YOU HAVEN'T MADE IT...................UNLESS YOU ARE THE VICTIM OF A NET DEATH HOAX

When I was growing up I used to hear comedians say that " you haven't made it unless you've been in Johnny Carson's Tonight Show." If you fast forward a few decades, making it is now determined by internet death hoax. Every relevant celebrity is usually killed twice before actually dying. Everyone from Mickey Rourke to Morgan Freeman has been the victim of unfortunate internet death. It's eerie to think that sometimes the victim of said death is close enough to the grave for the rumor to be believed and spread, case and point: Chespirito. Ah death, makes a star of us all!

ALL I CAN SAY IS LET HER REST

When Brittany Murphy died just about everyone thought it was nothing more than a tragedy of a Hollywood starlet gone too soon. Some five months after her death her husband, Simon Monjack, died in the same home. Everyone thought that Brittany's husband likely was a closet junkie at that time, even though the official cause of death was listed as pneumonia. Now Brittany's father is coming out and making a sensational claim that will leave everyone speechless.

Apparently Brittany's father really believes that his daughter was killed by the government. It was stated by Brittany's father that because she offered her support to a woman branded a "domestic terrorist" Brittany was put under strict surveillance and turned into a target. The woman, Julia Davis, stated that " while working at the US border with Mexico she uncovered evidence that dozens of potential terrorists had entered America in shady circumstances that may have involved the bribery of customs officials." On the flip side Brittany's father stated that "They were, in fact, under surveillance, including helicopters. Their telephones were wiretapped, Brittany was afraid to go home, because of the sneak-and-peek incursions into their residence and other terror tactics she suffered after speaking out in support of Julia Davis and being named as a witness in her lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security." 

The idea that Brittany Murphy may have overdosed on something does not seem to matter here. There is also nothing about the mold issues in the house. Mold is quite dangerous and when it goes unchecked it can be lethal. To me what's a little bit annoying about this is the fact that Brittany Murphy's father is pushing the release of a book he wrote with Julia Davis. 

Given the age we are living in it wouldn't surprise me if all of this had some truth to it but there are a lot of facts that go against that possibility such as: 

• Brittany Murphy had looked unhealthy or a while, sparking rumors of an eating disorder.
• Her husband had a record for being less than a straight arrow.
• There is no better way to make a cheap buck than to make outrageous claims about dead celebrities.
• Brittany Murphy was well known but saying her name was not really the same as saying Angelina Jolie, so why go after a person that didn't have that much stroke in the industry.

So my closing statement on that is " Let the girl rest." It's been four years since hear death and honestly at this point I highly doubt that anyone can be held accountable even if there was foul play.

OKAY SO YOU'RE RETIRING, GOOD FOR YOU

I like Barbara Walters because I think she is a great example of a pioneer. Barbara Walters has been a major part of the broadcast landscape for the last five decades and over those five decades she has also become a symbol of American excellence. Throughout her career she has interviewed world leaders, movie stars, rock stars and everyone in between. There is no doubting the contributions of Barbara Walters to the world of broadcasting. When you think about it 20/20 was the Ferrari of magazine shows.

I still think it's a tad bit self serving to start the countdown clock and create a self portrait of sorts. Everyone knows Barbara Walters is a legend that has accomplished what few if any individuals have. Barbara Walters has managed to stay current and on top of the game even though she is 83 years of age. I still think that making the announcement over a year ahead of time is like saying " everyone prepare yourselves please." I would have rather seen the announcement delivered in the form of a press release or perhaps something more significant than that ridiculous daytime show.

I will miss Barbara Walters because for well over twenty five years I have seen her interviews. Barbara Walters made ABC destination television even when ABC was so far behind in the ratings that a safe distance was considered one million light years behind FOX. There will never be another Barbara Walters but then again there will never be another Bozo either, okay bad comparison.

SERENA GETS THE GROWL

At the Honda Classic Serena Williams was busted for trying to take Tiger Woods' picture. I think this is kind of funny given the fact that Tiger Woods is a pretty accessible guy. This is a clear example of security guys taking their job too seriously.We need to remember that this is golf and while Tiger is the man there is nothing particularly extreme about golf fans. There is always a surprise with respects to the quieter sports as evidenced by the Tennis stabbing incident of Monica Seles.

I met Tiger woods outside a Planet Smoothie and he was a cool guy, very easy to access. I remember we had a conversation about smoothies and golf. At the time of our conversation he didn't really mention anything about his IHOP Roman Orgies. It's funny that a major sports star was taken out for snapping a picture of another major sports star in a public manner.

I think that for Tiger to make things right he needs to have some sort of party and invite Serena. Let's leave it at that, for now.