Two Icons, Two Lives

The parallels between Michael Jackson and Judy Garland are haunting.

By Patti Davis | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Jul 2, 2009

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  • Posted By: tonystar1 @ 07/03/2009 5:09:53 PM

    There's a parallel in that drugs took hold of two people and it enabled their ruin. More than that, I wish someone would ask or comment on how many lives were affected by Michael's fetish. Even if you don't believe a word of what he's rumored to have done, how is he a truly healthy role model (Male Role Model?) for young boys. Perhaps if you want your gifted child to grow up as a narcassistic, drug riddled, timeless boy, you'd drop him off at Neverland and ignore everything else.

    • Posted By: spacesally @ 07/08/2009 5:44:51 PM

      tonystar1,

      Me and you may never ever be stars and not even anything like MJ, but the difference between me and you is that I realize that his achievements and talent would never have allowed him to live a normal life. He was a great role model for many young people, MANY. Please use your brain, why do you think he is being called "the greatest entertainer of all time". Now you on the other hand, cannot bring yourself to know that you will NEVER experience that fame and fortune and lack of normalcy, therefore you will NEVER understand, not in your lifetime.
      Like many others, please I urge you to deal with this. You need to because your snide remarks will soon start falling on deaf ears.

      • Posted By: Celtia @ 07/10/2009 8:23:24 AM

        Spacesally: Jackson is being called "the greatest entertainer of all time". There's the key -- called. That doesn't mean there's any merit to the statement. And the only reason he's being "called" that is because of dupes like you who idol worship at the feet of celebrities. Why don't you save your adulation for teachers, police officer, firefighters, health care professionals, and social workers? You know -- people who leave the world a better place than what they found it. Otherwise your protestations of idol worship will start falling on deaf ears!

  • Posted By: Celtia @ 07/10/2009 8:18:54 AM

    The only parallels I can find between Judy Garland and Michael Jackson is that they're both dead. Unless Garland was a child molestor, too.

  • Posted By: Buggs Island Lake @ 07/05/2009 11:14:24 AM

    Worthless filler, needs to line a birdcage. Garland had a mental illness and was victimized nearly her entire life. Jackson caused others to develop mental disorders and victimized people and his exotic animals. Remember when he tried to buy the Elephant Man's Skeleton? Garland had class, Jackson was crass.

    • Posted By: spacesally @ 07/08/2009 5:35:24 PM

      Buggs bla bla,

      And you are an?

  • Posted By: eprn17 @ 07/03/2009 9:15:13 AM

    "Those who are born with a towering talent, something that can't be contained or even understood, never have a chance at a normal life. The world grabs onto them early and can't get enough. The demands are daunting, the crowds are huge, the spotlight is blinding."

    If the paragraph above describes the causes of the early deaths of Judy Garland and Michael Jackson, then what we should blame is technology. Technology killed them, because people like them would never have been able to reach the level of fame and monetary value without the machines that made possible the transmission of their images to millions of people, thus creating the fans who made these two talented people worth so much money.

    Greed, too, is a factor, the greed of their handlers, but really, it comes down to technology. There was probably someone on Judy Garland's family tree, way back in the 11th century, who had her powerful and rich voice, but at most she probably wowed the villagers and maybe even the people the next village down. Along come electronic communications media and there you go.

    • Posted By: spacesally @ 07/08/2009 5:27:48 PM

      eprn17,

      Well said...

    • Posted By: mdoyel @ 07/03/2009 10:19:54 AM

      Technology has certainly made these tragedies more accessible, but Mozart suffered the same fate in a world who's greatest technology was a printing press. Beethoven had a drunken father who forced him to play in beer halls in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, the flaw that puts these amazing talents in danger is human.

  • Posted By: alansky @ 07/03/2009 8:45:15 PM

    I never knew that Judy Garland a child molester.

    • Posted By: spacesally @ 07/08/2009 5:26:42 PM

      Hey Alansky,

      I never knew there were still idiots that could read and write. You must be one of them.

  • Posted By: Dolmance @ 07/05/2009 6:12:20 PM

    I find it profoundly tragic that so many people could fixate on this story about a guy who never grew up and made some good records. I find it tragic because our country's economy is in terrible trouble, people are getting pink slips all over the place and being added to the tens of millions who can't get health insurance, enemies are building nuclear weapons, we're in two foreign wars in which Americans are dying every day, our environment is in terrible shape, and with all that on our plate our news media is focused on a dead pop star who took too many drugs. It's stupidity piled on stupidity piled on stupidity.

    • Posted By: spacesally @ 07/08/2009 5:17:16 PM

      Yes,

      Deal with that. It's a sad state of affairs everywhere, and we have to do what we have to do. Just like companies have to lay off people, fans have to mourn their beloved. That' s just the way it will be.
      I was a fan btw.

