A Somber Week in Entertainment

This week, the entertainment world has mourned three famous faces. Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.

Ed McMahon, long time sidekick and announcer of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show passed away on Tuesday. He hosted "Star Search" which discovered big name stars like Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Cristina Aguliera, Rosie O' Donnell, Martin Lawrence and many others. He even promised us a check of $10 million..but i never had received my check..lol. He was lovable, fun to watch, and even got some laughs on the Tonight Show

Farrah Fawcett, iconic 1970s star of the hit television show "Charlie's Angels", was the It Girl of the 1970s. What teenage boy had a poster of Farrah in their bedroom back in the day. She lit up television screens as one of the Charlie's Angels. She was on the show for one season. "Charlie's Angels" became a hit in its first season large in part to Farrah. Women loved her hairstyle. Men wanted to date her. Prior to Charlie's Angels, Farrah was on "The Dating Game", an episode of "The Partridge Family" and dozens of TV commercials. In the 1980s, she starred in a TV movie titled "The Burning Bed" as an abused wife. That movie may have inspired Chris Brown to be mean to Rihanna. In later years, she did a reality show "Chasing Farrah". The news of her cancer battle inspired lots of people and gave hope about survival. We predicted at first that she will beat cancer but the cancer got her. Now, an angel is in heaven.

Hours after the news of Farrah's death broke out, another shocking celebrity death was announced. Michael Jackson, "King of Pop", has died. He was 50 years old. MJ leaves a lasting legacy that generations of fans will never forget for years to come. He started singing at the tender age of 10 when he performed with his brothers. The Jackson Five ruled the pop charts in the early 1970s with 16 top 40 hits like "ABC", "I Want You Back", "Never Can Say Goodbye", and "I'll Be There". As a solo artist, he had at least 20 Top 40 hits. His 1979 album "Off The Wall" gave us the classic "Rock with You". In the 1980s, his "Thriller" dominated the charts. The iconic album sold over 100 million copies. The songs in that album included "Beat It", "Billie Jean", "PYT (Pretty Young Thing)" and the title track "Thriller". His music videos put MTV on the map...they became must see TV!. Michael introduced his famous moonwalk on "Motown 25" TV special back in 1983. Everybody and his cousin wanted to do the moonwalk. In 1987, Jackson released his second hit album "Bad". It sold really well over 80 million copies. The video for the title track was directed by John Landis. In the 1990s, Michael's music and popularity declined. His personal life was creepy, weird, and off base. He befriended a chimpanzee named Bubbles. He owned a ranch called NeverLand. He molested boys younger than 16. He got in trouble with the law and tried to defend himself. His fans stood by him during those rocky times. In 2003, he got arrested and was later acquitted. In 2004, he was on trial for molesting kids. When he was acquitted, he jumped on top of a SUV and danced around...his fans went crazy but others were not pleased. He married Lisa Marie Presley for 2 years...what a crazy marriage that was!! Elvis was rolling in his grave when he found about that. He had 3 kids and dangled a baby off a balcony back in 2003...that scared a lot of people. Jacko was about to perform a series of concerts in London next month and tickets for those shows were sold out in 4 months. His fans were shocked to hear about the news of his death. His health had been declining and his look changed to cute to unattractive thanks to plastic surgery. Many dancers are influenced by Michael's moves and everybody wants to dance like Michael. There will never be another icon like Michael Jackson. He now joins Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, and Frank Sinatra in music heaven.

Now, three entertainment figures are in heaven enjoying life while fans all around the world grieve and remember the wonderful gifts they shared with the world. We will never forget you.

Hey, that's it for now...I'll be back soon with another exciting blog entry. I promise no Jon & Kate stories, No Speidi stories and fun cool entertainment news.

I am keeping cool from the dreaded heat wave going on for days in Memphis. Hope you're keeping cool. Laters

DTV TRANSITION

Hey television viewers, in less than 2 days...television will be going all digital. Analog broadcasting will become a distant memory. This means all television stations in the United States will broadcast in digital format. More channels, clearer pictures, and better sound. If you have cable, you're already set. If you have satellite, you're already set. If you have a tv with a digital tuner, you're already set, too. For those people whose tv sets have an antenna ("rabbit ears, a converter box has to be connected to the tv to watch television. Time is ticking away, you must take immediate action or else your tv will become obsolete.

You got three options if you want to continue watching television after this Friday--June 12th

1) Buy a converter box for your tv or

2) Buy a tv with a built in digital tuner or

3) Subscribe to cable or satellite

Remember, when you connected your converter box--scan to capture the channels available--rescan occasionally when new digital channels go on the air

If you want information on the dtv transition, visit the following websites:
http://www.dtv.gov

http://www.dtvanswers.com/

http://www.fcc.gov/

BTW...Low-power television stations are not affected in this digital television transition

The website for finding low power television stations in your area:
http://www.lptvanswers.com/

Remember, this Friday--Television will be all digital!!!

Are you ready?