Drugs and young celebrities
I eulogized a friend once, the most talented friend I ever had. He could sing, he could dance, he could imitate great voices; he was one of the funniest people ever (Oscar Levant meets Conan O'Brien) and he was a gifted illustrator whose work was in demand. He burned out and died at 35. "The brightest stars burn fastest," I said at the funeral, as if that explained anything.
And here's the news today of the actor Heath Ledger, dead at 28, probably from drugs. Just last week, my son and I were YouTubin' Chris Farley, and then getting bummed about how he killed himself with opiates and died so young. And there was Belushi, of course, Kurt Cobain, and the promising River Phoenix (heroin and cocaine, 1993 at the age of 23). There are others I'm not thinking of. It seems we have lost a lot of them, from the time of Norma Jean Mortenson . . . Jim Morrison . . . Janis and Jimi . . . Keith Moon . . . young stars burning out . . . self-medicating and self-extinguishing.
Comments
Dan,
Unfortunately talent/intelligence doesn't equal common sense or happiness. I never had any desire to do drugs, smoking or excessive drinking because I don't like to lose control of my actions and not remember what I did and possibly because I wasn't never that unhappy in my life.
I worked in an environment for a long time that was drug free (pretty close) due to extensive testing/screening (long story).
However once I changed jobs and moved to another state and went out more often, I found out how persuasive drug use and excessive drinking is in society. The sad part is that some people don't see any issues with drugs and others have lives that are so bad that "substances" are their only chance to escape from reality.
I'm very much against drugs but I've never had to live their lives, so I can't say I wouldn't do the same thing.
Rich
Posted by: Rich | January 22, 2008 7:39 PM
Yeah, and somebody said, "what's the big deal, it's my body."
And somebody else said, "Let's make the drugs legal and end all of this suffering."
And I cried because there aren't enough treatment dollars or spots. That translates into a lack of political will.
The light is lit. Help 'em if you got 'em.
Posted by: Bruce Robinson | January 22, 2008 8:34 PM