Michael Jackson dies at 50

(CNN) -- Entertainer Michael Jackson has died after being taken to a hospital on Thursday after suffering cardiac arrest, CNN has confirmed.

Jackson, 50, had been in a coma at the hospital, sources told CNN.

Brian Oxman, a Jackson family attorney, said he was told by brother Randy Jackson that Michael Jackson collapsed at his home in west Los Angeles, California, Thursday morning.

Family members were told of the situation and were either at the hospital or en route, Oxman said.

"I can only tell you that the family members are crying and I just have not been able to confirm anything, other than to hug them and tell them that I love them," Oxman said.

Fire Capt. Steve Ruda told CNN a 911 call came in from a west Los Angeles residence at 12:21 p.m.

Ruda said Jackson was treated and transferred to the UCLA Medical Center.

Asked specifics of the patient's condition, he said he could not discuss them because of federal privacy laws.

The music icon from Gary, Indiana, is known as the "King of Pop." Jackson had many No. 1 hits and his "Thriller" is the best-selling album of all time.

Jackson is the seventh of nine children in a well-known musical family. He has three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.

At the medical center, every entrance to the emergency room was blocked by security guards. Even hospital staffers were not permitted to enter. A few people stood inside the waiting area, some of them crying.

A large crowd was also gathering outside the hospital, according to video footage.

Outside Jackson's Bel Air home, police arrived on motorcycles. The road in front of the home was closed in an attempt to hold traffic back, but several people were gathered outside the home.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/25/michael.jackson/index.html

It is a sad day. With him and Fara today the world has lost two of its most famous white women. But seriously this does suck. We have lost a legend and he will be miseed.

John Hughes has died of a heart attack.

Hughes suffered the heart attack while taking a morning walk during a trip to NYC to visit family.

He directed such '80s hit films as "Sixteen Candles", "The Breakfast Club", "Weird Science", "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "Planes, Trains & Automobiles", "She's Having a Baby", "Uncle Buck" and "Curly Sue".

And also written such '80s and '90s hit films as "National Lampoon's Vacation", "National Lampoon's European Vacation", "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation", "Home Alone", "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York", "Home Alone 3", "Dennis The Menace" and many more.

He was 59.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Patrick Swayze, whose turn as a smoldering dance instructor in "Dirty Dancing" made him one of the iconic film stars of the 1980s, died on Monday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.

Swayze, an actor and dancer who cemented his status as sex symbol opposite Demi Moore in the 1990 romance "Ghost", died at his home.

"Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months," publicist Annett Wolf said in a statement.

Swayze became one of Hollywood's top stars with 1987's "Dirty Dancing," which defied Hollywood expectations to become one of the most-watched movies of all time.

The Texas-born actor played the swaggering dance instructor Johnny Castle in the film opposite Jennifer Grey's sheltered teenager Frances "Baby" Houseman, who becomes smitten with him while on vacation at a New York resort during the 1960s.

Swayze was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly forms of the disease, in January 2008. He said at the time that the cancer had already spread to his liver.

But he vowed to fight the disease and had treatment with an experimental drug, surprising Hollywood by filming a new detective series for television called "The Beast" in which he played the grueling lead role.

The series was broadcast earlier this year.

"I think everybody thought I was out of my mind ... thinking I'm gonna pull off a TV show," Swayze said in an interview in January 2009, adding that he was scared and angry at his diagnosis.

Swayze was working on a memoir with his wife of more than 30 years, Lisa Niemi, earlier this year.

"Dirty Dancing," which was made for a modest budget and almost scrapped by its studio, became a massive box-office hit, earning Golden Globe nominations for both stars and spawning the Oscar-winning hit single "(I've Had) The Time of My Life."

'GHOST'

Producers did not have high hopes for the film but it reaped $64 million at the U.S. box office and $214 million worldwide.

Swayze co-wrote and performed the song "She's Like the Wind" for the movie's soundtrack, which went to No. 3 on the pop music charts. The film remained widely popular more than two decades later and recently spawned a stage musical version.

In 1990, "Ghost" was an even bigger hit than "Dirty Dancing," with a domestic box office take of more than $217 million and $505 million around the world.

Swayze starred as Demi Moore's deceased lover, Sam, in the tear-jerker romance, which was nominated for a best film Academy Award.

Whoopi Goldberg won an Oscar for her supporting role as a spiritual medium who helps Sam communicate with his girlfriend from beyond the grave. Goldberg said it was Swayze who convinced director Jerry Zucker to cast her.

Swayze was born in Houston on August 18, 1952, and was introduced to performing early. His father was a champion rodeo cowboy and his mother owned a ballet studio.

Swayze trained in dance from a young age and performed for New York City ballet companies before moving to Broadway.

His portrayal of Danny Zuko on Broadway in "Grease" caught the attention of Hollywood and he moved to the West Coast in the late 1970s, appearing in small TV and film parts.

His breakout roles came in 1983's boyhood drama "The Outsiders" and 1984's "Red Dawn" in which he and future "Dirty Dancing" co-star Grey played teenagers fighting invading Russians.

After "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost," Swayze suffered several career setbacks, including a battle with alcohol.

Attributing some of his problems with drinking to his sudden fame and the Hollywood lifestyle, he moved back to Texas with his wife but worked in such films as "The Green Dragon" and "Donnie Darko," both in 2001.