Funny, I had heard that the opposite was true–that Roe v. Wade was pushed back in newspapers because of the president’s death.
In terms of global appeal, I don’t think there is any entertainment figure who comes close to Jackson. He had huge appeal in third world countries, beyond anything enjoyed by Elvis or the Beatles.In sports, Ali and Pele come close.
I think only Obama and the pope would be clearly bigger than MJ. Mandela, QE2, Gorbachev, either Clinton and the younger Bush would be close. Perhaps the Dalai Lama as well.
If OJ Simpson croaked this afternoon, it would be all-OJ, all the time for a few days.
Bin Laden is one year older than Michael Jackson. A greying beard does not necessarily mean the man is old.
MJ’s good friend Elizabeth Taylor is still alive. She’d probably get a pretty big media to-do.
if bono collasped suddenly i think he would be big news.
50 is young? 50 could only be middle aged if you plan to be george allen. people do go to 80’s and 90’s but 100 is a tough barrier to break.
now that i’m thinking about it mjj did have quite the midlife crisis around 25.
That’s not how I remember it. I definitely recall Roe Vs. Wade all over the news and Johnson’s death treated relatively lightly in comparison. And I was in Texas at the time, Johnson territory.
I thought I addressed this point earlier. Given that OBL is living in caves, had poor health and was rumored to be dead at one point and is the the world’s most wanted man, his age is kind of irrelevant. He’s aged probably three times the rate of normal people in the past ten years. Who doesn’t expect him to drop dead in the next few years, either through illness or assassination?
OBL made news and set in motion events that led to a major war. But I think the general reaction will be “fuck him, he’s dead, good” and in some circles, “a martyr is gone.” That will be it. There won’t be a major retrospective on his life anywhere except CNN. If I was into that sort of thing, I would put him in my death pool in the next five years.
The bigger story would be if he becomes a Christian and lives a long life…
Why be so embarrassed to say, “I was wrong”? Here were your words:
UBL is fifteen years younger than any of the other three, and one year older than Michael Jackson. Face it, you were wrong. There’s no shame in it.
Regarding UBL’s health, all we know is a lot of rumors. He might be sick, he might be perfectly healthy.
As for living in a cave, he’s probably not. Take [Radovan Karadzic](His reported hide-outs included Serbian Orthodox monasteries and mountain caves in remote eastern Bosnia. ) as an example. One of the most wanted criminals in the world, rumors abounded about his whereabouts:
He was living in an apartment in Vienna.
As for whether his death would eclipse Michael Jackson’s, that’s a whole separate issue. I vote not.
If I am not mistaken, some reports claim that Charles would step back and let his son William inherit the thrown. I am sure some British Dopers can correct me if I am wrong - but reports over the years have speculated this off and on.
**Whose death could eclipse Michael Jackson’s?
**
Bill May’s?
He’s probably selling Jacko some super-oxy-clean nose-polisher up there in there the sky.
He’s probably selling Jacko some super-oxy-clean nose-polisher up there in the sky.
Er, there’s none. Fine, he’s not up in years. But he’s had at least 10 years of hard living. You win!
Eva Perón. She died in 1952. When I visited Argentina in 1995 there were fresh flowers and new tributes at the site if her grave (crypt, mausoleum, I don’t know what it’s called). There are insane security measures there. She is revered more, I gathered, as an icon, than as a politician and continues to be so. I don’t think anyone thinks of her as an entertainer, though.
Michael Jackson wasn’t exactly making great lifestyle choices either. Bin Laden looks downright hearty compared to Michael Jackson at any point in the last 10-15 years.
Billy Mays.
not that i wish anything on people born in 1958… how 'bout prince? also quite a break out artist, amazing musician, and a bit odd.
What about Ronaldo or Bill Gates ?
Farrah Fawcett ?
Don’t you mean BILLY MAYS!!!
?