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Remembering Whitney Houston 11 Years Later: E! News Rewind
When Golden Globes host Jerrod Carmichael referred to the Beverly Hilton arsenic "the edifice that killed Whitney Houston," attendees were inactive rustling astir to get to their seats. Many successful the room may person missed it successful the moment, adjacent though it resonated large and wide connected TV.
So the fallout occurred outside the venue.
"The Whitney Houston Estate is disappointed successful the joke," a rep for the precocious singer's sister-in-law Pat Houston told TMZ after the show, "and felt it was successful mediocre taste."
Because, adjacent approaching 11 years since Whitney's abrupt decease connected Feb. 11, 2012, it's still too soon for fans and protectors of the revered artist's bequest to see what happened that time thing different than heartbreaking.
On the last time of her life, Whitney seemed to be looking guardant to Clive Davis' yearly pre-Grammy gala that was to beryllium held that nighttime astatine the Beverly Hilton—where she was besides staying, successful Room 434, nether her grandmother's name, Elizabeth Collins.
"We talked astir looks and what she was going to wear...and what we would bash with that evening," her longtime hairstylist Tiffanie Dixon told NBC News a period later. "She seemed precise blessed that day."
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Whitney's adjunct Mary Jones later told investigators she suggested the vocalist take a bath portion she ran an errand astatine Neiman Marcus, and near the country astatine astir 3 p.m. She returned astatine 3:35 p.m. and found the 48-year-old vocalist face-down successful the tub, submerged successful a ft of water.
Seconds aboriginal Whitney's longtime bodyguard Ray Watson (one of Pat Houston's brothers), who had been lasting ticker extracurricular successful the hall, ran successful too.
"I got her retired of the h2o and tried to revive her," Watson recalled to London's Mirror. "Then it was each crazy. It was the worst happening that has ever happened successful my life. I ne'er volition hide it. Never."
A 9-1-1 telephone was made by edifice information astatine 3:43 p.m., according to Beverly Hills Police, and the paramedics who responded minutes aboriginal were already successful the gathering successful airy of each the enactment taking spot astatine the edifice that weekend.
Hairstylist Dixon said she was headed to Houston's country to assistance her get acceptable erstwhile she heard something—she didn't cognize what, exactly, yet—had happened.
"Everything conscionable benignant of happened truthful fast," she told NBC News. "I was owed to study to work...I was going successful the absorption wherever I needed to go, and I was instructed to telephone for help, and that's what I did."
Dixon described consoling and being consoled by Whitney's then-18-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, in the hallway. The teen "didn't cognize what was going on," the stylist explained, sharing that she'd glimpsed Whitney lying determination and past moved to support Bobbi Kristina retired of the bathroom. (In 1 of the astir tragic twists imaginable, Bobbi Kristina was found underwater and unconscious in the tub astatine her Atlanta-area location connected Jan. 31, 2015. She spent the adjacent six months successful a coma earlier she died astatine the property of 22 connected July 26.)
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Word dispersed similar wildfire among Whitney's tiny entourage, including manager and sister-in-law Pat and Whitney's brother Gary.
After attempts to resuscitate her failed, Houston was pronounced dormant astatine 3:55 p.m., Beverly Hills Police Lt. Mark Rosen told reporters aboriginal that night, besides noting that determination seemed to beryllium "no evident signs of criminal intent" astatine the scene. At the time, Whitney's assemblage was inactive successful the hotel.
The adjacent time BHPD enactment a information hold connected immoderate autopsy findings until their probe was complete, a not-uncommon determination particularly successful high-profile cases, according to then-Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter. (The autopsy report from the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office released 2 months later stated that Whitney had astir apt been dormant for astir an hr before she was found.)
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Whitney's mother, Cissy Houston, recalled the telephone ringing that nighttime astatine her location successful New Jersey. "When I picked it up, each I could perceive was screaming," she wrote successful her 2013 publication Remembering Whitney. "'Oh, Mommy! It's Nippy! It's Nippy!' It was my lad Gary connected the enactment and helium was hysterical."
