Heath Ledger and others
Ironic, isn’t it, that an introspective piece came out this week about whether it’s morally and ethically correct for the media to prepare obituaries for young celebrities.
It shouldn’t shock you to learn that we have pre-written obits for aging stars, politicians, etc. There’s no way anyone could say a Bob Hope or a Ronald Reagan were going to fully recover. They were old and old people die and we report on well-known old people when they die. And like Boy Scouts, we need to be prepared.
But during Britney Spears’ latest meltdown we did have a discussion in the newsroom about her best-before date. She certainly seemed out of control and potentially liable to do something stupid that could result in her death. Actor Brad Renfro then overdosed at the age of 25.
But it was pretty much collectively decided that it would be tacky and icky and wrong to prepare something ahead of time to read in the event of a 20-something’s untimely death.
Then Heath Ledger goes and dies at the age of 28 and the subject of untimely celebrity expirations rears its unpleasant head again. However, no one could have forseen this one.
So, we in the media will continue to do what we do and keep files containing the highlights and lowlights of the famous and infamous, but not actually prepare for their demise unless that demise appears to be imminent. We’re only human and we’re only doing our jobs the best we can.