Whitney Houston we hardly knew ye

[JonInMiddleGA]

Multiple sources, including TMZ, citing the following from AP (who in turn quotes Houston's publicist)

LOS ANGELES — Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, has died. She was 48.

Publicist Kristen Foster said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unclear.

At her peak in the 1980s and '90s, Houston the golden girl of the music industry and one of the world's best-selling artists.

Among her hits were "How Will I Know," ''Saving All My Love for You" and "I Will Always Love You." She won multiple Grammys including album and record of the year.

Her success carried her beyond music to movies like "The Bodyguard."

But by the end of her career, drug use took its toll as her record sales plummeted and her voice became raspy and hoarse.

[cartman]

Supposedly she had been recently contacted by Simon Cowell to be a judge on X-Factor. Guess that isn't happening now.

[Izulde]

Unbelievable.

[Rizon]

Crackalack!

Too soon?

[PilotMan]

Bobby Brown as a single dad is a very scary thought.

[rowech]

Celebs die all the time but for some reason I find this one really sad.

[BYU 14]

Damn, from the outside she really did have it all. An amazing voice and incredibly beautiful. It is a shame she could never control her demons. RIP

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by rowech

Celebs die all the time but for some reason I find this one really sad.

I was thinking the same thing..

[stevew]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Bobby Brown as a single dad is a very scary thought.

Their kid is like 18 or 19.

[Matthean]

I had a huge crush on her back in the day. I listened to her stuff over and over again. I will always think she was my generation's Aretha. Her marriage to Bobby Brown and the downward spiral is just a heartbreaking story.

[lighthousekeeper]

Dean Houston could not be reached for comment.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by stevew

Their kid is like 18 or 19.

Maybe I ought to put that in the things that make you feel old thread?

[kingfc22]

I'm going with the OD on a mixture of pain pills and alcohol. OD on crack seems too obvious.

[CrimsonFox]

WHOA!!!!!!!!!! WHA!!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Let's jump to conclusions and arrest Bobby now.

[molson]

Originally Posted by cartman

Supposedly she had been recently contacted by Simon Cowell to be a judge on X-Factor. Guess that isn't happening now.

Ya, I'd say it's highly unlikely, at the very least.

[PadresFan104]

Bunch of my FB friends are saying things like "OMG, I can't believe it!"

Really?

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by PadresFan104

Really?

Unfortunately my first thought was that this didn't happen 10 years ago.

[Ksyrup]

So this is kinda random, but because Whitney Houston died, I learned tonight that Albert Brooks and Super Dave Osborne are brothers. I guess I see the resemblance, now.

Turns out Whitney is the second celeb to die at the Beverly Hills Hilton - the first was Harry Parke (born Harry Einstein), a comedian in the 40s-50s who died on stage at a roast of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Two of Harry Parke's children were Albert Brooks and Bob Einstein (Super Dave). I'm assuming that Albert Brooks was born Albert Einstein?

Anyway... these are things you learn from reading about Whitney Houston's death on twitter.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

So this is kinda random, but because Whitney Houston died, I learned tonight that Albert Brooks and Supe Dave Osborne are brothers. I guess I see the resemblance, now.

Turns out Whitney is the second celeb to die at the Beverly Hills Hilton - the first was Harry Parke (born Harry Einstein), a comedian in the 40s-50s who died on stage at a roast of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Two of Harry Parke's children were Albert Brooks and Bob Einstein (Super Dave). I'm assuming that Albert Brooks was born Albert Einstein?

Anyway... these are things you learn from reading about Whitney Houston's death on twitter.

I can definitely see the superdave/Albert Brooks thing! They even have the same raspy voice!

[cody8200]

Is it shocking that she died before Bobby Brown? It is to me.

[Buccaneer]

At least she made it past age 27. Sad but very believable and of no surprise.

[DougW]

You will be missed Whitney Houston. Where else would we all have learned : crack is whack ?

[JonInMiddleGA]

TMZ has a couple of pics of her out on the town Thursday night, looking pretty rough.

Whitney Houston -- Dead at 48 | TMZ.com

[CrimsonFox]

Party Overdose I guess.

