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| Weep for Adonais - he is dead |
That the children of the early 22nd Century will learn that 2016 was the year David Bowie, Prince and George Michael died, let alone know who those people even were, is highly debatable. As Carrie Fisher, who passed this week put it once, "Celebrity is just obscurity biding its time." Having grown up in a show business family, she had witnessed the slow and steady decline of her mother's career before experiencing her own ups and downs, and so knew going in that fame is ephemeral. That her mother, Debbie Reynolds, died a day after Fisher, was a heavy emotional blow, even for a detached observer of the entertainment industry like myself. While theses celebrity deaths may not be as historically consequential as the Syrian Civil War, they represent so many more slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that earned 2016 the descriptive title of surreal.
For Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers, though, the passing of so many top musicians who came to prominence in the 1970's and '80's is significant. For better or worse we do associate with singers and musicians, as well as actors and athletes of our youth. They represent a more innocent time, a time of discovery. Back then we didn't know what came before, and for the most part we didn't care. This was our time, and the world began when we were born. No matter what the latest thing will be in 2017, for many of us who are middle aged and above, no one will sing better than George Michael, be as cool as Bowie or as all around awesome as Prince. In sports No quarterback will be as good as Joe Montana and no pitcher will compare to Nolan Ryan. When we were kids the movies were better, the bands rocked harder and the athletes were the real deal. The Lilliputians out there today are pretenders who'd never have hacked it back in the day. I mean autotune? steroids? You gotta be kidding me!
The emotional attachment can be so strong that their passing can be a great blow. It can be like a member of the family has died. In the U.S. celebrities, especially those who are on the mythical "A List," have assumed a place once reserved for the aristocracy. How many times have Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher been called "Hollywood Royalty," in the media reports of their deaths this week? I remember when Jimmy Stewart died in 1997. I was working summer camp, and one of our brothers in formation from South Korea picked up the copy of the New York Daily News that was sitting on a table in the staff cafeteria. The cover had a full page photo portrait of Stewart, with a headline that said something like, "It was a Wonderful Life." Br. John turned to me and asked, "Was he a president?" I said, "No, he was an actor." He didn't respond, but I got the feeling that he was a bit perplexed as to why an actor was getting the attention that, to his mind, should go to a head of state. Yes, we hold these pop culture icons up as, well, icons, if not idols. The adulation is too much, but I'll save that discussion for another day.
I guess, what I do what to say is that as we mourn, we need to remember to keep a certain perspective. There is a temptation to want to gloss over the more uncomfortable details of these celebrities lives and deaths. I certainly don't think now is the time to highlight scandals and bad behavior. But, at the same time, I'm not sure it's the time to look for lessons, or gain inspiration either. Some of those who died passed directly from drug abuse, others we will never really know how past drug use and struggles with addiction contributed to their deaths. Some suffered mental illness. There's no shame in that. But I'm still not sure what we can learn from how they "handled" their addictions and emotional traumas. This isn't because they were bad people or worse off than others, but they were different and their situations unique.
They were, in general, sensitive, artistic people caught in an industry that demands profits. They were the "talent," the commodity, and the movies, shows and music they produce are the product. Keep the customers coming, buying tickets, or move on down the list, from A to B to "what's ever happened to?" I do believe that there is such a thing as an artistic personality, and those who are especially creative - geniuses, for lack of a better term, often border on madness. They see the world in a different way - not necessarily better or wiser - but at a different angle. They pick up other shades of meaning, dig deeper into a lyric, or find a nuance of a line that even the screenwriter may not have thought of. This is a glorious gift, but it can also be a curse, especially if you're the only one who seems to see things in that particular way.
The popular artist can also suffer from great bouts of self doubt that expresses itself in perfectionism. That constant striving can be a great creative catalyst, but also a motive for self destructive behavior. Anyone who makes it is show business has to work incredibly hard, make tremendous sacrifices. Then, if they're lucky, they make it. Some can't handle the fame, others can't handle it when their star fades and the public recognition slips away. All these pressures can (but don't always, of course) contribute to whatever emotional instability or addictive tendencies they have.
When I say that I'm not sure that there are lessons for the average person to learn from the plight of show business folk, it's not an insult or a personal judgment on the celebrity in question. Its just to say that the popular actors, singers or musicians face temptations and pressures that most of us can't begin to understand. We should appreciate their talents, be grateful that they shared their gifts. But see the big picture, not just the emotional connection, when trying to make sense of their lives.
As for the historical big picture, the sad truth is that as time goes by the memories of the beloved figures will fade, and be replaced by new generations of stars. While technology has made it possible for their performances to be preserved for posterity, the entertainment industry is in constant need of new commodities, even as they seem obsessed with remaking the same product (again, a topic for another day). Don't blame 2016 for killing our heroes - some of it is the natural passing of time, some of it is the cruel reality of what happens when art, commerce, and cult of personality intersect with one another.
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Just a few random notes
While celebrities die every year, it does seem like 2016 has seen more than the normal quota of musicians, in particular, who have left the building permanently. Some have claimed that the number of 2016 celebrity deaths is actually down from previous years. Others have argued that the American and British Idols of the '70's and '80's are getting to the age when death comes to most, so we should get use to it. Two years ago an Australian researcher concluded that pop stars live, on average, 25 years less than the average person.
This string of doomed musicians, ranging in age from roughly 45 to 75, actually began at the end of 2015,when on December 3 Scott Weiland, 48, singer for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver passed. His death was followed on the 28th by the legendary frontman and bass player of Motörhead, Lemmy Kilmister, 70. Then on January 10 the first real bomb of 2016 hit when David Bowie died at the age of 69. Later in the month Glenn Frey, 67, of the Eagles passed away. I'm not going to go through the entire list, but it seemed like every few weeks another pop music figure from the '70's or '80's was winding up dead.
We can argue science and actuary tables all we want, the number of big time rock stars dying does seem unusually high. In 1977 Elvis and Bing Crosby died two months apart, and in 1997 Frank Sinatra passed in May and Jimmy Stewart and Robert Mitchum passed a day apart in July. But 2016 definitely takes the cake.
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