Guilty verdict for Jackson's former doctor

LAST night was a sense of déjà vu for television viewers in the United States and on the rolling UK news networks.  The wall-to-wall coverage of the ‘trial of the 21^st century’ came to a conclusion.  However, unlike O.J Simpson in 1995, there was not a ‘no guilty’ verdict.  Conrad Murray, the doctor of the legendary pop star Michael Jackson was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in relation to the singer’s tragic death in June 2009.

SILENT: Conrad Murray remained unmoved throughout the verdict

      It was a guilty verdict from all 12 jurors as the six week trial concluded yesterday; the final outcome not surprising many in the US or journalists around the world.  The always opinionated Piers Morgan gave his thoughts on Twitter; “Whichever way you viewed the evidence, #ConradMurray’s behaviour was clearly unethical for a doctor.  Right verdict!  Murray has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on November 29 where he faces upto four years in jail and almost inevitably, the removal of his medical certificates so he can practice in the future.

      Throughout the verdict at the Los Angeles superior court yesterday, Murray remained very pensive and showed no sign of emotion when hearing his fate from the jury.  Outside the court, fans of Michael Jackson reacted in delight at the verdict.  Throughout the trial, Murray’s stance was that on the fateful day when Jackson died in 2009, he had taken the fatal overdose of the drug propofol without any consent.  Last week, Murray’s defence team announced that he would not testify himself at the trial.  The prosecution’s argument was that Jackson had died after Murray had administered him an IV drip infused with propofol.  They also believed that Jackson was fully aware of his medication levels and he could get easily addicted to painkillers, especially as he was busy at the time preparing for the London farewell concert gigs at the O2 Arena later that year.

       However, it seemed like the prosecution had a stronger case.  A number of witnesses had agreed to testify and these included Jackson’s former bodyguard, who told the court that Murray had told him to hide drug vials.  Alberto Alvarez claimed to have trusted Murray’s actions as a doctor, but told the court that Murray had told him to put vials of medicine into a bag before calling an ambulance.  Alvarez was the first person to discover Jackson unconscious on that fateful day.  They also used pictures of some damming contents inside Jackson’s home, including a syringe in his bedroom and other items such as a saline bag and a bottle of propofol in evidence against Murray.

       This verdict might finally give Michael Jackson’s family the belief that justice has been done.  For Conrad Murray, a very dark time awaits the doctor, whose actions have not only seen him lose his medical career and his reputation, but sees him face time for what he has done.

Elizabeth Taylor - A Hollywood legend

Elizabeth Taylor (February 27 1932 - March 23 2011)

AFTER months of medical treatment, the fantastic and hugely popular Hollywood actress Dame Elizabeth Taylor has died.  She passed away, surrounded by her four children from congestive heart failure on Wednesday morning.  The British-born icon died in Los Angeles, aged 79.

     Often regarded by many as one of the greatest ever movie stars to have graced Hollywood, Elizabeth’s numerous marriages, countless divorces and love for diamonds had the world captivated for over half a century.  Born in London, her family moved to America when she was only seven years of age, and this is where the great love affair stateside began.

     Just five years later, Elizabeth’s glamorous look had won her a film contract and made her become a household name.  National Velvet was the first movie she starred in, as a budding teenage show jumper way back in 1944.  More films followed, but it was her appearance alongside fellow screen legend Paul Newman in the film ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ that really turned her from national hit into global superstar.

     Acting was important, but off-screen, Elizabeth’s complicated romances had already begun.  Having already experienced two broken engagements, she married for the first time at 18, to hotel owner Conrad Hilton jnr.  The marriage only lasted a year, and was to be the start of a familiar pathway.  Actor Michael Wilding was her second marriage, which was more successful.  They were hitched for five years and he gave Elizabeth the first two of her four children.  Film producer Mike Todd was husband no.3, providing Elizabeth with a third child.  Todd was killed in a plane crash, leaving the young Taylor a paled widow at the just 26.

STARRING: Elizabeth's role in Cleopatra was her greatest moment

     Elizabeth’s desire to be happy was starting to become over-excessive and there was little support when just a year after Todd’s death, she ran off with husband of her best friend Debbie Reynolds, Eddie Fisher.  Her golden hour came in 1962, when she landed the mega part of Queen of the Nile, Cleopatra in ‘Cleopatra,’ one of the greatest movies of a all-time.  Off-camera, she had found love in Richard Burton.  It would be the start of a very tempestuous relationship.  Fifteen years of drama, heavy drinking, stormy rows and ultimately, two marriages.  Together, Taylor and Burton appeared in ten films together, with Taylor’s role in ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ winning her a second Oscar in 1967. 

