Sad Reflections on Farrah & Michael

My, how quickly the years whiz by.

Farrah Fawcett, an icon of my late teens, and Michael Jackson, who became a pop star during my early teens and a legend less than ten years later, both died yesterday.

Jackson and I were about the same age, Farrah was less than ten years older than I.

Of the two, I find Farrah's death the sadder.
I recall the Farrah Fever of 1976-1977, and how, by 1978, her wish to be taken seriously as an actress was met with laughter.
Her first few films bombed, and she was considered a has-been.

But in 1983, she appeared in a little off Broadway theatre piece called Extremities. Her performance as a rape victim who turns the table on her attacker drew rave notices.
Then came The Burning Bed, a groundbreaking 1984 TV film about spousal abuse. Farrah's performance as a battered wife broke many hearts~~her acting was never laughed at again.

By the time Farrah reached middle age, she was working with maverick independent directors like Robert Altman. She was a real actress.

When cancer struck, she fought like hell.
When the tabloids did what sleazy tabloids do, she stood up to them, documenting her life and death struggle for Farrah's Story, a documentary that aired last month.
Her courage was amazing! She refused to give up, and she had no qualms about being filmed bald, or while vomiting in her hospital room.
"This is what cancer is," she said.

Farrah Fawcett was 62, much too young.
She was a class act who took her final bow with great dignity.
She was a true role model.

I remember seeing The Jackson Five on The Ed Sullivan Show around 1970. WOW! They were GOOD!
Michael was incredible!
What a voice!
What a dancer!

With his first two solo albums, Michael Jackson showed us the awesome depth of his talent. No less than Fred Astaire expressed admiration for Michael's impressive dance moves!

Then, something went horribly wrong.
In his 30s, Michael Jackson began living the childhood he'd never had.
Numerous plastic surgeries gave him a freakish appearence.
"Sleepovers" with young boys brought accusations of child molestation. In the 1990s he bought the silence of a 13 year old boy for $20 million. Ten years later he stood trial on molestation charges. The trial turned into a circus. Charges were dropped, but few believed his innocence.

In two weeks, Michael Jackson was due to open in London fo a highly touted 50 concert engagement~~it was believed that this was going to revive his sagging career.
When he collapsed and died of heart failure yesterday, he was $400 million in debt.

As I recall the beautiful little boy I saw on Ed Sullivan nearly 40 years ago, I can only shake my head sadly at a great talent squandered, a life wasted.
As a bipolar survivor, I wonder how so many people in Jackson's life could have enabled what turned into a freak show.
Why didn't those close to him get him the help he needed?

As Farrah and Jackson fade into history, both far too young to have left us, I reflect on my own mortality. At 53, I wonder if I'll still be here in 10, 20 years.

I feel like a very old man today.

David Alex Nahmod
SF CA
June 2009