[CrimsonFox]

I'd actually like to see Bobby Brown on Xfactor and get mad at the kids

[Kodos]

On American Idol, I always think the diva girls are trying to sound like Whitney. Young Whitney is the standard by which the other female singers are judged in my book.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

Party Overdose I guess.

No, they're going to call it "accidental overdose". No sense in telling the real truth about the consequences of drugs and alcohol.

[MizzouRah]

Very sad.. she will be missed..

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

No, they're going to call it "accidental overdose". No sense in telling the real truth about the consequences of drugs and alcohol.

heh yeah
and my comment was more about just lifestyle. That constant on the go and pumping alcohol and drugs into your system. YOur body just can't take it anymore and gives out. Heck just alochol and exhaustion will do that. Don't even need dangerous drugs to kill yourself with that kind of party lifestyle.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to hear something like heart attack as the (legit) cause of death. As bad as her problems got, it has to have taken a toll & wouldn't necessarily need another dose to lead to death.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Maybe I ought to put that in the things that make you feel old thread?

yeah, tell me about it.

[stevew]

I wonder if Ray J was involved. Killing could run in the family.

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by rowech

Celebs die all the time but for some reason I find this one really sad.

I agree. Don't know why, but this one depressed me a little.

[Senator]

Me as well. Maybe because she represented a large segment of my youth, albeit as background (like hearing Keith Jackson on TV saying "Oh Nellie" as I was walking through the house on a Saturday morning).
I think most of us are aware we are of average talent in most all things. We recognize greatness even in things we don't particularly lean towards. She had it. And we watched it slip right through her hands in super slow motion. And when things like this happen, some of us get down on our knees and thank the Lord we are of average talent.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Senator

I think most of us are aware we are of average talent in most all things. We recognize greatness even in things we don't particularly lean towards. She had it. And we watched it slip right through her hands in super slow motion. And when things like this happen, some of us get down on our knees and thank the Lord we are of average talent.

Love that. So brilliantly stated Senator.

[spleen1015]

Tragic news.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

I agree. Don't know why, but this one depressed me a little.

maybe because she died long ago similar to what Senator is saying. The Whitney that was THE Whitney Houston stopped being that person way way back. I don't think most people here actually liked her as in liked her style of singing etc and type of music, but obviously she had IT! And led the way I think for many like her, the celene dions, the mariah careys, etc etc

[Edward64]

Wasn't Bobby Brown the start of her issues with drugs etc.?

[BillJasper]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

Tragic news.

Not sure that I'd call it 'tragic'. A waste might better fit it...

[Chubby]

crack is whack

[NorvTurnerOverdrive]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Wasn't Bobby Brown the start of her issues with drugs etc.?

seemed to be his prerogative

[cougarfreak]

I am surprised how sad I was when I heard the news. Remembering Whitney from my high school/early college days, she was helluva talented. Wasted when she hooked up with the crap she got herself into.

[CrimsonFox]

Bobby even cried. He is currently touring with New Edition (something I did not know), and he had a hard time keeping it together.

[NorvTurnerOverdrive]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

he had a hard time keeping it together.

well said

[Suicane75]

The saddest part of all this is finding out she was slumming it with Ray J.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by BillJasper

Not sure that I'd call it 'tragic'. A waste might better fit it...

It is tragic that someone like her had such a good thing going and addiction led her down a bad road, ultimately her death. We don't know why she died but I bet she wouldn't have died today had she not been addicted to drugs.

[BYU 14]

Reports now that she may have accidentally drowned in the bathtub of her Hotel suite after taking a prescription med and falling asleep.

- Chicago Sun-Times

Whitney Houston’s death Saturday may have been caused by an accidental drowning — perhaps due to the superstar falling asleep in the bathtub of her Beverly Hilton Hotel room after taking a prescription medication to make her relax.
A hotel source told the Sun-Times early Sunday that Houston’s team — including her hairdresser, two bodyguards and her stylist — “were literally hysterical when they realized the singer was dead … as soon as they found her in the tub.”

