Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
1. Lisa Marie Presley: Michael Jackson Feared Elvis-Like Death
2. Jackson Fans Furious With Perez Hilton
3. Jackson's Key Asset: The Beatles Catalog
4. Farrah Fawcett, Angel in Waiting
5. Police Scrutinize Michael Jackson's Doctor
1. Lisa Marie Presley: Michael Jackson Feared Elvis-Like Death
Those close to Michael Jackson are searching their memory banks for clues to explain the tragic loss.
Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis, remembered a warning sign from years past that she had received, which in light of emerging information surrounding Jackson’s death is unsettling.
Lisa Marie, in a post on her MySpace page, revealed a conversation she had with Michael when she was married to him. She remembered how, during the discussion, the talk turned to the manner in which her father had died.
“I am afraid that I am going to end up like him, the way he did,” Michael confessed. The pop singer was alluding to the tragic death by overdose that Elvis suffered.
Lisa Marie blogged that she had immediately “tried to deter him from the idea at which point he just shrugged his shoulders and nodded almost matter of fact as if to let me know, he knew what he knew and that was kind of that.”
According to Presley, she grew tired from “her quest to save him from certain self-destructive behavior.”
She added, “His family and his loved ones also wanted to save him from this as well but didn’t know how and this was 14 years ago. We all worried that this would be the outcome then.”
2. Jackson Fans Furious With Perez Hilton
In a strange twist of fate, Miss Universe judge and celebrity blogger, Perez Hilton, who had attacked now de-crowned Miss California, Carrie Prejean, because of her support of Proposition 8 and traditional marriage, is himself becoming a target of an Internet campaign.
When news broke that Michael Jackson had been admitted to a Los Angeles hospital, Perez posted a picture of the pop singer along with a caption that read, “Heart attack or cold feet.”
Perez suggested that Michael was not actually in need of hospitalization but was “lying” or “making himself sick.” The blogger has since changed the post and softened his allegations.
But this hasn’t stopped an online movement from gaining momentum. The e-form of expression is apparently intended to send Perez a message through use of the micro-blogging platform, Twitter.
The category posted on Twitter is labeled #unfollowperez.
Likeminded Twitterers also plan to end their subscriptions to Hilton.
Guess it’s twit for tat.
3. Jackson's Key Asset: The Beatles Catalog
Back in 1985 Michael Jackson bought a publishing catalog for $47.5 million, which included world famous songs from one of music’s most legendary groups, The Beatles.
In 1995, Sony purchased from the pop singer half the rights to the catalog at a cost of $90 million.
To accomplish the transfer, a joint venture was created called Sony/ATV.
Today each of the halves of the entity is worth more than $700 million, which means Michael's creditors, who are reportedly owed around $500 million, will be humming Beatles songs as they attempt to settle with the King of Pop’s estate.
Michael piled up massive debt from the time his solo career peaked with the “Thriller” album to his recent passing.
Creditors could force a sale of Michael’s share in the catalog.
A quick “auction” of the asset could result in a distress sale at below market prices given the current state of the music business.
Possible litigation involving the Jackson family, Paul McCartney, Sony and others has the potential to stretch out the process for years.
4. Farrah Fawcett, Angel in Waiting
It’s not a typical celebrity passing.
In American pop culture terms, Farrah Fawcett was an icon.
She burst onto the Hollywood scene with her sparkling smile, sweet nature, and blonde windblown tresses that set hairstyle trends for a decade.
Farrah’s image adorned magazine covers galore, but more importantly her poster was tacked onto teen lockers, shop halls, and office walls.
All-American places. All-American dream girl.
She was cheerleader, prom queen, sorority sweetheart and pageant winner all rolled into one. And she graced her way right on up to full-fledged movie star.
Farrah's career, from “Charley's Angels” to the reality show genre, was a shining example of an actress who lithely coped with a changing media landscape.
Amazingly the role that defined her fame, that of glamorous detective Jill Monroe who took assignments from the mysterious Charlie, only lasted a year.
The TV show was such a hit Farrah became part of that unusual celebrity club of those stars known by their first names only. If you said Farrah, folks knew exactly who you were talking about.
