We’ll be updating the other articles in this same series over the next few weeks, adding expanded video galleries to each one. Please feel free to comment and let us know how you like the changes. Be sure to tell your friends to check us out.

This article was first published on April 15, 2009.  Within 72 hours prior to the June 25, 2009 update, American pop culture lost three of its entertainment icons: Ed McMahon (Johnny Carson’s sidekick and foil), Farrah Fawcett (every teenage boy’s fantasy girl from 1972-1982), and Michael Jackson (so-called “King of Pop” and walking example of really bad plastic surgery) – who happened to be one of the celebrities on our first list. Please note that this list has now been updated to reflect the passing of former Jehovah’s Witness, Michael Joseph Jackson.

The following is just a short list of famous persons in politics, music and movies that are or were Jehovah’s Witnesses. There are many more that we add over time, and eventually we’ll make a master index, but this will be our starting point.

Please feel free to let us know if you know of any others. You may use the comment area at the bottom of this article, or the contact form found elsewhere on this site. We’d love to hear from you.

Here are our first five celebrity Jehovah’s Witnesses:

• Michael Jackson (performance artist)
• Mickey Spillane (pulp fiction writer)
• Prince (performance artist)
• Jill Scott (actress and singer)
• George Benson (jazz musician)

1. Michael Jackson (1958 – ), an American pop music recording artist and entertainer. A member of the musical Jackson family,  at the age of 11 he first performed as a member of The Jackson 5. He began a solo career in 1971. Referred to as the “King of Pop” in subsequent years, five of his solo studio albums have become some of the world’s best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995).  After several years of severe criticism on the part of other JWs, he was disfellowshipped sometime around 1990. There was a report that he had converted to Islam in 2008, but subsequent information indicated that he had only “studied the religion, but did not convert.” Jackson, aged 50, suffered cardiac arrest on June 25, 2009 and died at UCLA Medical Center. His three children are being raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses by his mother and sister.  [Status: Deceased]
2. Mickey Spillane (March 9, 1918 – July 17, 2006), famous American author of crime novels, most featuring Mike Hammer, a tough big city private detective. Nearly 250 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide and Spillane was responsible for seven of the top fifteen bestselling fiction books in America. Spillane appeared as Mike Hammer in a movie version of “I, the Jury” – one of the few times in film history when an author portrayed his own character. During the 1980s, he appeared in several Miller Lite beer commercials. Spillane became a Jehovah’s Witness in 1951 and managed to survive the often bitter criticism he received from many fellow Witnesses that his novels were “too trashy and pornographic.” He remained a JW and continued with his writing career until his death. [Status: Deceased]
3. Prince (Prince Rogers Nelson; 1958 – ) American singer and performance artist. Winner of seven Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and named the top male pop artist of the past 25 years in 2004. His 1984 album, Purple Rain sold more than 13 million copies in the US and was #1 on the Billboard 200 for almost six months. His Academy Award-winning film grossed more than $80 million in the US alone, and proved to be Prince’s biggest cinematic success. In 1997, Prince approached funk bassist Larry Graham about his Jehovah’s Witness faith and apparently became very interested. He was baptized as a Jehovah’s Witness in 2001. His album, The Rainbow Children, reportedly is based heavily upon Jehovah’s Witness religious themes. [Status: Apparently Active]
4. Jill Scott (1972 – ), American actress most famed for being a jazz and rhythm and blues vocalist. She has collaborated with Eric Benet, Will Smith, and Common, and broadened her on-stage performing experience by touring Canada in a production of the Broadway musical Rent. Most recently seen playing the lead in HBO’s series, “Number 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency,” a story of a single woman trying to run her own business in Botswana. Known for her broad smile and love of life. Won a 2005 Grammy for Best Urban/Alternative R&B Performance for “Cross My Mind.” Raised by her grandmother from the age of 12 as a Jehovah’s Witness, she was never baptized. She reportedly does not identify with any particular religious organization. [Status: Unaffiliated]
5. George Benson, (1943 – ), American musician, jazz guitarist, and singer. Won Grammy awards for his 1978 song “This Masquerade” and for his live remake of “On Broadway.” He has collaborated with Chet Atkins, Quincy Jones, Miles Davis, Al Jarreau, the Beatles and many other prominent musicians. He often appears as a guest artist on other performers’ albums. He has been described as semi-retired and living in Arizona. He apparently is still a Jehovah’s Witness in good standing. [Status: Active]

According to news reports, the private affair was open to only a few family members and some notable celebrities. Gladys Knight, renowned member of Gladys Knight and the Pips and a music legend in her own right, reportedly sung a special song during the brief ceremony. No media or television representatives were allowed to attend.

