Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Forbes Living asks: When Is a Dead Celebrity's Career Finished?






We at Forbes Living caught Michael Jackson's performance at an awards show the other night.  The strange thing is that this performer passed away some five years ago.  While re-releasing performances by deceased celebrities is nothing new, technology has brought the phenomenon to a whole new level.  On-stage, there were other performers -- live and alive -- dancing with Mr. Jackson.  The jury is still out, as a stunned nation tries to decide what to make of this.  Most commentators have referred to the elevated "creepy" factor in reference to the performance.

Forbes Living salutes the performers who can sing and dance no more, but who are still on top of the charts.


The Forbes Living TV show recalls previous examples of exhumed talent living to entertain again.  There have been musical duets involving a deceased partner, such as Natalie Cole's duets with her late father, Nat King Cole.  We saw a TV commercial for vacuum cleaners starring Fred Astaire, long after the celebrated dancer was no longer with us.  In fact, the highest-grossing faces used in advertisements and printed on merchandise usually involve deceased performers, such as Elvis Presley, who has topped that chart for many years.  If these much-loved entertainers can bring a smile to today's faces, is that a bad thing?  Maybe there is a line which is dangerously close to being crossed, beyond which it's just too much for an audience to take.

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