HEE-HEE! Shamone!

MICHAEL JACKSON’S NAME ON DISPLAY AGAIN AT GARDNER SCHOOL AUDITORIUM
Elementary School’s Most Famous Alum Recognized for His Musical Legacy

October 15, 2010

Los Angeles — The silver, foot-high letters gleam once again, proclaiming The Michael Jackson Auditorium at Gardner Street Elementary School in Hollywood. It is the last public school attended by Jackson—then an 11-year-old sixth grader—who was the lead in a singing group with his brothers. Three months after school started, Motown released their debut album “Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5.” And, the young entertainer was on his way to becoming an international star.

“It’s important for the District to value the artistic impact and humanitarian contribution that will be the lasting legacy of Michael Jackson,” said Los Angeles School Board member Steven Zimmer. “I’m happy that we will be recognizing and appreciating Michael’s LAUSD moment.”

The sign was originally unveiled at the then newly-refurbished auditorium in 1989. However, when the King of Pop was charged with child molestation, the sign was covered with layered board. For the record, the entertainer was never convicted. After his death last year fans began a campaign to have his name revealed.

At the direction of Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines, the tribute was uncovered today.

“In recognition of Michael Jackson’s musical legacy and contribution to modern culture I have directed our maintenance and operations department to remove the layered board covering the tribute to Mr. Jackson at Gardner Street Elementary School in Hollywood,” said LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines.

Los Angeles Unified School District Press Release

Michael Jackson on stage with guitarist Jennifer Batten, 1988

Michael Jackson: It’s Time For Outlets to Take Responsibility in Covering the Rock Star
By Charles Thomson
The Huffington Post, March 2, 2010

Last week Michael Jackson’s guitarist discredited widely reported allegations about the star’s behaviour on the road. So why is the media refusing to publish her comments? British writer Charles Thomson explores media bias against black music’s biggest star.

Aging glam-rocker Gene Simmons made international headlines last month when he claimed to know that Michael Jackson had molested children. In an interview with Classic Rock, Simmons alleged that Jackson was on tape ordering alcohol for children and that during the star’s 2005 trial a travel agent had testified to importing Brazilian boys for Jackson’s amusement. He also claimed that a musician friend had quit a Jackson tour after seeing ‘boys coming out of the hotel rooms.’

What followed was a classic example of copy and paste journalism. Within hours the story had been duplicated by hundreds of blogs, forums and news websites from Australia to India to the USA. None of them had fact-checked the story before they re-hosted it. Jackson was never on tape ordering alcohol for children. There was never any testimony during his trial about young Brazilian boys. Both of these claims were easily disproven by trial transcripts.

As a relative Jackson expert, I was also unaware of any musician ever leaving one of the singer’s tours midway through. So when I sat down a fortnight ago for an interview with Jackson’s long serving tour guitarist Jennifer Batten, I ran the story by her.

She told me that no musician had ever quit a Jackson tour. Two musicians had been fired but both were let go before the show hit the road, so they couldn’t possibly have witnessed anything going on inside hotels.

(more…)

Wesley Snipes in the video for “Bad”, directed by Martin Scorsese (1987).

From an interview with Wesley Snipes
Originally published at Collider.com
Jordan Tubiolo
March 2, 2010

Q: While we have you alone for a few moments, did you know that they are turning a Brooklyn subway station into a tribute to Michael Jackson for the “Bad” video?

WS: I heard about that, through the grapevine, yeah. That’s cool. That would be cool.

Q: What are your memories of shooting that video in the subway station?

WS: That was…yeah…the amazing thing was that I was only supposed to be on the film, or project, for about 3 days, and it turned out to be 3 and a half weeks, almost a month, really. And the thing I took from it most was watching Michael Jackson perform, at performance level, in his rehearsals. I said, “Wow, that’s the consummate artist right there.” And that’s the pinnacle of where I’d like to go, and the kind of skill I would like to have as an artist. That I can come in at my rehearsals and treat them like performances. I took that from him, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do consistently in my work.

Q: What do you think about Jay-Z commenting that “We Are The World” should have been left alone because an icon did it, and it should not have been recreated?

WS: Well, I understand the motivation behind it, but I don’t really have a critical comment about it. I am more critical about how Michael was treated, more than anything else. I think that he was an angel sent to us, and I think that we might have to reflect on how well we took care of him. People like to say, “Oh, people around him were bad and they didn’t do right by him.” But I think this is collective too. Because I don’t know the last time, and I can’t remember any other artist that attracted that much energy and projected that much power. That was that creative, and affected so many people, and was such a diplomat for America, and a champion for American culture, and African-American people worldwide. People wanted to move to America because of Michael Jackson. Industry changed, the music industry changed, because of Michael Jackson. That’s a gift to us, and, you know, I am concerned that the Good Lord may not send another one because we did not take good care of [Michael Jackson].

