WHY? (Asterio Tecson - photo)

Whitney Houston's co-star in the Bodyguard film Kevin Costner rocked her funeral ceremony with some very poignant words - (SSgt. Dennis J. Henry Jr. (USAF) - photo)

To Alicia Keys Whitney Houston was thoughtful and caring - (José Goulão from Lisbon, Portugal - photo)

Video Beat Part 4 - FRIENDS LAID IT OUT FOR WHITNEY HOUSTON

James Loving - National Radio Text Service

Whitney Houston returned to where her career started the New Hope Baptist church and was eulogized by family and friends. It was sugar and spice and everything nice but the real story remains… WHY did someone with such a great talent and seemingly had it all throw it all away? - Marc Andreessen & Richard Branson on Game Changers -Recommended TV Listings

Sunday February 19, 2012

CHURCH GIRL TO DRUG ADDICT

Yesterday Whitney Houston's funeral ceremony was held at the New Hope Baptist church in New Jersey USA. She returned to the site where her singing career began singing in the church choir. A star studded crowd was in attendance that included Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, Angela Bassett and others.

Houston's aunt Dione Warwick presided as the master of ceremony and introduced performances included Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, JR Kelly and members of the Winans gospel group family.

The ceremony was initially only intended to be witnessed by those close to Whitney. After some thought and complaints from the public the decision was made to stream it live over the Internet. Coverage by CNN and the BBC had access to the one fixed camera stream and televised it over their networks with their correspondents doing commentary.

A number of entertainers came to the podium and recalled their fondest memories of Houston. There were no negative comments made about the super star only words of support about her falling from grace in becoming drug and alcohol addicted combined with her personal problems that eventually led to her deteriorating health and death.

As she wiped tears from her eyes Alicia Keys said that Whitney was so sweet and thoughtful and noted that she would call just to say hello and to find out how she was feeling.

Her Body Guard film co-star Kevin Costner made a lengthy recollection of his experiences with Whitney and how fond he was of her and how much they had in common. He then inserted that though he and Houston had the same Baptist church roots. His parents and grandmother were deeply involved in the church and were disciplined by their parents. He noted several stories that he shared with Houston some that made her laugh.

His words enlightened and soothed those in attendance. The highlight of his dialogue was when he said, "For those young girls dreaming to be like her Whitney would say guard your body and that precious miracle of your own life."

Of all of the spoken words during the ceremony those were the most meaningful. In his own way he was inferring graciously that the death of Houston from her own bad life choices are an example of what not to do.

One can deduce from this tragedy that Houston's death is an example of regardless of how much you have you can lose it all if you don't take care of yourself. In a positive way she sacrificed her life to save others to that might make the same mistakes.

Guest pastor and gospel singer Marvin Winans pointed out that her death resulted in the telecast and brought a lot of people around the world to church. He was spot on as it also gave some insight of how a black Baptist church celebrates the life of a close friend and not focus on morning their passing.

Controversy emerged after the ceremony as Houston's ex husband Bobby Brown came with an entourage. The BBC reported that he left early without making a speech due to his being upset that security denied his entourage access to areas he preferred and he was denied access to his daughter with Houston.

Houston's god mother Aretha Franklin was scheduled to appear and perform but backed out in the last minute due to illness. Reports noted the Franklin performed in New York City the previous evening and became ill after her show resulting in her decision not to attend.

Houston's life was surrounded by family. Her sister-in-law was her manager. Her brother-in-law Ray Watson was her real life body guard for 11 years. He related to the audience that Whitney carried a bible with her when they traveled. If the bible wasn't packed in the luggage she would insist that clothes be taken out to make room for the thick and tattered book. He referred to it as a raggedy bible.

The ceremony was a success and cast Houston in a positive light but the question remains why did a super talented vocalist that had it all crash and burn her life away? What turned a church girl into a drug addict?

Following her death CNN's extensive coverage explored that issue with opinions from doctors and acquaintances. As many of the reports were negative the friend's of Houston were accused by the medical profession as being enablers in either permitting or providing drugs or alcohol to her.

Pinskey repeatedly asked what kind of friends are they when they permit someone with a history of problems dealing with drugs and alcohol to watch her consume them in their presence. Pinskey insisted with her history they should have stopped her.

Dr. Deepak Chopra also emphasized the importance of friends to step in and stop their celebrity friends from using drugs and drinking alcohol. Chopra noted that he was a friend of Michael Jackson and claimed that his repeated warnings to Jackson about doing drugs and mixing them with alcohol led to his being dismissed from Jackson's inner circle.

Both doctors stated that many of the so called friends of stars are more concerned about being in the good graces of the star and will not challenge them not to do drugs or alcoholic beverages.

NOTES:

The Body Guard film was not well received by critics when it was released in November 1992. Since that time it has grossed $411 million.

The film received mixed reviews. It holds a 39% rating on the film aggregator website, Rotten Tomatoes, and received six Golden Raspberry Award nominations, including Worst Picture.

Owen Gleibermann, of Entertainment Weekly negatively reviewed the film, stating, "To say that Houston and Costner fail to strike sparks would be putting it mildly." He added, "The movie gives us these two self-contained celebrity icons working hard to look as if they want each other. It's like watching two statues attempting to mate."

However, other critics praised the film, such as Roger Ebert, who gave the film three out of four stars, remarking "The movie does contain a love story, but it's the kind of guarded passion that grows between two people who spend a lot of time keeping their priorities straight."

Two songs from the film, "Run to You" and "I Have Nothing", were nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song. The film was also nominated for four Grammy Awards, winning three, including Album of the Year for its soundtrack album of the same name.

In the United States, the film opened on November 25, 1992 in 1,717 theaters; it grossed $16.6 million in its opening weekend, ranking third. The film was in theaters for thirteen nonconsecutive weeks, ultimately grossing $121.9 million domestically, and $410.9 million worldwide.

It was the seventh highest-grossing film of 1992 in North America, and the second highest-grossing film of 1992, worldwide. At the time, the film became one of the 100 all-time highest grossing films worldwide, though it has since fallen out. The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album became the best-selling soundtrack of all time. It has been certified diamond in the US (sales of at least ten million) with shipments of over 17 million copies. Worldwide, the sales are over a staggering 42 million copies. In addition, Houston's "I Will Always Love You" sold 12 million units worldwide. The soundtrack features five hit singles for Houston: "I Will Always Love You", "I'm Every Woman", "Queen of the Night", and two Oscar nominated songs "I Have Nothing" and "Run to You".

Continued Part 5 - Entertainers & Doctors Speak Out on the Cause of Whitney's Death

Part 1 - SHADOWS ARE CAST OVER the GRAMMY AWARDS due to WHITNEY HOUSTON'S DEATH

Part 2 - GRAMMY AWARDS LIGHTEN IT UP OLDIES BUT GOODIES SHINE

Part 3 - MEDIA AFTERMATH of WHITNEY HOUSTON'S DEATH

Marc Andreessen & Richard Branson on Game Changers This weekend Bloomberg Televisions Game Changers program features Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen and the Virgin Group founder Richard Branson. This is a WORTH WATCH program.

Please note the schedule below of go to the Bloomberg site for the time in your area.

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