Don Cornelius of SOUL TRAIN - Dead at Age 75 - with Two Shots Fired to the Head - SUICIDE?

Don Cornelius of SOUL TRAIN – ‘Apparent Suicide’ (?) at age 75

Americans of every race growing up in the 1970s will surely remember the SOUL TRAIN Dancing sensation show that aired first every Saturday morning (ok ok we all know that most of the dancers were gay,and I met some of them who spilled the beans on the cast - but Don Cornelius – the 'Host with the Most'– himself was also a somewhat closeted Bi-sexual…) so it is very sad to announce that he apparently shot himself to death in Sherman Oaks CA home a few miles north of Hollywood CA last week – his next door neighbours claim they ‘distinctly heard’ TWO separate shots being fired – the first shot (apparently) did not do its work…unless of course there is more to this story than meets the eye – sort of like Don Cornelius himself…

The 75 year old ‘Black Don’ was just completing his 3-year ‘probation’ via some assorted ‘assault and battery’ charges levied against him by his ex-wife late in 2008…

'Don Cornelius was a farily savvy business man, - it was only in very recent years he'd made a lot of poor choices in business - and he had many issues with his relationships with women, - some even called him Bi-Polar and Manic Depressive. at times" said one source.

"He was sometimes beguiled by certain persons to invest in projects that didn't pay - and hislast marriage in many ways destroyed him - he just did not want to live after that - he was never the same - and his health began to take its toll - which eventually manifeted itself as Prostate Cancer...."

But whatever his own personal miseries were in his lifetime (and we’ll leave his long term coc aine addiction out of this equation) he was responsible for furthering (and launching) numerous R&B / Soul musical careers since ever his show SOUL TRAIN first went on the air way back in 1970 – he’ll surely be missed by his fans :

www.huffingtonpost.com...

I imagine there must be a lot of SOUL TRAIN Show Compilations out there in YOU TUBE land and also on DVD – maybe Motown wil lsee fit to issue some of the better ‘retro’ Soul Train Episodes on DVD this year – Or maybe just one GIANT collection of the infamous (and often un-edited for content !!) SOUL TRAIN LINE portions of each show …maybe they'll include some of the more 'sexual' dance-footage that never was allowed to air on American TV - (the mind boggles !!!)

who the f# is don cornelius man!? You high?

damn I'm laughing so hard I cant barely type anything... TOOK ME LOTS OF TIME TO TYPE THIS...

WOW...

Don Cornelius...

Btw... only a guy named Don Cornelius can shoot himself in the head TWICE...

Loved the Don Cornelius... seriously...

reply to post by Sigismundus
Sad but true... But! It hasn't happened yet. This is a pre-release of the news soon to be released next week, or was it last week?

reply to post by FraternitasSaturni

Hi Frat -

Humour is one thing..but this was a suicide - and I think all people involved in the R&B - Soul Music world are deeply touched by what happened - I'm just wondering if the two shots being fired might suggest...dare I say it...'foul play...' ??

One never knows if one really has all the facts with those Hollywood celebs !! But he'll be missed - and to me, it is a really sad day - especially for all those in the American music 'scene' who knew him not only as a friend but also as a career 'mentor' to singing talents chasing their own dreams...

reply to post by Sigismundus

Sarcasim aside, he was only the most respected promoter of music to the mainstream of his time. I'll reserve judgment on suicide or not. He was big. Watch the reaction in the news.

reply to post by Sigismundus


I dont think you can shoot yourself in the head more than once... even if you, well... "miss" the first time and you actually are "perfectly intact" I dont think you'll have the mindset to shoot yourself...

But thats against all odds... normally you only shoot yourself in the head once.

reply to post by FraternitasSaturni

Hi Frat -

I agree - but I have heard of numerous 'attempted suicides' by gun shot that only managed graze the skull &tc - and - which often landed the victim in a Hospital - with even more financial worries than before when their Bill finally came due...

I'm hoping the truth of the actual manner of Don Cornelius' death (what ever the ugly & gruesome details really are) will come out soon.

At 75 years old, it might well be that the poor 'old' man was beginning to suffer all those degenerative diseases that tend to accompany 'old age' - I heard that he had at least 2 bouts with prostate Cancer in the past...and also was considered by some of his friends to be 'an alcoholic & substance abuser' especially in his later years...

But, come on.... the life of Hollywood celebs is not always bright and cheery - especially after one's career starts to descend on the other side of the slope, as they say....

The list of once-very-famous people (especially in Hollywood, my own birth place, alas) who find themselves 'out of the limelight' (and even - shock and awe ! - not recognised on the street etc. by the 'next generation' of the ever changing public..) gets longer every day...

