Whitney Houston passed away on 2/11/12 - Part 2

[kato]

After I read that article referenced above I did a little research on Phyllis Hyman. She commited suicide at age 45. She reportedly suffered from depression & bi-polar disorder. Ironically, she overdosed on a night she was supposed to be performing at The Apollo Theatre. Sound familiar? For some reason I had never heard of her. From what I gather she was Clive Davis' money train until he "discovered" WH.

In hindsight it seems like he did to WH what he had done to Phyllis. I wonder who his next "victim" /gravy train" will be? Jennifer Hudson? Whom I've heard mention he was supposedly "replacing" WH with?

If Clive Davis approached me I'd run like hell!!! Nothing but evil emanating from that man. Sorry, if I offend some but JMO

 

[daisy.faithfull]

I hope I can too. It's a bad & deadly habit and I wish it on no one.

If you decide you want to use some of the stuff that's out there to help you quit, be careful. I tried the patches and had a very bad reaction, the most disturbing dreams that I've ever had in my entire life. Really, horrible. I tried the gum, but thought it tasted horrible, but it looks like there's different candy type methods out there now a days.

A couple of years ago a friend of mine tried that medication Chantix, back when it was advertised a bunch on tv and it worked, but a bit after that I saw something about the side affects and it was very scary. He didn't experience any negative side affects, but still. And it was very expensive.

Good luck! I don't know how I quit, really. I carried around a gallon of water and just drank that and chewed gum. It was still hell.

 

[kato]

If you decide you want to use some of the stuff that's out there to help you quit, be careful. I tried the patches and had a very bad reaction, the most disturbing dreams that I've ever had in my entire life. Really, horrible. I tried the gum, but thought it tasted horrible, but it looks like there's different candy type methods out there now a days.

A couple of years ago a friend of mine tried that medication Chantix, back when it was advertised a bunch on tv and it worked, but a bit after that I saw something about the side affects and it was very scary. He didn't experience any negative side affects, but still. And it was very expensive.

Good luck! I don't know how I quit, really. I carried around a gallon of water and just drank that and chewed gum. It was still hell.

Thanks. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that it is mostly psychological. Everyone that I personally know that has quit successfully did it cold turkey. Also, I take alot of meds. & I sure do not need any additional side effects. LOL

 

[mck16]

God Bless you Mck ;}

Thank you so much. That was in 1997 so I do feel truly blessed. PTL

 

[daisy.faithfull]

After I read that article referenced above I did a little research on Phyllis Hyman. She commited suicide at age 45. She reportedly suffered from depression & bi-polar disorder. Ironically, she overdosed on a night she was supposed to be performing at The Apollo Theatre. Sound familiar? For some reason I had never heard of her. From what I gather she was Clive Davis' money train until he "discovered" WH.

In hindsight it seems like he did to WH what he had done to Phyllis. I wonder who his next "victim" /gravy train" will be? Jennifer Hudson? Whom I've heard mention he was supposedly "replacing" WH with?

If Clive Davis approached me I'd run like hell!!! Nothing but evil emanating from that man. Sorry, if I offend some but JMO

It sounds like Phyllis' death was a suicide. Just pointing that out, not inferring that Whitney committed suicide as well.

That's really interesting. Check out these comments (made in 2011) left after this article:
http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/entertainment/blak_music_month/29279

The entertainment industry really is a vicious machine.

 

[mck16]

I'm sorry about your cancer and hope you are now cancer free.

Wow, your reaction to opium just shows how dangerous those drugs are. I remember having IV Demerol, and feeling so blissfully sleepy and peaceful and I actually remember thinking if I died right then that would be okay because I am just so comfortable. I wanted to go to sleep and sleep forever in that blissful state.

I had two spine surgeries when I was a child and was in the hospital for a month. For much of that time I was getting morphine. I don't remember any of it because apparently I would get morphine and go right back to sleep, but I was told that I would cry and beg for more morphine every time it was wearing off. I remember they gave me the shot in my thighs and I remember seeing them almost throw the needle into my thigh like it was a dart. I don't know if that actually happened or if in my drug haze that's what I thought. But either way, I didn't care. I don't know why they didn't give it IV, but they didn't. This was 1970, though, so maybe it was different then.

