Bee Gee Maurice Gibb has died in a Miami Beach hospital this morning, aged 53. He was admitted to Mt Sinai Medical Center on Wednesday to undergo emergency surgery on Thursday for a blocked intestine, something which he has endured since childhood, possibly as a result of a birth defect. After collapsing at his Miami home on Wednesday afternoon, Maurice was taken to Mt Sinai where where he later suffered a heart attack. Surgery went ahead on Thursday to remove 80% of his stomach, after which Maurice remained in a critical condition before deteriorating.
In an apparent case of twin telepathy, Robin said he too experienced minor stomach discomfort on the morning of his brother's collapse. Although he didn't have any idea at the time what had happened to Maurice, he had a "feeling that something wasn't right." After flying in from London just an hour previously, Robin was at his twin brother's bedside, as was older brother Barry, Maurice's wife Yvonne and their children, Adam and Samantha.
Though Maurice had briefly regained consciousness and recognised his wife, his brothers, and held his daughter's hand, his condition then worsened when he slipped into a coma and did not recover. Family were warned to expect the worst as his condition deteriorated and it was thought likely he would have to be put on a ventilator and had suffered brain damage. Maurice died in the intensive care unit of Miami's Mt Sinai Medical Center at around 12.45am ET (5.45am GMT), this morning, 12th January 2003.
In loving tribute, his family's statement read: "To our extended family, friends and fans, with great sadness and sorrow we regretfully announce the passing of Maurice Gibb this morning. His love, enthusiasm and energy for life remain an inspiration to all of us. We will all deeply miss him."
Maurice's death marks the passing of an era. The harmonic trio, with their falsettos and original sound, have lost an integral part of their unit ~ as a family, as a friend, as a brother, as a Bee Gee. Will the Bee Gees maintain their unique sound as a duo? Will their careers be the same without the laughter and smiles of their energetic brother? Will the brothers survive as the Brothers Gibb without the one they called "Mo"? Barry and Robin answered those unasked questions that were on people's minds the moment they heard of Maurice's death, in an interview with the BBC. Despite their brother's death, they will continue recording and performing. Simply put, also acknowledged by Robin who was seated beside him, Barry stated: "One thing I will tell you is the Bee Gees will go on. The Bee Gees will not stop here. The Bee Gees will not disintergrate because we've lost Mo.....We will go on to make another album. You are looking at the Bee Gees right now."
Generations Mourn the Day
the Music Died
His music has reached fans around the world and brought joy to generations, but not a note was played as hundreds of family and friends gathered to farewell Maurice Gibb on Wednesday 15th January 2003 (Miami time). With emotional words but no music, family and friends paid tribute to Maurice Gibb of the legendary pop group the Bee Gees. Maurice's twin brother, Robin, widow Yvonne and children Adam and Samantha, who are in their 20s, and Bee Gee mother Barbara, 83, were among mourners at the private funeral at Riverside Funeral Chapel in Miami Beach, near Maurice's home. Then followed by a cremation service. Friends in attendance, among the 300 mourners present, included Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Harry Casey (frontman to KC & The Sunshine Band), and Maurice's former wife, Lulu.
But older brother, Barry, 55, was too distraught to attend, choosing to pay his respects privately with friend Michael Jackson, after the funeral. Barry's son Stephen did attend, wearing a kilt.
The funeral was a low-key affair as mourners filed in on a sunny Florida day into the low building a few blocks from the glitzy heart of South Miami Beach. A pastor introduced the service, but otherwise it was nonreligious, with no music, just quiet and sometimes emotional words spoken by a string of family and friends. Maurice's dark brown coffin was surrounded by white flowers and photos of him.
Brother Robin spoke briefly, basically about how much he loved his brother and will miss him. While Maurice's son Adam spoke briefly for the family and saying how much he will miss his father.
"Friends talked about how much he was in touch with the common man," one mourner said. "They said how much he had his priorities right."
One of these "common men" referred to, was Luis G., who was there to say goodbye to a man he creditted with helping him in his own battle with alcoholism. He met Maurice, a former alcoholic, at a local sobriety centre, and said that he (Maurice) was really involved in helping people change their lives, helping them have better lives and enhancing them.
The funeral, described as "emotional, with humour too", was a celebration of the life of the man who celebrated life!
Other speakers included friends of Maurice's from the arcane world of paintball ~ the sport that consists of chasing people around trying to fire paint capsules at them. Maurice last year opened a shop on Miami Beach dedicated to the hobby.
The service lasted about 90 minutes and some of the mourners were weeping when they emerged.
Maurice Gibb had been living in the Miami area for three decades and was well known to locals. But the event had not been publicized and no fans were present outside the funeral chapel ~ just a handful of workers from a nearby dry cleaners shop and a bunch of high school students on their lunch break, watching the comings and going from across the street. The media were kept at a distance across the road.
Dying as a result of a heart attack prior to an operation for an intestinal blockage in the early hours of Sunday morning, after slipping into a coma, Maurice is survived by his wife Yvonne of 28 years, his two children, Adam and Samantha, twin brother Robin and older brother Barry and many many friends, relatives and a world full of fans. Maurice will be sadly missed by all.
Barry Gibb, too distraught to attend the service |
 Yvonne Gibb, leaving her husband's funeral |
 Stephen Gibb, Barry's son, embracing a mourner |
 Robin and Dwina Gibb outside the chapel |
Barry Gibb and Michael Jackson arrive after the funeral
~ In memory of Maurice Ernest Gibb ~
22nd December, 1949 ~ 12th January, 2003