Maybe it was just too much for him - it's the 2-shots that the neighbours heard that makes me go...hmmmmmm !

reply to post by FraternitasSaturni


I have personally seen multiple people who have either shot themselves in the head or were shot in the head and had the bullets basically graze...or bounce off. I work in medicine. This is the first I had heard of 2 shots. I have had a patient who shot himself twice in the left anterior chest with a .44 magnum. And was still alive. But I will admit, multiple gunshots to the head are suspicious I'd they both made entries.

Originally posted by FraternitasSaturni
reply to post by Sigismundus

 

I dont think you can shoot yourself in the head more than once... even if you, well... "miss" the first time and you actually are "perfectly intact" I dont think you'll have the mindset to shoot yourself...

But thats against all odds... normally you only shoot yourself in the head once.

Same here. For all the doubters, take a 2lb. hammer and smack yourself up side the head. You won't do that twice, I guarantee it.

reply to post by intrptr

Hi Intrprtr -

Which of course begs the question....HOW did Don Cornelius manage to shoot himself TWICE in the head - ?

As for me...I cannot shake the suspicion of 'foul play' - there was no 'suicide' video or note of any kind - and his son claims he spoke with his dad that morning (Tue 31 Jan 2012) and that 'he was not in depressed and even making jokes..although it sounded to his son that something urgent was on his mind - but all this does NOT sound like a man (at least to me !) about ready to shoot himself (twice !!) in the head.

Maybe that peculiar 'something urgent' that Don mentioned to his son over the phone that day involved ...er..'hit men'?

Not that Don did not have his share of depressive elements in his life....I mean, we DO have credible accounts from of eyewitnesses 'in the Hollywood Music business' since 2008 of Don's apparent 'manic-depressive' behaviour after his most recent failed marriage and his long term drug abuse

At first this started out with booze and some heavy duty Marijuana smoking in the 1970s (who in the 'business' in the 1970s did NOT do the same thing ?) - then (when he started making serious CA$H...) things seemed to have gotten worse on the addiction side of the house - with some serious coc aine abuse reported by friends in the 1980s - which moved on to the 'heavier stuff' e.g. 'Crack-Cocaine' etc. in the 1990s etc.),

Also, his purported long term alcoholism seems to have increased in intensity after his 'dire financial woes' towards the end of his life - and his drug O.D./ Brain Aneuryism suffered in the mid 1990s - and his numerous Prostate Cancer-bouts...) -

The question arises : Did Don Cornelius get himself into 'dirty dealings' when he found out that some of his rather shady financial investments had begun to go sour? How much do any of you in ATS land think will ever come out in terms of hard facts about this Tragedy?

Here's an interesting LINK which casts doubts upon the official Sherman Oaks police verdict of 'apparent' suicide

www.vanityguinness.com...

You be the judge !!

reply to post by Sigismundus

I am amazed that his passing has generated so little attention. Regardless of why he died, this man was a major, MAJOR influence in the music world. Either I am too old or people just plain don't recall. So many stars were born as a direct result of his show and behind the scenes battles with the main stream. Have even they forgotten? Or have we all just become that uncaring? I don't know. James Brown, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye and others drew a huge response from the industry and Media when they died. Even the obvious controversy of TWO self inflicted gun shots (to the head?) doesn't seem to have illicited any real response or even an investigation?

How the coroner would even qualify that as suicide, I don't know. I have not seen any police reports. Like Marilyn Monroe, there seems to be a conflict here as well.

Thankyou for the reply, info and link. If there is some televised wake like ceremony that you know of, please U2U me.

reply to post by intrptr

Hi Intrprtr -

I totally agree with you that this is a VERY under reported story in the US Press - yet another example of American UNDER-REPORTING of news which should be more 'common knowledge' among the masses - the silence, to me, is actually 'deafening' on this case - which might possibly be a racially biased (?) silence by those 'in the know'- but the print and television-radio media that covers Hollywood dirt (a very closed shop of lawyer like individuals make final decisions about what to say about whom in that town which reaks of dirt from top to bottom - if we only knew the half of it !! ) -

The media also might be under some (shall we say) 'pressure' from e.g. the Sherman Oaks Police Dept who might be doing their own (private, away from the 'prising eyes' of the general public in the US) 'invstigation' as to any possible 'foul play' in view of the number of shots (2) = TWO heard late that night from Don Cornelius' house on Mullholland Drive....

One thing for certain is that Don Cornelius' estranged 'wife' is now entitled to receiving a cheque for USD $300,000.00 from Don Cornelius' extant life insurance policies - although I am not sure if 'probable death suicide' might not be contested as a reason by the insurance persons NOT to fork out the Ca$hola....