Thank you and yes I have been cancer free for 13 years I think. Been so long I can't remember. Thank goodness. That opium was the best. I didn't have any feelings of sleepy, drowsy, just complete euphoria. It is hard to explain. I can see how people do get addicted. And the base of most of the drugs are opiates. Thank goodness while taking some of it I dropped the bottle and spilled it. I think God's hand was in there.

 

[mck16]

It sounds like Phyllis' death was a suicide. Just pointing that out, not inferring that Whitney committed suicide as well.

That's really interesting. Check out these comments (made in 2011) left after this article:
http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/entertainment/blak_music_month/29279

The entertainment industry really is a vicious machine.

I think regardless of what the COD for WH is we can all agree she was slowly killing herself with all the stuff she was putting into her body. Because of her fame we are all now part of her secrets and part of the family tradgedies. I think the family dynamics will probably go on with BK and whoever. I for one have enough family dynamics going on in my own family that I can't take on anyone else's and try to solve their problems or even worry about them. I hope the family can move on and not have to deal with anymore dirty laundry or rumors.

I think I am full up and will be moving on myself. Will say a prayer for them. jmo

 

[daisy.faithfull]

From a Phyllis Hyman biography:
http://www.angelfire.com/ga/seandavis/phyllisbio1.html

...The album (produced by Narada Michael Walden & Thom Bell), although containing two strong tracks, was considered patchy at best and Phyllis, discontented with the material chosen for this project was blunt about her feelings toward Arista records and its cavalier attitude towards her.
"Firstly, I came to the label because of the takeover of Buddah. So I didn't have much choice in the matter," she recalled. "There were some nice records, but I'd say I was pretty much overlooked and ignored."
Ironically, the title 'Goddess of Love' stuck with Phyllis as a term of endearment from both critics and fans. 'Goddess' would be Hyman's final Arista album, and even though it is a highly sought collector's item, Arista never released it on CD, and all of the songs are scattered on a variety of Phyllis compilations released by Arista /BMG.

Phyllis was left unrecorded for four years due to contractual discrepancies with Arista, and since she was still 'legally' bound to the Clive Davis-operated company, signing with another label wasn't possible. Arista records also tried to destroy Hyman's career by deleting key albums/CDs, and also by preventing her from recording full legth albums elsewhere. During Phyllis' tenure as a prisoner at Arista, the label used all of it's resources to promote Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin & Whitney Houston's self-titled debut album in 1985 (Angela Bofill was barely holding on at the label herself at this time).

It also states that Phyllis was voted "Number One Best Female Vocalist" by a British magazine over Whitney and Aretha :what:

 

[daisy.faithfull]

I think regardless of what the COD for WH is we can all agree she was slowly killing herself with all the stuff she was putting into her body. Because of her fame we are all now part of her secrets and part of the family tradgedies. I think the family dynamics will probably go on with BK and whoever. I for one have enough family dynamics going on in my own family that I can't take on anyone else's and try to solve their problems or even worry about them. I hope the family can move on and not have to deal with anymore dirty laundry or rumors.

I think I am full up and will be moving on myself. Will say a prayer for them. jmo

I know, when I first wrote the post I started to write that Whitney didn't kill herself and had to go back and put suicide because if it is, as we all suspect an overdose, she technically had a hand in her own death.

Yah, I know, me too. Its hard because I have this feeling of wanting answers, like how things could have been different... ya know all those things that logically I know will never come because she'd been as Chaka Khan said "so close to the wire" for so long and this is what happens when people live their life the way Whitney did.

I hope Bobbi Kristina doesn't end up like Whitney or her father.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

Watching Access Hollywood...

Sharpton and Jackson both support Bobby Browns account of what happened. They did say that Cissy and Bobbi Kristina were not in the church when Bobby Brown came in and left. They also said it wasn't Whitney's family that asked Brown to leave.

This is also what I've heard/read.

I read it was security that shuffled them around more than once.

Sharpton also said he wishes every one would just leave Bobby alone.
That he handled it like an adult and left so he WOULDN'T cause a scene.

Of course the media makes it sound like he left to cause a scene.

Just media sensationalism IMO.

