The old adage that says celebrities die in threes could not have been more true to form than last week. In the span of just a few days, the entertainment world lost the likes of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson — three icons of the entertainment world, now part of the ages. While all the losses were tragic, they all had different meanings for me. McMahon, 86, was a part of my childhood and well into my 20s. I can remember staying up late at night (not on school nights) watching “The Tonight Show” with my parents. It always seemed that when Johnny Carson was in a hole and the audience was not reacting to his humor (not often the case), McMahon was there to bail him out with that trademark hearty laugh of his. What made the show even better was that McMahon never took himself too seriously, allowing Carson to poke fun at his marriages, drinking, et cetera. While McMahon had experienced financial and health problems in recent years, he was one of our last true links to “The Tonight Show,” which fortunately still lives on in VHS. The day Carson died (2005) was truly sad for me, for I thought he was the best late-night host there has ever been. Losing McMahon last week was almost as sad, for there will never be another second banana like Ed. Fawcett’s death was expected, since she had suffered from anal cancer for the last three years. Still, the news of her passing was hard for many of us who watched “Charlie’s Angels” on a regular basis in the 1970s, even though Farrah only spent one full season (1976-77) as angel Jill Munroe. Fawcett, 62, had some flops following her one year on the ABC hit drama, but she returned with some awesome movie performances, including her role in the TV movie “The Burning Bed.” Her trademark blonde locks were eventually lost to chemotherapy and the hideous disease that is cancer, but she handled herself with grace and dignity in her final months. For every other man who owned her famous swimsuit poster in the 1970s, we lost a true icon of American pop culture. The most shocking news came last Thursday with the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Although he led a less-than-normal life, Jackson was an entertainment icon who redefined the music world. I was lucky enough to see him in concert in Philadelphia back in 1984 when he and his brothers were on tour. To say the show was incredible would be an understatement. As a 12-year-old, I remember the death of Elvis back in 1977. I would rank the news of Michael’s death last week right up there or even higher. He truly was a music legend despite what one may think of his lifestyle. As tragic as the three deaths were last week, it brings home a subtle message: It doesn’t matter how much money, fame or connections one has. At the end of the day, we are all terminal and we’ll all be wheeled out of here under a white sheet. The bottom line is we should make our mark in society while we can. Even more important, never take a day in life for granted. — Dave Thomas is a freelance sports writer for the Village News. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the paper.