     By the time Burton and Taylor divorced for a second time in 1976, Elizabeth’s glamorous lifestyle was started to get affected.  She suffered from chronic back problems, struggled to control her weight and continued to drink excessively.  When her good friend Rock Hudson died from AIDS in 1985, Elizabeth took up a new and unexpected role.  She founded the American Foundation for AIDS research, which allowed Taylor to promote and heighten the awareness of the little-known disease.  As her own health deteriorated, Elizabeth checked herself into the Betty Ford Treatment Centre.  Having battled with drink and drugs for several years, it was a reality check for Taylor; face death, or get cleaned up. 

     It was whilst recovering that she embarked on an eighth marriage, this time to fellow addict Larry Fortensky.  They married in 1991, but it ended five years later, like most of the other marriages; in divorce.  In 2000, Elizabeth was made a Dame for her services to acting and her immensely successful charity work.  She admitted afterwards that it was ‘the crowning achievement of her career.’ 

     As her ill health continued to plague her, public appearances became less frequent.  Apart from a brief guest role on The Simpsons, AIDS funded events were the only occasions that Elizabeth could be seen for the cameras.  She struck up a very close and personal friendship with the singer Michael Jackson and was devastated by Jackson’s death in the summer of 2009.  A month later, Elizabeth underwent heart surgery and recently, was admitted back to hospital due to her delicate condition last month.

     To the end, Elizabeth Taylor retained her magic and glamour.  A turbulent personal life in the public spotlight, combined with a history of poor health and ultimately, a very successful acting career, she touched the lives of many.  Her death is a shock to many and although her loss to the film and acting world is a masterpiece of understatement, her legacy will remain forever.

RIP Elizabeth Taylor (February 27 1932 – March 23 2011)

Britain's Got Talent - Where Are They Now?

Two weeks into one of Britain’s biggest TV shows and as the talent search continues throughout the country, it is time to see the success stories of Britain’s Got Talent from the previous three series, and where have they ended up since they found fame on the ITV hit-show.

Paul Potts (Winner) 2007

Paul Potts life was completely changed when he stormed through to win the inaugural show in June 2007.  Since then, the opera singer, who before the success, worked as a mobile phones salesman with the Carphone Warehouse has gone onto to sell 3.5million copies of his debut album, One Chance.  Now, he is working on a third album and under the guidance of Simon Cowell, Potts is only bound to get better and better.

Escala (Finalists) 2008

Classical artists Escala are a fresh and friendly face to an industry, which has always been way in the shadows of other established music genres.  Their final performance in 2008 was the beginning of something big, with their first album, titled ‘Escala’ last year, turning into a hit with many.  They have signed a £1.5million record deal with Sony and fronted the advertisement for Sky Sports football coverage in the 2008/09 season. 

Stavros Flatley (Finalists) 2009

Who can forget Lagi and Demetri, the Greek father and son act, who wowed the judges and audience last year with those incredible and breathtaking performances.  They are on course to become millionaires and are turning into a very popular act, with bookings already taking them up to Christmas this year.  Their book ‘How to be Greek,’ has sold over 10,000 copies and they have appeared on the BBC cooking show, Ready Steady Cook.

Susan Boyle (Runner-Up) 2009

What an unbelievable year Susan Boyle has had.  Quite possibly, the best audition ever on Britain’s Got Talent, certainly the most popular, in regard to those millions of hits on the video-sharing site, YouTube.  Boyle has made £4million from selling over 8million copies of her debut album, ‘I Dreamed a Dream,’ last November.  It went onto to become the biggest album seller of the year, and she has taken America by storm, which is where her future career could take her.

Damon Scott (Runner-Up) 2007

Despite still living with his parents in the UK, 2007 runner-up Damon Scott is still raking in a bigger income than ever before.  His popular performances with the puppet ‘Bubbles,’ have been a major attraction at a variation of European car launches.

Faryl Smith (Finalist) 2008

At 14 years old, Faryl Smith has immense talent and could well turn out to be one of the biggest successes in Britain’s Got Talent History.  Despite only finishing 4^th in the 2008 climax, Faryl signed to Katherine Jenkins classical label and has already released two classical albums, selling more 200,000 copies.  From Kettering, Smith has also performed with the likes of Michael Buble and sang ‘Abide with Me’ before the 2009 FA Cup Final at Wembley.

George Sampson (Winner) 2008

Street dancer George Sampson was turned away by the judges Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden in 2007, but came up stronger than ever, and was a deserved winner of the tightly-contested 2008 final.  Since his ‘Singing in the Rain,’ performance, which won him the crown, Sampson has appeared in the West End, signed a £1million deal with the bank NatWest and is soon set to appear in the BBC drama, Waterloo Road.

Diversity (Winners) 2009

The winners from 2009, with a show-stopping performance that even Susan Boyle couldn’t live with have had a slow, but steady success on their rise to fame.  Currently, the 11-strong dance troop group are undergoing at tour of the UK, which is coming to a conclusion very soon in London.

Connie Talbot (Finalist) 2007

Aged six when she blew us away with the ‘Over the Rainbow’ performance in the first series, Connie Talbot has released three albums, and has launched a range of children’s jewellery.  The West Midlands starlet’s income is thought to be around £100,000, which for a nine-year old, is impressive statistics.

