Michael and Farrah's Passing a Death of Our Childhhood

With the deaths of Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson and David Carradine, it feels as though a large part of the 1970's has died right along with them, making those of us old enough to remember them feel as though a part of our culture and childhood is gone forever.

Barely old enough to be baby boomer, I can remember the golden girl of the 1970s gracing every boy's room in the form of a poster, dancing to every song Jackson ever sang with indefinable dance moves, and watching Kung Fu each week during dinner as if it were a religious experience.

Are we really so old that it is now time for our own childhood icons to begin passing away, or are these deaths and our shock simply a symbol that it was in the 70's that we began to take entertainers and celebrity-hood too seriously?

Either way, there is no argument that there was no era that has ever been like or will be like the seventies and eighties, as anyone who has lived, celebrated and survived through those years can attest to.

They were magical decades, a time when television characters, music, pop idols and commercialism became almost a part of our own families, and when many of us with dysfunctional, absent families turned to for comfort and identity.

It was a time for kicking back, partying, looking "marvelous" always, and putting on the glitz before "bling" ever became a lame modern term without any true meaning.

It was an era we "seriously" watched shows like Charlie's Angels without laughing and because we thought these new powerful and beautiful women were cool and deserved to be idolized as the sexy, strong, modern woman. And we all either had a favorite angel to wither lust over or try to emulate.

It was a time when disco and rock and roll clashed, when "Disco Sucks" was chanted at Rolling Stone's concerts and yet Jagger used a lot of the rhythms and black sounds in his music.

We can remember too when Farrah Fawcett turned her famous hair in for a mop hairdo and a serious acting role in The Burning Bed and other movies, something no one thought the beautiful blonde sex symbol could do.

We can remember Jackson crossing barriers of race, gender, age, and culture with his astounding talent with songs like "Billie Jean," "We are the World," The Thriller Album, and even "Say Say Say" with Paul McCartney.

When Ed McMahon died this week, I was very sad to hear the news. I can remember watching the Tonight Show with my father as a teenager, one of the happier moments we often shared together. It seemed when Johnny's sidekick died, that a piece of that lighter side of childhood had now simply passed away. But at least with McMahon, he was elderly and it wasn't a shock to my system, or to my father's.

We also knew about Farrah. The seemingly-impossibly healthy, sunny-faced poster girl who defined Hollywood, California beauty -- we tried not to think this iconic angel could be suffering from the dreaded C word, and I am still in shock over her death as well, even though it was expected.

David Carradine was a an iconic symbol of my generation too. Most of my elementary school male classmates had King Fu lunchboxes and thermoses. My brother even began martial arts because of the show and still practices today.

But Michael Jackson was only fifty. 50 year-olds and especially iconic cultural superstars aren't supposed to die. 50 is the age of one of my older siblings, not of my grandfather or great uncle.

We danced to his songs at my prom in Hawaii, watched street performers break dance to his songs with boom boxes New York, and I had a boyfriend who always donned a glove when attending parties.

Jackson looked up to James Brown, and some say his talent was equaled; he had the grace of Fred Astaire who once called to compliment him on his dancing; he made the moon walk the ultimate dance goal for both blacks and whites, and sadly because he was forced to act as an adult in childhood, he became like a frail child in adulthood.

This is truly sad day for all of us who are old enough to remember this special era that Michael, Farrah and David symbolized, and young enough to worry, panic and grieve.

Their deaths mean in part that we must actually be getting older, and forced to face our own mortality. It makes an entire generation mourn that a big part of our own youth, culture and childhood has truly been washed away, never to return.

Follow Francesca Biller-Safran on Twitter: www.twitter.com/masao123

Comments

[Classof89]

Great article. Grew up with all of these wonderful icons, and had all three Charlie's Angels dolls (including Farrah's "Jill Munroe" -- hair and all) and a Charlie's Angels lunchbox.

~~Proud child of the '70's and '80's.~~

Right now, I'm about to do a serious McMahon "Hey-oh", while simultaneously doing some super Kung-Fu kicks, and begin to get my groove on to "Rock With You".

[fjg]

Great post...I took the day off from work today and I've been struggling to keep from crying over the passing of these 2 giants all day. They will be missed.

[VINSTERDUDE]

very cool read,.and yet things you lay out are exactly why the 70's will not ever die,..i mean,.they have been gone for almost 40 yrs,.but the style,soun­d,.influen­ce,.etc are huge,...losing four 70's icons in a week is a bit much,..cheers !

vintage cordouroy bell bottoms forever!! hee

[Checka]

Dear Vinsterdude,

Thank you for reading my article.
And don't forget about the hair we had, we were the coolest ever.
Long live the seventies forever
And what a wonderful childhood we had . . .

[chicgogo]

I disagree that we “seriously watched” Charles Angels. I was eleven when the series premiered and remember watching the show with my sisters and I saying over and over “I’m so sure” or “oh, how gay” (common expressions in those days). It was a bad show, but fun to watch in a “B” movie sort of way. Every teen boy I knew except me had that ubiquitous pin up of Farrah on their wall (being gay, I was drawn to the John Travolta and hairy chest Andy Gibb posters in my sister’s room).

