MARVIN GAYE: WHY DID HIS FATHER KILL HIM? | Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog

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Tuesday 6 February 2007

MARVIN GAYE: WHY DID HIS FATHER KILL HIM?


Gaye and mum


Gaye's dad being escorted to court


Marvin Gaye


Marvin Gaye Sr


Marvin's Lying-in-state

This is one question I've asked myself for years. Why would a father kill his own son? I went digging and this is what I found. Enjoy! Or not

Marvin's sister Jeanne Gay said, "In the past Father had made it very clear that if Marvin were to strike him, he'd murder him. Father said so publicly on more than one occasion."
Gaye's bodyguard, Andre White, told author Turner that the case was in effect a suicide. He said, "He wanted to die, but he couldn't do it himself. He got his daddy to do it."

Alberta Gay said, "My husband never wanted Marvin, and he never liked him. He used to say that he didn't think he was really his child. I told him that was nonsense. He knew Marvin was his. But for some reason he didn't love Marvin and, what worse, he didn't want me to love Marvin either. Marvin wasn't very old before he understood that."
Jeanne Gay said, "From the time he was 7 until he became a teenager, Marvin's life at home consisted of a series of brutal whippings."

Dr. Ronald Markman, a psychiatrist who examined Marvin Gay Sr., had his own idea about the shooting.
"I believe that people kill basically because they're humiliated," he told Turner. "It's not a question of whether you're a pacifist, a minister or a rabbi. It's a question of whether you are capable of being humiliated and whether you are able to deal with that humiliation short of the need to destroy. That day Marvin had humiliated his dad by knocking him down. So you have a 45-year-old man hitting a 70-year-old man. He was knocked to the ground. He got up without a word but he went and got a gun and returned to kill him."
In a jailhouse interview a week after the slaying, Marvin Sr. explained the slaying to the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner.
"I pulled the trigger," he said. "The first one didn't seem to bother him. He put his hand up to his face, like he'd been hit with a BB. And then I fired again. I was backing towards my room. I was going to go in there and lock the door. This time I heard him say, 'Oh,' and I saw him going down. I do know that I did fire the gun. I was just trying to keep him back off me. I want the world to know it wasn't presumptuous on my part."
Asked if he loved his son, Marvin Sr. chose his words carefully before saying, "Let's say that I didn't dislike him."

BEFORE MARVIN SR KILLED MARVIN JR
Marvin hadn't lived in the same house with his father in a quarter-century. Besides the childhood baggage and conflicts over the drug use, sex and porn, two other issues festered in the edgy relationship between them.
Alberta Gay had had kidney surgery in the fall of 1983. Marvin Sr. had gone back to Washington for unspecified purposes, and he refused to return to California to support his wife during her surgery.
Also, Marvin Jr. had learned that his father had sold the family house in Washington during his stay there. He believed his mother was owed half that money, but Marvin Sr. refused to acknowledge that he had sold the property.
Although the men managed to avoid one another most of the time, the physical tension was palpable—so much so that Marvin Sr. told his daughter Jeanne, "If he touches me I'll kill him."

MARVIN GAYE SR
His endless idle time allowed Marvin Gay Sr. to focus on his children.
Although he had given up the House of God, he pressed its many prohibitions on his family. He forbade athletics, dancing, movies, television and popular music. His daughters were not allowed to wear sleeveless dresses, nylons, lipstick, nail polish or open-toed shoes.

He forced his children to observe an extended Sabbath, from Friday afternoon until midday Sunday. He drilled them on Biblical passages and administered beatings for incorrect answers.
All four Gay children were bed-wetters, and this, too, prompted beatings.
Divided Soul"Living with father was something like living with a king, a very peculiar, changeable, cruel and all-powerful king," Marvin Gaye told biographer Ritz. "You were supposed to tip-toe around his moods. You were supposed to do anything to win his favor. I never did. Even though winning his love was the ultimate goal of my childhood, I defied him. I hated his attitude... If it wasn't for mother, who was always there to console me and praise my singing, I think I would have been one of those child suicides you read about in the papers."
Marvin Jr. bore the brunt of the abuse. He could be provoked for the most picayune offenses—when he used his hairbrush or came home 15 minutes late from school.


