Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett: How They Changed Television

The notunexpected passing of Farrah Fawcett and the shocking sudden death of Michael Jackson on Thursday stir all kinds of emotional responses amp8211 among them wistful nostalgia for those decades in which they both became popculture icons Those were the days amp8211 when talented people worked for years to become amp8220overnightamp8221 sensations without the instant celebrity options of the digital era I think itamp8217s fair to say that many of the young personalities who dominate movies music and television today would never have enjoyed such success without benefit of the Internet Fawcett and Jackson rose to the top and achieved legendary success the oldfashioned way They earned it one performance at a timeBoth were plagued by ugly rumors and outsize scandals throughout their toobrief lives Iamp8217ll leave all that for burbling bloggers and tabloid reporters to gobble up and regurgitate for public consumption though I would like to see more seasoned journalists respectfully dig in to the details of Fawcettamp8217s and Jacksonamp8217s recent medical histories True there are privacy issues at play but Jackson famously loved the spotlight and Fawcett starred in a 2005 reality series that chronicled the intimate details of her life so there is wiggle room here I suspect there is valuable information to be gleaned from the challenges they faced and perhaps a painful lesson or two to be learned beyond the details revealed in the filmed documentation of Fawcettamp8217s cancer ordeal and the outcome of Jacksonamp8217s autopsy reportMuch is being said over and over again about their contributions to popular culture but through it all I find myself focusing in on the specific impacts Fawcett and Jackson had on television Fawcettamp8217s series Charlieamp8217s Angels on which she starred for only one season with several guest appearances in its second year was a major component of ABCamp8217s legendary ascendency to the most powerful and influential broadcast network in the midlate Seventies when there were only three Along with Happy Days Laverne ampamp Shirley and Threeamp8217s Company Charlieamp8217s Angels did much to tear the media spotlight and millions of viewers away from CBS the home for much of that decade of such firstclass fare as All in the Family The Mary Tyler Moore Show The Carol Burnett Show The Bob Newhart Show Rhoda Maude The Waltons and MASH Under the direction of network president Fred Silverman who moved to over ABC from CBS in 1975 the Alphabet Net was suddenly the place to be and the spectacularly appealing Fawcett her image frozen forever in time on her iconic poster had much to do with that After she left Charlieamp8217s Angels Fawcett went on to star in many of the best television movies of the periodSimilarly Jackson amp8211 already a household name as the youngest member of the Jackson 5 helped propel MTV into the popculture pantheon the early Eighties MTV energized television during the early years of cable but Jackson supercharged MTV itself with a series of dazzling music videos then an exciting new art form On a broader scale music videos changed everything about television from childrenamp8217s programming to prime time content to commercials That was the time when young people would leave their cable boxes on MTV waiting for their favorite videos just as their parents had left their radios tuned to certain stations waiting for their favorite songs Jacksonamp8217s videos were on everyoneamp8217s mustsee list and all activity often halted in a room when one of them came on The debut on MTV in December 1983 of Jacksonamp8217s 14minute long Thriller video amp8211 still widely praised as the best music video ever was one of those television events people anticipated for weeks and gathered together to enjoyAlso in 1983 millions of television viewers went wild when Jackson moonwalked across the stage of Radio City Music Hall during NBCamp8217s telecast of Motownamp8217s 25th Anniversary Special That performance still turns up on lists of the most memorable moments in television history Appearances by and interviews with Jackson especially interviews in which he addressed issues involving his personal life would continue to command huge television audiences for another 25 yearsI saw Fawcett in the 1985 OffBroadway production of Extremities in which she played a woman who captured and tormented a man who attacked her She was galvanizing and received a standing ovation at the end of the show This was many years before New York theater audiences began routinely giving standing ovations to the casts of virtually every successful play especially those with celebrities in the lead roles I expected to see her six years later during the January 1991 Television Critics Association tour on behalf of the midseason CBS sitcom Good Sports in which she costarred with longtime companion Ryan Oamp8217Neal Strangely there was no session scheduled for that program this at a time when networks made every effort to include all new series and most returning shows during their TCA days When I asked various publicists and executives who were associated with the show why Fawcett and Oamp8217Neal werenamp8217t in attendance they responded with eyerolls shoulder shrugs andor shudders No words were spoken and no explanations given Fourteen years later I attended TV Landamp8217s TCA session for the reality series Chasing Farrah and Fawcettamp8217s appearance was a highlight of that tour She seemed a bit off that day We were told she had a cold Regardless it was a thrill to be in the same space with an icon from my youth and one of the stars of one of the most powerful pieces of theater I had ever seenI never had the opportunity to see Jackson perform live but I was sitting in the front center orchestra at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City when Jackson opened the show with his wife Lisa Marie Presley I donamp8217t know how it played on television but their passionate kiss amp8211 intended to prove that their marriage was not a sham as had been rumored in the press made the crowd around me decidedly uneasy As with my Fawcett experience in 2005 it didnamp8217t matter to me All I cared about was that I was watching the King of Pop in what turned out to be one of the countless unforgettable moments in entertainment history for which he would be responsible

Become a Thought Leader. Share your thought leadership article with industry professionals & have them archived in Thought Leadership

Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett: How They Changed Television

Author

Publish date

Channel

Ed Martin

"About That with Carl Mayer:" Alaina Donnellon (Episode 10: Political Spending) - By Carl Mayer

More Videos:

Become a Thought Leader. Share your thought leadership article with industry professionals & have them archived in Thought Leadership

Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett: How They Changed Television

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Ed Martin

"About That with Carl Mayer:" Alaina Donnellon (Episode 10: Political Spending) - By Carl Mayer

The payment was successful

Cookies