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Scott Dudelson/WireImage for Kaaboo Del Mar via imageSPACEThis Saturday, February 11, marks the fifth anniversary of Whitney Houston‘s untimely death at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles.
The then 48-year old icon was found in the bathtub of her hotel suite, unconscious, as guests proceeded to gather downstairs for her mentor, Clive Davis‘ annual pre-Grammy Awards party.
Essence magazine Entertainment Director Cori Murray, who interviewed the late icon several weeks before her death, remembers the moment she first heard the news of Whitney’s passing, after having seen the superstar during that fateful Grammy weekend five years ago.
“She was acting a little erratic…then to then hear, what I think a day or two later… I was meeting a colleague at a network and we’re talking and our West Coast Editor calls me…and all she said was ‘She’s dead’ and I knew immediately that she meant Whitney Houston. I was shocked,” she says.
Half a decade after her death – officially the result of accidental drowning with cocaine use and heart disease as contributing factors — Houston’s legacy and influence live on.
“I think there are people who genuinely want to see her remain as a status of ‘Whitney Houston, the greatest singer of all time,’” Murray says.
“It’s like, ‘OK, yes, we now officially know what was the cause of death,’ but you know what? Let’s just close that chapter and remember the good times. So, I think that’s what people are trying to do, even with the Lifetime biopic that Angela Bassett directed. That was a beautiful tribute to her,” says Murray.
“No matter how she died, she’s left behind people who are extremely heartbroken over her,” adds Murray, “I hope she felt loved.”
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