Did Laurence Fishburne Ruin Ike Turner's Life?
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Critical Thought, Newsstand, Obits
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With Ike Turner dying yesterday, most of the obituaries felt obliged to lead with the wife-beater stuff and then sort of follow up with the 'helped invent rock n' roll' part.' Some papers are also making a lot of hay over the fact that Tina Turner released a statement last night that more or less pissed on Ike's grave, saying that, yeah, she heard he was dead and she has nothing to say about it. In other words, the guy was fated to go down like a monster. He probably realized that more than anyone in his final years. And who knows, maybe he deserves the scorn he's receiving in death as well as what he got in life -- I know almost nothing about his personal history except what I saw in What's Love Got to Do With It? but that's the whole point. Did one performance actually change the tide of public opinion against a musical pioneer?
Laurence Fishburne's performance in the film garnered an Oscar nod, and deservedly so -- he paints a portrait of a very scary guy with practically no formal education and no way to control his erratic and violent impulses. In particular, the cake scene in the restaurant -- Eat that cake, Anna Mae! -- is now considered one of the classic scenes of the 90s. It's the kind of out-there scene with dynamic, gut-wrenching acting that sticks with you for years after you've seen it. But what if it didn't happen that way? What's Love Got to Do With It? admittedly fictionalized a large number of things, and I can't imagine Tina Turner was so concerned about giving Ike the benefit of the doubt when it came down to the details of their fights. Again, I'm approaching this as a curious devil's advocate -- maybe Ike deserved it all.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-13-2007 @ 2:01PM
Christopher Campbell said...
I think obituaries should lay off the bad stuff for the most part, especially if it's about the person's personal life. Putting it in the lead is just upsetting. Shouldn't an obit be more of a spotlight on a person's achievements?
You don't see me pointing out how many Razzies a person has won in my RIP posts, do you?
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12-13-2007 @ 4:37PM
Shakes said...
He was a wifebeater. And people expect that she would cry for him?
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12-13-2007 @ 6:24PM
Dan said...
Ike Turner was known for knocking Tina Turner around long before What's Love Got To Do With It was released.
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12-13-2007 @ 6:36PM
Jimosai said...
I don't think being a wife beater was the sum of who he was. I also don't think he's beaten anyone's wife in a very long time, at least I haven't heard it anywhere, and I'm pretty sure the media would have let us know all about it if he had. So summing up an entire life that way is just mean spirited. It's not like he did it professionally. The man is dead, he certainly can't hurt anyone now. Maybe this sounds callous but his wife beating ways didn't affect me or any of us in the slightest, but his other contributions did. Maybe someone could write a letter to Tina Turner that reads with "wife beater dead," but the rest of us should hear about what we lost first and then hear about what kind of man he was, which includes a period in his life where he beat his wife. We're so casual about the loss of life. People lose the capacity for acceptance (certain things are unforgivable and should not be forgotten). Of course the media has proven we'd all rather hear about the evil in the world, so thats what they lead with. Maybe if Ike Turner could somehow beat people's wives from beyond the grave...
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12-13-2007 @ 7:22PM
Eric D. Snider said...
The movie may have reminded people of Ike's deeds, but it's not like it made them up out of thin air. For me, the math is pretty simple: You beat your wife, you go to hell. The end.
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12-20-2007 @ 9:28AM
Press Release said...
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Mrs Audrey Turner and Ike Turner were married Oct 8th they lived together for ten years.
Mrs Audrey Turner and Ike Turner were married Oct 8Th they lived together for ten years, yes they were divorcing Ike and Audrey reconciled and Audrey took
care of him till the time of his death. Due to uncontrollable circumstances Audrey Turner will not be attending the funeral services December 21/2007
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