Like Betty Grable in an earlier era, Farrah became the pin-up girl of her generation. The photo of Farrah in a red bathing suit quickly became the biggest selling poster of all time with an unprecedented 12 million copies sold.
Farrah proved she was more than just a pretty face when she took a part in an off-Broadway play called "Extremities," and she received critical acclaim. She then tackled a difficult subject in “The Burning Bed,” a TV-movie about an abused woman. It earned her an Emmy nomination.
She starred in another complex made for TV film, "Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story." And she garnered a second Emmy nomination for a miniseries “Small Sacrifices.”
More critical praise for her acting came from her portrayal of a wayward wife to Robert Duvall's character in “The Apostle.”
When she appeared as herself in the 2005 reality show, “Chasing Farrah,” the public had a glimpse of the deep love she and Ryan O’Neil shared. The tender relationship supplied a sort of tonic to the public, which offset the disappointing failure of marriages that is so widespread from Hollywood to D.C.
Looks like the Angel got her wings.
5. Police Scrutinize Michael Jackson's Doctor
When a celebrity dies a sudden death and prescription drugs are part of the person’s medical history, the spotlight quickly turns on the doctor or doctors who provided medications to the star patient.
The investigation of Anna Nicole Smith's death resulted in the indictment of her physician suppliers. In the case of Michael Jackson’s death, it is possible that we may see events unfold in an eerily similar manner.
In trying to sort out the details surrounding Michael’s death, the Los Angeles police have been firmly focused on Jackson's private live-in cardiologist, Dr. Conrad Murray.
Murray had reportedly been living with Jackson for weeks prior to his death. According to the Los Angeles Times, the doctor was with Michael when he collapsed on June 25. It was Murray who was performing CPR when paramedics arrived at the star’s home.
The caller on the 911 recording can be heard referring to a “doctor” who was present.
“Did anybody witness what happened?” the dispatcher asked.
“Uh no. Just the doctor, sir. The doctor has been the only one here,” the caller replied.
Evidently, Murray briefly disappeared after the singer was pronounced dead. TMZ reported that the police were “looking for a doctor who lived at Michael Jackson's home” and he was “nowhere to be found.”
However, the physician is now cooperating with investigators, and the LAPD have conducted at least two interviews with him.
It is highly unusual, to say the least, for a doctor to flee the scene when a patient is in distress, loses consciousness, or worst of all, expires. The police have been measured in their public statements, but family members are purportedly trying to figure out the reasons for the doctor’s disappearance.
The L.A. police towed away a BMW that had Texas plates, which was registered to Susan Rush. The car was impounded for further investigation. It turns out that Rush is Murray's sister and has also been employed at one of his clinics.
The police are saying that Murray is not under criminal investigation but may provide information that may be useful, along with toxicology results, in determining Jackson’s cause of death.
Murray is familiar with the Los Angeles area. He did his internship and residency at Loma Linda University, a school located near the City of Angels. He came back to the Southern California vicinity to complete a fellowship at the Foundation for Cardiovascular Medicine in San Diego.
He was practicing medicine in California, Nevada, and Texas and lives in a gated community in the suburbs of Las Vegas. He gave up a medical practice to work for Jackson.
According to a letter that was obtained by TMZ, Murray wrote to his patients that he was no longer going to practice medicine because of a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” It turned out that his undisclosed opportunity was a job as Jackson's live-in physician and upcoming tour doctor.
Murray may have been in need of the salary that the superstar was offering. It appears as though the doctor had quite a few financial troubles.
Records reveal that there are $400,000 in judgments against his Nevada medical practice, Global Cardiovascular Associates, with two other cases pending. There is also a $3,700 judgment for failure to pay child support and several tax liens were filed against the doctor in California and Arizona between 1993 and 2003.
The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners Web site indicates that there were no complaints filed against Dr. Murray during his years as a licensed cardiologist in that state.
The concert promoter for Michael’s London comeback tour, AEG Live, hired Dr. Murray. AEG Chief Executive Randy Phillips told the Los Angeles Times that Jackson had “insisted emphatically” on Murray's recruitment.
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