Michael Jackson Really is Gone
Originally published at EURweb
By Steven Ivory
February 23, 2010

When I was a kid, I used to do something that I occasionally do today: I’d cast my eyes on something—a table lamp, a hillside, a wristwatch, jar of food, a collection of clouds in the sky, an automobile—it could be anything, really—and just stare at it for several minutes.

If you gaze at something long enough, with minimal blinking and trance-like concentration, it begins to appear surreal, as if otherworldly.

That’s what happened the other day when my eyes fell upon a commemorative Michael Jackson magazine lying on the floor of my office with the cover line, MICHAEL JACKSON, 1958-2009. I stared at that line, trying, as the phrase goes, to wrap my brain around the concept. The more I stared at those words and dates, the more freakish they appeared.

Almost a year after his death, I wrestle with the reality that Michael Jackson is no longer here. There are days when I accept it. Other times, the idea of his death seems like a Twilight Zone episode I can’t escape.

Michael Jackson dead? Really? It still just doesn’t seem true.

It’s not like I can’t handle death. When I lost my mother suddenly at age fifteen, the pain and sense of loss seemed unbearable. But I also remember that as a child, when mama was alive and well, I’d ask myself, “What if mama ever died?”

It was one of those morbid, forbidden pubescent musings I’d privately dare consider, between wishing I owned an ice cream truck and imagining having the ability to fly. In retrospect, I believe thinking about mama’s death before it actually occurred in some way prepared me for the inconceivable. Because I’d thought about it, maybe her passing didn’t completely blindside my young emotions.

As late as a couple years ago, that kind of infrequent meditation of the unfathomable would prepare me for the unlikely death of Michael Jackson. Or so I thought. I used to wonder what it would be like if he went early—how he would go and what kind of reception the world would give his passing.

Ghoulishly, my friends and I would really go at it: if it ever happened, we asked, would Mike’s death and the public’s subsequent mourning outsize the world’s grief for, say, Elvis? Martin Luther King, Jr.? John Lennon? Lady Di?

It all depended, we concluded, on Michael’s impact and popularity as an entertainer at the time of his death vs. his assorted weirdness and damning court cases. Of course, now we know the truth—that for nearly a month after his death, Michael Jackson dominated the global media, if not the Earth’s collective consciousness.

Nevertheless, despite what he himself predicted would be a tragically early, sudden and clichéd death befitting cultural icons, I actually envisioned Michael Jackson living a long life. I imagined him existing in old age pretty much as he had in the years before his death, in relative seclusion.

I saw an elderly Michael publicly resembling his friend Elizabeth Taylor: proud, rickety and mostly good-natured, dressed up and made up, always looking, as his idol James Brown insisted a true star should, “like somebody people would pay money to see,” creating a paparazzi stir anytime he ventured out for something to eat or to shop.

(more…)

→ Download the complete FBI files from FBI.gov ←

Michael Jackson: The Shocking Truth in the FBI Files
By Deborah Ffrench
Sawf News, January 13, 2010

The one question I hear no one asking in the press or blogland in general is why was Michael Jackson taking an extreme drug? What made a relatively fit man known for abstention from the early part of his career until the mid-1990s, end his days in a made-to-measure trauma room?

A star by the age of 10, catapulted into super-stardom after the success of his first two solo albums, his dominance in the music industry coincided with the multimedia explosion of the late 1980s. One of the first of the new breed of artists to fully explore the potential of synergistic promotion of product as a vehicle to reach new audiences, by 1991 Michael Jackson, the brand, had penetrated the consciousness of the entire developed and most of the undeveloped world.

With such unprecedented accessibility came also unprecedented pressure. Pressure to maintain and exceed his own standards, constant deconstruction by the press, and emotional isolation as the gilded chains of a life lived under the microscope bound ever tighter. There is no room here to list the enormous contribution he made to the lives of children all over the globe. His efforts are a matter of public record and the information regarding them is easily obtainable on the web.