  • Posted By: Davidebert @ 07/05/2009 3:51:47 PM

    H-m-m-m, I don't see it. The stage parents part is similar, but Michael started the drugs on his own- his parents didn't start that. Judy was a talented singer and dancer, but she became a mentally ill alcoholic/depressive, and self medicating did her in, but she was basically a good soul. Michael was a very talented showman- he understood his audience, and he was a decent songwriter. But he passed as a passable choreographer and a passable dancer in one limited and stylistic genre only, and it was crotch-grabblingly crude and lowest-common denominator. Not Judy Garland class, not by a long shot. His personal problems were legendary- a self hating pedophile who tried to correct his character defects by surgically altering himself to resemble Walt Disney's cartoon Peter Pan, and the surgeries mutilated him, so his self-disdain grew until he could no longer stand life without lots of drugs. He couldn't even sleep, because he hated himself and repose was when the demons came out to taunt him. So he died a victim of his own slf loathing. This doesn't resemble Garland. nor Elvis, and the comparisons are odious and insulting to Judy and Presley. This article is a shallow puff piece- it doesn't have the courage to talk about the criminally insane Michael who thinks it's OK to sleep with boy children- the NAMBLA Michael. It's The Emperor's New Article. Shame on you for your cowardice.

    • Posted By: spacesally @ 07/08/2009 5:02:32 PM

      Hey Davidebert,

      You have no proof that this allegations are true. You do not know what this person went through, so please do not post such negative comments as they are not appreciated. You obviously did not like MJ and it is very evident, but you sound so evil yourself because you are saying such unfounded things. It;'s ok if you cannot compare him to the other two. You are one of those people are getting so angry at how the world just loved and I repeat LOVED Michael. Please learn to deal with it coz my evil friend, he is going to be with us forever, just like Elvis - even more. Haha.
      Lastly - Shame on you for your lack or respect!

    • Posted By: nkeating01 @ 07/05/2009 5:53:36 PM

      Michael Jackson's story is tragic. A childhood lost, which could never be re-captured. To say that someone who changed the music game across the entire world is a passable dance, and passable choreographer is simply UNTRUE! While MJ's story may have some paralells with Ms. Garland's life, the sad part is when someone is highly talented there are expectations and pressures that someone from the outside cannot even begin to understand. I find it interesting that people do not castrate or demonize Elvis Presley for his drug addictions, promiscurity with many women, and affair and ultimate marriage to an underage girl, Priscilla Presley. I do not see much difference between what Elvis Presley did versus Jerry Lewis, expect the fact that Elvis married his child bride who thank goodness wasn't his cousin. However, one would be naive to think that Elvis and Priscilla did not engage in inappropriate behavior. My point is that entertainers are people deemed of high value to society, yet they are flawed individuals who have their own demons, weaknesses, and personal issues. This is completely evident by all of the constant exposure of famous people today. Nothing has really changed except the internet presents a clearer view into people's lives and their faults, and or issues. MJ's life ended tragically, and while he was clearly imperfect, he set the roadmap for a true entertainer, was the pop singer philanthropist, and ultimately it seems a good dad. Let's celebrate his life and accomplishments and hope that others can learn from his mistakes.

  • Posted By: SusanKne @ 07/06/2009 11:52:11 AM

    I was lucky, my mother died when I was 13. I found out she didn't have "tired blood" but acute leukemia when I refused to let her curl my hair into Shirley Temple curls as I was starting Junior High and wanted a Page Boy like June Allison. She beat my head with a hair brush while screaming: "Very soon you'll be fixing your own hair because I'm going to die!" I was her Shirley Temple little doll who began playing the piano in public at the age of five. I would become so "nervous" I experienced severe nosebleeds backstage and often ended up playing my piece later in the program. I did grow up with a love of accompanying both singers and string players. In that way I wasn't "the show" but a supporting part of it. I don't take any medications, drink or smoke. I saw a documentary about Shirley Temple recently. She somehow found her way in adulthood as Shirley Temple Black and did much good for the world in the UN plus other needful causes. I hope Michael Jackson's children, who have been living an isolated life from the Real World, can also grow up to be effective adults. Susan

  • Posted By: Harlow Gold @ 07/06/2009 3:19:25 AM

    Michael Jackson's life WAS not tragic. Life is life. It has ups, downs, highs, lows and yes sad parts. MIchaels life was great, it was enviable. If you want to talk to me about victims or those whose lives were tragic tell me about Rwandans or starving children or any of the many groups Michael endeavoured to help in his lifetime. Them we can start talking about tragedy.

    And can you spare me the lack of a "normal" childhood bs. Everyone I know had a "normal" childhood and believe me, it's over rated. Michael had so much more in his life than most people with "normal" childhoods.

    I love MIchael Jackson but if he were to ever whine to me about having a "normal" childhood or life I would tell him to stop being ridiculous and that I wasn't buying his more me schtick, so forgive me if I don't buy it from anyone else either.

