Jacko, His Rise and Fall: The Social and Sexual History of Michael Jackson (116 page)

Michael Jackson went out of life singing and dancing, contrary to some
salacious reports. In preparation for his series of upcoming concerts, he performed a dance of death.

He could still do the Moonwalk, even though he was at death's door," said
his bodyguard, Miko Brando. In front of a large, brightly lit backdrop, the
frail, alarmingly thin Michael executed grueling routines. On the backdrop
was lettered an eerie prophecy. THIS IS IT.

In the immediate aftermath of Michael's death, some of the biographers
rushing their books and articles into print asserted that the performer, just prior
to his concerts, was virtually a member of the "walking dead" and on the verge
of burial. But Kevin Mazur, a photographer, reported a radically different
scenario two days before the star's death. "The magical Michael Jackson was
back," he said. "I felt the same adrenaline rush as when I photographed him
for the first time moonwalking."

Lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe told the BBC that "Michael's old dazzle was back."

Only three weeks before, Michael had shown his stamina while filming a
video production called Dome Project. Celebrity chronicler Ian Halperin
claimed that Michael told "a pal" (unnamed) that he "didn't have what it takes
anymore because he had lost his voice and dance moves."

Those working out in the studio at the time have bitterly refuted those
accusations, denouncing them as mere sensationalism. Photos released of
Michael's final dance routines refute Halperin's claims.

There was more. Michael reportedly told some unknown party, "I'm better off dead," confessing to another close friend, "I'm tired of living." These
quotes appear to be fabricated.

Both Brian Oxman, a spokesperson for the Jackson family, and longtime
friend Miko Brando, claimed that Michael spent the last full day of his life
rehearsing for his upcoming commitments in London. Brando claimed that he
saw no telltale signs that Michael was in any trouble.

A different view was expressed by Oxman. "At rehearsals, his use of medications had gotten in the way, along with the injuries which he had sustained
previously. He had broken a vertebra, and he had a broken leg from a fall on
the stage," Oxman claimed.

As part of his agreement with AEG, Michael had forced the promoters to
hire a personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, to accompany him on tour at a
salary of $150,000 per month.

On the morning of June 25, it was Dr. Murray who discovered Michael in
bed, experiencing cardiac arrest. He spent a reported five to ten minutes delivering CPR before rushing downstairs to call a security guard. There was no
land line phone in the star's bedroom. After summoning help, the doctor
returned to Michael's bedroom to resume his efforts at rescuscitation.

A half hour went by before Michael's "enablers" called paramedics. In cases of cardiac arrest, that much elapsed time is often fatal.

A Los Angeles 911 dispatcher was contacted at 12:21pm Pacific Time.
Michael was identified during the call simply as a "fifty year old man." The
address listed was 100 Carolwood Drive in Los Angeles.

The dispatcher ordered the caller to move the unidentified man off the bed
and onto the floor.

Michael's security officer told the dispatcher, "He's not responding to anything to...no, no. He's not responding to CPR or anything, sir."

"We're on our way," the 911 dispatcher assured the caller.

When paramedics arrived, they tried to resuscitate the fallen star for 42
minutes before finally rushing him to the UCLA Medical Center. Once admitted, Michael spent another hour on an operating table as doctors worked in a
futile effort to keep him alive. Doctors delivered electroshock treatments to
Michael's chest and inserted a breathing tube down his throat in an attempt to
revive him.

He was declared dead at 2:26pm Pacific Time.

After his body was removed from the hospital, it was flown by helicopter
to the coroner's office.

Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery-Homicide
Division searched Michael's $100,000-a-month rental in Holmby Hills, following orders from Chief William Bratton. They didn't announce what they
were looking for, but presumably a cache of drugs was high on their list.

Detectives were seen removing two large bags of evidence from the mansion, and they also carried off a lot of prescription medications. Dr. Murray's
BMW was towed from Michael's home as evidence.