Jackson’s final internment will be in Forest Lawns’s “Great Mausoleum,” final resting place to numerous entertainment legends. It is also the location of the reproductions of the statues of “David” and “Moses” originally sculpted by Michaelangelo and the stained glass reproduction of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Last Supper.”

Among the other notable people interred in the mausoleum are Clark Gable, George Burns, Walt Disney, Nat King Cole, and John Wayne. Dozens of other famous entertainers are buried or interred in other publicly accessible areas of the Glendale memorial park including Marilyn Monroe and members of the “Three Stooges.”

At first it was announced that the Jackson family would have a “private funeral” that would be closed to the public and the press. It might be held at Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County near Los Olivos, California – or maybe not. It could be held in the Los Angeles area and then Michael Jackson’s body would be buried at the ranch site – or maybe not.

As hundreds of people began to gather around the entrance and along the roadside leading to Neverland Ranch, it soon became apparent that privacy for the family would be impossible if the funeral was held at that location. Anything more elaborate that would involve the public would not only cause a major uproar among the residents of that remote area, but also put a severe strain on local roads, public facilities, and law enforcement agencies.

Late in the week of Jackson’s death, the family and AEG Live, the producers of Jackson’s now canceled London concerts, announced that a public memorial performance would be held at Staples Center, a large sports arena near downtown Los Angeles. Staples Center is owned and managed by another subsidiary of AEG. A plan was put into place to distribute 17,000 free tickets to 8,500 winners of an online lottery. All other attendees would be guests and dignitaries invited by the family and AEG.

A big question left unanswered was whether Michael Jackson’s funeral would be included aa a part of the memorial performance. Would Michael Jackson’s coffin even be there? Would the Jackson family actually appear? And, if they did, would his brothers or sister Janet perform during the performance segment?

No one really knew until the show began. All of the Jackson family, including Michael’s three children, were seated in the front row. Michael’s flower covered gold-clad coffin, reportedly the same one used for James Brown’s funeral, was carried in by his brothers and placed between the family and the main stage.

The presentation included speeches by Martin Luther King Jr.’s son and daughter, Rev. Al Sharpton, and other friends and associates of Michael. There were several tasteful musical numbers performed by Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, Usher, and even Jermaine Jackson performing an emotional vocal interpretation of Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile.” Musician John Mayer performed an understated – but powerful – guitar solo of “Human Nature” that was a show stopper. [See video in sidebar...]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvEYC1yFek4

(The entire Jackson Memorial will be shown dozens of times on cable TV – and should be released on DVD within a few months. It’s worth a couple of hours of your time, so be sure to watch it if and when you have the opportunity.)

It became clear that this public memorial was not Michael Jackson’s “funeral.” All the Jackson family would say was that a “private funeral” was attended by family members earlier that morning.

There were many unanswered questions about the private funeral, especially what religious belief would be represented. Would it be an interdenominational or interfaith funeral? Would it be just a generic Christian service? Would it be an Islamic service? (Jackson supposedly formally became a Muslim in November, 2008.)

The biggest question of all: Would it be a Jehovah’s Witness funeral?

Katherine Jackson, Michael’s mother and family matriarch, was an active Jehovah’s Witness. His eldest sister, Maureen (known as Rebbie) and her husband were Jehovah’s Witnesses. LaToya and Janet had been Witnesses in the past, but their current connection to the religion was uncertain. The other siblings were either mainstream Christian, non-religious, or as in the case of Jermaine, Muslim. Michael’s father, Joseph Jackson, was raised a Protestant and never converted to the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Complicating the issue was the fact that even though Michael Jackson was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness and spent much of his youth preaching from door-to-door and going to Kingdom Hall meetings, he was not currently an active Witness. There are some questions about whether he was ever actually baptized into the faith as a child, but the evidence is strong that he was at some point during his early teens. The Jackson family refuses to confirm his baptismal history.

We know that in the late 1980s, after constant criticism by Jehovah’s Witness elders over his growing fame as an entertainer, Jackson’s inclusion of a disclaimer on his “Thriller” video regarding his religious beliefs, and an Awake magazine article that stated that he “was sorry for what he had done during the making of that video and his promise to never do that again,” he apparently decided that he had enough criticism from his “friends,” and formally “disassociated” himself from the Witnesses.