When the Grammy-winning gospel vocalist asked what was wrong, helium replied, "They recovered her!...They recovered her upstairs and I'm not going backmost up there."
Cissy couldn't get a clearer mentation from her son, she recalled, and yet she asked if her girl was dead.
"I was told aboriginal that I screamed truthful loudly that the full gathering indispensable person heard me," Cissy wrote, "but my caput was absolutely blank, but for 1 thought: My babe was gone."
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Back astatine the Beverly Hilton, investigators were combing Whitney's suite, trying to get a grip connected what, exactly, had happened. At the aforesaid time, an A-list assemblage was trickling into the edifice for Davis' party, unaware of what was transpiring upstairs.
The final coroner's study released successful April 2012 stated that a "spoon with a achromatic crystal similar substance successful it" was recovered successful the room, arsenic was "a plethora of medicine medicine bottles," on with an unfastened vessel of champagne, nutrient and different idiosyncratic items. A tiny reflector recovered successful a drawer had "a achromatic powdery substance" connected it, the study besides noted.
The autopsy determined Houston's official origin of death to beryllium accidental drowning, with atherosclerotic bosom illness and cocaine usage "just astir apt instantly prior" to drowning listed arsenic contributing factors.
Toxicology tests turned up traces of Benadryl, Xanax, marijuana and Flexeril, a musculus relaxant, successful her system, but nary were considered factors successful her death, per the report. Assistant Chief Coroner Winter had told L.A.'s ABC 7 that Houston's prescriptions were "pretty normal" and quipped that he had more prescriptions than were recovered successful her room.
The postmortem besides detected mild emphysema (she had been rumored to beryllium suffering from a lung ailment), pulmonary edema and benign tumors successful her uterus, the study stated.
Whitney's body remained at the Beverly Hilton until 1:35 a.m. connected Sunday, Feb. 12, Winter aboriginal telling Vanity Fair, "The household possibly wanted to walk a fewer minutes with her earlier we loaded her off."
Bobby Brown was on circuit with New Edition erstwhile helium got the quality of his ex-wife's death—"Just accidental a supplication for my daughter, accidental a supplication for her mother, and if you find the clip delight accidental a supplication for maine due to the fact that I americium going to request it," helium said onstage successful Mississippi—and flew retired to L.A. to beryllium with his grief-stricken girl Bobbi Kristina, who was briefly hospitalized doubly in 24 hours after Whitney died.
Brown told Extra, "Obviously the decease of her parent is affecting her; however, we volition get done this calamity arsenic a family."
Kevin Winter/WireImage
Just 2 days prior, E! News crossed paths with Houston while interviewing Davis, Brandy and Monica during a rehearsal up of the music mogul's gala.
Brandy told E! that Whitney had advised her to "sing from the heart," and she was blessed to beryllium reunited with her Cinderella co-star. "That's my mentor. She's everything to me. She's taught maine truthful overmuch astir singing and conscionable being myself. And I emotion her truthful much."
Davis, who signed Houston to his Arista Records erstwhile she was 19, shared that the "How Will I Know" singer was excited to be his party.
The sit-down was wrapping up erstwhile Whitney walked up to Davis ("my dad" she called him) for a hug and kisses, aft which Bobbi Kristina followed suit, greeting her godfather.
"Did you perceive your name?" Davis asked Whitney. "I've been paying tribute."
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Later that night, connected Feb. 9, Houston unexpectedly took the signifier with Kelly Price, who was hosting a pre-Grammys event astatine Tru nightclub.
"I wasn't expecting her to sing, I wasn't going to inquire her to bash that," she told Ryan Seacrest for E! News on the Grammys reddish carpet Feb 12. "I conscionable simply acknowledged that she was successful the gathering and told everyone astir our relationship, our friendship, however she's encouraged maine down done the years arsenic acold arsenic my vocation goes, and she conscionable walked up connected the stage. We embraced each different and she said, 'Give maine the mic.'"
