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These days, it seems like everything is a ‘scandal’ in Hollywood. But if you think about it, a lot of it is sensationalized by the media, manipulated by PR people and utilized to do everything from bring attention to upcoming projects to selling more ad space.
While some events today are indeed legitimate, inappropriately hilarious or sometimes tragic, many may agree that they pale In comparison to some scandals in the past.
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Fans around the world are paying tribute to King of Pop Michael Jackson today on the first anniversary of his death at the age of 50.
The star’s three children are expected to mark the anniversary, along with their grandmother and guardian Katherine, at the former family home in Indiana, where tributes will be paid.
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Michael Jackson’s untimely death has thrust the King of Pop to the top of search engine yahoo.com’s internet searches in 2009, ending Britney Spears’ four-year reign as the most-searched star.
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama dropped out of the top 10 list.
Up until June this year, when Jackson died of a drug overdose, Mr Obama’s inauguration attracted the most web traffic, according to Vera Chan, a web trend analyst at Yahoo Inc.
“When the news of Michael Jackson’s death came out the traffic was overwhelming, and surpassed that,” she said.
According to Ms Chan, Jackson’s death, which made headlines all around the world, had all the elements of intrigue and tragedy. It was sudden, shocking and eerily familiar to fans worldwide.
“And then his case was ruled a homicide so it’s an ongoing crime investigation. His death is unresolved,” she added.
Breaking news stories increasingly drove searches this year. While Mr Obama dropped from third place on the search list in 2008 to 44th in 2009, the political focus shifted from the US election campaign to specific policies. The phrase “stimulus plan” placed fourth and “health care reform” was sixth among Obama-related searches.
When it came to finance-related searches, the words “coupons” and “unemployment” topped the most-searched list, which included “cash for clunkers”, “student loans”, “foreclosures”, and “government jobs”.
The economy “was definitely a distinction from the previous years, how much people are monitoring the financial situation,” Ms Chan said.
The overall top 10 is “often just a snapshot of our distractions, our guilty pleasures, and breaking news,” she added.
Spears, the singer whose personal meltdown has captured headlines for the past few years, dropped to fifth place in the overall list, just behind Megan Fox and just ahead of the Japanese magna cartoon Naruto.
“Britney was number one for four years in a row, and not all of those years were pleasant years for her,” Ms Chan said.
“For her well being, and for our well being, I think we’re happy that we don’t have to check up on her.”
Vampire saga Twilight came in second on the list, followed by WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), Fox and Spears. Naruto captured sixth place, with the reality show American Idol, Kardashian, NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) and the online role-playing fantasy game Runescape rounding out the top 10 list.
Yahoo accounted for 18 per cent of US online searches in October, compared to a 65.4 per cent market share for Google Inc, according to the analytics firm comScore. Yahoo’s search data is from the company’s dot-com sites only.
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Even after death, celebrities rake in millions, and fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent surpassed the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, to be named the top-earning dead celebrity, according to the list of top-earning dead celebrities compiled by Forbes magazine.
In its ninth annual list, Forbes.com reported the Frenchman, considered one of the greatest designers of the 20th century and who died in 2008, came out on top with earnings of US$350 million.
Composers Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein came in second on the 2009 list with US$235 million, and the recently deceased King of Pop Jackson ranked third at US$90 million.
But Jackson is likely to be a big earner for years to come while Saint Laurent, who made the list for the first time this year, may have difficulty repeating the 2009 performance.
“Saint Laurent had a massive estate sale, which brought in US$350 million. Michael Jackson has only made US$90 million since his death in June,” said Forbes Senior Editor Matt Miller, who is also the editor of the dead celebrities list.
“Michael Jackson will make tens of millions of dollars a year because he has lucrative publishing rights, rights to all his memorabilia. There’s still profits to be made from the movie which comes out tomorrow.”
The Michael Jackson movie This is It hits theatres around the world on October 28. It is based on his rehearsals for a series of London concerts.
The other “King,” Elvis Presley, was fourth on the list with US$55 million.
The ranking assesses the earning power of deceased celebrities, including musicians, authors, actors, and songwriters, among others.
Two names that unexpectedly did not make this year’s list were Marilyn Monroe and James Dean.
“Both have similar incomes to last year. In fact Marilyn Monroe made more money this year versus last year,” said Miller. “However, because of all the new people on the list like Yves Saint Laurent they weren’t able to keep up.”
The full list of Top-Earning Dead Celebrities can be found at: www.forbes.com/deadcelebs.
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A bejewelled white glove worn by late King of Pop Michael Jackson sold at auction for AUD$57,600 (US$49,000) in Australia, nearly twice the price auctioneers expected, the auction house said.
The glove was the US singer’s trademark, and was even worn in honour of the late performer by his brothers at his memorial and funeral services.
According to auction house Bonhams and Goodman, this was the first Jackson glove to go on sale since he died in June at the age of 50.
The glove, which was sold in Melbourne, was worn by Jackson in Sydney in 1996, on the day he married Debbie Rowe, the mother of his two elder children, the auction house said.
After a bidding war between collectors in Australia and the United States, it was bought by Warwick Stone on behalf of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
In November 1996, Jackson was in Sydney during his HIStory tour, and attended a premiere in Sydney of the film Ghosts, in which he starred.
Earlier the same day the singer had married Rowe.
At the end of the performance, Jackson threw the glove to Bill Hibble, a collector of music and film memorabilia, who has since died.
Hibble’s mother put the glove up for auction.
Giles Moon, national head of collectables for the auction house, said he was “astounded” by the price the glove fetched.
Jackson was buried in California, two months after his death from a drug overdose.
His death has been ruled a homicide and police are investigating several doctors.
They have said they will seek criminal charges but so far none have been filed.
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2011 has had more history changing events than almost any other year since WW2. Revolutions [...]