(more…)

→ Download the complete FBI files from FBI.gov ←

FBI Files Support Jackson’s Innocence; Media Reports Otherwise
By Charles Thomson
January 2, 2010

I should begin by saying that the release of Michael Jackson’s FBI file was not motivated by any desire to damage his legacy or smear his name. Many of Jackson’s fans are understandably distrustful of the establishment which repeatedly pursued the star on trumped up charges, but the release of Jackson’s FBI file is no conspiracy. Jackson’s file was requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and I was one of those who requested it.

The FOIA allows members of the public to request classified or unattainable information held by any public body. The act is designed to uphold democracy by allowing citizens to scrutinize anything from local government budget reports to dossiers on UFO sightings. Requests can only be turned down for a handful of reasons, including privacy issues and national security.

When I requested Michael Jackson’s FBI file, I wasn’t even sure he had one. If he did, I had no idea what I would find in it. In Sammy Davis Jr’s I found nothing but countless investigations into death threats sent to the singer. In James Brown’s, however, I found an explosive re-telling of his infamous 1988 “car chase”, which showed the authorities in a very poor light and contained numerous accusations of police brutality.

The FBI released roughly 300 pages on Jackson, constituting less than half of his overall file. The reason behind the withholding of the other half is yet to be made public, but it most likely consists of information on Jackson’s dealings with still living figures of interest to the bureau—civil rights activists like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, and the various Middle Eastern businessmen and royals Michael Jackson befriended.

The released half of Jackson’s FBI file supports the star’s innocence entirely. Perhaps most notably, a lengthy report shows that when Jackson’s Neverland Ranch was raided in 2003, the FBI went over every computer seized from the property with a fine tooth comb looking for any incriminating files or internet activity. Jackson’s file contained individual summaries of the FBI’s findings for each of the 16 computers. Scrawled in capital letters across each of those 16 reports— “NOTHING”.

(more…)

A Tale of Two Michaels
Originally published at Make-Up Artist Magazine
Michael R. Thomas
October 20, 2009

Editor’s note: This summer, make-up artist Michael Thomas and pop star Michael Jackson died within two months of each other (Thomas’ obituary is posted on our site). Here, Thomas, who was Jackson’s make-up artist for The Wiz, recalls some memorable experiences with Jackson on and off the set. Thomas’ wife, Christine Domaniecki, shared Thomas’ memories with us.

Wizardry Behind The Wiz

On The Wiz, we had Vac-u-Forms made from plaster life masks of each actor who appeared as a main character (including the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow, played by Michael Jackson). They were made because every week or so, Stan Winston’s Los Angeles-based lab would ship a bunch of the actors’ freshly made foam-latex appliances to New York, where we shot the movie.

After I brought the Scarecrow appliances home, I would lightly attach the foam-latex pieces to the Vac-u-Form and pre-color them. It saved a lot of application time when we were in the make-up room at the Kaufman Astoria Studios. Keeping the foam-latex pieces on the form during pre-painting kept them in shape, the way a coat hanger keeps wrinkles out of a coat. On the inside of one of the forms, you can see a few color swatches. I duplicated the color of the Scarecrow’s greasepaint in artists’ acrylic. I put acrylic on the neck ruffle he wore as well, because if I used greasepaint, it would rub off onto his costume.

We were allowed to keep the forms at the end of the movie. I have about five.

Every morning I began Michael’s make-up by applying a bald cap to keep his hair, which was in very small braids, in place. Next I would apply the foam-latex pieces: a forehead piece, two cheek pieces, a nose piece (which was supposed to look like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup wrapper), a chin piece and a neck ruffle. They went on in the morning and had to be maintained during the day.

(more…)

Michael Jackson’s personal artist shared pop king’s vision
Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY

SANTA FE — Artist David Nordahl was at home painting in February 1988 when the phone rang at midnight. A voice said, “This is Michael Jackson.”
Yeah, riiiight, he thought. But he quickly realized the call was no prank.

While visiting Steven Spielberg’s office, Jackson had admired one of Nordahl’s paintings of Army troops invading an Apache camp as a young corporal shielded two Indian children. Now the singer was reaching out to the painter. For art lessons.

“He asked if I taught drawing and painting,” says Nordahl, whose realist oils of 19th-century Apaches are highly prized. “I told him I didn’t, but that I’d think about it. I was really busy.”

Their hour-long conversation sparked a close friendship and working partnership that led Nordahl to abandon renown in the art world for a cloistered vocation as Jackson’s portraitist. From 1988 to 2005, Nordahl completed thousands of drawings and roughly a dozen epic commissions, seven of which were among 2,000 Jackson items in Julien’s authorized auction, which the singer sued to stop last spring.

