Wednesday, April 1, 2009

On this day in 1984: Marvin Gay killed (indirectly) by a brain tumor

Twenty-five years ago today, one day before his 45th birthday, legendary singer and songwriter Marvin Gaye was fatally shot by his father when the younger Gaye attempted to intervene during an argument between his parents purportedly over misplaced business documents. Marvin Sr. used a gun that Marvin Jr. had given his father only four months earlier. Marvin Sr. was sentenced to six years probation after pleading guilty to manslaughter. Charges of first-degree murder were dropped after doctors discovered Marvin Sr. had a brain tumor which may have impaired the elder Gaye's judgement. Thanks to Dr. Doug Shevlin of Springfield, IL for alerting me to this connection between Marvin Gaye's death and neuro-oncologic disease.

3 comments:

Scout said...

Didn't columnist Robert Novak cry "brain tumor" after striking that bicyclist with his car? How often has the brain tumor defense been used to get charges dropped or sentences reduced? I'm thinking about cooking myself up a tumor - maybe something benign like a meningioma - so I can have an excuse when I do something stupid or illegal.

Marie said...

I did not know this. Good information. Love Marvin Gaye's music. Miss that guy.

jd said...

Fascinating stuff. I knew that Marvin Gaye was shot to death by his father, but I never knew that the father had a brain tumor. Wow. Thanks for the info!

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