In London, Grace Rwaramba, the former nanny, told the press that "I had
to pump Michael's stomach many times because he'd taken too many pills."

At the time of his death, the tragic star weighed only 125 pounds, and was
the King of Pill Popping: Zoloft, Demerol, Vistaril, Paxil, Prilosec, Vicodin,
Dilaudid, and Xanax. The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, according
to spokesman Craig Harvey, said, "There was no indication of foul play."

A medical expert claimed that if one doctor had prescribed all these drugs,
it would "spark a criminal investigation."

An autopsy revealed that Michael's lithe body was riddled with needlemarks and scars and that his scalp was nearly bald. Some sources have denied
the baldness, claiming that Michael wore "transplanted" hair. In his stomach
was found only partially dissolved pills.

A source claimed, "He was skin and bone, and he had been eating nothing
but pills in the days before he died. Injection marks all over his body, and the
disfigurement caused by years of plastic surgery show he'd been in terminal
decline for some years."

Four fresh injections around his heart no doubt came from failed emergency attempts to pump adrenaline into the chambers of his heart. Three of
these injections had penetrated and damaged the walls of his heart. A fourth
had missed the target completely and struck one of his ribs, three of which had been broken during futile attempts at CPR.

One autopsy was official, as mandated by the Los Angeles coroner.
The other was private, as requested by the Jackson family.

Producer Marc Schaffel issued an "I told you so." Suing Michael for $3
million, he told ABC News, "Everybody around him knew it was only a matter of time before something like this happens. I have said before that if he
continued using drugs at this rate, he'd be dead by the time he was fifty."

At the time of his death, Michael may have been sitting on close to 100
unreleased music tracks. It is predicted that many of these songs will be
released in the years ahead as a means of paying the massive debt accumulated by "a millionaire who lived like a billionaire."

Had it not been for reckless spending, Michael could have lived comfortably, as he took in $75 million a year from the rights to his own megahits, as
well as those of the Beatles.

Subject to change, Michael's 79-year-old mother was named temporary
guardian of Michael's three children. Filing petitions in the Los Angeles
Superior Court, she also sought to gain control of the reputed hundreds of millions of dollars that go along with her guardianship. Of course, in theory, that
money is supposedly earmarked for the children.

Before Michael's body had turned cold, Katherine sought to be designated
as "special administrator" to her son's estate, which would put her in control
of the star's billion-dollar music catalogue.

In her petition, Katherine claimed that her son's two children with his second wife, Debbie Rowe, "have no relationship with their biological mother."

As of this writing, the mother of the third child, Prince II (Blanket) has
never revealed herself.

During the weeks following Michael's death, Rowe seemed to loom as an
uneasy threat for the Jackson family, an outsider with the potentiality of seeking custody of her two biological children.

In the immediate aftermath of Michael's death, when press caught up with
Rowe, she told reporters, "I offered him my womb," She went on to assert
that after Paris was born, Michael had dumped her because of her future
inability to bear children. "It left me all torn up inside," Rowe said, "unable to
have more kids."

On the last day of June, the Jackson family acknowledged that it had a
copy of a 2002 will that Michael had signed. Reportedly, the superstar left the
bulk of his estate to his mother, Katherine, his children, and some of his
favorite charities. He avoided naming his father in his will. The will also designated Katherine as the guardian of his three children.

The attorney, John Branca, wrote the will for Michael and was named coexecutor along with John McClain, a record-industry executive. The will puts
all of the singer's assets into a trust fund, sources said. Branca had represented Michael in 2006, and was reportedly re-hired eight days before Michael's
death.

Appearing before CNN cameras, Joe Jackson touted his new record com pany before expressing condolences for the passing of Michael.

Because of the sensitive nature of Michael's legal history, and the many
child molestation charges in his recent past, Barack Obama played it cool,
maintaining a bit of distance from the proceedings, and having his press secretary, David Axelrod, announce his condolences. He later wrote a personal
note to the Jackson family.

