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Original MTV VJ Dead

Posted: Mar 19th 2004, 1:18 pm
by TomSpeed
Now I feel really old. Original MTV VJ J. J. Jackson has died at the age of 62 of an apparent heart attack.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4557765/

Posted: Mar 19th 2004, 9:32 pm
by fnordboy
This is exactly what getting old feels like :(

Posted: Mar 20th 2004, 2:14 am
by GaryEA
OMG what a loss. It unnerved me when I read that he had a heart attack while driving, and was still able to pull the car over.

I also read that he and Mark Goodman were working together again as DJ's. They were faces from my childhood... :cry:

My condolences to his friends and family.

Posted: Mar 22nd 2004, 10:43 am
by lance
GaryEA wrote:OMG what a loss. It unnerved me when I read that he had a heart attack while driving, and was still able to pull the car over.

I also read that he and Mark Goodman were working together again as DJ's. They were faces from my childhood... :cry:

My condolences to his friends and family.
Definate bummer, I don't remember him as much as Goodman.

-LanceMan

Posted: May 25th 2004, 2:38 pm
by K-man
I just remember when MTV first hit cable in the early 80's and where I live couldn't get (still can't get) cable so I would always hang out at a friends house to watch the great MTV and I remember JJ came on and my friend explaining "That's the most hated personality on TV". Not sure where he got his info but I definitely remember those old VJ's. Has it been that long since those days? Man I feel old. :( This is a sad story when someone from the first days of MTV is dying of old age type afflictions. :( :( :( :(

Posted: May 25th 2004, 7:58 pm
by MyLifeIsBrians
62? I was born in 1984 so I was really young in the baby days of MTV and I really don`t remember but the VJ`s back then must have been older than the VJ`s they have now. He must have been in his 40`s when he was a VJ. Now it seems most of the VJ`s are in their early - mid 20`s. It is really sad that he died. I`m glad he able to pull over his car. At 62 at least he got to live a long and happy life.

Posted: May 25th 2004, 11:16 pm
by fnordboy
MyLifeIsBrians wrote:62? I was born in 1984 so I was really young in the baby days of MTV and I really don`t remember but the VJ`s back then must have been older than the VJ`s they have now.
All the original VJs were fairly old. MTV didn't really become a "young channel" until around the early mid 90s. That was when they stopped hiring the old farts ;) :P Matt Pinfield must be like 100 years old now :twisted:, he was probably the last old person they hired (why they did I will never know).

Posted: May 26th 2004, 12:38 am
by Natasha (candygirl)
JJ was 40 when he began appearing on MTV. Surprisingly, Carson Daly was 24 (old by MTV standards, it seems) when he began appearing on MTV.

Gawd, remember when the countdown wasn't called TRL? I sure do. Anyway, MTV definitely hires younger people than they used to. Kurt Loder was over 40 when they hired him back in the 80s. Can you imagine MTV doing that now?!

Posted: May 26th 2004, 12:47 am
by Jody Barsch*
I miss Kennedy! I loved her.

Posted: May 26th 2004, 1:22 am
by fnordboy
Jody Barsch* wrote:I miss Kennedy! I loved her.
You can enjoy her on the Game Show Network's "Friend or Foe" (i think it is still airing). :)

Posted: May 26th 2004, 5:06 pm
by MyLifeIsBrians
Jody Barsch* wrote:I miss Kennedy! I loved her.
I do remember Kennedy. She was great. Hysterically funny.

Posted: May 27th 2004, 5:15 am
by Debs
Growing up in the UK during the 80s we teenagers were dangled carrots like MTV through films like Ferris Bueller's Day off. We knew it was there, we knew it was good, but we couldn't get it. We got to see some music videos on Top of the Pops but one half hour a week was all we got.

When I moved to the States in 1992 MTV was the first channel I found - and I was hooked for the entire year. They played lots of rock - Aerosmith's Janie's Got A Gun was always on. Pearl Jam were big with Jeremy... Janet Jackson's If and That's The Way Love Goes and Duran Duran's Come Undone remind me of that time too. Oh! And 4 Non Blondes What's Up? I love love love that track!

I loved the MTV VJ Steve Isaacs. I thought he was so cool. Kennedy too. She was the same age as me but our lives couldn't have been more different.

I remember MTV had a competition at the time and the prize was to win 10,000 CDs!!! You had to look out for a symbol in the corner of certain music videos and write the songs down in a list. I entered but didn't win. Good job really as Customs would have charged me a fortune.

Sincere respect to JJ Jackson and the other original VJs for setting the MTV standards.

Debs xx

Posted: May 28th 2004, 3:06 am
by Natasha (candygirl)
Debs wrote:Growing up in the UK during the 80s we teenagers were dangled carrots like MTV through films like Ferris Bueller's Day off. We knew it was there, we knew it was good, but we couldn't get it.
Heck, even here in the U.S., we had the same problem for a while. I remember seeing all the commercials telling us to call the cable company to say, "I want my MTV," but back then I didn't have a cable company to call!

I remember that they aired the first ever MTV Music Awards (back before the show became the VMA) on regular tv because not enough people had MTV to see the show. I was so excited to see Madonna on tv, but I'm not sure my mom was thrilled that I was watching Madonna writhe around on stage.

When we moved to California in 1984, I was finally privy to the magic of cable and MTV. I don't think my parents quite realized what they were getting themselves into (nonstop reruns of Revenge of the Nerds, for example).

Anyway, MTV was a staple in high school and college. You know, back when they used to show videos all day long. I remember staying up late so I could watch the themed video shows like 120 Minutes and Alternative Nation. Haha, and Dr. Dre and Ed Lover always cracked me up.

I associate the summer before my senior year in high school with the Boys II Men "Motownphilly" video. I think they played that video every eight minutes all summer. That was also the year that the Real World premiered. Amazing how interesting that concept seemed at the time.

The next year I remember watching the Top 20 countdown every Friday before dinner. That was when Alicia Silverstone appeared in those Aerosmith videos, so the boys insisted on waiting until the "Cryin'" video aired before we could head over to the cafeteria.

Ahhh, MTV. It was such a part of my life before they began giving everything acronyms (TRL, VMA, etc.).

Posted: May 28th 2004, 6:06 am
by Debs
The Real World!!! Yeah, Season 1 was airing when I was there and an avid viewer of MTV. I loved The Real World.

When I think of The Real World it automatically brings me to a memory of a show called, The Heights. I think The Heights was on after The Real World - either on MTV or another channel. I really liked The Heights at the time but I bet if I saw it now it would be really cheesy!

I suppose The Real World was the first step on the road toward the reality TV show, Big Brother... Speaking of which, Big Brother starts here in the UK tonight!! Excellent. Big Brother and the end of Friends. Crack open the beers - it's going to be a good night xx

Posted: May 28th 2004, 2:32 pm
by Natasha (candygirl)
I could be wrong, but I think that The Heights aired on Fox, home of 90210 and other 90s Aaron Spelling shows. I remember Jamie Walters went on to play Donna's abusive boyfriend on 90210, and I still remembered Charlotte Ross from playing a prostitute on Days of Our Lives. :mrgreen: The last thing I remember from The Heights is that "How Do You Talk to an Angel" hit number one the same week that the show was cancelled. Hahahaha!

Just imagine what I would be capable of if I cleared out useless facts like that and used my brain for other stuff.