THE FINAL FIGHT
In his paranoia, Marvin Jr. had begun to stockpile guns when he returned home from the Sexual Healing Tour. He kept a cheap machine gun in his bedroom at one point until his mother insisted that he get rid of it.
For reasons not entirely clear, Marvin gave his father a handgun, an unregistered .38-caliber Smith & Wesson, at Christmas time in 1983.

On the night of March 31, 1984, Marvin Sr. was angered because he was unable to find a document concerning an insurance policy. He stormed around the house and yelled at Alberta, whom he blamed for losing the document.
He was still angry when he awoke the next morning, Sunday, April 1, the day before Marvin Jr.'s 45th birthday.
At about 11 a.m., Marvin Sr. hollered up the stairs at his wife, who was in Marvin Jr.'s bedroom. The son went to the top of the stairs and hollered back that he should speak to Alberta's face if he had something to say.
The father hurried up the steps and entered his son's room. Marvin Jr. leaped up off the bed and pushed his 70-year-old father out into the hallway, knocking him down and kicking him.
Alberta interceded and the men separated. Marvin Jr. returned to his bed.
The father got up and went down the hall to his own bedroom. After a few moments, he returned to Marvin Jr.'s threshold. He raised a hand toward his son, and Alberta could see he was holding the .38 pistol Marvin Jr. had given him.
He pulled the trigger, and shot his son in the chest, tearing through his heart. As Marvin Jr. slumped off the bed to the floor, his father strode forward and fired again. The second shot was unnecessary.
Marvin Gay Sr. escorted by policeMarvin's brother, Frankie, ran to the sound of shots. His wife, Irene, called 911. Paramedics arrived to find Marvin Sr. sitting on the front porch. They demanded to see the gun before they would enter the house. Irene found it under Marvin Sr.'s pillow and threw it on the lawn.
Gaye was rushed to California Hospital. Resuscitation efforts were in vain. He was declared dead at 1:01 p.m.

Please look at that man's face again. He died in 1998. Poor soul

50 comments:

Bella Naija said...

This is such a disturbing story.
No matter the facts, I dont think I can ever understand why a father would kill his son!
Anyway, very nice blog.

Tunmama said...

very, VERY, disturbin'

Anonymous said...

What a complicated life indeed. I thank God for my own family and life. Although, my family ain't perfect but i still thank God dat at least we're still able to hold our heads up high above. Cos whenever i hear of some people's family story, i just thank Him all d same.

Anonymous said...

Well, i heard of the story and i understand both sides. Marvin jnr was resentful of his father's cruel treatment of him and that's expected. However, although Marvin snr treated his wife and kids badly, he is not Marvin jnr's mate and it's insulting to strike any parent, talkless of knocking them down and kicking them. Marvin snr must have felt humiliated and killed his son as a result. I've heard that some parents shout at their stubborn kids, "Try me and i would kill you! I brought you into this world and i would take you out"! So mbok oo, it's important to respect your parents.
Yes, the killing was unnecessary, but knowing the kind of father he had, that was a very big risk for Marvin jnr to have taken- which unfortunately cost him his life. Marvin snr must have got up from that floor thinking something along these lines and maybe even slapping his chest at the same time in exasperation, "Me ke, an old man being kicked to the floor like a ragdoll by my own son that i brought into this world?! Okay i'm going to take him out of this world and let everyone know that i can cos i'm his father! After that i'd sit down calmly and wait for the police! Let him go and slap his mate there in hell"! Okay he may not have used these particular lines, but you get ma drift...LOL.
After carefully weighing the story, this was the conclusion i arrived at. Very sad though. May his soul rest in peace.

Anonymous said...

Oh! what a waste of LIFE. I blame the mama too who wass't strong enough to stand up for her kids in childhood and they had to endure the humilation and abuse of a sick father. She should have been strong and brave.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous is right....The mother was as much to blame...it sounds to me more and more as though there was "extreme" abuse from this father...and maybe even mother. Physical; sexual that no...sad...very, very sad..

Anonymous said...

this is a very sad storyit reminds me of my family. my father was very abusive and my brother use to irratate my dad

Anonymous said...

Marvin had every right to treat his father as he did. Respect is earnt and not a given right. His father in today's terms tortured him and when karma gets you people are shocked. how can anyone side with a father who treated his family like that. That man should have been locked up from way back when. the shooting is intentional as he went away to get a bloody gun he could have gone and called the police on his son if he was that scared but no he went to get a gun and shot him twice. He threatened to kill him many times too so there you have it. case closed..

gerda said...

