holy icon, Batman!

Three icons from my childhood died last week and I'd be lying if I said it didn't freak me out a little bit. Not in a "Whoa I'm shedding tears and heaving in grief" kinda way. Just, "Whoa."

First, Ed McMahon.
Now his death was overshadowed by the other two, but he was definitely a household name growing up. Star Search was one of my favorite TV shows as a kid. I still remember watching Sinbad (I'm sure none of you know who the hell he is, but he rose to 80s/90s stardom from Star Search) and Rosie O'Donnell.

And after Star Search and the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (yes, I know, I'm dating myself here) there was also the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. Holy smokes! I can't tell you how badly I wanted to see Ed walking up my sidewalk carrying a load of balloons and congratulating me for winning the multi-million dollar jackpot just because I took a chance and ordered my Cosmo from the Sweepstakes mail out.

Then Farrah died. I blogged about her death on Friday over at my personal blog. Her death was the saddest for me. I wanted to be Jill Munro. I wanted to have Farrah's hair and smile. I stared at her poster every day for multiple years, trying to just soak up the essence of Farrah. I'm pretty sure I did not succeed at becoming Farrah by osmosis, but I tried. In her honor, I watched several of the original Charlie's Angels tv episodes this weekend. And I wore Farrah hair out Saturday night. (which promptly fell because it was A: humid and B: I danced and sweated like a glass of iced tea on a hot summer day.)

Last but not least, Michael Jackson. Now I'm a little sick of the media attention his death has gotten and I hated the person he became as he aged, but little Michael Jackson of the Jackson 5, and the Michael Jackson all the way through the album BAD, was the Michael Jackson that was huge in my life.

Thriller is probably one of the best albums ever. MJ was a gifted performer, he just had some personal (and probably mental) issues that overshadowed his talent and took over his life. Which is unfortunate.

So last week, I lost 3 people that I grew up with. Am I devastated? No. I didn't "know" these people, so I don't feel a real sense of loss. But it's still sad knowing that three icons of my childhood all died in just a matter of days. Freaky weird.

Hope they all find peace in their afterlife.