Only baptized Jehovah’s Witnesses need to formally disassociate (DA)themselves, and only baptized JWs can be officially “disfellowshipped” (DF) by a committee of elders at a local Kingdom Hall. This fact would tend to support the notion that Michael was, at sometime during his childhood, baptized.

A few days after the funeral the facts finally leaked out: Sometime on Tuesday the Jackson family gathered for a private ceremony at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in North Hollywood. It was in a mortuary chapel there that a Jehovah’s Witness service was conducted by Michael’s cousin, Wendell Hawkins, a currently active JW.

Another Jackson cousin, David Fossett, stated to the press sometime after the funeral at some point the coffin was open and that Michael “looked like himself. He looked like he just was laying there sleeping. He looked peaceful.” Mr. Fossett, who is not a Jehovah’s Witness, also reported that that the funeral talk was “spoken in a way that their belief is that he is going to be back on this earth.” Fossett said that Brother Wendell Hawkins addressed guests and stated that he was glad that Michael’s life was “connected with Jehovah.”

An approved Jehovah’s Witness funeral is a very limited and simple memorial service at a funeral home or Kingdom Hall. Since Michael Jackson was no longer an active Witness, the use of a Kingdom Hall or the direct involvement of an elder would be forbidden. In this case, a practicing relative (Hawkins) could give the funeral talk at a funeral chapel (Forest Lawn) at the request of the family.

As I was watching the nearly 3-hour Michael Jackson Memorial at Staples Center on TV, I commented to my wife that if this had been a Jehovah’s Witness funeral that the whole thing would have lasted about twenty minutes and that when it was over “you’d hardly know anything about the guy in the box.”

During the past couple of weeks, I had been in the process of writing an article about Jehovah’s Witness funerals. About ten days before I’d contacted Bob at Doc Bob’s Jehovah’s Witness Website to get his permission to reprint a copy of his version of a JW funeral outline. Bob was gracious enough to give me his OK to reprint it on this site, so I am providing a link so that you can read it for yourself. [JW Funeral Talk Outline] Compare this outline to how Michael Jackson’s cousin, David Fossett, described the private funeral service at Forest Lawn. I think you will agree that my off-the-wall comment to my wife was “right on the money.”

Mr. Hawkins public funeral talk (as all such speeches are approved and scripted by the Watchtower Society) would have been quite short. He would have discussed the condition of the dead, the hope for a future resurrection for faithful Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the final award of a life in a paradise “New Earth” ruled by Christ Jesus. He would give the talk in his own words and style, but would not be allowed to change or add to the basic outline he was provided.

Unlike most Christian funerals, the only mention of the deceased would have been very brief and would have been comprised of factual, biographical information such as might be found in a standard newspaper obituary. In Witness funerals, the fact that everyone there is to honor the person in the coffin is considered to be an afterthought, almost a footnote to the service. No particular praise or mention of Jackson’s accomplishments or awards would have been included.

Finally after 20-30 minutes there was a closing prayer. The gathered family and friends were handed lyrics to a song from the Jehovah’s Witness Songbook entitled “Life Without End – At Last” that the group sang together a cappella.

No eulogies or private statements would have been allowed. No secular or non-Witness religious songs would have been allowed to be sung or played. Loud or prolonged outbreaks of tears or grief by anyone in the audience, including family members, would have been considered to be disrespectful of Jehovah.

Later, if there is a graveside service or reception, the rules for acknowledging or memorializing Jackson would be entirely up to the family, so some liberties might be taken there.

Apparently, Katherine and Joseph Jackson did not attend the private ceremony. The others gathered around Jackson’s casket “talked to each other and cried.” Jackson family members made it clear that Jackson’s death was for them a deeply personal matter.

Michael Jackson had been very vocal at times about how difficult it was to be raised by Jehovah’s Witnesses, and expressed his sorrow at never getting to celebrate birthdays or holidays as child. In his twenties he began to celebrate his birthday, getting and buying lavish gifts, and holding rather large gatherings with friends to mark the occasion.

Although it was his wish that his children be raised by his mother and other family members, he also made it clear in conversations with friends that he did not want his children to be raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses. He wanted them to have a normal childhood like the one he missed his entire life, not the one that a Witness child would be forced to live through.

Shed a tear for Michael Jackson. Be prepared to shed many more for his children if they are forced to become little JWs by their grandmother and other family members.

