Celebrities Self Destructing

The death of Whitney Houston is a tragedy. She was an outstanding talent and part of the soundtrack of our lives. Unfortunately, she is another in a long line of celebrities who practiced self destructive behavior which was condoned by their entourage and tolerated by the public. I want to feel sorry when something like this happens, but the addiction to drugs and booze by one of the most talented persons in America makes me shake my head and wonder what's going on.

Self destructive celebrities are nothing new to our culture. The earliest one I remember is Marilyn Monroe, although there are those who still say something was askew in Camelot with that one. Her contemporary Montgomery Clift didn’t fare much better. But things go back even further to W.C. Fields who drank his liver into oblivion. And then there was Judy Garland…who passed her talent onto her daughter Liza Minnelli who also has had her problems with various addictions. Dorothy Dandridge, Lenny Bruce, Elvis Presley, John Belushi, Heath Ledger, River Phoenix, Brad Renfro, Nick Adams, Chris Farley, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse, and Michael Jackson are just a few on the list of self destructive celebrities whose talent was wasted on booze and drugs.

I am saddened by the loss of talent. But my sympathy for these types of folks is non-existent. These are folks who were blessed with an unending gift in which they could be fulfilled in their work and also reap unimaginable financial benefits. These aren’t folks struggling in poverty…a single mother with two or three kids working twelve hours a day trying to make a living. These folks were part of the 1%, those rich folks who put all the little folks down. And yet their addictions were tolerated, and often praised and sometimes, tragically, emulated.

How horrible could their lives have been? Michael Jackson was addicted to the point where he needed a general anesthetic to sleep. What was so awful in his life? Whitney Houston was one of the top, if not THE top selling recording artist of the past few decades selling millions upon millions of albums and starring in successful movies. Why should I feel sorry for her? What problems could she possibly have had that she had to bury herself in booze and drugs?

Maybe it’s time for America to start telling the truth about these folks. Celebrity mourning has been raised to an art form. While its certainly acceptable to mourn the lost talent, maybe America should pay more attention to the wasted talent. We need to stop glamorizing bad behavior. We need to look at these folks who have made tens of millions of dollars if not more, and say drug and booze addiction is not acceptable.

At my age I know more people than I care to admit that have passed to a better life. These are hard working folks, who raised families, who suffered financial reverses, who had to deal with nitty-gritty of daily life and struggle through day to day. These were family people who raised families on limited incomes and hard work. These are the true heroes. These are the people whose lives should be celebrated. There was no red carpet for them when they were trying to get through life, and there was no red carpet for them when they died. And most of them died clean and sober.

I certainly will miss Whitney Houston’s magnificent voice, and I will continue to listen to her music. The Preacher’s Wife is one of my favorite holiday movies. But as for watching celebrities mourn another  privileged member of the club who self destructed because they couldn’t handle whatever…I think I will pass. I know too many people with real problems.