News: Awkward Comparisons

By all accounts, Farrah Fawcett's battle against cancer was a valiant one. On any other day, the tragic-but-expected death of the former "Charlie's Angels" star would have garnered pretty much all the attention in the celebrity news cycle. Unfortunately, Farrah Fawcett died on the same day as Michael Jackson.

Some people are trying to compare the two, but it's an awkward exercise at best. Not that there aren't some similarities. They were both has-beens - Fawcett was at her sex-symbol zenith back in the '70s and '80s; Michael Jackson's latest attempted comeback album was a flop. They were both beset by odd public problems - Farrah's strange appearance on Letterman, Michael's infamous legal troubles.

But in terms of fame, Jackson was really in a class of his own. This is the most-watched "Farrah Fawcett" video on YouTube:



Here is Michael Jackson's most popular video.

At least for my generation, Fawcett just doesn't have any relevance. I've never even seen an episode of "Charlie's Angels," let alone any of the television movies that kept Farrah in the public eye after her failed movie career.

In contrast, it's hard to find someone who hasn't heard "Billie Jean" or seen the "Thriller" music video. Jackson's career arc straddled several decades. Even when he was in the Jackson 5, he could entertain better than many:



For my part, I have a well-worn copy of "Thriller," easily one of the best pop albums ever made. You can probably find the same CD spinning in players from Sydney to Stockholm today. In a world with over six billion people in it, it's incredible to think that one person's work could be so popular with so many people.