 

[gramcracker]

while it's true that the media seldom misses an opportunity to sensationalize a situation, the deaths of famous people are not always handled that way. it depends on how the person has behaved during their life, what ammunition they have supplied to the media. reaping what they sowed, IOW

 

[21merc7]

I can't tell who is saying this, it just says source close to the situation. I don't know if it is what any preliminary examinations determined, or just someone talking about it as we do. Anyone could guess this, so take it with a grain:

"Whitney had taken Valium, Xanax, and alcohol, which led to her death. The coroner is waiting on final toxicology results to determine which one of the three was the major contributing factor of her demise,” a source close to the situation tells RadarOnline.com. “The coroner will be closely examining Whitney's blood alcohol content at the time she died as well. The sedatives and alcohol will almost certainly be the cause of death, and not drowning. Her heart stopped beating because her respiratory system was suppressed because of the anti-anxiety meds, and combined with the booze it probably happened very quickly before she was found partially submerged in the bathtub." The final toxicology results for Houston should be released in the next several weeks.

more at link:

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/02/whitney-houston-autopsy-valium-xanax-alcohol

 

[MaryAnn]

...and the cashing in begins:

http://www.tmz.com/2012/02/20/whitney-houston-funeral-family-sells-footage/

People are going to go see "Sparkle" and buy all her records just like MJ's case. I think it's really greedy to sell the "funeral footage" I think it's in really bad taste. Plus who would buy it when everyone could have already taped it?

 

[ziggy]

I always get PO'd at the "toxicology results will take 2 weeks" BS. I believe they already know and for some reason do not release the results until after the funeral and all the media frenzy driven sales have spiked. They surely can get a tox screen much faster than that. Why lie?

 

[mck16]

I always get PO'd at the "toxicology results will take 2 weeks" BS. I believe they already know and for some reason do not release the results until after the funeral and all the media frenzy driven sales have spiked. They surely can get a tox screen much faster than that. Why lie?

I think you are right. Isn't it usually DNA that takes a while? I would think they can test for tox levels rather quickly.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

I always get PO'd at the "toxicology results will take 2 weeks" BS. I believe they already know and for some reason do not release the results until after the funeral and all the media frenzy driven sales have spiked. They surely can get a tox screen much faster than that. Why lie?

Maybe the family has requested that the tox results and COD information not be released to the public. Guess we'll have to wait and see who can break the news first. The news is already slowing down, so I figure that the minute that "someone" gets the skinny on the COD, etc., there will be "breaking news" about Whitney just like there was on the day that she died. jmo

 

[kato]

It sounds like Phyllis' death was a suicide. Just pointing that out, not inferring that Whitney committed suicide as well.

That's really interesting. Check out these comments (made in 2011) left after this article:
http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/entertainment/blak_music_month/29279

The entertainment industry really is a vicious machine.

I know Phyillis' death was a suicide. It's just weird that 2 discoveries of CD's died tragically both due to drug use (gotta wait for WH tox screen) alone and before a show or appearance.

 

[shana]

My understanding of the sequence of events in this case is as follows:

Once the Coroner completes its report (autopsy, tox screens, etc), the info will be submitted to the BHPD to use in its Death Investigation. When the Death Investigation is concluded, information will finally be released to the public in whole, in part, or redacted.

For the sake of the family/loved ones, I am hoping that the Manner of Death will be other than Undetermined. I doubt it will be Suicide, more likely Accidental.

The Cause of Death may well involve a combination of factors.

I had read that the toxicology tests were flagged as a rush job, so I am still thinking/hoping we may hear from the BHPD soon.

 

[daisy.faithfull]

Personally I had to wait quite a long while for tox results to come back and that was years ago before the economy first tanked here, so budgeting wouldn't have been a factor.

We'll wait weeks for Whitney Houston's toxicology reports: Why?


They said that there are a number of factors like backlog, funding, quality control, a review process and then of course the family has to be notified before the results are released to the press. Also the most interesting aspect to me was this:

Then there are the tests themselves. The lab could testing for one substance or hundreds, and for each one there could be tests of blood, tissue and urine.

The testing itself, Rollins said, is sophisticated and complex. Screening tests, he added, are typically followed up with specific analytical tests that can take anywhere from two to three days. If several substances are tested, that can add up.

(I thought it was said that they said that quality control was definitely a factor because Whitney's death is so high profile. Quality control should be important to them no matter who the person is.

 

[shana]

I'm dismayed to read allegations aimed at Clive Davis.

For those interested, this wikipedia article describes the man's stellar career:

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Davis"]Clive Davis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

~jmo~