On NBC's Meet the Press, Axelrod said, "The president obviously
believes that Michael Jackson was an important and magnificent performer.
Yet in his condolences, the president felt it necessary to point out that Michael
Jackson led a sad life in many ways."

Later, the president decided to deliver some personal comments about
Michael on tape, asserting he "will go down in history as one of our greatest
entertainers. I grew up on his music--still have all his stuff on my iPod. I
think that his brilliance as a performer was also paired with a tragic and, in
many ways, a sad personal life."

JACKO IS BACKO screamed the headlines. His death sent sales of his
songs, albums, and videos skyrocketing. Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble
reported that they'd sold out of Jackson CDs and DVDs within minutes after
his death was announced.

A California real estate developer claimed that Neverland Ranch will
"become a California Graceland. There are work crews in there restoring
everything," he said. The spokesman didn't want to be named.

Michael's three children, or so it is predicted, are going to grow up rich.
But just how rich? They stand to inherit a 50 percent share of a music catalogue valued at $2 billion. But it is estimated that because of his lavish spending habits, Michael left behind $500 million in debt. Creditors emerging from
the woodwork will surely tie up probate courts for years to come.

Even before his funeral rites, Michael's promotion company announced
that "one of the greatest albums of all time" was on the way. Filmed versions
of the rehearsals he choreographed in anticipation of his aborted string of
London concerts will be released on CD and DVD.

These rehearsals were taped at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. AEG, the
sponsors of Michael's London concerts, are said to be "sitting on a treasure
trove of material. "There's a huge core fan base that's going to suck up anything," said an official.

Lisa Marie Presley told the press that "like my father, Michael feared he
might die in a similar way. He stared at me very intensely and said with an
almost calm certainty, `I am afraid that I am going to end up like Elvis the way
he did."'

In 1977, Elvis was just forty-two years old when he keeled over at his
Memphis mansion. Like Michael, the cause was cardiac arrest and, like
Michael, it may have catalyzed by years of pill popping.

Lisa Marie concluded, "Somehow, Michael knew exactly what his fate
would be some day-more than anyone else knew-and he was right."

Even though Michael had refused to take his calls and also to join in any of his schemes, Jermaine Jackson gave an overly melodramatic statement of
doubtful sincerity when he spoke of his brother's death. He described the
final moments he spent with the body of his legendary sibling.

"I kissed him on the forehead, and I hugged him, and I touched him. I said,
`Michael, I'll never leave you. You'll never leave me.' To see him there, lifeless and breathless, was very emotional for me. He went too soon. I don't
know how people are going to take this, but I wish it was me."

Fortunately, Jermaine will never have to actually make the choice of his
life over his brother's.

In London, AEG announced that half of the fans who had purchased a concert ticket for $85 had agreed to accept a special commemorative ticket in lieu
of a refund. Insurance compensation would also add money to AEG's coffers.
"Maybe Michael's failure to follow through on those London concerts won't
represent such a loss after all," a spokesperson for AEG announced.

Most friends or acquaintances close to Michael followed a policy of not
speaking ill of the dead. Michael's mentor, Quincy Jones, brought more reality into the preceedings by admitting that his longtime pal had been "freaky."

He also stated, "I'm angry because Michael wanted to turn himself white."
A report leaked from the coroner's office asserted that Michael's entire body
was white. Previously, it had been rumored that Michael's legs were still
brown-skinned, and that that had been why he would never reveal them, even
when called for as part of the choreography of a music video.

"It's ridiculous, man!" Quincy said. "Have you ever seen his kids?" He
obviously didn't want them to be black. We talked about it all the time. He
claimed he had this skin disease, that he had a blister on his lungs--all that
kind of bullshit!"

"Michael was a Virgo, set in his ways," Quincy said. You couldn't talk him
out of it--the chemical peels, and all that stuff. His death hurts my soul, man
It's just a lump down there."

When the record producer was asked if he had ever considered his late
superstar as odd, he said, "Everybody does his own thing. I've met every
freak in this business."