Patterico's Pontifications

2/11/2012

Whitney Houston Dead

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:41 pm



At 48 years old.

51 Responses to “Whitney Houston Dead”

  1. Crack is whack.

    Icy (c9fff2)

  2. By which I mean, as I said in the other thread: poor Whitney. Tremendous talent, and — before the drugs got her — a beautiful lady. It’s a shame.

    Icy (c9fff2)

  3. Her rendition of the National Anthem set a standard that may never be met.

    JD (5f146b)

  4. The media reports indicate she died in a hotel room. I know it’s not just Hollywood, but too many celebrities die that way.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  5. If the drugs got her at least they got her later than Amy Winehouse. It would be unfair to speculate on the cause of her death. It’s entirely possible she was clean when she died. There are other reasons why a 48 yo woman can die, despite any history of past addiction. Well, OK, sometimes because of past addiction because that can take years off your life even if you do get the monkey off your back. Child of the ’80s that I am, though, I can recall not only Whitney Houston’s talent when she was on the top of her game but fitness maven and running advocate Jim Fixx’s early death at the young age of 52. When your time’s up, your time’s up, and you may not have contributed to it at all.

    R.I.P. Whitney Houston

    Steve (20a23f)

  6. Bobby Brown won’t have Whitney to kick around any more, even though they got divorced in 2007.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  7. I don’t mean to make light of this tragedy, but if you want to know how Kelly Osbourne or LaToya Jackson reacted to the sad news you can go here.

    Sometimes I am really glad I am not a celebrity.

    JVW (4d72aa)

  8. she fell in with a bad crowd

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  9. What he will have are the inevitable lawsuits that he files in an attempt to grab a sizable portion of her estate . . . for the children, of course.

    Icy (c9fff2)

  10. sad, sad story. What a waste of talent. RIP.

    Colonel Haiku (5c6441)

  11. My thoughts, and a youtube of her singing the star spangled banner, at the link. just click on my name.

    Aaron Worthing (73a7ea)

  12. Steve, you’re right… speculation as to the cause of her death isn’t helpful.

    Cocaine works on the body in insidious ways. There are many, many cases of long-term addicts who have cleaned up, only to have their heart stop for no apparent reason. And there are many addicts who’ve stopped their use and have gone on to live what would be considered relatively long lives. It’s the luck of the draw.

    Colonel Haiku (5c6441)

  13. Aaron, that is a great video (can’t believe I never heard that before; she was one of my faves in the 80s) — and a really breathtaking pic — at your site. Nice writeup.

    no one you know (577ce5)

  14. Too young.
    Too soon.
    But whadda voice.

    By far one of the finest renditions ever of the Star-Spangled Banner, a very hard song to sing, was by Houston at Super Bowl XXV. Her sound ranks with the best. Rest in peace, Whitney Houston.

    DCSCA (9d1bb3)

  15. Colonel Haiku, in addition to thinking of Jim Fixx’s early death which researchers blame, not on a smoking habit he kicked 17 years earlier, but a genetic predisposition toward heart disease I was thinking of this tragic case:

    Kimberly Webb Joyner, 1970 to 2011

    A man who blogs at Outside the Beltway lost his 41 year old wife. She just died in her sleep due to unknown causes.

    Or the case of reporter David Bloom who died of a pulmonary embolism at the age of 39, possibly due to a clot that formed in his leg after riding for hours in a cramped military vehicle while embedded with troops in Iraq.

    It’s possible Whitney Houston didn’t die from recent drug use or even as a consequence of previous drug use. Her death could be due to something totally unrelated to substance abuse, past or present.

    I realize I’m the outlier here and the reason she died seem obvious on the face, and odds are her substance abuse problems are the likely cause, but I can’t help but think of other people who died around her age or even younger for reasons completely unrelated to addiction problems. I can’t entirely dismiss the possibility that she might have been fated to die at 48 even if she never touched an illegal drug or a drop of alcohol.

    Steve (20a23f)

  16. steve

    you could be right. it could be coincidental.

    But as they say, when you hear hoofbeats, look for horses not zebras. if a musician known to be drug addicted dies young, you won’t go broke betting its drug related.

    But i am sure we will know the answer in a day or so.

    Aaron Worthing (73a7ea)

  17. But as they say, when you hear hoofbeats, look for horses not zebras. if a musician known to be drug addicted dies young, you won’t go broke betting its drug related.

