A lot of people have a hard time comparing silent stars to stars of today. I don't know one person who can give a satisfactory comparison between Mary Pickford and someone now. Usually they attempt Brangelina, but even Brangelina's money and fame pale in comparison to that of Doug and Mary. Mary was a superstar for near on 20 years, Angelina has had less than 10.
They don't make stars like they used to. The twittering internet generation (irony of writing this on a website is duly noted) has such a short attention span...these days you're probably lucky to get 5 years no matter what your field. The quick turnaround between 'superstar' and 'reality TV whore' is pretty scary. For our generation arguably Britney Spears may have been one of the most famous, yet even she fell relatively fast. Sure she's ''come back'' but instead of being a straight shot of fame its just always waning.
I love music, it was my first love. Particularly pop music...of course my generation as said above our stars fell pretty fast. Spice Girls had 2 years, Britney 5, the boybands no more than 5. Of course by the time I was obsessed with music Michael Jackson was bizarre quiet footnote. It was okay to love Elvis, but a little weird to like whatever Michael was doing at the time. Of course you were allowed to love Thriller and what not...but you still whispered about how odd he looked during the 00s...his little TV event, the 'Artist of the Millennium' gaffe, the epic failure of Invincible, so forth.
I wasn't a major fan of his. I do admit to an obsession with Billie Jean however. Every now and then an event will happen that reminds me of some silent film story...of course this is rare as silent folks had epic ways of killing themselves or going down in scandal (as our debunking Hollywood Babylon article entails).
Today I woke up to hear Michael Jackson had died right here in LA...which seemed so random. I couldn't believe it but shortly after I heard it was confirmed for sure. I was grateful I wasn't caught up near UCLA...I can only imagine the traffic hell going on right now! Apparently a mass gathering around his family's star and a mistaken same named DJ's star is going on in Hollywood right now. His actual star is covered up for the premiere of Bruno which makes me consider going up there anyways...that movie is fantastic (I got to see a preview screening)! To add to the comparisons I'm about to make I find that a tad ironic...I find Sascha Baron Cohen the new Chaplin (hold your fire!) for his daringness and pathos. True its shocking pathos but its still amazing.
Everyone on the news is saying 'Oh there has never been and never will be a star as great as Michael!' That annoys me because overlooking Elvis they always forget dear Jolie: Al Jolson. Jolson was the ruling King of Jazz if you will...he had a career that rivaled both those great mens. Hell it was his appearance in The Jazz Singer that rushed the death of silents. Without Jolie its likely talkies wouldn't have caught on so fast or so brashly (side note: The Jazz Singer is not a true talkie and it was not the first by a long shot).
The story of Michael Jackson reminds me a lot of that of another great man: Fatty 'Roscoe' Arbuckle. Though no Jolson, Fatty Arbuckle's popularity rivaled that of Chaplin during his own time. Lord knows what would have become of him had that whole Virginia Rappe thing not happened.
The reason I connect the two men in my mind goes back to Jackson's 2005 molestation trial. Growing up of course I was aware of the 92 one...but that 2005 one occurred when I was 18 and fully able to comprehend it. I was obsessed with CNN at the time, and I watched every little bit and update there was to be had about it. The trial resembled a circus more than an attempt at justice. I remember being very angry when he was acquitted, certain a molester had charmed his way out of justice. Since that time I have learned to not get caught up in such stupid press driven things, but I remember very well that since of sure anger that I and so many others felt. I don't think I knew one person at the time who defended him or said maybe the whole thing had been botched, whether he had or hadn't molested a child no justice was served.
This truly must be similar to how people felt when it was announced the lovable funny comic Fatty Arbuckle, in his Chaplin like popularity, had 'raped' a woman and killed her with his humongous weight. What had once been cute and charming was now a cruel disgusting symbol of what he ''did'' to this woman. Three trials ensued, and with them all sorts of stupid rumors, trash, and innuendo. 'He raped her with a coke/champagne bottle', so forth.
