Ah, thank you Blackguy69! I have this video but have not seen it in many years.
Others in attendance I remember:
Nancy Wilson
Eddie Holland
Jack "The Rapper"
Harvey Fuqua
Pete Moore of the Miracles
Michael Travis
Anna Marie Horsford
Mary's brother Roosevelt and her children Turkessa & Pedro Jr.
Last edited by marv2; 04-17-2020 at 08:54 PM.
Oh there were so many people there. Let me see if I can list a few off the top of my head:
Berry Gordy Jr.
The Temptations
The Four Tops
Bobby Rogers of the Miracles
Jheryl Busby
Sheryl Lee Ralph
Florence LaRue
Liz Torres
Dick Clark
Cholly Atkins
Jocko Henderson
Betty Kelly of the Vandellas
The Ballard Daughters
Rita Coolidge
Brenda Russell
Thanks so much for posting. Mary did well considering it was her first public appearance after the accident. I could not believe the amount of press present. Berry succinctly said it all: Mary may have not been the lead singer, but she was the heart and soul of the Supremes. That cannot be disputed! She def has a LARGE number of friends in the industry. So damn proud of her accomplishments.
Mary is a very strong woman. This ceremony took place just over a month after her tragic accident. Some people would be in isolation and being assisted by some type of professional counselor. Powerful and very grounded.
I know that to be true. There was almost a plane full of Detroiters that flew out there after the news broke. Many people from Martha Reeves to Barbara Martin all went out to see about Mary. Martha Harris and Alice Fletcher, both life long friends of Mary were part of the Detroit contingent. Cindy Birdsong stayed at Mary's house for 3 weeks, along with Rita Coolidge and Brenda Russell. Do you remember the "Sally Jesse Raphael Show"? Ben Vereen, Rita and I can't remember who else, but the audience was full of long time fans from across the country that came out to California to support Mary. Jean Terrell, Scherrie Payne, the Gordys, the Jacksons were all in attendance at the funeral. Patti LaBelle sang at the funeral. Jet carried pictures of Nancy Wilson and Freda Payne with their children outside of the church.
I didn’t know Patti sang at the funeral. I will search the net to see if Sally’s show is available.
DET, here are few pictures from the funeral for Rafael Ferrer:
Attachment 17298
Attachment 17299
25 years later, Motown Royalty gathers to honor the great Jackie Wilson. Mary Wilson looking as beautiful as ever:
This thread has 30 replies; 19 are by people I've blocked. The others are by those I highly esteem. Says it all.
Last edited by PeaceNHarmony; 04-18-2020 at 06:11 PM.
I have not posted on SDF in at least two years. Possibly longer. I even had to look up my password! It's easier to post on Facebook or Instagram, where I know who I'm dealing with. Every time I come to this space, I am happy to read the threads, until they turn sour. This is probably why I haven't posted. This thread feels no different. But I feel compelled to speak about it. Also, I couldn't sleep.
First, I was at the Supremes Star Induction, in the VIP section, next to Margie, above Florence Larue, and a few feet away from Rita on my left, the podium on my right, and the street in front of me, where I looked at the fans looking at Mary Wilson. I was 21 years old, and freaking out I was actually standing there, snapping pictures with my disposable camera! It was an amazing day, and I was so proud of everyone involved. To stand before Berry Gordy, Dick Clark, The Temptations and so many others, I can't tell you the pride I felt for Motown, for the Supremes, for Mary, Diana and Florence. Mary and her team, worked very hard to make this day a reality. Today it paid off.
26 years later, I was very excited to see this video Alice made. I've never seen it before, and it reminded me of so many details I had forgotten. The buttons [[which I still have), Berry Gordy's joke about "walking all over them for years to come," and Mary's mini tribute to the people who helped with the star induction. I caught a few glances of a very young me, plus the late Allen Poe, who was a dear friend and mentor, Alice Manica, Rudy Calvo, Norwin Simmons, the late Kenny, who was Mary's driver and bodyguard, and Gregg Simon. I wished there was even more footage!
The day was beautiful and special, a stark contrast from the darkness that befell six weeks earlier. I was present for that too. I've known Mary Wilson since I was 19, and I can unequivocally say, she's never been the same. How could she? Bluebrock, I am sorry for your loss. That's a story I'd like to hear one day. I've never lost a child, but Rafi was a brother to me, and my loss was probably the hardest I've ever experienced, yet it was unimaginable compared to what Mary went through. Shame on anyone who makes light of that tragedy, or anyone who tries to weaponize it.
And regarding the ladies, there are nine Supremes with nine distinct personalities and stories. Any one story does not belong to the other eight. A story about Mary Wilson does not need to come equipped with a single negative word about Diana Ross. Diana is a remarkable woman without whom there would be no Supremes to discuss. And likewise, a discussion about Diana Ross does not need anything negative about Mary Wilson. The same goes for the other six ladies. Their stories are their stories.
Diana and Mary buried the hatchet, why can't some of you? Because of past behavioral stories? Get over it. And to anyone with claws out, ready to tell me I don't get to tell you what to think, feel or say, you're right, I don't. I just have higher hopes that those guilty parties will learn to take the high road. Hide behind a screen name[[s) and make all the snide comments you want. It just makes you look petty. These are real women, human beings. I doubt either of them would appreciate the negativity.
In different ways, they are family to me. Personally, and professionally. One year and one month after this star induction, Mary moved me to New York City with her, and I began my path to where I am now. Diana has been positive and encouraging of what we do. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for either of them. I'm thankful and lucky for the career I've had because of them. I feel compelled to protect them. [end rant.]