  • Posted By: Harlow Gold @ 07/06/2009 3:10:24 AM

    For God's sake please spare me the Judy Garland comparissons. Doesn't death already have enough "victims"?? Do we now need to make Michael a "victim" as well? Can't a person just die and be dead anymore? Are we all so consumed with bullshit that anyone whose talents exceed our own or whose lives we deem to have been greater than our own must be brought down to our level in death by making them a victim???? Because we can then all feel sorry for the poor victim whoi never had a normal life.

    *** a normal life and *** those who are so "normal" they find a need to feel sorry for anyone whose life isn't as bland and ordinary as their own. Stop trying to bring those who are arguably great down to your level. We're not all equal or the same. Learn to relate to people who aren't you on their level.

  • Posted By: Second_Opinion @ 07/05/2009 7:35:17 PM

    .

    I fully agree with the author when he says that Michael Jackson never had a chance at a normal life. I think that is where the tragedy truly lies. As much as he was, he might have been more. Unfortunately, we'll never know.

    While those in his "inner circle" enabled him and ultimately led to his downfall, everyone of us bears some responsibility for his untimely death. Every one of us has, over the years, been fascinated by Michael's life. Every one of us has stopped to peek into it and comment, whether for good or bad. Every one of us asked more of a man who could not give enough.

    .

  • Posted By: nkeating01 @ 07/05/2009 5:52:24 PM

    Michael Jackson's story is tragic. A childhood lost, which could never be re-captured. To say that someone who changed the music game across the entire world is a passable dance, and passable choreographer is simply UNTRUE! While MJ's story may have some paralells with Ms. Garland's life, the sad part is when someone is highly talented there are expectations and pressures that someone from the outside cannot even begin to understand. I find it interesting that people do not castrate or demonize Elvis Presley for his drug addictions, promiscurity with many women, and affair and ultimate marriage to an underage girl, Priscilla Presley. I do not see much difference between what Elvis Presley did versus Jerry Lewis, expect the fact that Elvis married his child bride who thank goodness wasn't his cousin. However, one would be naive to think that Elvis and Priscilla did not engage in inappropriate behavior. My point is that entertainers are people deemed of high value to society, yet they are flawed individuals who have their own demons, weaknesses, and personal issues. This is completely evident by all of the constant exposure of famous people today. Nothing has really changed except the internet presents a clearer view into people's lives and their faults, and or issues. MJ's life ended tragically, and while he was clearly imperfect, he set the roadmap for a true entertainer, was the pop singer philanthropist, and ultimately it seems a good dad. Let's celebrate his life and accomplishments and hope that others can learn from his mistakes.

  • Posted By: irish 44 @ 07/03/2009 12:59:54 PM

    okay, now this has got to be the silliest article I have read to date on Michael Jackson. I suppose if you compare the fact they were two very vulnerable feminine personalities their lives are" hauntingly'. Course Michael was a disturbed young man with an unnatural penchant for sleeping with young boys and I don't think Ms Garland had the same tendency for young girls. He wanted to look white, and altered his face to resemble an elf, Ms Garland uh never mind this is just to stupid to continue. Shame on you ms Davis or congratulations for actually writing the dumbest article to date on a tragic out of control young man!

    • Posted By: janeyre @ 07/04/2009 11:09:57 PM

      Drop him off at Grqaceland...

  • Posted By: janeyre @ 07/04/2009 11:07:15 PM

    Explain how Shirley Temple, who surely was a talented little girl. Came through her childhood and became a viable citizen... I mean, her talent at an early age was notable. Who guided Shirley Temple? One success story... Otherwise, Michael Jackson Eclisped Judy Garland. There isn't a person, who reached his level of fame. I am talking Globally...

  • Posted By: Yourmemory @ 07/04/2009 4:02:36 PM

    Patti
    You overlook the fact that they died 40 years apart, almost to the day. (Judy= 6/22/69; Michael=6/25/09

  • Posted By: Mary Anne Landers @ 07/03/2009 11:44:55 PM

    Yes,there are parallels between Judy Garland and Michael Jackson. But there are also contrasts.

    From what I gather about the bios I've read or seen about Judy, she was more sinned against than sinning. I can't imagine her victimizing anyone.

    But Michael Jackson was at least as much sinning as sinned against. And though I'm reluctant to speak ill of the dead, I can all too easily imagine him victimizing someone!

  • Posted By: Mary Anne Landers @ 07/03/2009 11:42:02 PM

    Yes,there are parallels between Judy Garland and Michael Jackson. But there are also contrasts.

    From what I gather about the bios I've read or seen about Judy, she was more sinned against than sinning. I can't imagine her victimizing anyone.

    But Michael Jackson was at least as much sinning as sinned against. And though I'm reluctant to speak ill of the dead, I can all too easily imagine him victimizing someone!

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