I was into rock, punk and new wave music in the 80s and never bought any MJ, but I did appreciate his music and found myself sneaking a listen if a song came on the radio. This because I couldn’t let my progressive music friends know I actually liked a top 40 pop radio song (I had the same guilty pleasure with Madonna).

The 70s, 80s and to some extent the 90s were the last innocent era of pop culture I feel. Kids these days have no universal icons, at least on the same scale as say Elvis, the Beatles, MJ or favorite TV shows, good or bad, that connect us all as they did in previous generations. Both mediums are now so micro-niched, market researched and corporate sponsored that the end product is canned and warmed over. What “great oldies” universally loved by all from the 2000s will the current generation be listening to?

[Checka]

Dear chicgogo,

Thanks for reading my article.
I unedrstand what you are saying. Surely I do not mean that Charlie's Angels was in any way an intellectual, educational or even thrilling show in any way. But for young girls like myself back then, seeing three sexy, strong young women was serious and meaningful to us-- back in the day.

But you have to admit in some way, don't you-- that these deaths make us children of the seventies all feel a lot more mortal than yesterday morning when we woke up?

Childhood for me at least was a special, simpler and fond time that I will never forget.

[chicgogo]

Absolutlly agree...I had three sisters and they all emulated the Angels, as did so many teenage girls at the time, in dress and hairstyle. I loved the Ford line up of cars on the show myself. Who said you couldn't make a sports car out of a Pinto!

I'm grateful I was able to grow up in this era, a time before cell phones and computer everything (You could actually tell your parents you were going someplace and be another--and they had no way to reach you!!); when you tried in vain to get the needle on the record's groove between songs as you dubbed a cassette tape mix; when we were afraid of the Russians instead of the terrorists; when Ayatollah Khomeini toilet paper was sold at Spencer's gifts. I could go on and on.

I remember my parents at my age and they seemed so much older. It is sad all these icons of our generation are passing.

[antirightwing]

Let's stop the collective hysteria over MJ. There are more serious things on Earth and it continues to turn. All the hype and hypocrisy over a seriously messed up person who dodged a prison sentence.

[Classof89]

But yet, you took time to come here, read, and post while the serious things are going on in the world?

Speaking for myself, to maintain what sanity I have left, I'm taking a short and much-needed break from the "serious things on Earth". This is a fun post and for some of us to reflect on good memories of our past.

[toypiano]

Yeah, the recent celebrity deaths are striking a more melancholy note than usual to those of us who grew up with these icons. This is what our parents' generation tried to tell us when they mourned their lost icons and we thought they were nuts.

It's not just about the loss of culturally famous individuals, it's also about the loss of youth and how it's now the next generation's turn to think we're nuts. And a reminder that one day it'll be our turn to go. Mortality bites. And yet it's one of the things that truly binds us to one another - the ultimate shared experience that we literally all have in common. So in a way, if we allow it, the concept of death can expand our world view rather than limit it. But mostly, mortality bites.

[Checka]

Thanks for reading my piece. I am still in shock, and i think mostly because of Michael Jackson's age of 50, which of course used to sound so, so old when we were younger. Michael and Farrah's deaths remind us that we are all mortal, and that youth and fantasies of icons are feelting.

[brooklyncitizen]

Watched a reporter on CNN bawling about her childhood as she talked about Michael's death and all I could think of what about HIM? his family? his kids ? all the people that counted on him worked for him etc.

Nice tribute to both but I don't get how people make MJ's death about them and "their childhood"­...presuma­bly their childhood is over if they are adults but the memories are there and now we can collectively air them out and re-live as we mourn Michael and Farrah. But saying that their childhood is now "washed away" is strange...it's been gone if you are already all grown up.

MJ was an Artist and art lives on as long as there are people to enjoy it.I miss knowing he's not around to continue thrilling us with great music but he had already given us a soundtrack for a lifetime.

[Checka]

Thanks for reading my article Broklyncitizen,

I think I was epecially hit hard by their deaths as it truly awakens me and my freinds and siblings how our pop icons and rmemories of childhood dying-- reminds us that we are not so young anymore.
When Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason, Audrey Hepburn and Johnny Carson died- I was sad.
But these icons were nostalgic for my parents' generation and they were all oledr than 50 when they died.
On reflection, the artcile as perhaps more of a grieving process for my own youth and sense of mortality catching up.

[countfloyd]

Yes part of our culture is gone but childhood? My childhood was defined by family, friends, school, being outside playing and exploring the world. Television or pop icons in the big picture of things don't mean that much nor should they ever.

[Checka]

Hi Countfloyd,

Thanks for reading

Of course my childhood and all of ours was mostly defined byt real, true, visceral experiences with family and friends.
Pop culture does not stand out in my life as my life, but as these legends who we grew up remembering die at a young age, it simply reminds us of of our own mortality, and brings back memories of a more simple and unhriied life.

