Generation X is Grieving the Loss in Music, Entertainment

Generation Xer's have been dealing with losses of people from their childhood. The latest batch of 3 celebrities to pass away were core figures in the world of music and entertainment. Fans of wrestling, music, and prime-time television were shocked to hear of the passing of Malcom-Jamal Warner, Hulk Hogan, and Ozzy Osbourne.

Malcom-Jamal Warner

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Families watched "The Cosby Show" on Thursday nights in the 1980's. One of the sitcom's plot lines would involve Warner's character, Theo Huxtable, and his lack of effort in school life in general. Theo was your typical television teenager. He was a know-it-all who was trying to stretch the rules laid down by his parents, if he wasn't breaking them outright. Theo would be a better person by the end of the episode having learned his lesson and received a punishment that would probably be looked upon as a little lenient in the real world. Maybe it was Theo learning his lesson and getting off relatively easy that made kids of the 80's and 90's relate to him.

As children of the 1980's got older, we probable related more with the parents than with Theo and his siblings. We were still wondering how this boy got off so easily, and we wished our own parents had the leniency of Mrs. Huxtable and her husband. Some of us would learn the lessons by watching the show and avoid the messes and consequences by avoiding something we were going to do. The rest of us just decided to go ahead anyway and see what would happen.

The character of Theo Huxtable taught viewers that it wasn't always best to be a wise-cracking know-it-all. Sometimes things can catch up with you. When the house of cards comes down, you hope the fallout will be minimal. Theo provided people of all ages with laughs, but in those jokes was a lesson that kids could learn about what happens when things go wrong and how much easier it can be if you just focus on what you need to do.

Hulk Hogan

Photo: Wikipedia.org

As a child, I wasn't much for wrestling, but friends of mine were and they made sure my brother and I knew what was happening in what was then known as the World Wrestling Federation, now known as the WWE.

The face of wrestling was Hulk Hogan, a muscular hero that not only fought matches in the ring but also sold different kinds of products. There was a blender, t-shirts, lunch boxes and action figures. "Hulk Hogan's Rock & Wrestling" was a staple on Saturday morning cartoons. Years later, you could eat a bowl of WWF Superstars. Hulk was one of the wrestlers on the box.

Gen X kids could get enough of Hulk Hogan. He personified America during the height of the Cold War when he faced off against the evil Russian Nikolai Volkoff. He was friends with fellow tough guy Mr. T in episodes of "The A Team". Kids could pretend they were the Hulkster when they hoisted a replica Heavyweight Championship belt after a hard-fought match. Hulk Hogan was everywhere and it still wasn't enough for Hulkamaniacs. There is even a story that Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, was originally offered to endorse what became known as the George Foreman Grill. Hogan didn't respond in time, and Foreman went on to sell millions of the household staple.

Ozzy Osbourne

Photo: Wikimedia.org

Ozzy Osbourne, known as "The Prince of Darkness", was credited with being one of the founders of heavy metal. Throughout his career, he consistently released albums whose tracks remain staples of radio to this day. Equally renown were his antics offstage that included decapitating doves and bats, and relieving himself at the Alamo.

For all of the legends surrounding the Rock and Roll debauchery, it will ultimately be the music Osbourne will be known for. I never met the man, but I remember being a freshman in college. In the middle of one of my shows in the fall of 1995, Osbourne's album "Ozzmosis" arrived in the mail. I was going to be the first person to play the album. I decided to play the first track of the album, "Perry Mason". Soon after, I bought my own copy and still play it. My favorite song from the album is "Tomorrow".

Ozzy released "Black Rain" in the summer of 2006. The song "I Don't Wanna Stop" became one of my anthems that summer. I still remember sitting in the parking lot at work one night while we were on break, and "I Don't Wanna Stop" started playing in a nearby truck. It made my break that much better.

We had heard about Ozzy's passing at work and many of us were really sad about it. One of my bosses had worked some Ozzy Osbourne songs into the rotation of music that plays in the gift shop. As if I couldn't love and respect this woman enough. I had thought of randomly switching into an impression of the Prince of Darkness in the middle of my tours, but ultimately decided not to because I wasn't sure people would be able to understand what I was saying. This of course, was the point of doing it, but I didn't want to take away from people's experience by saying things they wouldn't be able to understand, and I have a time limit on my tours already. While I was driving home from work that night, The Oppressed called me. She was distraught at the news of Ozzy's passing, and asked how she was going to deal with this announcement. I told her to do what my generation was doing, and play some music.