Authorities: 'Soul Train' Founder Dead Of Gunshot Wound
By Alan Duke CNN POSTED: 6:42 am PST February 1, 2012 UPDATED: 8:35 am PST February 1, 2012
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Don Cornelius, the founder of the "Soul Train" television show, was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head Wednesday, authorities said. He was 75.
Cornelius died of a gunshot wound at a house on Mulholland Drive, said Los Angeles police Officer Tenesha Dodine. Police responded to the call about 4 a.m. (7 a.m. ET), Dodine said.
Cornelius was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, according to Lt. Larry Dietz of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.
Los Angeles police investigators reported to the coroner that Cornelius died from a "self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head," coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter said. The coroner's office will perform an autopsy to confirm the cause of death. Cornelius created a pilot for "Soul Train" using $400 of his own money, according to the website biography.com. The show was named after a promotional event he put together in 1969, the site said.
Music producer Quincy Jones expressed shock and deep sadness in a written statement to CNN.
"Don was a visionary pioneer and a giant in our business," Jones said. "Before MTV there was 'Soul Train,' that will be the great legacy of Don Cornelius. His contributions to television, music and our culture as a whole will never be matched."
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who said he appeared on "Soul Train" when he was 19 at the urging of his mentor James Brown, remained a friend to Cornelius for 38 years.
"He brought soul music and dance to the world in a way that it had never been shown and he was a cultural game changer on a global level," Sharpton said. "Had it not been for Don Cornelius we would not have ever transcended from the Chitlin circuit to become mainstream cultural trendsetters." "Soul Train is the longest running, first-run, nationally syndicated program in television history," according to the website of Soul Train Holdings. "During its 37-year run, the show featured such staples as the Soul Train line and performers as important and diverse as Al Green, Ike & Tina Turner, Marvin Gaye, The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Whitney Houston, David Bowie, Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson and Beyonce."
In 2008, MadVision Entertainment and Intermedia Partners acquired "the iconic franchise and catalog of more than 1,100 hours of archival footage from Don Cornelius Productions," the site said.
Cornelius once told Advertising Age he credited Dick Clark, host of "American Bandstand," for teaching him "almost all of what I learned about mounting and hosting a dance show," according to biography.com.
The show, which premiered in August 1970, showed teenagers dancing to the latest soul and R&B music as well as featuring guest performances.
Over the years, Cornelius presented many famous performers to "Soul Train's" audience, including Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, Lou Rawls and Aretha Franklin, biography.com said. However, the show did not always focus on soul and R&B music, featuring acts including David Bowie, Duran Duran and Robert Palmer, according to the site.
"But when audiences were watching the 'Soul Train' dancers for the next trend in fashion, true trendspotters knew to also watch Don Cornelius," according to an article posted on the Soul Train Holdings site. "... Has he ever looked like anything other than sharp? The answer to that question is no."
"Before Steve Harvey and his suits, Bobby Jones and Arsenio Hall, Don Cornelius was the original suit man," the article said. "For every outfit (he) deserves a standing ovation because he wore them well."
In September, a 40th anniversary "Soul Train" concert was held in Chicago's Millennium Park. Cornelius, a Chicago native, was honored at the event.
Cornelius began his career in broadcasting as part of WVON Radio in Chicago, which the Illinois General Assembly described in 2003 as "the first full-service, black-oriented music station in the city" as it congratulated the station on its 40th anniversary.
It was during his WVON days that he found himself at a show where the Jackson 5 performed in the mid-1960s, according to Time magazine.
When a young Michael Jackson opened his mouth to sing, Cornelius recalled being blown away, he told Time after Jackson's death in 2009.
"He's only 4 feet tall, and you're looking at a small person who can do anything he wanted to do onstage -- with his feet or his voice," Cornelius said. "To get to the level of people who can do that, you're talking about James Brown as a performer. You're talking about Aretha Franklin as a singer. Michael was like that as a kid. He did it all, within the framework of one package. Nobody else did that."
Copyright CNN 2012
Last Edited by on Feb 01, 2012 9:02 AM
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505266_162-57370252/don-cornelius-son-says-dad-called-before-death/ February 2, 2012 9:28 AM
Don Cornelius' son says dad called before death
(CBS News) The music industry and his many fans are remembering "Soul Train's" creator, Don Cornelius. Police say he shot himself to death at his home Wednesday morning.
He was 75 years old.
Tony Cornelius, who worked alongside his father Don Cornelius on "Soul Train" and other shows said his father called him on the day he died. Tony did not elaborate on the conversation, but said, "It was a call of urgency, and I came to his home immediately."
Don Cornelius, "Soul Train" creator, dies of suicide Pictures: Don Cornelius, 1936-2012
Cornelius said his father was a private person and was "unhappy about some things" in his life. His father's health, also, he said, was failing.
"My father was extremely private and unfortunately, when you're a private person, you keep things inside," Cornelius told Gayle King on "CBS This Morning." "You know, it's hard to imagine that you would -- how you feel. You have to be in a person's shoes really to understand. Obviously, me being extremely close to him, I could tell that he was uncomfortable. But our family could never know that he would -- how uncomfortable he really was."
Cornelius said his father would want to be remembered as someone who worked hard at being a professional.
"He taught me everything I know about TV production and he just really wanted to serve," he said. "(My father) wanted to make a statement. I think he really worked extremely hard to make sure that he presented a project that people could really enjoy. ... I think his legacy would be that he really worked on the fine points. I mean, he's always taught me about it's the fine points that count and he wanted to achieve quality. He wanted to expose the masses to a new way of looking at black-oriented television. And he just worked really hard to make that happen."
Don Cornelius' death Wednesday at age 75 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound rocked the pop-culture world, and now reports show that the beloved Soul Train host had been battling health issues and marital strife for years.
Los Angeles police said they arrived at Cornelius' Mulholland Drive home around 4 a.m. on Wednesday after receiving a call from one of his sons, who became worried after Cornelius called him, reports The Daily Beast. "He and his son had a conversation earlier and the son came over and found his father in that state," said Officer Sara Faden. There was no suicide note.
TMZ reported that numerous sources say his health problems had become "unbearable." What were those health problems?
Cornelius underwent a 21-hour operation in 1982 to correct a congenital malformation in blood vessels in his brain, notes ABC News. "You're never quite the same afterward," he said at the time. "Travel is always a real test." He is said to have suffered a stroke in the last decade, as well.
His personal life was not without drama. After a failed first marriage that produced two sons, Anthony and Raymond, in 2001 he married Russian model Victoria Chapman.
In 2008, he was arrested for felony domestic violence against her. In 2009, he plead no contest to one count of "corporal injury resulting in traumatic condition of a spouse," was put on probation for 36 months, and ordered to pay more than $1,000 in fines. She also filed multiple restraining orders against him, even pepper spraying him numerous times.
During the divorce in 2009, he wrote in legal documents, "I am 72 years old. I have significant health issues. I want to finalize this divorce before I die." The divorce was finalized later that year.
While that strife took a toll on Cornelius, he was described as being in good spirits in September, when he was in Chicago at a concert to honor the 40th anniversary of Soul Train.
And, "Just last week, he and I spoke about dropping in on a friend's new restaurant outside of L.A.," Darryl Porter, co-founder of PorterGeller Entertainment, which had been working with Cornelius to translate the story of Soul Train into a feature film, tells USA TODAY. "He didn't seem like a guy who wasn't planning on a future."
"He was not a despondent guy," says Kenard Gibbs, CEO of Soul Train Holdings, who had been talking to Cornelius about a revival of the brand. "We've been in talks about bringing Soul Train back to TV."
