Russell Crowe was already one of Hollywood’s most recognizable actors when something bizarre started happening in his hotel rooms. His phone would ring and a stranger would sometimes use a serious voice to warn him about an emergency. Then the caller would drop the act. According to Crowe, the man repeatedly doing this was none … Read more
In October 1995, O.J. Simpson walked out of one of the most watched criminal trials in American history after being acquitted of murdering Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. The media frenzy did not disappear with the verdict. Yet according to an extraordinary story Michael Jackson later told his bodyguards, Simpson had access to one … Read more
By early 1984, Michael Jackson was experiencing a level of success few recording artists had ever seen. At a lavish celebration in New York, CBS Records and Guinness were honoring the extraordinary success of Thriller. Walter Yetnikoff, the powerful head of CBS Records, was preparing to introduce Michael to the room as the “greatest artist … Read more
Michael Jackson was preparing for a rare night out on February 27, 2007. His close friend Elizabeth Taylor was celebrating her 75th birthday near Las Vegas and Jackson planned to surprise her. He was reportedly so excited that designer Roberto Cavalli had been brought to Las Vegas to create a custom outfit for the occasion. … Read more
Michael Jackson spent decades surrounded by screaming crowds, photographers and security, but getting him out of a hotel could sometimes require an almost unbelievable plan. During his final years, former bodyguard Bill Whitfield said there were nights when Jackson could not simply walk through the lobby. Instead, security sometimes had to hide the world’s most … Read more
Michael Jackson arrived in Brazil in October 1993 for two massive Dangerous World Tour concerts in São Paulo, but one of his quieter plans had nothing to do with the stage. Brazilian reports say Jackson wanted to visit young patients at Hospital Infantil Darcy Vargas. Before going, though, he decided there was something he needed … Read more
Michael Jackson’s story on the big screen is not finished. Lionsgate has given its clearest update yet on a second Michael film, with Motion Picture Group chairman Adam Fogelson revealing that the studio is working toward another movie after the first biopic starring Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson. The sequel could arrive sooner than many fans … Read more
Michael Jackson’s three children grew up in a world that looked glamorous from the outside yet felt profoundly closed off. Bodyguards who lived with the family in his final years described birthday parties that followed a careful routine. Jackson would order clowns, magicians, popcorn machines, cotton candy and bouncy castles. The house would be fully … Read more
Michael Jackson could afford almost anything, but one of his strangest prized possessions came from Hollywood rather than music. In June 1999, the King of Pop paid more than $1.5 million for producer David O. Selznick’s Best Picture Oscar for Gone with the Wind. The purchase smashed the record for Hollywood memorabilia at the time. … Read more
Michael Jackson was known for complete control on stage, but one story from the tour paints a very different picture behind the scenes. Biographer Christopher Andersen wrote that Jackson would call musicians using what he described as his “sexiest Diana Ross voice,” flirt with them and convince them that an attractive woman had noticed them … Read more