I would hate to think she had anything to do with firing those (2 = TWO) shots into Don Cornelius' skull....but I suppose she should be regarded as 'innocent' until proven 'guilty' - one wonders if she knew any hit men....hmmmmm...... !!!

reply to post by Sigismundus

Thankyou for your response. You seem informed. Is there any report besides the media that tells the type of firearm or caliber of ammunition used? That would go a long way to answering wether two shots were possible. I have heard of self inflicted gunshot wounds in murder cases (as a defense) by the perpetrator. Also of two shot suicides where forensics showed that the first shot was a "grazing" shot that only nicked the head or missed entirely (one bullet in ceiling, one in head). Like some people kind of "miss" the first time due to trepidation(?). Don Cornelius was hardly the "timid type".

Need more info to reflect upon. One side note: after MJ died and the show trial ensued, I became convinced that Janet Jackson's statement about conspiracy in his death went straight to the top. In that Michael was "past his prime" and not producing enough money for the Corporate Music Industry. That a decision to "off Micahel" would give a quick boost to his record sales and then Idolize him for posterity. It worked. If that is what happened.

Among reasons I cite are they made his doctor out to be the villain and no explanation was given for that. And if he was a doctor, why did he; fail to call 911, and perform simple CPR incorrectly? Let alone provide Propofal, a potent drug exclusively used for monitored anastesthia in hospital operating rooms?

I don't have any links for all that. I did watch the trial and a Dr. Drew interview with Janet. These are my own conjectures on MJ. My point being, could the Recording Industry have used the same tactic on Don Cornelius in an attempt to squeeze one more ounce of dollars out of a diminishing star and the resulting "wished for" flap never materialized? Of course his woman would have to be quietly(?) complicent. Dunno...

Read about this last week and watch a couple of specials about him. He was quite the interesting guy. He traveled to Los Angeles with an idea and some loyal friends. The rest is history. As a white kid from a white midwestern suburb watching his show was like watching nothing else on TV. The Super Fly Dancers and the even more Super Fly fashions of the day were certainly unmatched.

It's sad to see him go in such a bad way.

Here's to you Don!



We would never have Rerun without having Soul Train First



The Soul Train Dancers went mainstream. You would have never seen this without DON CORNELIUS

reply to post by Sigismundus


How could someone actually (physically) manage to shoot themselves in the head twice?? I think that is a conspiracy in it's own....

If you lose brain function after a bullet penetrates with the first shot, how can you pull the trigger again??

Just sayin

According to the coroner

The death of Don Cornelius, the founder of the "Soul Train" television show, has been ruled a suicide, officials said Tuesday.

Cornelius, 75, died last week of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office. His autopsy was conducted Friday.

Neighbors heard two shots. The first shot could have been a panic shot or the second shot could have resulted from his finger on the trigger has he fell to the floor. Not sure what type of weapon or caliber was used here.

articles.cnn.com...:SHOWBIZ

Enough of the two shots to the head BS.

reply to post by jibeho

Hi Jibeho -

Two shots ...hmmmm.....your scenario of course is quite possible if (admittedly) rather imaginative ! One could come up with dozens of POSSIBLE scenarios for the TWO shots fired into Don Cornelius on 31 Jan 2012 -

Evenr....perhaps....there was a hit man drug Enforcer who fired two shots into the poor man then left...?

The possibilities are actualy quite endless, some of them involving his estranged wife, who filed assault and battery charges against him in 2008.

Now...there's another Black R&B Soul - Pop Death in the News - i.e. the Great Diva Whitney Houston - who died (age 48 !!) in Beverly Hills CA on Feb 11th (yesterday) - pronounced dead at 3:55 pm - and prescription drugs were found near her corpse in her 4th floor hotel-room -- apparently poor Whitney 'took too many Xanax' and fell asleep in the Hotel Bath Tub which would mean, probably, that drowning will be official 'cause of death...' although the fact that the daughter was rushed to the hospital this AM might mean there is an assasination squad out there in the Black Pop-Soul R&B music world this week - just before the Grammy's too !!

Interestingly, perhaps, neither her own daughter NOR Bobby Brown were allowed to see the body - even for identification purposes - police were afraid they would hide 'material evidence' etc. - but enough about Whitney's 30 year relationship with her girlfriend 'Robin' !!

One seriously wonders if Whitney's death yesterday might spark some media interest in the (hitherto silent) US press etc. about poor ole Don Cornelius?

So what the %#$@$@$ !! is going on with the R&B-Pop-Soul Music deaths these days ?!!!!

And of course... they ALWAYS come in THREE'S...so...who's NEXT to go? !!! Unless you count the death of Etta James last month ?

Bobby Brown better hide under the covers for the next month or so !!

Things that REALLY make you go....hmmmmmm !!!!!!!!!

reply to post by Sigismundus


Who's going to be #3? Celebrities die in 3's. They must have all been sweating bullets last night after the Grammy's.