King of Pop's Headline Hogging
Forgotten again: Michael Jackson gets his death anniversary remembrance, butwhat about Farrah Fawcett?
It's the one-year anniversary of Farrah Fawcett's death too.
Michael Jackson is still a showman success in death.
Posthumous fame is is a bittersweet blessing, at best. What good are centuries of adulation for a Keats or Van Gogh when they died as failures, penniless and alone?
Nevertheless it's interesting to see what were the same-day deaths of two entertainment icons, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, leave the public perceptions of the stars a year to the day after their passing.
In the years immediately before his death, Jackson was more infamous than famous. With his musical successes largely behind him, Jackson's bizarre behavior and child molestation trial dominated headlines. His financial problems forced the closure of his Neverland ranch before he announced a series of 50 comeback concerts to be performed in London.
Farrah Fawcett, a Texas girl before she shot to on-screen and pinup fame in the 1970s, also had her share of tabloid fodder in later years, from a loopy appearance on Letterman to the drug problems of her long-time partner Ryan O'Neal and their son Redmond O'Neal.
But with her original cancer diagnosis in 2006, Fawcett's image changed from faded star to an icon in danger. As her condition worsened, the media's focus on her life only intensified, leading to a documentary, Farrah's Story, showing an unfiltered view of her fight with the disease. The original airing in May 2009 attracted nine million viewers.
But Farrah's death on the morning of June 25, 2009, was quickly overshadowed by reports of the unexpected demise of Jackson the same afternoon. Media outlets aired specials on her life, but many were delayed or shared with Jackson. In the so-called Summer of Death, Fawcett quickly became one loss out of many.
Fawcett fans were upset when Farrah (along with other television stars like Bea Arthur and Ed McMahon) was excluded from the "In Memoriam" reel at the Academy Awards in March 2010. On the anniversary of her death, Fawcett's friend Alana Stewart had a ribbon cutting ceremony for The Farrah Fawcett Foundation. CBS News covered the event and anniversary with the headline "Farrah Fawcett: Remember Her?"
By contrast, in death Michael Jackson became more famous and more beloved than he had been in decades. Within a day of his death, Jackson held seven of the top 10 spots on iTunes and dominated radio airplay. Los Angeles essentially shut down for Jackson's musical memorial at the Staples Center. His birthday in August inspired massive tributes around the world — including in Mexico City, where 14,000 people dancing to "Thriller" broke the world record.
This Is It, the concert film made out of rehearsals for Jackson's planned concert series, grossed $260 million worldwide and the accompanying album sold 378,000 copies in its first week in America and was the third-highest seller globally in 2009.
Future projects in the works include a Cirque de Soleil show featuring Jackson's songs, a singing and dancing video game and more greatest hits albums. His estate has gone from being $500 million in debt at the time of his death to earning $1 billion in the year since.
And today, people around the globe are lighting candles for Michael Jackson and his grave outside of Los Angeles is a trendy place to be seen. Farrah Fawcett's friend needed to make sure there was a celebration of her life.