[urnumbersix]

I pray that David Cassidy is, and will remain, in good health.

[Checka]

Thanks urnumbersix for reading my article,

Of course I hope so too. Theses deaths have sobered us all.

[mlrlmsw]

That's funny. I posted on facebook today that if my "first love" David Cassidy dies anytime soon, I'm going into full 1970s/80s mourning!

[Grant Morrison]

..

"It was an era we "seriously" watched shows like Charlie's Angels without laughing..."

WHAT?

I was alive and watching TeeVee then and NO ONE thought Charlie's Angels was "quality" television. NO ONE. We (men and boys) watched it for the BOOBIES.

"Kung Fu" however was a show EVERYBODY watched. Why wouldn't they? It fit RIGHT IN to the pattern created by The Rifleman, Have Gun Will Travel, The Fugitive and Gunsmoke.

Charlie's Angels was regarded as CRAP. That's WHY it was only BIG for two years. Two SHORT, little years.

..

.

[Checka]

Dear Grant Morrison,

Thanks for reading my article,

I am not saying in any way that Charlies Angels was a mastepiece program in which we were intellectually riveted to your seats for intrigue and political insight.

What i am saying is that for me, perhaps because I am a woman, it was really really cool to see strong, sexy chicks on TV Prime Time. This was a first.

And of course, the death of Farrah reminds all of us children of the seventies that mortality our own is all too evident.

[Grant Morrison]

..

But they WEREN'T strong. They played EXACTLY the same "types" as found on other shows of the era.

Just because they held guns doesn't mitigate the fact that they solved crimes in lingerie and swimsuits.

It was a VERY SEXIST program which essentially visualized the concept that women are only valuable if they are "pretty".

..
.

[WellTickleMeWillie]

Goodbye Michael...

Goodbye Farrah...

Goodbye David...

You gave us all wonderful memories...in our childhood, youth or adulthood, whenever we began to know you, you all have left indelible and wonderful memories in different ways but nevertheless special to each and everyone of us. You're gone but not forgotten.

Thank you and goodbye...

[Checka]

Thanks WellITickleMeWillie for reading my article,

I feel what you feel.

My childhood memories are so important to me.

[boogiewoman]

I couldn't wait for the Jackson 5 cartoon on saturday mournings, American Bandstand, Soultrain. Dancing Machine was the song and the robot was the dance.

[Checka]

Thanks boogiewoman for reading my article,

I loved American Bandstand and Soultrain.
Remember on Soul Train when the audience members would go down the line and show off their dance moves?
So classic-- Saturday mornings were so special back in the day.

[euripedes923]

I remember where I was when they cancelled Jabberjaws and then The Rainbow Brite Show. It was almost too much to bear. I remember gathering all my plastic Smurfs around me for comfort. Imagine my joy when I found reruns online and on bootleg DVDs! It's as if my childhood heroes had come to life again.
So I can really empathize with Michael Jackson's fans.
I urge you to wear one bejeweled glove for the next week, 24/7, to identify to others your mourning and your solidarity.

And to help the rest of us steer a wide berth. Thanks! :-D

[Checka]

Thanks euripedes923 for reading my article,

It means a lot to me. I am still in shock.
My parents and my own children don't understand just how important the era of the 70's meant for us.
we are all in mourning.

[Sally Williams 1]

I will turn 50 in a few days. These passings have leant a meloncholy tone to this 'milestone' birthday. People tell me it is just a number and I am young and vital, but convincing myself is a bit more difficult today. Thank you for your words as they express so much of what I have been feeling.

[ragtag]

Trust me, you're not young and vital. You're mature and vital. I just turned 51 (born 1958) and can still pass for 30! The same age as Michael Jackson, Madonna, Kevin Bacon, Holly Hunter, Alec Baldwin, Sharon Stone, Angela Bassett, Annette Bening, Viggo Mortensen, Tim Burton, Jamie Lee Curtis, Linda Fiorentino, Jeff Foxworthy, Tim Robbins and the list goes on and on. I'm thinking there may be more to Jacko's condition than meets the eye. 50 is too young in today's society for someone who was obviously not overweight and had access to the best medical minds money can buy.

[Checka]

Thank you SallyWilliams1 for reaing my article,

Sure, people can say that 50 is just a number, but then you can say anything about enything not emaning much, and then everyhing loses its meaning.
50 used to seem like an ancient number to me as well, and now that a childhood icon has died at this age, we are all feeling our own mortality.
This is a sobering time for us all.

.

[dagdavid]

America's celebrity obsession benefits neither the celeb nor the fan. Why must we mark the passing of time with the passing of celebrity icons? Isn't there more to our lives. Our "personal" lives?

[Checka]

Dear dagdavid,

Thank you for reading my article.

We are in mourning not because they are celebrities or because we worship them, or because we may now feel our lives are somehow over or lost.

Rather, many of us feel our own fleeting mortality in the wake of these deaths, and grive for a long-gone childhood that seems to be leaving us day by day.