Urban Thought Collective

TWO OF THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY’S MOST CHERISHED ICONS ARE CALLED TO HEAVEN ON THE SAME DAY.

First let us remember FARRAH FAWCETT, one of Hollywood’s most beautiful, recognizable & memorable actors. She will forever be idolized as Jill Munroe, one of Charlie’s Angels with gorgeous now famous feathered hair.

She had been diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006 which eventually spread to her liver. As she underwent treatment, she enlisted the help of her longtime love Ryan O’Neal, who was the father of her now 24-year-old son, Redmond.

Redmon, who was sent to prison on drug charges, was only allowed to see his Mother once before dying. That guilt will live with him forever.

This month, Ryan O’Neal said he asked Fawcett to marry him and she agreed.

Her struggle with painful treatments and dispiriting setbacks was recorded in the television documentary “Farrah’s Story.” Fawcett sought cures in Germany as well as the United States, battling the disease with iron determination even as her body weakened. NBC estimated the May 15, 2009, broadcast drew nearly 9 million viewers.

In the documentary, Fawcett was seen shaving off most of her trademark locks before chemotherapy could claim them. Toward the end, she’s seen huddled in bed, barely responding to a visit from her son.

May the family, friends & fans of Farrah always remember her in their hearts.

MICHAEL JACKSON…OUR BELOVED ICON, LEGEND, THE ULTIMATE ENTERTAINER 1958 – 2009

LET ME START BY SAYING THAT I AM….so blessed to have shared laughter, sweat & do what we both love to do; DANCE with the greatest entertainer in our lifetime…..M.J. is finally FREE of the media & vultures. Unfortunately the predators have already begun to keep their hands in his pockets & stain his legacy, but those of us who respect his gift to us, will not turn our backs!

Reports say the legendary pop singer collapsed and suffered cardiac arrest at his home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Holmby Hills. A doctor present at the time of the incident performed CPR on the singer but could not revive him. He was not breathing and had no pulse when paramedics arrived after a 911 call. They administered CPR and took Jackson via ambulance to UCLA Medical Center but were unable to revive him.

At the hospital, a team of doctors, including emergency physicians and cardiologists, attempted to resuscitate him for more than an hour, but were unsuccessful. According to Jermaine Jackson, the singer’s brother, Michael was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m.

During a brief press conference a visibly shaken Jermaine stepped in front of cameras and said, “This is hard.” Jermaine closed by saying, “Our family requests that the media please respect our privacy during this tough time. And may Allah be with you, Michael, always.”

The exact circumstances surrounding Jackson’s death continue to remain unclear. Jackson’s brother Marlon told CNN that Michael was not feeling well Wednesday night and a doctor was called to the house. Jackson family attorney Brian Oxman speculated to CNN that the singer’s death might be related to the abuse of prescription medication.

Los Angeles Police Department robbery/homicide detectives have begun an investigation into the death, though there is no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. Detectives will interview relatives, friends and Jackson’s doctors. The L.A. County coroner’s office will conduct an autopsy.

From his early career in the 1970s with his family group the Jackson 5 to his decades long career as a solo artist, Jackson stood as one of the most successful and beloved pop artists of all time, selling more than 750 million albums worldwide. He won 13 Grammy Awards.

The Jackson 5’s first single, 1969’s “I Want You Back,” hit #1 on the Billboard charts, and the Motown group went on to become one of the most popular acts during the ’70s with hit singles like “ABC,” “I’ll Be There” and “The Love You Save.”

In 1978, Jackson joined Diana Ross in the big-screen musical “The Wiz,” an adaptation of the Broadway musical based on “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” His career as a solo artist took off with 1982’s Thriller, which stands as the biggest-selling album of all time. Over the course of his career, with hit albums like Bad and Dangerous, Jackson scored five #1 Billboard 200 albums and seven #1 Billboard Hot 100 singles.

But Jackson’s career faltered as he suffered several scandalous legal battles. In 1994, he settled a civil suit stemming from child-molestation accusations. In 2005, he was acquitted on 10 felony counts in a child-molestation trial brought against him, including four counts of lewd acts on a child under 14 and four counts of administering alcohol to enable child molestation.

