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39-543: After the death of Queen singer Freddie Mercury from AIDS-related causes in London in 1991, the remaining members of the band and Jim Beach, their manager, organised The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness , the proceeds of which were used to launch The Mercury Phoenix Trust . The organisation has been active ever since. The trustees as of 2022 are: Brian May , Roger Taylor , Jim Beach , and Mercury's former fiance Mary Austin . This article about

78-673: A 2019 interview with People magazine on Mercury's last video. Filmed in May 1991, the music video for " These Are the Days of Our Lives " features a very thin Mercury in his final scenes in front of the camera. In the video, Mercury wears a waistcoat with pictures of cats that was made for him by Queen costume designer Diana Moseley. With his farewell look straight at the camera as the song ends, Mercury whispers "I still love you", directed to his fans, which are his last words on camera. Director of

117-463: A 50% of all privately owned shares, to Mary Austin. His sister, Kashmira Cooke, received 25%, as did his parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara, which Austin acquired upon their deaths. He willed £500,000 to Joe Fannelli; £500,000 to Jim Hutton; £500,000 to Peter Freestone; and £100,000 to Terry Giddings. Mercury, who never drove a car because he had no licence, was often chauffeured around London in his Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow from 1979 until his death. The car

156-446: A camera. Although filmed in color, Dolezal decided to render the video in black and white, in a "desperate attempt to conceal Mercury's physical deterioration". The Queen's frontman had not yet reveled his illness to the public, nor did he talk about it except within a restricted inner circle of friends. The friends "did their best to carry on as normal". Dolezal stated that his friend didn't want any special treatment from them, and carried

195-526: A charitable organisation in the United Kingdom is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Death of Freddie Mercury On 24 November 1991, British musician and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury died from bronchial pneumonia at his home in Kensington . He had exhibited HIV/AIDS symptoms as early as 1982 and was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987. Mercury announced his diagnosis

234-528: A doctor in New York City to get a white lesion on his tongue checked (which might have been hairy leukoplakia , one of the first signs of an infection) a few weeks before Queen 's final American appearance with Mercury on Saturday Night Live on 25 September 1982. They also stated that he had associated with someone who was recently infected with HIV on the same day of their final US appearance, when he began to exhibit more symptoms. In October 1986,

273-421: A flourish". Dolezal comments, "In these last few seconds of that song, he gives us a résumé of his whole life: 'I was a big superstar, but don't take it too seriously.' And then, 'I still love you,' which is to the fans. Then he walks out of life. Even in his last moments, he planned his exit artistically. That's how he wanted it to be." The rest of the band were ready to record when Mercury felt able to come into

312-477: A public statement, which was released the following day: "Following the enormous conjecture in the press over the last two weeks, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep this information private to date to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has come now for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth and I hope that everyone will join with me, my doctors and all those worldwide in

351-522: A short interview, to be filmed even there, in her apartment, where the singer would mention her drug problem, but Houston refused and Dolezal left. The more than one hundred hours of footage remained in obscurity for twenty years, until they were released in Whitney: Can I Be Me , co-directed by Dolezal, in 2017. The documentary was critically acclaimed. Dolezal has received three Romy awards, most recently in 2008 – together with Rossacher – for

390-481: A short live appearance with Brian May , Roger Taylor and Elton John in 1997). The profits from the concert were used to launch the Mercury Phoenix Trust , an AIDS charity organization. Mercury spent and donated to charity much of his wealth during his lifetime, with his estate valued around £8 million at the time of his death. He bequeathed his home, Garden Lodge, and the adjoining Mews, as well as

429-664: The 1990 Brit Awards held at the Dominion Theatre , London, on 18 February, Mercury made his final appearance on stage, when he joined the rest of Queen to collect the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. Mercury and his inner circle of colleagues and friends continually denied the stories. It has been suggested that Mercury could have helped AIDS awareness by speaking earlier about his illness. Mercury kept his condition private to protect those closest to him; May later confirmed that Mercury had informed

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468-459: The Austrian director and film producer was working as a reporter for a German television, during an interview with the band. After the interview, he made a "tongue-in-cheek remark", telling Mercury to give him a call if he needed a good director for his next videos. Mercury's manager did call Dolezal in 1985, and asked him if he could shoot the music video for " One Vision ", Queen's new single. It

507-588: The British press reported that Mercury had his blood tested for HIV/AIDS at a Harley Street clinic. According to his partner, Jim Hutton, Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in late April 1987. Around that time, Mercury claimed in an interview to have tested negative for HIV. The British press pursued the rumours over the next few years, fuelled by Mercury's increasingly gaunt appearance, Queen's absence from touring, and reports from his former lovers to tabloid journals . By 1990, rumours about Mercury's health were rife. At

546-578: The Dave Clark Five was at the bedside vigil when Mercury died. Austin phoned Mercury's parents and sister to break the news, which reached newspaper and television crews in the early hours of 25 November. Following his death, the outer walls of Garden Lodge in Logan Place became a shrine to Mercury, with mourners paying tribute by covering the walls in graffiti messages. Three years later Time Out magazine reported that "the wall outside