Houston started to sing "Yes, Jesus Loves Me," and Price joined her, telling Seacrest it was "an honor" to duet with her longtime friend.
That astonishment show indispensable person been heartening for anyone hoping to perceive much from Whitney, whose past medium was 2009's I Look to You. At the time, she had besides precocious wrapped her archetypal movie successful 15 years, Sparkle, with Jordin Sparks, and recorded the azygous "Celebrate" for the film.
But idiosyncratic play had for years been overshadowing the countless triumphs from her storied career, and her once-almighty dependable wasn't what it was erstwhile she brought the stadium down belting retired the nationalist anthem astatine the 1991 Super Bowl. Or erstwhile she fueled the merchantability of 45 cardinal copies of The Bodyguard soundtrack.
"Nobody makes maine bash thing I don't privation to do," Houston had told ABC News' Diane Sawyer successful her infamous "crack is whack" interrogation successful 2002, successful which she acknowledged utilizing cocaine and different drugs. "The biggest devil is me. I'm either my champion person oregon my worst enemy." But, she besides said, "I americium not self-destructive. I'm a idiosyncratic who has life, and wants to live."
Houston, who divorced Brown in 2007 aft 15 years of marriage, had astir precocious been successful outpatient rehab successful 2011, her 3rd known stint successful treatment. But fundamentally everyone who was astir her in what turned retired to beryllium her last days saw a pistillate successful bully spirits who looked blessed to beryllium doing what she loved.
Price recalled Houston lasting for 3 hours by the signifier cheering for her and everyone other who performed astatine her Feb. 9 party, telling Seacrest, "She came out, she hung out, we partied, we celebrated, we danced."
Sometime on Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, Whitney called her mother, arsenic Cissy recounted successful her book.
She hadn't seen her girl since Christmas, but they'd talked a fewer times and Whitney had vowed to travel sojourn aft the Grammys, she wrote. Cissy shared that the past happening Whitney said to her was, "I'll beryllium location soon, Mommy. I promise."
Barely 24 hours later, Whitney was gone.
Davis' enactment went connected that Saturday night, a celebration that turned into a memorial concert as artists including Alicia Keys and Tony Bennett paid tribute to the fallen star. By nighttime, a makeshift shrine of flowers, candles, cards and mementos had piled up extracurricular the edifice entrance.
Matt Sayles/AP/Shutterstock
In a statement, Davis said helium was "personally devastated by the nonaccomplishment of idiosyncratic who meant truthful overmuch to me. Whitney was truthful afloat of life. She was truthful looking guardant to tonight...she loved music. She loved this night. Let's observe music. She graced this signifier with her regal beingness truthful galore times."
Calling her "a beauteous person" with "a endowment beyond compare," helium noted, "Whitney would person wanted the euphony to spell connected and her household asked america to transportation on."
More than 40 cardinal radical watched the Grammys connected Feb. 12 and, considering the precipitous 30 percent driblet successful the ratings the following year, a large information of viewers tuned successful to see how the ceremonial dubbed "music's biggest night" handled the tragedy.
Frederic REGLAIN/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
They whitethorn person been devastated, but they were not disappointed, arsenic big L.L. Cool J. acknowledged "the decease successful our family" and led disconnected with a prayer, Jennifer Hudson just managed to clasp disconnected her tears singing "I Will Always Love You" as if she'd been rehearsing for days, not hours (everyone bustling astir backstage got quiescent and crowded astir the monitors to watch), and the galore Houston admirers successful the location fto it beryllium known what she meant to them.
And, for the record, there was nary successful memoriam montage snafu that night, Houston's incomparable dependable astatine its melismatic highest stealing the show.
Watch the 2023 Grammy Awards Sunday, Feb. 5, astatine 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT connected CBS and don't miss E! News the adjacent time astatine 11 p.m. for a afloat recap of music's biggest night.
