I’m taking a little bit of a departure from my normal posts to speak about death and remembrance.

I’m a huge fan of pop culture, especially that of the past. I’m one of those guys that always thinks of the “good ol’ days”.So I was pretty bummed out as 3 different icons of the past died this week. Unfortunately, these three are consistently remembered for their troubles of recent years rather than for all the wonderful accomplishments they enjoyed over the years, as well as the joy their careers have brought us. So, especially for you youngsters out there who don’t realize the impact these three have made, I want to pay tribute to them with my own memories and how I will look back on them.

Ed McMahon

[Left, with Johnny Carson, right] I woke up to the news of Ed McMahon’s passing and it immediately pushed me out of bed. I was 7 years old when The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson went off the air. However, through the blessing of DVDs and videotapes, I have developed a deep love for the show, and I view it as the way late night television should be. When Johnny passed in 2005, I was really depressed. I don’t know why – it’s not as if Johnny had really been on television since 1992 (other than a walk-on appearance on David Letterman’s show), and he wasn’t about to return. But I was still sad, as if a piece of Hollywood legend was gone.

Well, now the other piece is gone too. Ed McMahon in recent years made headlines for having no money. He was bankrupt and in danger of losing his home, and he could not work because he had injured himself in a fall. When I asked someone I know (whose identity will remain undisclosed) if they knew that Ed McMahon had died, the response I got was, “Wasn’t he a football player?”

*sigh*.

Ed was the second banana of second bananas. He was brilliant. He could incite laughter just with a booming chuckle or a “Hiyoo!” He launched careers by hosting Star Search, and he made us laugh with Dick Clark in TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes. I remember sitting and watching that show with my dad and laughing our butts off. I don’t want to remember Ed as the guy who was down on his luck. I want to remember him for being a guy that could bring smiles to so many, and for banter like this with Johnny:

Farrah Fawcett

Farrah had been in quite a few headlines lately. She had anal cancer and it was deteriorating her body. She carried a camcorder around during her treatment and filmed it for a TV special that aired recently. It showed her as a dying, feeble woman.

She was, however, an icon in every sense of the word throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s. People don’t really use the term “sex symbol” anymore, because Hollywood is full of good-looking women, and their dirty laundry is aired before us every day. But Farrah was different. She hit the big-time with her stint on Charlie’s Angels, which you might remember as a pair of crappy movies. The TV show was hot, and she was all over the place. Her feathered hairstyle was emulated by too many to count. She also showed her acting chops in a TV movie called The Burning Bed, which was one of the first depictions of white, suburban spousal abuse. It also started the trend of Lifetime movies where women are oppressed by terrible men and exact their revenge.

But most famously, Farrah was known for the picture to the right. That poster sold millions of copies. It is the quintessential sex-symbol poster. Men wanted her, and they bought that picture in droves. Women wanted to be like her. In remembrance of her, just take a look at that picture and enjoy it. She’s beautiful, graceful, cute, and she doesn’t show any sign of trashiness. It’s sexy, but classy. That’s how Farrah should be remembered.

Michael Jackson

As I write this, it is just a little over an hour since he was declared dead at 50 years old, and I’m listening to his last album, Number Ones. I think I’m still in shock. Over recent years, when you bring up Michael Jackson, people just talk about how “sick” he was and how crazy he went with plastic surgery. They bring up his molestation trials. Now, my response has always been that I feel Michael was just sick in the head. It’s no secret his father pushed him way too hard and abused him physically, and he had been an international superstar since he was a child. That’s too much for anyone to bear. So I feel that he never really molested anyone – he just thought he was a little kid like them.

But now, my response is as follows:

Michael Jackson was one of the most talented performers that ever graced a stage. He changed music in ways that people today simply do not appreciate. He turned the music video into an art form, creating movies out of them (Thriller and Scream are two examples that come to mind). He danced more gracefully than anyone has before or since. He invented the Moonwalk, and the music world went crazy. The first time he did it was a timeless moment in television history. I saw him dance a few years ago on some TV special, and he moved just as good as he always did. He had scheduled a giant European comeback tour, and he was reportedly intensely training and rehearsing for it. Sadly, that must have been too much for him. To remember Michael as we all should, check out his official YouTube channel with all his music videos. And as a tribute, I’m posting the debut of the Moonwalk, and enjoy as the crowd is eating out of the palm of his hand:

This world is full of people who just want to look at the lousy parts of everybody. I say let’s take some time to enjoy the good things they brought to the table. We all have our shortcomings. We’re not evil. We’re just human. Let’s remember these three and smile.

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