A sincere and heartwarming post Andy. I agree that to use the death of a child as a tool for launching yet another attack on Mary is beyond contempt.
I was recently informed by a regular poster here that the reason they continued with verbal attacks on Mary Wilson was tit for tat. Let’s hope your post goes some way in eliminating the kind of sad and childish mentality that prevents Motown fans wanting to contribute to this forum.
All the best, Ollie.
Thank you for speaking up and sharing this very necessary post. I hope your thoughts and words will cause people to really think about their own posts.
Totally agree with you Roberta. This individual appears to have forgotten his manners, assuming he had some in the first place.
In fact this whole thread lacks dignity and class. I cannot believe that someone could stoop so low as to post photos from a funeral in a disgraceful attempt to promote their popularity. Mary Wilson would be heartbroken and utterly distraught to see these photos. She does not need reminding about the worst day in her entire life. If i saw a photo of mourners at my son's funeral i would be angry and inconsolable. I am sure poor vgalindo would totally agree.
He should show some respect to Mary and refrain from this disgraceful behaviour. I hope and pray she does not see this post.
This brought back terrible memories for me so heaven knows what it would do to Mary.
For heavens sake please show some common decency and refrain from posting photos that could cause untold distress to the lady, and indeed to anyone who has suffered the wretched ordeal of burying their own child.
I don't believe a post on here has ever caused me such distress . I am totally and utterly disgusted by the lack of class displayed on here.
Last edited by Bluebrock; 04-20-2020 at 09:24 AM.
Im so sorry this tacky thread distressed you Bluebrock. To post phoptos and list celebrities who attend the funeral of a ladys 14 year old child is disgusting and classless. I should think Mary Wilson was so numb that day she didnt notice who was there. The usual suspect once again showed how unhinged tacky he truly is. Do something nice for yourself today my dear. Something your child will look down and smile while your doing it xxxx
Thank you for your candor and for a brief moment of clarity in this thread. I realize I may have contributed to some of the discord as I could have used better words to express my disgust with what the nefarious one turned this initially positive thread into...
If I may explain:
1. Like many, I came here to see the footage of the Supremes receiving their long overdue star on the Walk. Who better to accept than Mary - the heart and soul of the Supremes.
2. The thread then took a disturbing turn by exploiting the very tragic death of Mary’s son. Posting the list of celebrities who comforted her during this terrible time, the list of those who attended the going home service, and most revoltingly, photos from the service. As with anything Mary-related, I saw this as nothing more than another attempt by the nefarious one to showcase Mary’s notoriety as something way more than actually is the case as yet another “dig” at a certain someone else. Yes, Mary is well loved but let’s not resort to making things like the Coney Island concert or most disgracefully, HER SON’S FUNERAL as on par with appearances by the Pope. I felt similarly last year about the million posts about Diana’s birthday party.
3. Lastly, as we all know, Mary wants nothing to do with the nefarious one. How he ignores this and acts like he is her personal historian seems a bit psychotic. As Andy said, Diana and Mary have buried the hatchet. RTL was TWENTY years ago. To keep acting like he’s Mary’s staunchest supporter because he still hasn’t gotten over that camera incident in Denver is just plain stupid.
If if I offended anyone except the nefarious one, I apologize.
Now that was a truly Supreme response and hopefully something all the fans can take to heart. Bravo Andy & be well.
Hey Andy, I have a video of you when you were a baby, sitting in the audience, in the front rows while Mary was performing "Walk the Line" on the "Body by Jake Show". You were jammin'! LOL!
Another great pic from the event:
I've read through every post in this thread, including the ones by posters I currently block. While one would hope that a little more community spirit might exist when we're all staring down the barrel of the same gun, it's apparent that some folks are so inherently nasty that not even a world wide pandemic is enough to drop vendettas against Marv and/or Mary Wilson. This thread went left with post #12. Prior to that it was a pleasant discussion about the WOF ceremony, which segued into a non combative discussion regarding the tragedy that had befallen Mary and Rafi. It was a natural segue by the way. To ignore what had happened in Mary's life prior to the ceremony would be a bit strange IMO, especially when it illustrates Mary's ability to rise to the occasion, something I'm sure would've been impossible for me had I faced a similar situation. I don't view anything Marv said or did prior to post #11 as some sort of "OMG HOW COULD HE!?" moment. In true Marv fashion, he failed to mention Diana Ross as reaching out to Mary. Ollie brought it to his attention. Then comes post #12 and this thread unraveled from there because some posters have this need to nitpik whatever Marv says in this forum. I've tried to choose my words carefully as I do recognize the sensitive nature of some of the posts in this thread. Regardless of how I feel about any particular poster, blocked or not, I wouldn't wish the pain of burying a child on any one of them. I echo Roberta's words about parents not being built to bury their children. It was something my grandmother always said. Another thing she always said was "You have to have LOVE!" If y'all not gonna love Marv, block his ass and pretend he doesn't exist. Other than that, then we'll really need to start having discussions about what really went down in this thread: that posts about the love and support Mary received in her time of need was viewed as some sort of paranoia induced backhanded insult to Diana. It clearly unnerved some of those who would rather a post or thread be about Diana's love and support system. God forbid a thread or post in this forum be about any Supreme who is not Diana, or any posters have a favorite Supreme who isn't Diana. I suspect some of you might make it a capital offense if you could. Get a grip and a life. PLEASE.
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