Though I'm still awaiting to fantastic Joan's research on the trials I must be in the camp that Roscoe was innocent...a huge abortion of justice and trial by public had occurred. I must admit I haven't looked into Michael's charges since 2005, but now thinking on it I'm not so sure he did or didn't molest that child (or others). But what I am sure of is he was hanged by the public mostly be innuendo, and whether he did or did not commit such a crime he had no chance in hell of getting a legitimately just trial.
After the Fatty Arbuckle trial you could find two camps in Hollywood: the ones who KNEW he did, and the ones who knew he DIDN'T. All sorts of people stuck by him including Mabel, Marion Davies (who's lover had ironically hanged him via media), Rudolph Valentino, and of course Buster Keaton.
The ones who KNEW he did it always swore so heavily that they heard from a friend who had been at that infamous party, or maybe they had been there themselves. And they always claimed that the press was right: he raped her (with or without a coke bottle), laughed about it, and got away with it. When Miriam Cooper wrote her book in the 1970s she repeated that she heard from someone at the party, she was certain he had raped a poor little innocent girl whom she had met at a hotel once. There were other such people...but most of them were old and bitter when they declared so publicly. One exception: William S. Hart. He was one of the only celebrities to speak out during the trials that he was CERTAIN that man he had never met committed such a crime. Of course on the flipside no one really spoke out in Fatty's defense at the time either...Hollywood was paralyzed with fear.
In these coming days and years we will surely hear similar stories on Michael Jackson. People who "KNEW" he molested a child, or did this and that will spread it around. You'll surely encounter or hear about some celeb saying they heard it from another. And of course on the other side there will certainly be people defending him, unlike Fatty several did during his trial.
Fatty was literally blacklisted from working in film. Friends snuck him work, usually directing under the pseudonym William Goodrich. Depending who you ask he was either severely depressed and did no real work, while others say he enjoyed directing. After the 92 thing Michael had his own sort of blacklisting, sure no one literally forbade him to work but nothing he did sold or generated as much press as it had before his troubles. One could say it was just a natural decline in fame but I cite the extraordinarily overrated old hag known as Madonna to counter that. Despite being too old to run around in leotards and rarely making anything known as good music she has had her hits through the 90s and 00s...particularly Ray of Light, Music, and Hung Up. Had he not suffered maybe he too would have had similar success.
Like Fatty he attempted a small comeback. Fatty took to vaudeville in the early 30s which led to small sound shorts. Michael did Invincible but didn't find the success he had hoped for. Instead he picked a bitching fight with his record label. Then the 2005 trial happened. He once again fell quietly into despair, and began planning a new comeback.
When he announced his comeback tour, which I believe was to take place this summer but was bumped back to next year he had his little moment in the sun once more. Fans cheered, his tickets sold out in SECONDS, and something like 50 dates were added. Fatty had a similar comeback: with the success of his shorts he was offered a contract with Warner Brothers to make sound features. It was also his wedding anniversary with his new wife Addie. They went and had a joint celebration then headed off to bed. Roscoe died in his sleep that night.
Jackson had been preparing for his comeback tour, probably certain it would be a major success. He also died unexpectedly today at the age of 50. Roscoe was 46.
In this tweeting age I'm curious as to how Michael will be remembered. Roscoe died without too much noise being made over his old scandals, he had been forgiven. But years later, particularly the 60s and 70s silent revival, the scandal came up again. Head douchebag Kenneth Anger glamorized the rumors in his Hollywood Babylon, and others seized onto them. I have a book about Triangle from the 70s. Despite trying to take an academic approach they two say he really raped Virginia.
Maybe Michael will be forgotten in 40 years like Jolson. Or maybe he'll be remembered like Roscoe. Hopefully it will be for more than just the scandals and the supposeds. Whatever he did in life he was a human, and he has left behind children. Hopefully that wont be lost in history like it has been for so many others.
0 comments:
Post a Comment