This Was It

The Guinness World Records named him as The Most Successful Entertainer of All Time, with 13 Grammy Awards, 13 Number One singles, and 750 million records sold worldwide. With his signature black fedora, single sequined white glove, white socks with black shoes, Michael Jackson played a central role in shaping pop culture and transcending barriers in musical history. He was to prove that he is the Greatest Entertainer of All Time for the last time via a 50-day comeback tour in London’s O2 Arena billed This Is It. But his final act came when he collapsed at his home at the Holmby Hills in Los Angeles after suffering a cardiac arrest and died at the age of 50 on June 25. 

News of Michael’s death spread quickly, prompting media networks to pull wall-to-wall coverage, and cable networks-from the Bio Channel to MTV-to give their own tribute to the King of Pop. In the Philippines, 1,500 maximum security inmates in Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center performed again the Thriller dance routine that shot them to global fame with a YouTube video. Internet and social networking sites suddenly became flooded with emails and tweets from every region of the globe. Makeshift shrines were erected on his honor-from his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to Motown’s old headquarters. Music bars cleaned out their shelves of all Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 CDs. Online sales of Jackson’s CDs skyrocketed, with Thriller topping Amazon’s bestselling list following news of his death. MJ-related memorabilia snapped up quickly on eBay.

Born Michael Joseph Jackson in Gary, Indiana on August 29, 1958, Jackson is the seventh of nine children of Joe and Katherine Jackson. By the age of 5, the prodigiously talented singer and dancer joined his brothers, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy, in what would become the Jackson 5. They toured for years before Berry Gordy signed them on to his Motown record label in 1968 and releasing a string of hits, including ABC and I Want You Back. Their debut on the popular television variety show, The Ed Sullivan Show, in the ‘70s stamped the Jackson 5’s place in music history and marked the start of Jackson’s globe-spanning career that would run for four decades.

Jackson eventually went solo and released even more hits which topped Billboard charts. His album, Off the Wall, released in 1981, became the first album in the United States to produce four Top 10 hits, establishing Jackson as a musical genius. His sophomore follow-up, Thriller, dwarfed the earlier success of his first album and spawned a string of global smashes, including Billie Jean, Beat It, and Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin. The album was certified platinum 28 times in the United States and is the bestselling original collection ever released. Not to be missed is his third album, 1987’s Bad, which sold 30 million copies worldwide.

During the course of Jackson’s epic career, his appearance had gone through many drastic changes, with various plastic surgeries on his face, including his nose, chin, to the color of his skin which he had said was because of a skin disease.

Jackson was briefly married to Lisa Marie Presley in 1994. They divorced amicably after two years. He then married dermatologist Debbie Rowe but divorced in 1999. He is survived by his three children, Prince Michael, Paris Katherine, and Prince Michael II or ‘Blanket.’

The pop star’s career slowed down in the mid ‘90s because of ill health and legal troubles stemming from allegations of child molestation. Jackson became a reclusive figure and a subject of media ridicule. At one point, he confessed on Oprah of his strained relationship with his iron-fist father, Joe, who trained Jackson and his brothers. He said his father often criticized him whenever he gave a lackluster performance.

But all these didn’t deter his devoted following. Although the King of Pop’s personal life had always been the subject of tabloid scrutiny, he was a philantrophist who supported numerous charities including the Heal the World Foundation, to aid the children of war in 1992. Jackson had expressed great interest in humanitarianism, equality, and world peace. Songs such as Can You Feel It, We Are the World, and Man in the Mirror convey this. Jackson also donated millions of dollars to charity, including his $5 million share from the Victory Tour.

His influence on the musical realm is also unarguable. Many artists of today consider him and his music as their inspiration. After news of his death spread, artists quickly sent out statements of grief over his death. Madonna said she was heartbroken by the news that she couldn’t stop crying. Those who had worked with Jackson said they were privileged to have worked with the King of Pop.

Director Steven Spielberg, who worked with Jackson in one of his music videos, Liberian Girl, said, “Just as there will never be another Fred Astaire, or Chuck Berry, or Elvis Presley, there will never be anyone comparable to Michael Jackson. His talent, his wonderment, and his mystery make him legend.”