585-548: The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert . In 1992, a concert in tribute to him was held at Wembley Stadium , in benefit of AIDS awareness. A number of guests appeared at the concert with the remaining members of Queen, while Elizabeth Taylor spoke of Mercury as being "an extraordinary rock star who rushed across our cultural landscape like a comet shooting across the sky". The show marked bassist John Deacon 's final full-length concert with Queen (save

624-483: The Rolling Stones , Frank Zappa , David Bowie , Michael Jackson , Bruce Springsteen , Sandra Cretu and Whitney Houston . For his work in the music industry, he was nominated for two Grammy Awards . He is the recipient of three Romy Awards and two Rose d'Ors . Among his best known works are the documentary Freddie Mercury – The Untold Story (2000), which earned him his second Grammy Award nomination,

663-406: The band of his illness much earlier. He knew how ill he was, and that this was the last time he'd ever be in front of a camera. He must have had terrible pain, but you don't see that. You just see a man and his destiny. Regardless [of] whether he was in pain or not, he always delivered. He didn't want any special treatment. —" These Are the Days of Our Lives " video director Rudi Dolezal in

702-444: The day before his death, from complications from the disease, at the age of 45. In 1992, a concert in tribute to him was held at Wembley Stadium , in benefit of HIV/AIDS awareness. Freddie Mercury exhibited HIV/AIDS symptoms as early as 1982. Authors Matt Richards and Mark Langthorne have stated in their biographical book about Mercury, Somebody to Love: The Life, Death, and Legacy of Freddie Mercury , that Mercury secretly visited

741-446: The disease bravely. Dolezal paid tribute to Mercury with his Freddie Mercury: The Untold Story , a Grammy-nominated documentary released in 2000. It was Dolezal's second Grammy Award nomination. In the music industry, Dolezal worked on many videos for, among others, Tom Waits , Rolling Stones , Frank Zappa , David Bowie , Bruce Springsteen and Whitney Houston ; in addition to his work with Queen. In 1999, Whitney Houston

780-636: The documentary TV series Weltberühmt in Österreich – 50 Jahre Austropop (2006), and Whitney: Can I Be Me (2017), a documentary film co-directed by Dolezal and created from more than one hundred hours of footage filmed by Dolezal in 1999. Dolezal was born in Vienna on 5 February 1958. He grew up in Vienna's 19th district. He was trained in classical music, but always had a passion for rock 'n' roll. After graduating from high school, Dolezal studied journalism, political science and law. He started to work in

819-475: The documentary was set to be released under the title Whitney Close Up . However, the work was not released due to the singer's struggle with substance abuse that led to her death. After reading the headlines about she being sent home from the Academy Awards because of cocaine addiction, Dolezal called Houston, and then came to her house. He proposed her to talk about the problem in the documentary, to add

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858-517: The end of his life, Mercury began to lose his sight, and declined so that he was unable to leave his bed. Mercury chose to hasten his death by refusing medication and took only painkillers. According to Freddie’s assistant Peter Freestone, Mercury had been staying at his top-floor Montreux apartment in Territet and came back to London on 10 November 1991. On 22 November 1991, Mercury called Queen's manager Jim Beach to his Kensington home to prepare

897-473: The fight against this terrible disease. My privacy has always been very special to me and I am famous for my lack of interviews. Please understand this policy will continue." On the evening of 24 November 1991, about 24 hours after issuing the statement, Mercury died at the age of 45 at his home in Kensington. The cause of death was bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS. His close friend Dave Clark of

936-437: The film industry at 17. In the 1970s he worked as a TV reporter in his native Vienna. He worked as a freelancer for ORF and was a journalist for "Kurier", "Wiener" and "Basta". Dolezal has worked together with Hannes Rossacher since 1976 as part of their production company DoRo Productions as a producer and director, first for ORF , and then for ARD and ZDF and provided contributions for youth and music programs. With

975-496: The founding of their own production company, they specialized in the music market and made music videos for national and international musicians. They also created portraits and documentaries. In 2003, the company went bankrupt, and later Rossacher and Dolezal separated and went their own way. At the time, Dolezal had already become the father of his two sons and lived in Purkersdorf near Vienna. Together with Rossacher, Dolezal

1014-540: The house has become London's biggest rock 'n' roll shrine". Fans continued to visit to pay their respects with letters appearing on the walls until 2017, when Austin had the wall cleared. Hutton was involved in a 2000 biography of Mercury, Freddie Mercury, the Untold Story , and also gave an interview for The Times in September 2006 for what would have been Mercury's 60th birthday. Mercury's funeral service

1053-403: The last lyrics of the song: "Those days are gone now but one thing's still true / When I look and I find I still love you". Jordan Runtagh for People writes, "On the last line, he summons all his strength for a final heroic pose before collapsing into himself with a soft laugh. Staring through the camera, he whispers a final "I still love you" before snapping his fingers, walking out of frame with