According to the source, the bodyguard “kept saying over and over and over again, ‘I knew she was dead the second I saw her. I just knew it, I just knew, it.’ ”
Despite that fact, TMZ reported Sunday the bodyguard attempted CPR and, when he didn’t get any response, a call was placed to both hotel security and 911.
While Houston’s long battle with addictions — ranging from cocaine to alcohol and more recently prescription drugs — was well known to both her inner circle and many in the music industry, her death came as a horrible shock to her immediate family.

“Bobbi Kristina [Houston’s daughter] was apoplectic when she arrived at the hotel. … and then she got really abusive when they wouldn’t let her in to see her mom’s body,” said the hotel source. “I can’t say I blame her. But the police were just following procedures.”
The hotel room was sealed until the Beverly Hills Police could finish a complete and thorough sweep of the premises that reportedly included the discovery of various potent medications including Lorazepam, Valium and Xanax.

According to a longtime friend of Whitney’s Grammy-winning gospel singer mother, “Cissy [Houston] absolutely could not stop screaming for about half an hour, after getting the news” of her daughter’s untimely death.
“For God’s sakes, she had only spoken to her about a half-hour before she went into that bathroom. … There was NOTHING that indicated Whitney was high or doing anything wrong. … They had a totally normal conversation about the Grammys, Clive [Davis’ pre-Grammy] party that night, what she was going to wear. Just normal, mother-daughter, casual chit-chat stuff.

“That’s what made the shock so much more intense for Cissy. I was afraid she was going to have a heart attack herself.”
According to other sources who spoke with Houston’s godmother, Aretha Franklin, and her cousin, Dionne Warwick (who also spoke to Houston earlier in the day), their reactions mirrored Cissy Houston’s.
“Both of them were so choked up. It was just heartbreaking,” said a longtime Franklin associate, who also is close to Warwick.
While Clive Davis did decide to proceed with his legendary party — always held the night before the Grammys — the famed music producing guru “was in a total daze the entire evening,” said a witness to the proceedings. “He barely could get through his remarks about Whitney. … He loved her like a daughter and had worked so hard these past few years to get her back on track and to remain clean and sober.”

A number of positive career moves had given reason for hope of a Houston comeback. She recently completed filming a role as the mother of “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks in a remake of “Sparkle,” a film loosely based on the Supremes. She also had been working hard to complete a new album, and there were reports that Simon Cowell had put out feelers to see if Houston would be interested in becoming a celebrity judge on his remade musical competition, “The X Factor.”
Another guest at the Davis party Saturday, who asked not to be identified due to his close professional relationship with Davis, also said, “More than a few people … actually, a lot of people at the party were whispering about Bobby Brown — many blaming him for contributing to Whitney’s downfall.”

Houston’s ex-husband and his own well-known problems with drugs long have been the focus of reports linking him to his wife-of-15-years’ troubled life.

For those who had been around Houston the past few days, it seemed obvious she was not avoiding alcohol. “She reeked of it Thursday night,” said a guest at the pre-Grammy event where Houston performed an impromptu duet with Kelly Price at the R&B singer’s own pre-Grammy celebration.

Together they united on “Yes, Jesus Loves Me” — something a Price pal said is helping sustain her now. “Kelly said, ‘I know that Whitney is in Jesus’ arms and he will finally give her that peace she has searched for — for so long.’”

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Wasn't Bobby Brown the start of her issues with drugs etc.?

I think it was more of a "birds of a feather" thing.

Not to be crass, but dying right before the Grammys? That is great timing on her part.

[Young Drachma]

I've said it before, but I hope I never have to live a life faced by the people in the court of public opinion. You give then your life and return they want you to be perfect, to pry into your life and tell you how they'd have lived your life id they had your gifts. Cuz it's that easy, y'know.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

I've said it before, but I hope I never have to live a life faced by the people in the court of public opinion. You give then your life and return they want you to be perfect, to pry into your life and tell you how they'd have lived your life id they had your gifts. Cuz it's that easy, y'know.

So we just excuse away drug abuse and alcoholism as the price to pay for being a celebrity? How can we turn people away from such evils, esp. the young, if such things glorified or at least, ignored?