Jackson made uncounted millions of dollars from his album sales and concert tours, and yet died leaving behind an estimated $400 million in debt. His most recent plan to was have one final comeback – after well over a decade marked with scandal, and some of the most bizarre behavior ever seen in a major celebrity.

First introduced to the public when just a very young boy in the late 1960s, Jackson became the lead singer of the Jackson 5, the singing group that he fronted with his four older brothers. After the Jacksons came on the national scene, they had major hits with “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” and “I’ll Be There,” all with Michael singing lead – even though he was the youngest of the group. The Jackson 5 are sometimes credited as being the first and most talented of the “boy bands” that later included the Osmonds, New Kids on the Block, and Boyz 2 Men.

Michael Joseph Jackson was the seventh of nine children. His father, Joseph, was a struggling steel worker with some experience in music and performing. Joe Jackson was determined to get his family out of the shadow of poverty and into the limelight. His boys, and especially Michael, would become the family’s meal ticket.

Michael’s mother, Katherine, was a Jehovah’s Witness and raised her children to be Witnesses. Michael grew up with two main influences: music and the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ religious culture. His father was an abusive parent who was focused only on making sure that the boys became good musicians and successful entertainers. According to most of the Jackson children, their father physically and verbally abused them – and never “spared the rod” even after they became successful. The damage to young Michael, the family’s leading man, was particularly severe and likely scarred him psychologically for the rest of his life.

Like most Jehovah’s Witness children, playing with neighborhood kids, engaging in school sports, and planning for college were simply not part of the plan for Michael. Instead, Michael spent most of his spare time “knocking on doors, doing the Witnessing work.” Even after his success and early fame, Michael would continue to engage in door-to-door Witness work even during a tour, often wearing disguises or a “fat suit” to hide his identity. But even after his attempts to “go undercover,” his fans would still recognize him and engage him in chatter about his music career.

It has been reported from several sources that as Jackson’s music career and fame began to really take off, the elders in his local Kingdom Hall in Southern California began to pressure him to modify his music, his appearance, and even his performances. He was actually pressured into adding a disclaimer onto the video of “Thriller” to indicate that he did not believe in the things depicted during most of the dance sequences.

He apparently did what he could to satisfy the Kingdom Hall elders, and even toned down some of his act, at one point considered destroying the “Thriller” video and halting its distribution. No matter what he did, he was still in their gun sights. Jackson finally disassociated himself from the Witnesses in the late 1980s. In 2008, he formally converted to Islam, the religion of his brother, several of his friends, and some of his business associates.

How much damage can be blamed on Michael Jackson’s being raised as a Jehovah’s Witness can not be determined. If his experience was typical of so many other young people who were raised under the influence of the Watchtower’s strict anti-social rules and guidelines, then my guess is that the damage was measurable. He could not have been helped by that association – that’s for sure.

Possibly the most exciting performer of his generation, Jackson was known for his smooth backward-gliding moonwalk, his athletic, unique and sometimes scandalous crotch-grabbing dance moves. His singing was marked, even well into his adult years by his high-pitched soprano voice. He created his own style, often dressing with a single white glove, very tight pants, a military-style or marching band style jacket, and extremely dark aviator sunglasses. He was often seen wearing a surgical mask (and even photographed clothed in an Islamic woman’s burkha) – most likely to hide his most recent surgically altered appearance.

Jackson equaled the success of his predecessors Elvis Presley and the Beatles as the biggest popular music personalities of all time. He was further linked to those other pop idols because he was actually married for a short time to Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie, and he also managed to purchase the rights and ownership to the bulk of the Beatles’ musical catalog.

It is clear that Michael Jackson never really grew up, but as he grew older he became a grotesque middle-aged man child. He also became a freakish looking character whose original natural medium African-American complexion was lightened to an almost deathly gray. In spite of his denials of excessive plastic surgery, his nose kept getting narrower and more tipped up; at one point, even the cartilage of his nose was showing through the skin. With his tattooed eyeliner, eyebrows and lips, he eventually began to look less like a handsome young man and more like an ailing Paula Abdul would on a really bad day.

Someone once commented that Jackson managed to turn himself from an attractive young African-American man, and ended up looking like a an ugly old white woman wearing too much makeup.

As he aged, his personal behavior also became more bizarre. He kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles as a close companion. He surrounded himself with unrelated children at his Neverland ranch (his storybook playground located on his ranch in Santa Barbara County), and often invited several of them to stay for “sleepovers” in his home and to spend the night in his personal bedroom. This and other eccentric behavior soon earned him the sobriquet of “Wacko Jacko.”

