Valley fans hail Jackson's legacy

By Jon Moffett | July 8, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

Michael Jackson Remembered

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Patrons and barbers at a Youngstown barbershop remember Michael Jackson

Photo by: William D. Lewis

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Barber James Kershaw watches Michael Jackson's funeral on his phone as it is broadcast on TV in the background at Legends Barbershop in Youngstown.

Photo by: William D. Lewis

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Watching TV coverage of Michael Jackson' funeral while waiting for haircuts at Legends Barbershop in Youngstown are from left are: Vincent Thomas, Kenneth McIntosh and James King, all of Youngstown.

By Jon Moffett

Vindicator Staff Writer

Many of The King of Pop’s loyal subjects remained focused on their television sets as fans, friends and family said goodbye to Michael Jackson.

“He was an entertainer, a great entertainer,” said Jonathan Barret, 67, of Youngstown. “He was one of the best.”

Patrons of the Legends Barbershop on the city’s North Side watched the memorial service Tuesday on plasma televisions as they waited for haircuts.

Employees as well as customers of the Belmont Avenue business had plenty to say about Jackson.

“It’s incredible to see the whole world come to a stop to watch,” said Manual DeBose, owner of the business. “The whole world stopped and forgot their problems to watch Michael.”

Benjamin Diaz, 28, also commented on the global impact of Jackson’s death, saying, “I wasn’t around for the Elvis or John F. Kennedy memorials, so it’s just something incredible to see. It’s not as important to me, but it’s important to the world.”

Maybe the biggest fan of Jackson was 29-year-old James Kershaw. The barber wasted no time expressing his sadness over Jackson’s death and his fondest memories of the entertainer.

“Me, my son and daughter were watching his greatest videos Sunday, and the music that he made was just timeless,” Kershaw said. “A lot of the music, even to this day, is just sweet. Everything he did in terms of production, videos and concepts were just before their time.”

Kershaw said his favorite Jackson song was a toss-up between “Off the Wall” and “Thriller” and admitted to owning a Michael Jackson coat as a child. He said he’ll remember the entertainer for the good he did in the music world.

“As far as the country and the world, everybody should remember him for everything good that he did,” he said. “Once you reach a certain level of success, you always have people who are going to take shots at you for money or whatever type of reason. He bumped his head a couple of times, but the fact that he never had a childhood and always being in the studio made him a little naive to how treacherous the world is.”

Despite allegations of sexual abuse against children in the early 1990s, Jackson’s fans considered him to be a great entertainer first and foremost. They agreed the national attention was warranted, and Jackson deserved the spotlight one last time.

“He got his due,” Barret said.

DeBose agreed, saying, “His legacy will live on.”

jmoffett@vindy.com