    That depends on where you are in the world. I’ve been known to spend time in Africa where it’s the other way around.

    Seriously, though, I’ve already conceded as much:

    …odds are her substance abuse problems are the likely cause…

    Long term drug addiction is a notorious life-shortener, and we are all aware of Whitney Houston’s drug habit. But there may have been other risk factors involved other than the famous one we all know about.

    Steve (20a23f)

  18. what is the difference between Whitney Houston and my car?

    my car can hit fifty.

    redc1c4 (403dff)

  19. Update: the odds are that substance abuse caused Whitney Houston’s death have increased.

    The always dependable UK press reports that Whitney Houston may have been partying heavily on a nightly basis. The press report is complete with pics purported to be of her exiting a Hollywood party two nights before she died looking very much the worse for wear. They claim she was seen conducting a repeat performance with a group of friends in the bar in her own hotel the next night. The night before she died.

    Steve (20a23f)

  20. My condolences to her mom Cissy,

    sickofrinos (44de53)

  21. My heart really aches for the two Powell boys, killed by their father.

    sickofrinos (44de53)

  22. Wow, Jim Morrison style.

    Frank Drackman (da969f)

  23. Steve

    sorry if i sounded like i was coming down too hard on you. that was not my intent, but it is very easy to sound different in bare text than you realize.

    Aaron Worthing (73a7ea)

  24. I am sad to report that this news is having a horrible effect on Ray J.

    JVW (4d72aa)

  25. for the children, of course.

    They had a daughter, who is 18!

    She was staying at the Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills CA.

    AD-RtR/OS! (c5a18b)

  26. She had an amazing voice. There aren’t many people who could sing a cappella and sound this good.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  27. Drugs and Alcohol will still the greatest of voices.

    AD-RtR/OS! (c5a18b)

  28. Whitney’s daughter hospitalized today.

    Reports of pills found in Whitney’s room.

    Icy (e11b5b)

  29. The poor girl doesn’t have the best of roll-models in her immediate family, does she?

    AD-RtR/OS! (c5a18b)

  30. What a shame. I feel for the family.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  31. Actually, AD, everything I’ve read suggests Whitney’s mother Cissy Houston and her siblings were hard-workers and good people, even though they lost both parents at a young age. They supported themselves as Christian Gospel singers and then became backup vocals for several artists. But fame is harder for some than others.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  32. I was speaking of Whitney, and Bobby Brown.

    AD-RtR/OS! (c5a18b)

  33. I’m going by memory here, but I think the Elvis On Tour documentary film includes a backstage scenes with Cissy Houston and the Sweet Inspirations along with their families, and it is thought that a little girl who appears very briefly in that scene is Whitney.

    JVW (4d72aa)

  34. Oh, sorry, I get it now, AD. I feel for their daughter, too, poor thing.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  35. Ya hang out with bad news like Bobby Brown, you pick up bad habits like drugs.

    A shame, but my heart only bleeds a little. She still basically did it to herself. Sometimes talented people do that (Some are wise enough to step back — cf. Robert Downey Jr., an incredibly talented actor)

    Smock Puppet, 10 Dan Snark Master (8e2a3d)

  36. When did the rule change about using sockpuppets on threads other than the Friday sockpuppet threads?

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  37. It’s possible Whitney Houston didn’t die from recent drug use or even as a consequence of previous drug use.

    LOL —
    “The race may not always go to The Swift, nor the battle to The Strong, but…. that’s the way to bet.”

    This is just apologetics. The likelihood that drugs played a part in her early demise is remarkably high, more than adequate to be the presumption until information in clear dispute of it is revealed.

    Smock Puppet, 10 Dan Snark Master (8e2a3d)

  38. Rules?
    We have rules?
    We don’t need no stinkin’ rules!

    AD-RtR/OS! (c5a18b)

  39. I can’t entirely dismiss the possibility that she might have been fated to die at 48 even if she never touched an illegal drug or a drop of alcohol.

    Yeah, sure and a skydiver who dies when his parachute doesn’t open might well have died the same day in a car crash. Anythings possible, if you squint. But most people would blame the parachute or the skydiving.

    Kevin M (563f77)

  40. ___________________________________________

    I’ve read suggests Whitney’s mother Cissy Houston and her siblings were hard-workers and good people

    But people don’t live in a vacuum, and I wonder how the modern culture overall (both politically and culturally) doesn’t help whatever normalcy and sanity such celebrities may otherwise attempt to cling onto.