I also blame the mother for not protecting her children, knowing what the father was doing to them and her. What a life to live. I hope his soul rest in peace and by time sing in soul heaven.
He had a beautiful voice and I will always love him. Wish he was still her.

gerda said...

I also blame the mother for not protecting her children, knowing what the father was doing to them and her. What a life to live. May his soul rest in peace and walk in the light with the Lord. Keep on singing in Soulheaven. He had a beautiful voice. I will always love you and I Wish that you we're still here.

Anonymous said...

Lay blame where blame is due. DRUGS, DRUGS, DRUGS!!!! Please keep it REAL. Marvin Jr did DRUGS and I question if Marvin Sr did them or drank, too. EVERYBODY has problems, BUT when you choose to deal with them by using drugs then look at the outcome. Thinks about other musical giants that DRUGS have taken down.

Anonymous said...

Kinda makes you wonder what kind of sick man would shot his son? If he was sick enough to do such a thing maybe he was hiding something that could never be found out or could never let anyone know all I can say is hurt people hurt people. Having suffered under the hands of an abusive father for years no matter how much you love some people you can't change who they are.

Anonymous said...

He had creativity in his songs...was just too bad he died.

Anonymous said...

Most of you guys are idiots and you have to be white no its not the mother's fault he could of been so violent she was to scared to leave.and you guys think it was alright to shoot his son because that's what white folks do is kill their parents anyway....so that's yaw's way of thinking

Anonymous said...

What's sad about Marvin Gaye Jr. Is that he lived in a house where he was suppose to be loved and protected by both father and mother. This wasn't the case for him because his father had an endless list of his own "demons" that he never conquered. Having a abusive father that loved by the Bible, yet crossed dressed as a woman had to have been difficult. Having a mother who believed in the sanctity of marriage more then the protection of her children is a tragedy. Marvin Sr. is guilty because he hundred his son, regardless of what "argument" they had. When you leave out of a room to get a weapon you thought about your actions before acting upon them therefore its premeditated. The only difference is this is a family of African Americans so the case was looked at differently. Marvins use of drugs didn't lead to his death, his was murdered and that's all that matters...

Anonymous said...

Wow that is very sad :(

Anonymous said...

It sounds as though the majority of you weren't raised in the 40's and 50's. Back then the husband/father was the literal true head of the family. He went to work and provided for his family. His wife raised the children and kept the household and obeyed her husband. What he said went, right or wrong. It's not like today's marriages where there is give and take. Come to think of it there isn't much trust in marriage today either. Why do today's marriages start out with a prenup? Back in the day, the marriage itself was the contract!
This doesn't excuse Mr. Gay Sr.'s actions. It sounded more like he was going to keep his word of killing his son, which he had been spouting for years, if Marvin Jr. ever touched him. Pride goeth before the fall, I guess. In any case he'll have to deal with his maker. Thanks for listening.

Anonymous said...

Wow is all i can

Anonymous said...

Wowww

Anonymous said...

Loved his music..wish he was still around..

Anonymous said...

This is what you get for sticking to a malfunctioning marriage. For your children' sake, GET OUT!!!!

timothyjamaal said...

The shooting was intentional as someone mentioned. Marvin's mother used to think of divorcing his father but never got the nerve to do it. She blamed religion for the reason as to why. At the time of the death, I think she was still recovering from surgery. His parents' home was the last place Marvin Gaye needed to be at. Sad stuff. Still the King of R&B though. RIP.

Anonymous said...

I blame the mother too. She should have protected the children. She should have divorced him. What is wrong with the church Sr. belong? So sad. What a loss.

Jenny said...

The world lost a great singer--Love you always Marvin---Jenny

Unknown said...

I never knew that story, very sad!

Unknown said...

I now know the reason, sad story.

Unknown said...

I never knew that story, very sad!

Anonymous said...

It always makes me wonder.... But believe it or not,some Fathers can be so cruel to there children esp. Sons!

Mollyhitchree said...

Well, the deed has been done already. Its obviouse they were gona kill each other anyway. We all have our limit...

Anonymous said...

im so glad niggers are FINALLY learning how to stop acting like retarded baboons/animals!! arent we ALL so glad that we were stupid enough to bring them over here in the first place....!! and for the ignorant retards making excuse for the father...HE WAS TRYING TO PROTECT HIS MOTHER FROM HIS PIECE OF SHIT FATHER ASSHOLES!!!! der der der...black people are incredible...lol

jim C said...