In 1993, he was accused of molesting a boy who often stayed at his home. Jackson denied any wrongdoing, but settled with the boy’s family for several million dollars. As a result, the family never filed any official criminal complaint against Jackson.

He was arrested and brought to trial in 2005 on charges that he molested a 13-year-old boy at his Neverland Ranch in 2003. Included were charges that he had offered children who stayed for the sleepovers alcohol, that he touched them in inappropriate ways, showed them pornography, and engaged in other strange and possibly criminal behavior.

Jackson was eventually found “not guilty” on all charges by a jury, but the evidence was pretty clear that what he had been doing was not appropriate behavior by any adult in the presence or control of children. The jury felt that the mother of the accuser was just trying to extort money from Jackson and was not really concerned about the welfare of her children.

However, the allegations that came out in that courthouse in Santa Maria practically destroyed his career and image. His popularity dropped like a rock, and he quickly found himself in serious financial trouble. It has been stated that Jackson was spending $3 million per month more than he earned during the last couple of years of his life.

When he passed, Jackson was in the process of making a comeback to try to restore his reputation and his fortune. Instead, he ran out of time. Now he will be known for what he was, and not for what he could have become. Would he have changed his life as a practicing Muslim and become less eccentric and self-destructive? It’s unlikely, but we’ll never know.

For that we should shed a tear for poor Michael and learn from his childhood experiences. Let’s never allow our own children to be forced to live under those same pressures and to have to face or deal with such destructive influences.

See our follow-up article on Michael Jackson: The Two Funerals of Michael Jackson

For another point of view about Michael Jackson’s life, I suggest that you read this interesting article by Randy Watters.

For more in depth information about Michael Jackson, his life, trials and tribulations, please consider the following books:

Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness (Paperback)

So much has how been said and written about the life and career of Michael Jackson that it has become almost impossible to disentangle the man from the myth. Recent revelations are only the latest installments of a saga that began decades ago. This book is the fruit of over 30 years of research and hundreds of exclusive interviews with a remarkable level of access to the very closest circles of the Jackson family – including Michael himself. Cutting through tabloid rumors, J. Randy Taraborrelli traces the real story behind the Michael Jackson we see and hear today, from his drilling as a child star through the blooming of his talent to his ever-changing personal appearance and bizarre publicity stunts. This major biography includes the behind-the-scenes story to many of the landmarks in Jackson’s life: his legal and commercial battles, his marriages to Lisa Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe, his passions and addictions, his children. Objective and revealing, (more…)

Michael Jackson Conspiracy (Hardcover)

He was the pop icon the media loved to hate. Tremendously wealthy, inarguably eccentric, and one of the most famous people in the world, Michael Jackson was the unenviable target of constant public humiliation. The media poked fun at his skin, his features, his sexuality, and his lifestyle.Here, seasoned crime reporter Aphrodite Jones condemns the media for perpetuating hateful rumors and innuendoes, recounting just the sordid details, and reporting only the most despicable accusations and grisly charges made against Michael Jackson during his criminal trial. They had built a highly profitable industry around the superstar’s “freaky life” and banked on his conviction. And, it turns out, they got it all wrong.In their efforts to make money and win ratings, the media missed the truth. It wasn’t until after the “not guilty” verdict that Jones had the insight and courage to admit her own unintentional role in the frenzy surrounding the shocking testimony, high drama, and (more…)

Mickey Spillane was our odd man out last time. Younger generations may not even know of him or his rough and tumble Mike Hammer crime novels. Those of us who were raised in the 1940s and 1950s remember him well.

This time we introduce five more celebrities (actually more than five, as you will see) that are, or have been, Jehovah’s Witnesses. Their names and reputations will be well known to most everyone, but their association with the Jehovah’s Witnesses less so.

