Really sad. I've always had a slight soft spot for children of mega-celebs. Some are pretty much smug, egotistical $hit kids. Others find themselves facing unrealistic expectations and chronic loneliness. I don't know anything at all about the daughter of the King or where she fits in this spectrum. She lost a son to suicide a while back ... I'm sure her life wasn't the easiest.
Farewell to the Princess of Rock and Roll.
And CNN ran an almost ten-minute pierce on her, in the meantime, not one mention of Jeff Beck's passing?!?! (Proof positive how effed-up is the world?!?!?)
@dovetail NBC Nightly News did a nice piece on Wednesday (I think). Lester Holt (a fine bass player!) offered, "he could make that guitar sing!"
The posthumous/reimagined duet with her father - Elvis' gospel song, "Where No One Stands Alone".
There was a ton of coverage on McVie's passing, which actually surprised me since she was probably the 6th or 7th most famous person in Fleetwood Mac. Jeff Beck may be one of the most influential guitarists, but he's also the 3rd most famous Yardbirds guitarist without any real hits the general public knows. He's probably most famous for influencing Nigel Tufnel. He never really sought fame.
But the big difference being, Lisa Marie Presley, who is the daughter of one of the most famous people of the 20th century and was married to the most famous singer of the 20th century, died young - in her early 50s. Beck and McVie both lived well into their 70s. It's a little more tragic.
But fame and tragedy and media attention shouldn't measure the esteem you hold these artists in.
Apparently Lisa Marie blew thru much of her $100 million dollar inheritance at age 25 due to reckless business decisions.
Her X recently sued her and she reported $95 thousand in cash, $750 thousand in stocks.
Her monthly rent in Los Angeles was $25,700.00 thousand and her Maserati car payment is $1,700.00 a month.
On the upside her monthly income from Elvis Presley Enterprises was $104,000.00.
I had forgotten she was once married to Michael Jackson but briefly. Larry King interviewed her soon after the split but she refused to talk about it saying it was too weird to discuss. Later she indicated Jackson never made any attempt to consummate the marriage.
Maybe he made her wear one glove and sleep in an oxygen tent like he did.
Well Michael Jackson was very talented and I'm sure Lisa Marie was too and fell into a difficult life.
@robertdee I never paid much attention, but her marriage to Michael Jackson had "publicity stunt" painted all over it.
Don't know a thing about her finances, either. I'm not sure I could spend my way through $100 million even if I tried real hard.
@rusty Well Michael Jackson with his Never Land amusement park built on his estate and sleep overs with young males, it eventually resulted in some lawsuits for inappropriate behavior by Jackson.
I think a few were settled with those families receiving over a million dollars from Jackson.
Then came the shortlived marriage to Lisa Marie including the big public kiss on TV and before a crowded theatre of cheering Jackson fans.
I remember during this Hollywood scandal the comedians were working it often. On the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson there was the joke " What do K Mart and Michael Jackson have in common? Little boys pants half off!"
Later that died down because it was criticized by some TV talking heads as such a sensitive and disturbing matter it should not be fodder for crude jokes. It violated political correctness.
Jackson address the allegations on TV rejecting the claim he would be inappropriate with these guests and he was angry and hurt.
Then came the marriage to Lisa Marie who refused to discuss the marriage after it ended with Larry King saying it was just too weird and she didn't want to discuss it.
@robertdee I never paid a lot of attention to Michael Jackson, either. Certainly not the point of obsession that a lot of people did.
In the first post of this thread I referred to how some celebrity kids lives are shaped by their upbringing, lack of a constant parent etc. Another phenomena is kids who are themselves mega-celebrities and the way that their lives were shaped by stage parents.
I think to most anybody Michael Jackson's life and behavior appeared a little off-center. A typical grown man hanging out, playing with and having young boys over for sleep-overs would certainly draw suspicions from others - maybe even a visit from authorities. I do not know or understand anything about Jackson's behavior and relation with children - or of any concern by their parents.
Michael Jackson (and his siblings) were raised by an iron-fisted stage daddy. I can't imagine that his/their childhood was anywhere near routine. Maybe his adult behavior was his own effort at having the life of fun and joy that he missed out on as a kid? I don't know.
Kowtowing to lawyers and parents who chose to sue him ... kinda upset me a little. At the time, I felt that if I were him - I would never, ever back down on my own (presumed) innocence. If I were him, I would have fought with every penny I had to argue and prove that my accusers were not only wrong, but were libelous. Shelling out hush-money to parents and now-adult children made me wonder about his status as a law-abiding person.
To me, he seemed rather asexual. His relations seemed to be platonic, whether we're talking about Brooke Shields, Lisa Marie or McCauly Caulkin (sp?). He will be remembered by many as either the most misunderstood person or the biggest perv' of his generation. At this point, I choose to try not to judge.
@rusty Yeah I don't judge Michael Jackson either. He certainly found the key to success. Later in life he slept in an oxygen tent as part of his plan to live to be 100 years old. But sadly his insomnia resulted in Jackson hiring a doctor to put him to sleep with an IV each night and eventually Jackson overdosed ( doctor's mistake) and died in a deep sleep at age 50.
Some claim Jackson's father showed Michael how to do his famous Moonwalk dance by showing Michael old films of this man.
