Question: What do Virgie Arthur and Michael Lohan have in common?
Answer: Both are parents of celebrity drug addicted children who have used mainstream media in an attempt to save the lives of their children.
Virgie Arthur, the mother of late model and actress Anna Nicole Smith, spent her daughter’s adulthood worrying about her. The two women ended up with a contentious relationship due to Anna Nicole’s drug use and Mrs. Arthur’s attempts to help her stop using. However, according to court records, they never completely severed ties.
The situation exploded into tragedy September 10th, 2006 when Anna Nicole’s son, Daniel Wayne Smith died suddenly of a methadone overdose within hours of arriving in the Bahamas to meet his three day old baby sister, Dannielynn.
Daniel Smith was not a drug user or abuser. A Bahamian inquest commenced and Doctor Lee Hern, lab director for the Miami-Dade County medical examiner’s office, said he felt Daniel’s death was the result of an “intentional” overdose. However all parties agreed that Daniel’s death was not a suicide. Daniel would have had to take six to eight 10mg tablets for the levels of methadone found in his body. Dr Hern testified that Daniel was not a habitual drug user and he had never seen anyone take methadone on a recreational basis in that quantity. There was fresh bruising on Daniels body that has never been explained and was not due to resuscitation efforts.
Mrs. Arthur’s attorney Neil McCabe, stated in court filings that after Daniel died, Anna Nicole tried calling her mother to tell her about his death. Mrs. Arthur was unable to answer the phone so Anna Nicole attempted to leave a message. The message stops when the call was abruptly disconnected by Howard K. Stern. Mrs. Arthur was in fear for Anna Nicole’s life but was never able to reach her daughter again.
Desperate to warn Anna Nicole, Mrs. Arthur, a retired 26 year Harris County, Texas Sheriffs Deputy went to the media in an attempt to get a message to her daughter. She told her to be careful of the people who surround her or she may be next. Mrs. Arthur’s worst fear came true on February 8th, 2007 when her world famous daughter also died of a drug overdose. Mrs. Arthur’s unmarried daughter’s body was given in the end to two men who enrich themselves exploiting Anna Nicole’s memory. Mrs. Arthur is not permitted to see her granddaughter Dannielynn and those same two men use that adorable innocent child just like a miniature Anna Nicole aka cash cow.
The State of California is now prosecuting Howard K.Stern for eleven felony counts in connection with obtaining and supplying the drugs that killed Anna Nicole Smith. The State of California under Marsy’s law, has notified Mrs. Arthur that she is next of kin for the criminal proceedings which start August 4th, 2010. The father of Smith’s daughter Dannielynn could also apply on his daughter’s behalf for next of kin status however, Birkhead has proclaimed his support for Stern even though some of the most damning evidence of enabling Anna Nicole’s drug abuse originated with Birkhead in his attempt to be recognized as the father of Dannielynn.
Lindsay Lohan, a child actress who starred in popular movies such as, “The Parent Trap”, “Freaky Friday” and “Herby: Fully Loaded” has also drifted down the wrong road to alcohol and substance abuse. In 2006, Lindsay was known to have been attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. But by July of 2007, she had three stints of rehab under her belt*. By August of the same year, she pled guilty to possession of cocaine and DUI. She admitted that her life had become unmanageable due to being addicted to alcohol and drugs.
Most recently Lindsay has been sentenced by Judge Marsha Revel in LA Superior Court to 90 days in county jail and 90 days in a substance abuse program for violating probation after she missed seven court-ordered weekly alcohol counseling sessions during the 27 week period between December 2009 and July 2010.
Unlike the Anna Nicole Smith case where her lawyer/companion Howard K. Stern, (along with his sister Bonnie Stern, Journalist Art Harris, Harvey Levin of TMZ and Larry Birkhead) conspired to assassinate Arthur’s character with manufactured information using the media in order to turn public opinion against her, Michael Lohan comes forward attempting to save his daughter with his own set of problems.
“I’m not going see my daughter die!” he said. “You have Michael Jackson, you had Heath Ledger, Adam Goldstein. You can go back to John Belushi, Anna Nicole Smith, and even Elvis Presley. It was prescription drugs that killed these people. I’m not going to watch my daughter die.” **
“I had a feeling that Lindsay might go to jail and I wanted to be there for her, but I wanted to be there, more importantly, to submit the letter to the judge in hopes that she would just give her rehab, which she did consider and I appreciate that,” he tells Us. “But at the same time, Lindsay is not a criminal. She is a woman with a disease. She really is. She needs help. She needs medical attention.”***
Link to Michael Lohan’s letter to the judge in Lindsay’s case.
***USMagazine
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{ 9 comments }
Thanks for the article, QV, and for the links. Maybe Michael will be successful with the courts help in saving his daughter’s life.
God bless Virgie Arthur, who never had this support.
It must be so hard watching your child be ruined by drugs and not be able to do much about it. Virgie had to of suffered so much watching her daughter being held in the Bahamas and not able to help Anna in anyway. The heart break of her grandson dead in the hopital and knowing her daughter might be next. And she was.
How true QV!
How very sad for Virgie Arthur . Such a hopeless and helpless feeling I can’t even imagine it.
Let’s all hope that Lindsey Lohan loses her enablers/hanger-ons and gets the help she REALLY needs before it’s too late.
Hi QV, Thank-you for this article. I’ve been watching what happens with Lindsay because I’m afraid she could end up like Anna. I feel for her dad like I do Mrs Arthur. How sad that Mrs Arthur was attacked like she was for trying to save her daughter’s life. I hope Michael can help save Lindsay’s life. The attacks on him are so unfair.
Great article QV, it pretty much says it all. I hope Michael Lohan has more success than Virgie did, we don’t need to watch another person die from drugs because the people surrounding them are only interested in what they are getting out of it.
Thanks ladies. Isn’t it so sad that history is repeating itself? I don’t care what Lindsay’s father did. I can tell he loves his daughter and wants to move heaven and earth to help her. The focus should be on Lindsay and helping her and not whatever her father has done. I pray he stays strong and steady for his daughter. We didn’t hear a lot about it but Britney Spears parents saved their daughter. That Sam Lufti had her so messed up, she would not have lasted very long. And I think we all remember the Ron Rale/Trope connection.
Yes, its just like those morons tried to do to Virgie. And the stinkin press eats it up for the almighty dollar. :(
I just read Michael Lohan’s letter, is this Lisa Bloom, Gloria Allred’s daughter?
Yes, it certainly looks like it. I am still liking her from when she put Barth in her place. That was very good.
http://www.thebloomfirm.com/news.htm
To those who ‘elude’ us…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt2mbGP6vFI
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