Signature (Runners-Up) 2008

Madhu and Suleman’s audition was the most memorable of 2008 and their Michael Jackson tribute act has grown in popularity, even more so since the death of the ‘King of Pop.’  They’ve managed to crack America since their runners-up status two years ago, and have also performed infront of the Prince of Bahrain.

As you can see, Britain’s Got Talent has opened up a load of doors and avenues for many, the class of 2010 have a lot to do, if they want to meet these high expectations.  

2009 - The Year In Review (Part 1)

This was first posted on January 20th at http://happydude88.livejournal.com

                    

2009 was a year full of drama and tragedy, sadness and controversy, dreams fulfilled and shattered. Star icons passed on, cheating dominated sport and politics was gripped by its worst scandal ever.

January saw history made as Barack Obama became president of the United States, fulfilling a dream of Martin Luther King over 40 years ago. Over 2million flocked to California for the inauguration. After eight years of torture under the Bush administration, the US once again was seen as a country that could change the world for the better. Back home, Woolworths – one of the well-loved chains shut at the start of 2009. Entertainment chain Zaavi and clothing giant USC also went bust.

February bought some the worst snow seen in the UK in fifteen years. In typical British fashion, everything came to a standstill. The transport network shutdown and hundreds of thousands of school shut. At the Oscars, Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Brit Danny Boyle stormed the show, winning eight Oscars. Back home, former Grange Hill actor Todd Carty won thousands of fans for his skating inability on ITV’s Dancing on Ice. RBS announced their biggest loss of £24.1billion in February. Once again, the government bailed out a bank in trouble, with our money! Later, it was revealed that greedy banker and former chief executive of RBS, Sir Fred Goodwin would earn a massive pension for the rest of his life. After public pressure, he stepped down and following attacks on his home, handed most of his pension back.

As spring arrived, Jade Goody’s lengthy battle with cancer came to a brave and gusty end. The former Big Brother star, who got married infront of the cameras passed away on Mother ’s Day. March also saw the announcement of Michael Jackson’s final concerts at the 02 Arena in London in the summer. ‘This is it, it is the final curtain call’ were words that came back to hit him and us later in 2009. Tickets sold out for the July concerts in record-breaking time. Peter Mandelson was pelted with green custard by a protestor, something that was silly, but pleasing to watch! Home Secretary Jacqui Smith came under severe pressure when revelations came out that her husband had claimed on expenses for adult movies. Her husband apologised, but it failed to save Smith, who was forced to step down.

                    

April was the month the world was introduced to 47-year old Susan Boyle. Susan’s incredible ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ audition on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent became the most popular video with over 300million hits on YouTube and turned her from a complete unknown, into an overnight global superstar. The Obamas headed for their first visit to London, with Barack stopping off for the controversial G20 summit at Docklands. Many angry protestors clashed violently with police and their strong-arm tactics were heavily called into question by the general public. Ian Tomlinson, on his way home from work was tragically a victim of the heavy-hitting police tactics. On the other side of the world, Madonna went over to Malawi in her attempts to adopt another child. Reservations were made by many people, but the singer got her way on an appeal, mainly due to donating a lot of money to a Malawian charity.

The original I’m A Celebrity lovebirds, Peter Andre and Jordan announced the end of their fairytale marriage in May. After months of speculation and insults, the pair went onto a quickie divorce. Peter has come out a winner and Jordan as a hate figure with the public, who quickly became bored with the party antics again. TV couple Richard & Judy also ended their tenure as a double act after their chatshow failure on digital TV station Watch! It was a miserable month for Mexico, as its tourist industry was wiped out by a new flu pandemic that had everyone panicking again. ‘Swine Flu’ became an immediate concern and a new fear in our everyday lives. In sport, Manchester United wrapped up another Premiership crown, equalling Liverpool’s long-standing record of 18 league titles.

The biggest political scandal in history came out in the summer as the Daily Telegraph went on a relentless campaign of naming and shaming MP’s for their Expenses. It was shameful, deceitful, very damaging and made the bankers look like gods. Several MP’s resigned and many others lost a load of creditability. Gordon Brown survived a petition by his own party, but for how much longer will he remain as our dopey Prime Minister.

In June, the world was stunned into complete shock by the tragic death of the ‘King of Pop,’ Michael Jackson. MJ was pronounced dead after a heart attack at his home in Los Angeles. The public emotion across the globe was felt everywhere. An outpouring of emotion saw many of his classic singles go back to the top of the charts and an emotional memorial in the States was watched by millions around the planet. At Wimbledon, Andy Murray lifted our spirits as we started to believe that he might go all the way at SW19. American Andy Roddick dumped him out in the semi-finals to leave British hopes dashed for the umpteenth time. Swiss star Roger Federer went on to an emotional triumph, beating Roddick in an epic five-set final to break Pete Sampras long-standing record of fifteen Grand Slam titles. This was with the great Sampras in attendance too.