The headlines in 2016 seem to be filled with constant death notices of beloved celebrities, beginning with David Bowie in January and currently ending with Carrie Fisher. In between were at least 70 more including Prince, Gene Wilder, Harper Lee, Glenn Frey, Mohammed Ali, Alan Thicke, and George Michael. Is 2016 the Grim Reaper stealing our childhood? To some it feels exactly like that.
Death. You can’t hide from death no matter your age or your status. Maybe that is why celebrity passings effect so many. People often put celebrities on a pedestal, forgetting they are mortals.
In 1990,six years after George Michael stepped into the limelight with Wham!, he was feeling the pressure and really wanted to take a backseat and just be a songwriter. An article in the L.A. Times ran where George Michael was quoted as saying, “I decided that the thing I really enjoy… the thing I really needed was my songwriting. I didn’t need the celebrity.”
Frank Sinatra, yes, THAT Frank Sinatra, read this article and responded to George in an open letter that ran in the L.A. Times a week later encouraging George to embrace his talent.
September 9, 1990Dear Friends,
When I saw your Calendar cover today about George Michael, “the reluctant pop star,” my first reaction was he should thank the good Lord every morning when he wakes up to have all that he has. And that’ll make two of us thanking God every morning for all that we have.
I don’t understand a guy who lives “in hopes of reducing the strain of his celebrity status.” Here’s a kid who “wanted to be a pop star since I was about 7 years old.” And now that he’s a smash performer and songwriter at 27 he wants to quit doing what tons of gifted youngsters all over the world would shoot grandma for – just one crack at what he’s complaining about.
Come on George, Loosen up. Swing, man, Dust off those gossamer wings and fly yourself to the moon of your choice and be grateful to carry the baggage we’ve all had to carry since those lean nights of sleeping on buses and helping the driver unload the instruments
And no more of that talk about “the tragedy of fame.” The tragedy of fame is when no one shows up and you’re singing to the cleaning lady in some empty joint that hasn’t seen a paying customer since Saint Swithin’s day. And you’re nowhere near that; you’re top dog on the top rung of a tall ladder called Stardom, which in latin means thanks-to-the-fans who were there when it was lonely.
Talent must not be wasted. Those who have it – and you obviously do or today’s Calendar cover article would have been about Rudy Vallee – those who have talent must hug it, embrace it, nurture it and share it lest it be taken away from you as fast as it was loaned to you.
Trust me. I’ve been there.
Frank Sinatra
At the time George Michael was still living with his secret of being gay, something that shouldn’t have mattered then, or now, but it apparently did and still does. It was a weight that he shouldered.
When Robin Williams was found dead of an apparent suicide in August 2014 the world cried. How could a man who gave us such laughter, who was always smiling, could be in so much pain and nobody see it? It’s called acting.
If you look at 2013, 2014, and 2015, and even back before that you will see the list of celebrity deaths too. 2016 isn’t anything special with regards to this. I do, however, believe that many are missing something. Instead of wishing for the year to be over with, look for the lessons.
It must be so nice for these celebrities to buy these big houses and have these plush bank accounts, right? Well they come with a cost. They lose their privacy. They have to keep up an image. All the time. They are being watched and photographed and scrutinized. Constantly. But they asked for that, right? Not necessarily. They are just pursuing their art; their gift.
So is 2016 stealing our beloved celebrities? No, it’s showing us what stress does. It kills. 2016 doesn’t kill. It’s showing us stress effects the body, mind, and spirit. It tells people to use drugs and drink alcohol in order to quiet the mind. It tells people it’s okay to overwork oneself. It tells people to take on as many projects now because you’re getting older and might not be a star next year. It’s telling people to be unhealthy in order to make other’s happy. It awakens mental issues. It creates substance abusers. It weighs on the heart. It calls on cancer to creep in. Stress is the killer, not 2016.
Yes, people pass every day, every year – celebrities and our own personal celebrities. Often celebrity passings brings up a memory close to the heart. A time of importance or innocence. A grief in their own life they haven’t been able to conquer. So if you don’t feel the same feeling others are sharing, simply move on, it’s not up to you to define sometime else’s sadness.
We can’t simply throw 2016 under the rug and wish it away. We have to learn from it. I think it’s time to start loving and supporting, less stressing and judging. I’d love for 2017 to be more of that.
Believe,
Kristy Robinett
Kristy Robinett is a professional psychic medium. In addition to giving readings and teaching workshops, she uses her psychic skills to assist with police investigations. Kristy lectures across the country and has appeared on the ID Channel’s Restless Souls, Fox News, ABC News, and Coast to Coast. She is also the author of Forevermore: Guided in Spirit by Edgar Allan Poe, Messenger Between Worlds: True Stories from a Psychic Medium, Higher Intuitions Oracle, Ghosts of Southeast Michigan, and Michigan’s Haunted Legends and Lore. Visit her online at KristyRobinett.com.
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