Here is our second list of celebrity Jehovah’s Witnesses:

• Venus and Serena Williams (athletes)
• Wayans Brothers (actors, comedians)
• Teresa Graves (actress)
• Eve Arden (actress)
• Ja Rule (rap singer)

1. Venus Williams (1980 – ), is a former #1 American tennis player and was ranked #3 in the world in 2009. She has won the Wimbledon singles title the last two years and is the reigning Wimbledon and Australian Open doubles champion. She is the older sister to Serena Williams (1981 – ), also an American professional tennis player. Ranked #1 in the world four times and was ranked #2 in 2009. She is the reigning US Open and Australian Open singles champion and has won 20 Grand Slam titles. She has won two Olympic gold medals in women’s doubles. Serena is the most recent player, male or female, to hold all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously. Both Venus and Serena received some questionable press coverage when during the Olympics they both proudly carried the American flag in front of an international audience,and Venus stood at attention and sang the national anthem. They claim to attend Kingdom Hall meetings, but their participation in field service has not been confirmed. [Status: Active]
2. Wayans Brothers (and sisters): Damon Wayans, Dwayne Wayans, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Kim Wayans, Nadia Wayans, Marlon Wayans, and Shawn Wayans. Well known comedians, actors, filmmakers. Keenan was the originator of the break through Fox Television comedy show that was dominated by mostly African-American performers that included David Allen Grier, Jamie Foxx, and most of the Wayans family members – but also was the major force behind the breakout career of white comic actor Jim Carrey. Keenan, Damon, Marlon and Shawn have all gone on to productive movie careers as actors and producers. Most of the Wayans were born in New York City, offspring of Elvira and Howell Wayans, in a family deeply involved in the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion. [Status: Most Remain Active]
3. Teresa Graves (1948 – 2002 ) was an American actress and singer. As the star of “Get Christie Love!” (1974), Graves is credited as being the first African-American woman to star in her own hour long drama television series. Graves began her career singing with The Doodletown Pipers, but soon turned to acting, becoming a regular on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. Graves appeared in number of minor films before she got her role as the title character in the 1974 television movie “Get Christie Love!” She reprised that role in a short-lived TV series of the same name, but because she became a Jehovah’s Witness, she gave the producer a list of what she would no longer do as the character Christie Love, including killing bad guys or sexually enticing men. Her producer said that “Christie Love is a super-hip policewoman. But she doesn’t want to shoot or kill anyone? She won’t a have relationship with anybody, or be involved in any violence? You can’t do a police show based on that.” Producers tried to accommodate her, but the series was dropped after just one season. In 1983, she dropped out of show business completely to devote her full time as a Jehovah’s Witness. She lived the rest of her life in Southern California, taking care of her mother. In 2002, Graves died during a fire in her home. [Status: Deceased]
4. Eve Arden (1908 – 1990) An American movie and television actress. Her career crossed most media frontiers with all kinds of supporting and leading roles. She is best remembered for playing the sarcastic title character, a high school teacher, in the classic “Our Miss Brooks” on both radio and television. Later she co-starred as the principal of Rydell High School in the films “Grease” and “Grease 2.” Arden published her biography, The Three Phases of Eve, notable for its discretion in regard to Arden’s many co-stars, and her loyalty to the Hollywood studio system that nurtured her career. She received an Academy Award nomination and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard. She was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1995. She was known to be a Jehovah’s Witness most of her life, but her funeral was was officiated by a Church of Religious Science minister. [Editor's Note: Miss Arden's son, Douglas West, disputes the information contained in this article segment. He writes, "My mother was Eve Arden, and I can assure you that she was never, at any time in her life, a Jehovah’s Witness." Read Mr. West's full comment along with my reply below. Status: Deceased - JW membership disputed by family member.]
5. Ja Rule (Jeffrey Atkins), (1976 – ), an American rapper and actor. A native of Hollis, New York, Ja Rule is best-known for major hits such as “Holla, Holla”, “Thug Lovin’”, “Put It On Me”, “Between Me And You”, “I’m Real”, “Livin’ It Up”, “Always On Time”, “Mesmerize”, “The Pledge Remix”, “Clap Back”, “I Cry”, “The Reign”, “Caught Up”, “Wonderful” and “New York.” Born in Queens, New York, he was raised as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses by his mother, health care worker Debra Atkins, and his grandparents. At the age of five, his sister died from breathing complications, leaving him as an only child. Atkins began his rap career in 1994 with Cash Money Click. He says he took on his stage name “Ja Rule” because a friend called him by that name; other friends call him simply “Ja”. In 2003, he allegedly punched a man in Toronto, who later sued, but they settled out of court. In 2004, police investigated whether a feud led to fatal shooting outside a nightclub party hosted by Ja Rule. In July 2007, Ja Rule was arrested for gun and drug possession charges along with Lil Wayne. Ja Rule founded the L.I.F.E Foundation, which provides services to underprivileged children with various programs such as art, music, poetry and sports. [Status:Undetermined]