Was "Soul Train" Legend Don Cornelius Bi-Polar?
The shock of “Soul Train” legend Don Cornelius’ apparent suicide deeply saddened friends and associates of the groundbreaking entertainment visionary.
Yet several sources close to Cornelius admit they now realize his recent comments — about being deeply depressed due to constant pain and financial worries stemming from his bitter 2009 divorce — were signs Cornelius was quickly going downhill.
“Thinking back, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but Don was always a kind of taciturn guy, so him being so dour lately didn’t set off any alarms for me,” said a veteran “Soul Train” executive.
Another source claimed that Cornelius long had battled psychological and emotional issues. “I truly believe he was bipolar,” added the friend. A third source mentioned Cornelius felt badly snubbed by a number of music executives at a recent Hollywood party.
“It really hurt him badly.”
A clearly distraught Gladys Knight said Wednesday, “Don was such a fearless man. He opened up the doors for so many people.” The singer was an early performer, along with the Pips, on “Soul Train.”“Think of what it took to have the ability and the guts to make that huge leap and create a show that was able to compete with
[Dick Clark’s already well-established] ‘American Bandstand.’ … He was a true hero for providing that stage for so many artists — especially those of us in the African-American community.”
Johnson Publishing chair Linda Johnson Rice also focused on Cornelius’ role in “providing a platform for African-American talent — a platform that they simply never had before. And he did it right here, establishing something national from this local market. His contributions were simply phenomenal.”
TMZ reported that Cornelius, who left no suicide note, will be providing his despised ex-wife,Viktoria Chapman Cornelius, with even more money. As part of their divorce agreement in ’09, Cornelius made Viktoria the beneficiary of $300,000 in life insurance. Suicide voids policies in California only if they were in force for less than two years.
Yet several sources close to Cornelius admit they now realize his recent comments — about being deeply depressed due to constant pain and financial worries stemming from his bitter 2009 divorce — were signs Cornelius was quickly going downhill.
“Thinking back, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but Don was always a kind of taciturn guy, so him being so dour lately didn’t set off any alarms for me,” said a veteran “Soul Train” executive.
Another source claimed that Cornelius long had battled psychological and emotional issues. “I truly believe he was bipolar,” added the friend. A third source mentioned Cornelius felt badly snubbed by a number of music executives at a recent Hollywood party.
“It really hurt him badly.”
A clearly distraught Gladys Knight said Wednesday, “Don was such a fearless man. He opened up the doors for so many people.” The singer was an early performer, along with the Pips, on “Soul Train.”“Think of what it took to have the ability and the guts to make that huge leap and create a show that was able to compete with
[Dick Clark’s already well-established] ‘American Bandstand.’ … He was a true hero for providing that stage for so many artists — especially those of us in the African-American community.”
Johnson Publishing chair Linda Johnson Rice also focused on Cornelius’ role in “providing a platform for African-American talent — a platform that they simply never had before. And he did it right here, establishing something national from this local market. His contributions were simply phenomenal.”
TMZ reported that Cornelius, who left no suicide note, will be providing his despised ex-wife,Viktoria Chapman Cornelius, with even more money. As part of their divorce agreement in ’09, Cornelius made Viktoria the beneficiary of $300,000 in life insurance. Suicide voids policies in California only if they were in force for less than two years.
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