Still, he released a greatest-hits album in 1995, which hit #1 on the Billboard chart, and embarked on a hugely successful world tour. His 2001 album, Invincible, also reached the top Billboard slot; it would prove to be his final studio album.

At the time of his death, Jackson was gearing up for a comeback, rehearsing for a series of 50 sold-out shows in London’s O2 arena that would jump-start a world tour, a new album and possibly a movie. In what is believed to be his final public appearance, Jackson showed up at a press conference in London wearing one of his signature quasi-military outfits and announced the initial plan for the concerts.

Describing the shows as a “final curtain call,” Jackson told the assembled crowd of fans and media, “This is it. This is it! I just want to say these will be my final shows, performances in London. … When I say this is it, it really means this is it.”

Jackson eventually postponed by several days the July start of the O2 shows, raising questions about his health. But after his death, a source close to Jackson told MTV News, “Michael has been in rehearsals. He’s been in good spirits. He’s been rehearsing eight hours a day for the London concerts.”

On June 9, TMZ caught Jackson sitting in a black SUV. Asked if could still do the moonwalk, his signature dance move, Jackson replied, “Why wouldn’t I be able to?”

Born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, Jackson was the seventh of nine children. He married Lisa Marie Presley — Elvis’ only child — in 1994, but they divorced in 1996. The same year, Jackson married Debbie Rowe and had two children before splitting in 1999.

The singer is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince “Blanket” Michael Jackson II.

MICHAEL YOU WILL BE FOREVER MISSED & REMEMBERED!

NEWS BLAST
***Jamie Foxx is bringing an updated version of ‘In Living Color.” MTV has greenlit a project for series development with Jamie Foxx serving as an executive producer. G’s to Gents was Jamie’s first project with MTV.

***Martin Lawrence’s production company Runteldat has several TV comedies in the works, including one each at Fox and cable channel Starz. The Fox comedy is based on his experiences growing up in the Washington, D.C.-Maryland area. At Starz, he has a single-camera interracial family show in the works based on the comedy of Gary Owen, the only white man to host BET’s “ComicView.”

Additionally, Lawrence is developing a multi camera family comedy set at a funeral home that is expected to be taken out to other networks. The interracial comedy project for Starz is about a white guy from a trailer park who marries a well-to-do black woman. It is inspired by Owen’s real-life experience and stems from Runteldat’s stand-up series for Starz, “Martin Lawrence Presents 1st Amendment Stand-up,” which has featured Owen.

***Missy Elliott is still looking to bring a film about her life to the big screen. Missy’s gov’t name, Melissa Arnette in Portsmouth, VA, is hoping to produce a film that chronicles her traumatic past and her rise to fame during the 1990s.

During her childhood, she was repeatedly raped by an older cousin from the age of eight and saw her mother being abused by her father, who pulled a gun on the pair on one occasion.

And after nearly two decades in show business, during which she became the only female rapper to have six albums certified platinum, Missy says the film project is in the works.

***Rapper/actress Eve has just signed on to guest star on the upcoming Fox series “Glee.” She will appear in two episodes as a no-nonsense girls’ choir director from a rival school. Glee producers were hoping to cast Whitney Houston in the role, but she turned it down, says EW.

***Nick Cannon says he wants to celebrate his 2008 nuptials with Mariah Carey in an annual celebration like celebrity couple Heidi Klum and Seal. “We’re going to get married every single year in a different location. You’ve got to do it different every single year, different every time, themed weddings, all of that.”

Big Lez has interviewed everyone from Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. to Mary J. Blige and Tom Cruise. She was host and producer of BET’s landmark show “Rap City” and has enjoyed an extensive tenure in radio as co-host on The Steve Harvey Morning Show in Los Angeles, plus stints at New York’s WQHT/Hot 97, Atlanta’s WAOK/V103, LA’s Big Boy Morning Show at KPWR/Power 106 and Sirius Satellite Radio. Currently, Lez is partnered with DVA Media + Marketing as producer and host of the syndicated urban radio report, “The Urban Eye,” which launches nationwide this summer. Check out: www.myspace.com/BODIOGRAPHY