Singer Whitney Houston dead at 48 on eve of Grammy Awards

By Pat Reber Feb 12, 2012, 2:54 GMT

Washington - Pop singer and actress Whitney Houston has died at age 48 of unknown causes, on the eve of the Grammy Awards.

Marc Rosen, a lieutenant with the Beverly Hills police department, confirmed her death at 3:55 pm (2355 GMT) in a fourth-floor room at the Beverly Hills Hilton hotel.

He said police received the call at 3:23 pm. She was pronounced dead 30 minutes later after hotel security and rescue officials were unable to resuscitate her.

'There were no obvious signs of any criminal intent,' Rosen said. 'It is being investigated by Beverly Hills police detectives.'

It was not clear why she was at the hotel, but she had been expected to perform at a pre-Grammy Awards party Saturday evening hosted by record producer Clive Davis, who first discovered her in the 1980s and helped her on her way to stardom.

The death of the six-time Grammy winner was expected to cast a heavy shadow over Sunday night's usually festive awards show.

Houston had reportedly performed at least once in the Los Angeles area in the days leading up to her death, and people who saw her told CNN she looked healthy and happy.

Shocked reactions were pouring onto the internet and broadcasters.

'I am absolutely heartbroken at the news,' record producer Quincy Jones texted to CNN. 'She was a true original and a talent beyond compare.'

Talk show host Larry King compared Houston to the tragic singer Judy Garland, and described his reaction when he first met Houston for an interview as 'Wow.' He said it was 'sad, sad, sad' that someone so young and so talented should die.

Garland, the mother of Liza Minelli, had acted and sung since early childhood. She died at age 47 of a drug overdose.

Rosen said her friends and members of her entourage positively identified her body.

Broadcasters were full of speculation about the cause of her death. It was well known that she struggled with substance abuse.

Houston was a superstar from the mid 1980s and well into the 1990s. Her song, 'I Will Always Love You,' from the film The Bodyguard became a theme song for a generation as well as her own best-selling single.

The Bodyguard told the story of a singer, played by Houston, who hired a guard to protect her from mysterious death threats. The two fall in love, but end up parting.

Houston had one child with former husband Bobby Brown.

According to her website, Houston sold more than 170 million combined album, singles and videos worldwide.

She grew up in Newark, New Jersey, until her family moved to a better neighbourhood after the 1967 race riots. Her mother Cissy Houston was a gospel singer, her cousin was music great Dionne Warwick and her godmother was Aretha Franklin.

Houston's mother, who is still alive, toured with Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin as a backup singer, according to Houston's website.