- Richard Blackie
Infobox Person
name = Richard Blackie
birth_date = assumed 1965
birth_place = assumedQueensland
death_date =26 May 2006
death_place = Petersham,Sydney ,Australia
education =
occupation = Michael Jackson Impersonator, Collector and Toy Shop Owner
parents = not known
spouse = none known
children = none knownRichard Blackie was a colourful but tragic Sydney character best known for his uncanny resemblance to
Michael Jackson and for gathering one of Australia's largest collections of antique and vintage toys, comics and television & movie memorabilia for his lifelong ambition to create a toy museum.Early Life
Not much of Richard's early life is known. He was reported to be 41 when he died in 2006 making his year of birth sometime around 1965. He was a ward of the state in Queensland so it is presumed he was born there.
Michael Jackson Impersonator
Richard has stated to some sources that he has never had surgery. However some newspaper articles state that Richard admitted to having plastic surgery more than a decade before his death. Whatever the truth is, Richard drew attention where ever he went for the uncanny resemblance - better than most other impersonators. Richard often worked as an impersonator at various venues including shopping malls and on television. [ cite web | url = http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/07/30/1154198012643.html | title = Idol's fall turns toy story to tragedy | publisher = Sydney Morning Herald | date = 2006-07-30 | accessdate = 2008-07-17] He said he had once appeared on a television talk show as Michael Jackson, when Jackson himself had cancelled at the last minute for security reasons.
Richard's Dream - a Toy Museum
The massive collection of toys and memorabilia that Richard collected over a 20 year period was impressive. "I've been called upon to round up all the old toys in the world," Richard declared in an interview with the SMH. [ cite web | url = http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/07/30/1154198012643.html | title = Idol's fall turns toy story to tragedy | publisher = Sydney Morning Herald | date = 2006-07-30 | accessdate = 2008-07-17] His lifelong obsession was to open a toy museum. His friends have suggested that his obsession grew out of a childhood deprived of love and toys.
"The Most Interestingest Person I’ve Ever Met"
In 2006, film student Maya Newell produced a 51 minute documentary titled "Richard : The Most Interestingest Person I’ve Ever Met" which premiered at Cannes in 2007. The movie was filmed during the last few months of Richard's life and reveals a tragic man tormented by paranoia and loneliness.
Death
In 27 May 2006, Richard was found dead in his Petersham shop, his death attributed to
suicide [ cite web | url = http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/07/30/1154198012643.html | title = Idol's fall turns toy story to tragedy | publisher = Sydney Morning Herald | date = 2006-07-30 | accessdate = 2008-07-17] . Police were unable to trace any relatives, even though Richard often talked about his mother and a sister. He also spoke of a girlfriend who no one ever saw. Richard's body lay unclaimed in the City Morgue in Glebe for 3 months until a group of friends and a benefactor saved Richard the indignity of a pauper's burial in an unmarked grave. Richard was cremated on the 8th September 2006 in a small ceremony attended by approximately 25 people at the Rookwood Gardens Crematorium. [ cite web | url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/tragic-toy-storys-final-chapter/2006/09/08/1157222308502.html | title = Tragic toy story's final chapter | publisher = Sydney Morning Herald | date = 2006-09-08 | accessdate = 2008-07-17]References
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