I do not care about your BS excuses, hat leach of a father destroyed an angel and artist. Also, you loser, who kills there son in cold blood. That father father should be burn in hell as we speech.

Unknown said...

This is sad. He father was the shittiest person on this planet.

Anonymous said...

Nothing lower and more depraved to kill your own son.

Anonymous said...

Racist piece of crap. There is something wrong with you! Your hatred of others is only a reflection of your hatred of yourself. Burn in hell!

Anonymous said...

My mom told me to look this up that is sad and she sould have left him for that.

Anonymous said...

My mom told me to look this up that is sad and she sould have left him for that.

Anonymous said...

Anyone question why a successful, world renouned 45yr old Marvin Gaye was still living with his parents?

Anonymous said...

Whitsunday people are so in titled racist, if you want to get in a pissing contest yall lose because yall got small dicks. Such a waste of life and you pit a racist comment about niggas should of been left in Africa, who wrote the dictionary, the definition of nigger, look it up a bunch of white face in there, along with yours l, definition lazy, ignorant yall brought black people to enslave them because white people was to lazy to clean,cook,farm and even Raise there own children do your history and see how many white babies sucked on black woman's breastfeeding because their trifling mother was to sorry to feed their own children also compare blacks to whites we don't fuck our own children cousins and sister's, we don't eat a bullet because we lost our jobs, go to the video store and rent the documentry Hidden Colors and see how white people was killing black pregnant woman breastfeeding their children drinking their breastfeeding milk eating the babies brains thinking it would give them knowledge do your history, white people discovered America, Columbus not yall are thieves ran Indians off their land how can you discover something when someone standing their waiving at you get a little history and then talk

Anonymous said...

His mom was sick and his father had been mistreating her after a major surgery she was alone, Marvin wasn't the only child living with them

Unknown said...

Agree..he didn't deserve the family he had.

Anonymous said...


What a dark world. Must have been so hard day after day growing up in that family. Surprised he made it so far and developed his gift so well.

One other thing: that ass wipe that posted that brainless post using the N word deserves a good ass whooping. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

Anonymous said...

two wrong cant make a right

Anonymous said...

As a single parent, I cannot imagine allowing my child to be abused. I would literally be in jail myself for killing anyone who ever abused my son, I don't care who they were.

user2 said...

Unbelievable

Sandy said...

Doesn't matter if he knocked his father down. Senior went to his room and got the gun - he wasn't being physically threatened at the time that he murdered his son in cold blood. How much time did he do? Any?

Jacquie Bell said...

Such a very unfortunate situation and so very sad.

Jacquie Bell said...

Such an unfortunate situation and so very sad.

Anonymous said...

Gay Sr . was mentally ill. Seriously crazy.
He had just sold the family home in Washington then hid the money and refused
To give Mrs Gay her half. He did it on the sly
And would not even own up to it.
Then he couldn't find an insurance policy and started shouting up the stairs at his wife to find it
Marvin Gaye told his father to stop screaming, to talk to his mother face to face with respect. Father rushes up stairs and lunges into room where his wife was.
Marvin Gaye pushed him out fearing violence against Mother. Father falls.
Father gets gun and shoots him for standing up to his bullying.
Police decide old man is mentally incompetent. No charges.

Anonymous said...

Sorry°I am i connected(verbonden)°65°1951°juni°22°.i stopped at a certinpoint°are we talking here over a father who;;;; sorry °sir CharlesChaplin°his hidden key blank&white same for al ages°pool

MRS EBET said...

owwwwwwww monsters are created and trust me his dad did created one, i can only imagine, i watched an interview with himself and his dad Gaye Juniour was not comfortable. that relationship was fake, its really hurtful wen you see kids even in todays world go tru that with there parent esp dads. Gaye Juniour had this vacum that wasnt filled up uptill the tym of this death. its only a mad man that will yell at his wife even wen he has grown up men or guyz in the house. male children are attached to their mothers and always feel the need to protect them while grown from abusive dads. childhood means everything to our children if that is missed out den its messed up for them. this heart failing story does not only rep Gaye Juniour but also to tell woman esp not to stay in abusive marriages fight for the right of your children to become better people. most children who do not enjoy freedom from parents turn out bad except GOD Intervanes, theres a huge differnce between freedom and prision wen this kids come out they dont even know were to start and how to utilize freedom

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