1092-514: The music video for " Rock Me Amadeus ". Since 2015, he has hosted a music documentary series called Dolezal Backstage on Servus TV , in which he tells stories of his life, illustrated with archive footage, and talks about his encounters with music greats such as Michael Jackson , Bruce Springsteen , Frank Zappa , The Rolling Stones , and others. Dolezal worked on dozens of music videos for Queen, Tom Waits , Rolling Stones, Frank Zappa, and Whitney Houston . Dolezal and Mercury first met when

1131-416: The plinth marks the supposed burial location. " Bohemian Rhapsody " was re-released in 1991 following Freddie's death and shortly thereafter reached number one 16 years after its debut. "Good evening Wembley and the world. We are here tonight to celebrate the life, and work, and dreams, of one Freddie Mercury. We're gonna give him the biggest send off in history!"  —Queen guitarist Brian May at

1170-499: The studio, for an hour or two at a time. May said of Mercury: "He just kept saying. 'Write me more. Write me stuff. I want to just sing this and do it and when I am gone you can finish it off.' He had no fear, really." Justin Shirley-Smith, the assistant engineer for those last sessions, said: "This is hard to explain to people, but it wasn't sad, it was very happy. He [Freddie] was one of the funniest people I ever encountered. I

1209-502: The video Rudi Dolezal comments, "AIDS was never a topic. We never discussed it. He didn't want to talk about it. Most of the people didn't even 100 percent know if he had it, apart from the band and a few people in the inner circle. He always said, 'I don't want to put any burden on other people by telling them my tragedy. ' " Video director Dolezal had been told beforehand to keep things speedy due to Mercury's ailing condition, but before shooting wrapped, Mercury requested one more take for

Mercury Phoenix Trust - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-454: Was "looking to kill some time after they were done", Dolezal showed her some of his other work. He showed her his Freddie Mercury: The Untold Story , and a documentary he made for the Rolling Stones. While watching the latter she told Dolezal, halfway through the documentary, "Rudi, I want you to do a film like this about me". Interviews, revealing moments with Houston and her family in the backstage and onstage performances were all filmed, and

1287-424: Was at the peak of her career since "The Bodyguard", with her album My Love Is Your Love on the hot charts. While preparing her world tour, she gave full access to Dolezal to trail her, "wanting to tell her story at a time when speculation about her life behind the scenes was intensifying." Dolezal was finishing a music video for Houston when the singer traveled to Austria to give her "final approval". Since Houston

1326-755: Was conducted on 27 November 1991 by a Zoroastrian priest at West London Crematorium , where he is commemorated by a plinth under his birth name. In attendance at Mercury's service were his family and 35 of his close friends, including Elton John and the members of Queen. His coffin was carried into the chapel to the sounds of " Take My Hand, Precious Lord "/" You've Got a Friend " by Aretha Franklin . In accordance with Mercury's wishes, Mary Austin took possession of his cremated remains and buried them in an undisclosed location. The whereabouts of his ashes are believed to be known only to Austin, who has said that she will never reveal them. However, they are traditionally held by Queen fans to be Kensal Green Cemetery , where

1365-632: Was involved in the content development of Premiere and VIVA . After MTV UK did not want to air the music videos of Marius Müller-Westernhagen because he sang in German, Dolezal and Rossacher planned the German music TV channel VIVA for three years, which started airing in December 1993. Dolezal has won numerous awards in the film, television and music sectors. Dolezal has filmed documentaries on Freddie Mercury , including Lover of Life, Singer of Songs . He also produced music videos for Falco , such as

1404-455: Was laughing most of the time, with him. Freddie was saying [of his illness] 'I'm not going to think about it, I'm going to do this. ' " After the conclusion of his work with Queen in June 1991, Mercury retired to his home in Kensington , West London. His former partner, Mary Austin, was a particular comfort in his final years, and in the last few weeks made regular visits to look after him. Near

1443-640: Was passed to his sister Kashmira who made it available for display at public events, including the West End premiere of the musical We Will Rock You in 2002, before it was auctioned off at the NEC in Birmingham in 2013 for £74,600. Rudi Dolezal Rudi Dolezal ( Slovene : Doležal , born 5 February 1958) is an Austrian film producer and film director best known for his music videos. He has directed and produced videos for artists such as Tom Waits ,

1482-406: Was the first collaboration of a "fruitful relationship between Dolezal and the band". About Mercury Dolezal said: Freddie and I developed a language together. He was very, very, fast. He was very intelligent, very clever, and you had to be always on your toes. He was very impatient. He wasn't even finishing telling you what he wanted, but he wanted it that moment! Dolezal also said that Mercury

1521-403: Was very diligent: "If I had a shoot where I said, 'Freddie, you have to get up at 5 a.m. because I want to have the sun going up behind you,' he was there 5 a.m.". He and Mercury developed a strong friendship. Dolezal knew that Mercury was not well when he came to him to shoot the music video to " These Are the Days of Our Lives ". He said Mercury knew it was the last time he would be in front of

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