Jackson’s friend and constant musical collaborator, Quincy Jones, said, “I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news. For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don’t have the words. To this day, the music we created together on Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad is played in every corner of the world and the reason for that is because he had it all-talent, grace, professionalism, and dedication. 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.”

Fans around the globe tuned in to the July 8 memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, which was broadcast live around the world and watched by up to one billion people, from Jumbotrons in New York, to malls in Hong Kong, to Tokyo, Melbourne, even in Manila.

Jackson’s family and friends, including Brooke Shields, Smokey Robinson, Berry Gordy Jr., and Magic Johnson, bid him farewell with eulogies, while Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer, Usher, and Jackson’s brother Jermaine rendered musical numbers. Reverend Al Sharpton won a standing ovation when he told Jackson’s children, “There wasn’t nothing strange about your daddy. What was strange was what your daddy had to deal with.”

Jackson’s 11-year-old daughter, Paris Katherine, said, “Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine ... I just wanted to say I love him so much.” Then she broke down.

The Way He Thrilled Us...

IN memory of the King of Pop, we asked readers, “What do you thank Michael Jackson for?”

I thank him for Man in the Mirror, Human Nature, Beat It, Smooth Criminal, and The Way You Make Me Feel-in that order.  - Micah Jamora

He set not just musical trends but fashion trends as well. - Kate Fetalvero, Makati City

Thanks, MJ, for providing the template of how a total entertainer should be. - Rachel, Caloocan

He provided the soundtrack of my generation. His songs are part of our memories, and these memories are all the more vivid because of his music. - Saab, Quezon City

I would like to thank Michael Jackson for letting us Filipinos experience his greatness when he had a concert here in 1996. - Eli Padua

Thanks, Michael, for bringing the world closer with your music and moonwalk. - Chris Tan, New Manila

I thank him for making us believe that it’s possible to walk on the moon. - Evan Paulo, Novaliches

Number Ones. Jackson released a string of albums in his four-decade career which sold over 750 million worldwide, from top: Off the Wall, Thriller, Bad, Dangerous, HIStory: Past, Present, and Future Book 1, and Invincible.

He Rocks Our World: Jackson during a rehearsal for his This Is It tour days before succumbing to cardiac arrest in his Holmby Hills home on June 25.

Goodbye, Angel

FOR most women who grew up in the ‘70s, she was private investigator Jill Munroe in the television series Charlie’s Angels. But in June 25, 2009, Farrah Fawcett joined real angels when she succumbed to cancer at the Intensive Care Unit of Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California.

Born Farrah Leni Fawcett in Corpus Christi, Texas, Fawcett broke through show business when a Hollywood publicist saw a photo of her in Cashbox Magazine which ran University of Texas in Austin’s Ten Most Beautiful Coeds. He urged Fawcett to move to Los Angeles, which she did in 1969, leaving during her junior year with her parents’ permission.

When Charlie’s Angels became a hit, millions of young and old women all over the world emulated Fawcett’s hairstyle. Her now iconic poster, featuring her in a red bathing suit, flashing her big smile, broke sales records, making her an international sex symbol in the 1970s and 1980s.

In 2006, Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer and began the treatment including chemotheraphy and surgery. After four months, the Associated Press reported that she had been cancer-free. But in 2007, another malignant polyp was found in the area that had been treated. Fawcett traveled all the way to Germany to seek treatment. In April this year, Fawcett was taken to the hospital after cancer complicated her liver. Three days later, Fawcett returned home together with longtime partner Ryan O’Neal. In May, Fawcett was again reported to be critically ill, spending her days at home, on an IV. The Los Angeles Times reported that Fawcett was in the last stages of cancer.

In May 15, NBC aired a two-hour documentary of Fawcett’s battle with cancer filmed by her friend, Alana Stewart. It was reported that nearly 9 million people watched the documentary. Then in June 25, Fawcett died at 9:28 a.m.

In June 30, a private funeral was held in Los Angeles. Fawcett’s son, Redmond, who was arrested for possession of narcotics, was permitted to leave the detention center to attend his mother’s funeral, where he gave the first reading.

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