Celebrities turn out for Houston funeral
Source: Agencies |
February 19, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
TO the world, Whitney Houston was the pop queen with the perfect voice, the dazzling diva with regal beauty, a troubled superstar suffering from addiction and, finally, another victim of the dark side of fame.
To her family and friends, she was just "Nippy." A nickname given to Houston when she was a child, it stuck with her through adulthood and, later, would become the name of one of her companies. To them, she was a sister, a friend, a daughter, and a mother.
While the world remembers Houston from afar, those closest to her gathered yesterday at a private funeral to say goodbye. They come together at New Hope Baptist Church, where Houston wowed the congregation with her powerful voice even as a young girl.
The hearse carrying Houston's casket has arrived at the church.
A few fans gathered yesterday morning, hours before the service, as close as they could get to the church, some from as far away as Washington DC and Miami. Others were more entrepreneurial, setting up card tables to sell silk-screened T-shirts with Houston's image and her CDs.
But only the 1,500 invited got close to the church; streets were closed for blocks in every direction.
The service was taking place exactly one week after the 48-year-old Houston - one of music's all-time biggest stars - was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel in California.
A cause of death has yet to be determined.
Close family friend Aretha Franklin, whom Houston lovingly called "Aunt Ree," was expected to sing at the service, as is Stevie Wonder and gospel star CeCe Winans.
Music mogul Clive Davis, who launched and shepherded her career, might speak, along with Kevin Costner, her co-star in the film "The Bodyguard."
Her ex-husband Bobby Brown also expected to attend, along with the couple's only child, Bobbi Kristina.
Houston's death marked the final chapter for the superstar whose fall from grace while shocking was years in the making.
Houston had her first No. 1 hit by the time she was 22, followed by a flurry of No. 1 songs and multi-platinum records.
Over her career, she sold more than 50 million records in the US alone.
To her family and friends, she was just "Nippy." A nickname given to Houston when she was a child, it stuck with her through adulthood and, later, would become the name of one of her companies. To them, she was a sister, a friend, a daughter, and a mother.
While the world remembers Houston from afar, those closest to her gathered yesterday at a private funeral to say goodbye. They come together at New Hope Baptist Church, where Houston wowed the congregation with her powerful voice even as a young girl.
The hearse carrying Houston's casket has arrived at the church.
A few fans gathered yesterday morning, hours before the service, as close as they could get to the church, some from as far away as Washington DC and Miami. Others were more entrepreneurial, setting up card tables to sell silk-screened T-shirts with Houston's image and her CDs.
But only the 1,500 invited got close to the church; streets were closed for blocks in every direction.
The service was taking place exactly one week after the 48-year-old Houston - one of music's all-time biggest stars - was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel in California.
A cause of death has yet to be determined.
Close family friend Aretha Franklin, whom Houston lovingly called "Aunt Ree," was expected to sing at the service, as is Stevie Wonder and gospel star CeCe Winans.
Music mogul Clive Davis, who launched and shepherded her career, might speak, along with Kevin Costner, her co-star in the film "The Bodyguard."
Her ex-husband Bobby Brown also expected to attend, along with the couple's only child, Bobbi Kristina.
Houston's death marked the final chapter for the superstar whose fall from grace while shocking was years in the making.
Houston had her first No. 1 hit by the time she was 22, followed by a flurry of No. 1 songs and multi-platinum records.
Over her career, she sold more than 50 million records in the US alone.
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