(more…)

By Brenna Chase
Originally published at Popshifter.com
Reprinted with permission

Rather than keep your eyes glued to your favorite news channel for the latest intrusive development or read another biased career retrospective on the recently deceased King of Pop, ponder these conundrums, posed by a true (frustrated) fan who pays attention to what’s really important.

10. How is it that Michael Jackson is sexy?*

Admit it, he is. His appearance(s) may be odd, but with all the different faces/styles/versions of Michael Jackson, there has got to be something there for everyone—just pick whichever one suits your particular fancy. He’s got the whole masculine/feminine, black/white, borders-all blurred-and-undefined thing going on, and he pulls it off, turning it into something ethereal that just draws you to him. He may have been a shy, seemingly asexual recluse in real life, but on stage, he will always be pure sex. The supernatural flow of his form is so completely attractive and captivating. He possesses magnetism that can’t be explained, because it can’t be compared to anything else. It’s like his public persona and bizarre behavior are the challenges, and he overcomes them when he performs by forcing you to forget about everything else.

Perhaps a better question would be: if you had never seen or been told anything about Michael Jackson before, and just heard his music, what would your first thought be upon hearing his voice? How about, “Michael, will you marry me?” He has recorded some of the sexiest songs ever made in the history of popular music. Close your eyes and listen again to “Liberian Girl,” “In the Closet,” “Human Nature,” “Heaven Can Wait,” and “Butterflies.” Pay careful attention to the words and how he phrases them. Michael Jackson is a perfect vocalist. Just as he’s playfully floating above the harmonies on his dance songs and spitting with anger in the intense ones, he is oh-so-convincingly romantic on every ballad. His last album, Invincible, is more R&B-tinged and, though often overlooked, is actually sexier than all his earlier works put together. On the smooth track “Break of Dawn,” Michael Jackson, the same guy who’s had more than his fair share of nose jobs and believes he is the modern day Peter Pan, is telling you that he wants to make love to you all night until the sun comes up, and you are more than okay with that.

Forget Justin Timberlake, forget Prince, because the King of Pop can lure you like no other. Why is everyone freaking out about if he is actually the biological father of his children, or what drugs were in his system when he died? “Michael Jackson is sexy—how and why?” should be the headline frozen at the bottom of the CNN screen which only the most qualified professionals will discuss until they’ve got some substantial answers.

(more…)

Michael Jackson with Jane Fonda in 1983. The red “butterfly” rash associated with lupus is clearly visible on Michael’s cheeks.

On July 8, 2009, Michael Jackson’s dermatologist of 25 years, Dr. Arnie Klein, appeared on Larry King Live. Among the topics of discussion included Michael’s affliction with vitiligo, lupus erythematosus, and chronic pain; as well as the subjects of plastic surgery and body dysmorphic disorder.

A full transcript of the program can be found here. I have chosen to directly excerpt the passages specifically relating to Michael’s health.

CNN LARRY KING LIVE
Interview with Michael Jackson’s Doctor
Aired July 8, 2009 – 21:00 ET

LARRY KING, HOST: The saga the death of Michael Jackson continues. And we welcome a very special guest tonight. Dr. Arnie Klein, they call him the dermatologist to the stars, easily the best known dermatologist in Southern California, maybe elsewhere, too. He’s Michael Jackson’s long-term dermatologist, friend and he’s a professor of medicine and dermatology at UCLA.

Doctor, how did you first meet Michael?

DR. ARNIE KLEIN, MICHAEL JACKSON’S DERMATOLOGIST: I met Michael because someone had brought him into my office. And they walked into the room with Michael. And I looked one — took one look at him and I said you have lupus erythematosus. Now, this was a long word.

KING: Lupus?

KLEIN: Lupus, yes. I mean, because he had red — a butterfly rash and he also had severe crusting you could see on the anterior portion of his scalp. I mean I always am very visual. I’m a person who would look at the lips of Mona Lisa and not see her smile. I would see the lips.

KING: Was he there because of that condition?

KLEIN: He was there only because a very close friend of his had told him to come see me about the problems he had with his skin. Because he was — he had severe acne, which many people made fun of him [for]. He used to remember trying to clean it off and he’d gone to these doctors that really hurt him very much. And he was exquisitely sensitive to pain.

So he walked into my office. He had several things wrong with his skin. So I said — and you have thick crusting of your scalp and you have some hair loss.

He says, well, how do you know this?

I said, because it’s the natural course of lupus. So I then did a biopsy. I diagnosed lupus. And then our relationship went from there.

(more…)