spot when something bigger comes out of nowhere.
Take for example Thursday when we learned early in the day the passing of actress Farrah Fawcett at the age of 62 after a long battle with cancer.
I was deeply saddened by her death as I was among the 12 million who had one time had that famous poster of her on my bedroom wall…heck I even had a picture of her in my wallet. You knew that this would probably be the lead story on the network evening news as their staffs put together reflective pieces on Farrah, who burst onto the scene in 1976 on the show “Charlie’s Angels.”

However the news of her death, as sad as it was, quickly moved out of the top spot when late in the afternoon a story broke about the health of Michael Jackson. Details were sketchy but about 5:50pm TMZ was the first to report that the 50-year old King of Pop had died of cardiac arrest. News outlets were cautious at first, many still saying he was in very critical condition at a Los Angeles hospital before it became somewhat official while TV stations in the East were in the middle of their local newscast. As the Network news came on it was all Jackson, all the time. At times it was almost comical because there was really no official announcement and you had reporters on location at the hospital and where Jackson was living with not much to say. They would talk about gathering crowds and try to interview neighbors…anything to probably get a jump on the other networks that were doing the same. The reality is the death of Farrah Fawcett got bumped because Jackson was not only a bigger name but of course died suddenly.

His death is the end of maybe the most bizarre life that any of us have ever witnessed. He went from adorable child sensation, to a mega star bigger than any in the world, to a shamed recluse who made headlines for strange and somewhat sick behavior. While Jackson was working on a comeback tour for many people he will best be known as the weird guy who changed his face and hung around with young boys. The Michael Jackson of the late 70’s and 80’s was arguably the greatest talent the world has even seen and his music will live forever.