Last Sunday, the 11th February 2012, the UK woke from their blissful slumber to the news that yet another star had been taken from us.
Whitney Houston, singer/actress/drug addict had left this world for a supposedly better place, and so the Facebook jokes commenced…The sad fact is that here was yet another hugely talented star who, due to their own personal demons, felt the need to take drugs to function.
Whitney, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, River Phoenix; all highly talented individuals who saw the dark side of fame as a curse and needed to shoot, smoke or snort to get through the day. While the jury is still out on the cause of Whitney’s death, the well publicised drug problems have to have been a contributory factor. Whether class A or prescription, the fact is that drugs and celebrities seem to go together like fish and chips.
Way back in the so called golden days of Hollywood, drug taking was prevalent thanks to the studio machines that expected their stars to produce the goods 24/7 without any breaks between films. Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe, two of the biggest and brightest stars the world has ever seen were hopeless addicts behind the scenes, and then were berated for being late on set, uncooperative and unable to remember lines.
The King of Rock n Roll, Elvis Presley, was on a lethal concoction of prescription drugs that contributed to his huge weight gain and untimely death at only 42. When you are a star of his stature, and surrounded by a posse of yes men, is it really so hard to say no? It apparently is, especially when private doctors they pay a small fortune to in order to preserve their health actually help to end it.
The landmark case of Michael Jackson’s doctor brought this to the attention of the world. We all knew of Jackson’s inner demons, and the colour changing and amount of cosmetic surgery smacked of someone who was, for want of a better phrase, screwed up mentally. Despite being one of the biggest selling stars of the 20th century, Jackson is remembered more as a joke than an artiste, a very sad testimony to a huge talent.
For every tribute that was made to him, or Whitney, or Amy, there was a so called joke to counteract it. Drug addicts are derided, abused and shunned in real life, but in the celebrity world it’s a whole different ball game. Do they think that because of who they are they won’t be affected like mere mortals? Is it really a case of these enormous ego’s thinking they are above it all and can live life on the edge without repercussion?
They are certainly not learning from the demise of their peers, so are they really just like us, and a recreational drugs habit has got hold of them so the want turns to a need? Whatever the reason is, you can bet your bottom dollar that before too long, we will once again be waking up to the news that yet another celebrity has gone down the same rocky road and found the grim reaper waiting at the end for them.
