George Michael Passes Away at 53

[StevieTNZ]

The star, who launched his career with Wham! in the 1980s and continued his success as a solo performer, is said to have "passed away peacefully at home" in Goring, Oxfordshire.

at the age of 53.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38432862
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/87949941/george-michael-has-died--report

I am absolutely stunned. :( I enjoy his song 'Father Figure'.

 

[fresh_42]

 

[russ_watters]

..."passed away peacefully at home" ...

...at age 53 with no publicly known health problems that's probably code for "drug overdose".

 

[Vanadium 50]

that's probably code for "drug overdose".

Could be. This was certainly a problem of his in the past. He also had past HIV+ partners. Or he could just have, as they say, "up and died."

 

[atyy]

...at age 53 with no publicly known health problems that's probably code for "drug overdose".

Heart attack?

 

[Buckleymanor]

...at age 53 with no publicly known health problems that's probably code for "drug overdose".

Where we come from we like to say nice things about the dead like this. Quote
On Instagram, Sir Elton John posted a photograph of himself with Michael, writing: "I am in deep shock.

"I have lost a beloved friend - the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist. My heart goes out to his family and all of his fans."
Even if what you say could be true.

 

[Astronuc]

...at age 53 with no publicly known health problems that's probably code for "drug overdose".

I was wondering the same. Not too many 53-year-olds pass away peacefully of natural causes. Perhaps there was some illness related to drug abuse or other issue.

 

[fresh_42]

Billboard reports with respect to his manager heart failure.

 

[OmCheeto]

I was wondering the same. Not too many 53-year-olds pass away peacefully of natural causes. Perhaps there was some illness related to drug abuse or other issue.

brain click!

argh... (google, google, google)...

James Fuller "Jim" Fixx (April 23, 1932 – July 20, 1984) was an American who authored the 1977 best-selling book The Complete Book of Running. He is credited with helping start America's fitness revolution, popularizing the sport of running and demonstrating the health benefits of regularjogging. He died of a heart attack while jogging at 52 years of age; his father Calvin Fixx had died even younger of the same. His genetic predisposition for heart problems and other previous lifestyle factors may have caused his heart attack.​

I am, or was, 4 year older than George, and just chased the mailman down the street a couple of weeks ago, to get my x-mas card to Wolram in time, (Total success!) and I didn't die.

ps. I've also heard that high school aged kids drop dead from heart attacks.
pps. I predicted, although did not publish my theory that this would be happening around about now:

Om's revelation; "hmmm... There has been an explosion of famous people since the advent of television. When these people start dying, people are going to be confused. They are going to think; 'Something is happening!'. When, in fact, it's just an overdose of famous people."​

ppps. His "Older" album was my favorite.

 

[jim hardy]

I was wondering the same. Not too many 53-year-olds pass away peacefully of natural causes. Perhaps there was some illness related to drug abuse or other issue.

From what little I've read of his life he had considerable stress in it.
Lyrics to "Careless Whispers" suggest he's no stranger to bad judgement, guilt and self punishing remorse .
Internalized emotions are hard on the heart figuratively and literally.. To look for an escape is natural enough.
A heart attack can feel at first an awful lot like indigestion and one is apt to take antacids that're chock full of sodium and that makes the cardiologist cringe .. i have no trouble believing 'heart attack at 53' .

George - your music was haunting. I hope you achieved inner peace .
Save me a good seat up there , would you ?

old jim

 

[Stavros Kiri]

I have some doubts regarding his age though. About 5 years ago I saw an official documentary about his life and he was 53 them. From my vivid memories from adolescence and our age difference I also estimate he would have been at least 58 before he died! Could he have been hiding [years] ?
Anyone knows?
[Of course it doesn't really matter now ... does it?] (he is all younger and timeless where he is ! ... And I hope happy too! ...)

 

[Stavros Kiri]

He loved Christmas. He died Christmas! ... (almost)

 

[StatGuy2000]

...at age 53 with no publicly known health problems that's probably code for "drug overdose".

That thought had crossed my mind, given what I knew about his previous problems with drug use. His manager had speculated that he suffered from apparent heart failure, but according to the latest Rolling Stone article (dated on Dec 30), the initial autopsy was ruled "inconclusive" and further tests were needed.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/autopsy-george-michaels-cause-of-death-inconclusive-w458442

So we may not know the real cause for George Michael's death until well into January.

 

[russ_watters]

Yeah, I'm cynical. My recollection is that Michael Jackson's death was described in similar terms until the tox screen results came back. And indeed, he did die "peacefully in his sleep of heart failure" -- an overdose of propofol will do that (or a heroin overdose, or a lethal injection execution).

He died of a heart attack while jogging at 52 years of age;

A stress induced heart attack is anything but a peaceful way to go. What makes it difficult to believe is a person in their 50s having heart failure while sleeping, when there is no stress on your heart. That's what happens when you are 95 and your motor is idling rough and stalls.

Caveat, though, that as Jim pointed out it is possible/common to have a heart attack, misread the symptoms, and go to bed instead of the hospital.

 

[OmCheeto]

...

A stress induced heart attack is anything but a peaceful way to go. What makes it difficult to believe is a person in their 50s having heart failure while sleeping, when there is no stress on your heart. That's what happens when you are 95 and your motor is idling rough and stalls.

Caveat, though, that as Jim pointed out it is possible/common to have a heart attack, misread the symptoms, and go to bed instead of the hospital.

Interesting. That's exactly what I did when I had my suspected mini-me stroke last year.
Fortunately, I woke up.

Anyways, I was curious about your comment, so I googled: people go to bed when they have a heart attack
and found the following:

When Are You Most Likely to Have a Heart Attack?
By Laura Blue Tuesday, July 22, 2008
...

Q: What time of day am I most likely to have a heart attack?

A: The most dangerous times for heart attack and for all kinds of cardiovascular emergency — including sudden cardiac death, rupture or aneurysm of the aorta, pulmonary embolism and stroke — are the morning and during the last phase of sleep.
​

Going to bed early could be symptom of a heart condition in men
The condition rarely shows any symptoms, but can cause heart attacks
Tom Embury-Dennis 31 August 2016

Wanting to go to bed early could be a sign of serious heart problems in men, according to a new study.

Research on the sleeping habits of 2,400 adults found that males with dangerously high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, tend to go to bed significantly earlier than those without.​

I think George may have suffered from a common male illness:

 

[Buckleymanor]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39193367

 

[OmCheeto]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39193367

I really do need to exercise more...
The eclipse is coming, and someone has convinced me to hike up the side of a hill: 2000 feet!
300 feet almost kills me.

Note to self: Start slowly, Om.

ps. Need a heart rate monitor. This will be a fun experiment.