    I read that Whitney Houston was booed at the Soul Train Awards several years ago, supposedly because she wasn’t true to the black community, or wasn’t “authentically black,” whatever that means—actually, it probably means not conforming to the worst type of non-conformity, as deemed by the woe-is-me, fight-the-man, we’re-victims crowd. So in such a culture, conforming to traditional standards will be frowned upon more than, say, deciding to hitch up with someone who has a street-wise, bad-boy image, such as that of Houston’s ex-husband.

    I know someone who always says “p-o-lice,” meaning he turns what should be a short vowel of that word into a long one. I asked him why he pronounced it that way, and he told me it was to — in his mind — exhibit solidarity with the black community. BTW, guess which way that guy leans politically?

    Incidentally, back in the 1950s the Hollywood community (yep, no less than Hollywood itself!) ostracized actress Ingrid Bergman for having a child out of wedlock. In today’s era, she’d be given a standing ovation and feted on magazine covers. Such a celebrity nowadays also might be criticized for smoking cigarettes while being somewhat tolerated for using cocaine.

    Mark (411533)

  41. sorry if i sounded like i was coming down too hard on you. that was not my intent, but it is very easy to sound different in bare text than you realize.

    Not at all, Aaron. I was just pointing out we were basically saying the same thing. You said:

    if a musician known to be drug addicted dies young, you won’t go broke betting its drug related.

    I said:

    …odds are her substance abuse problems are the likely cause…

    If I were to have placed a bet last night, I’d have gone with the odds and bet on substance abuse. When betting on drug addicted singers, nine times out of ten you’ll be right. But no bet is a sure thing.

    Steve (20a23f)

  42. I’m all for people being responsible for their own behavior, but contributing factors should be given “credit” where credit is due. Hollywood does not encourage its celebrities to live with wisdom.

    In the drug store yesterday I noted that Selena Gomez, not that long ago on Disney after being launched on “Barney” as a child, was on the cover of Cosmopolitan, looking very…Cosmopolitanish, complete with some body parts looking enhanced since her last episodes of Wizards of Waverly Place.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  43. R. IIIIIIIIIIIaaaaaaaaIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIaaaaaaaaIIIIIIIIIIII. P.

    Scott Jacobs (d027b8)

  44. Mark #41: when I lived in Los Angeles, I used to enjoy going to The Magic Castle and watching magicians do their thing.

    One night, there was a very elderly magician who was wonderful with close up sleight of hand. And his patter was fun. One thing he said was fantastic.

    “When I was a boy,” he intoned as a coin made a circuit of his hands, moving knuckle to knuckle, “it was a horrible thing indeed to live with a woman not your wife.” Pause. “But it was perfectly all right to smoke.”

    Simon Jester (ec6cd3)

  45. in other entertainment news tonight, Whitney Houston has been clean and s*ber for over twenty four hours…

    redc1c4 (403dff)

  46. I pray her child stays away from her father, “The Rocksbury Retard”

    sickofrinos (44de53)

  47. I read, at forbes and I think TMZ that there was a bathtub incident the night prior to Whitney’s demise. A tub in Whitney’s suite/block of rooms overflowed into one of the bathrooms the floor below.

    forbes had a vague account with a the source saying he was told it was Whitney’s room and that there was also a smashed flat screen TV in the mix of mayhem.

    TMZ says a source tells them it was Bobbi Christina, Whitney’s daughter, “asleep” in the tub – when she would not respond to knocks security was called to open the door and remove her from the bathtub.

    It’s been said that Bobbi Christina was the caretaker in the the relationship, the parent – there was role reversal. Whitney was not only at the end of her financial rope but was clearly using and abusing that week. I’m speculating that the daughter was at the end of HER rope, and trying to make it all go away.

    The daughter is now rumored to be not only distraught but feared suicidal.

    Of course coincidence is all there is to the repeated bathroom “escape” by Mom, following daughter. I’m wondering Whitney’s f Rx overload plus bathtub for Whitney was deliberate choice- a message, even – to her daughter – as in I’M the one who needs to move along here, not you.

    That’s assuming all rumors are true.

    SarahW (b0e533)

  48. Oh, “Of course coincidence could be” is what I meant

    SarahW (b0e533)

  49. Does a dead crack head really need wall-to-wall coverage?

    mojo (8096f2)


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.0918 secs.