Michael Jackson (122 page)

The Early Eighties

I obtained the Grant Deed filed in Los Angeles County on 20 February 1981, in which Thomas Laughridge and Billie Laughridge
granted to Michael Jackson unit nine at 5420 Lindley Avenue, Encino.

I also obtained the Individual Quitclaim Deed filed in Los Angeles County on 26 May 1981, by Michael Jackson, granting 25
per cent of the property to his mother, Katherine Jackson.

I referred to Robert Hilburn’s
Los Angeles Times
feature, ‘The Jacksons – Hail and Farewell’, 13 September 1981.

I also referred to the
Billboard
magazine special on Michael Jackson (21 July 1984) and Steven Demorest’s article on Michael Jackson in
Melody Maker
(see bibliography).

The interview I conducted with Michael Jackson through his sister Janet, took place on 3 October 1981, at the Jackson family’s
home in Encino.

Katherine Jackson v. Joseph Jackson (II)

Details of Katherine Jackson’s second action to divorce Joseph Jackson were culled from the following documents filed in Los
Angeles Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, all case number D076606:

Application for Order and Supporting Declaration of Katherine Jackson, 19 August 1972. This form appears to have been filled
out by Mrs Jackson personally. She typed the information used in this book regarding her charge that Joseph Jackson spent
‘in excess of $50,000’ on ‘a young woman’ and that he had ‘purchased for her parcels of real property from our community funds.’

Katherine Jackson’s Request for Dissolution of Marriage, 12 November 1982.

Katherine Jackson’s Sworn Declaration, 16 April 1983.

Joseph Jackson’s Sworn Declaration, 18 April 1983.

Sworn Declaration of George M. Goffin in support of Motion to Compel Answers to Interrogatories, 8 April 1983. Goffin was
one of Katherine Jackson’s attorneys.

Notice to Produce Documents, 10 May 1983.

Sworn Declaration of Minda F. Barnes, 15 June 1983. Barnes was another of Mrs Jackson’s attorneys. This document details Mrs
Jackson’s difficulty in obtaining financial information from Joseph Jackson.

A five-page letter from George M. Goffin, Esq., to Arnold Kassot, Esq., dated 20 April 1983, was particularly revealing; from
it were culled details of the Jackson family’s income and wealth.

A twenty-page declaration of George M. Goffin, 15 June 1983, was vital to the research of this book since it described the
manner of the purchases of the Hayvenhurst property, the Peach Street property, the Jackson Street property and the Lindley
Avenue property. It also explained Michael Jackson’s financial participation in the purchase of Hayvenhurst and the Lindley
Avenue condominium.

Exhibit B, Schedule of Community Property Assets, 15 June 1983, was also invaluable to the research of this book in that this
exhibit contained a complete list of all of Joseph and Katherine Jackson’s financial assets and liabilities, as well as the
dates of all of their acquisitions, and the costs of purchase of all of their properties and Michael Jackson’s involvement
in those purchases.

The Sworn Declaration of George M. Goffin in Support of Motion for Withdrawal as Attorney of Record, 1 November 1983, detailed
Goffin’s attempts to continue with the divorce action in the case of
Katherine Jackson v. Joseph Jackson
and Mrs Jackson’s unavailability to him. It explained the possible reasons why she had changed her mind about the divorce.

Twenty other documents pertaining to this divorce action were also reviewed.

Some of the late Enid Jackson’s comments were culled from an interview conducted with her on 7 November 1990.

Thriller and Victory Tour Years

I obtained a thirty-page Sworn Declaration by Michael Jackson in
Carlin Music Corporation v. Michael Jackson
, case number C347206, 28 February 1983. In it, Michael explained why he was angry not only with his father but also with
Ron Weisner and Freddy DeMann. Jackson also explained his publishing goals, his future plans at CBS Records, and John Branca’s
new involvement in his career. The document is signed by Jackson in huge, scrawling letters.

Mickey Free was interviewed on 7 June 1989.

I also drew from Gerri Hirshey’s features on Michael Jackson in
Rolling Stone
(see bibliography).

I referred to Alexander Lowen,
Narcissism: Denial of the True Self
(New York: Macmillan, 1981) and Alice Miller,
Prisoners of Childhood
(translated from German by Ruth Ward, New York: Basic Books, 1981).

I viewed many hours of Steve Howell’s extensive video collection of Michael Jackson at home in Encino in order to be able
to describe Hayvenhurst. Michael Jackson was upset with Steve Howell when Howell, a former employee, attempted to sell copies
of these tapes to the television programme
A Current Affair
. Howell claimed that, as the cameraman, he owned the tapes. Jackson claimed that, as Howell’s employer, he (Jackson) was
the owner.
A Current Affair
aired some of the footage but decided against further broadcasts.

Steve Howell was interviewed for this book on 28 August, 4 September and 12 September 1990.

I wrote in detail about Suzanne dePasse’s efforts to recruit talent for the
Motown 25
special in my book
Call Her Miss Ross
. I drew from some of that research. Michael Jackson also wrote about his meeting with Berry Gordy in his autobiography,
Moonwalk
. I also drew from interviews with James McField (30 October 1990) and Geron ‘Casper’ Canidate (29 October 1980), Jermaine
Jackson (27 May 1980), Larry Anderson (23 October 1990), Joyce McCrae (15 October 1990), Carole Lieberman (8 January 1991)
and Randall King (1 September 1989).

I also drew from published reports of the firing of Weisner-DeMann.

I referred to Dave Nussbaum’s interview with Michael Jackson published in the
Globe
, 10 April 1984.

John Branca provided some background for the information on the Victory tour as he did for an article in
Rolling Stone
by Michael Goldberg, from which I also culled information. I attended the press conference at the Tavern on the Green on
30 November 1983.

Some of the information about Don King’s background was culled from
1984 Current Biography Yearbook
.

Background on Jehovah’s Witnesses came from Barbara Grizzuti Harrison’s
Visions of Glory: A History and a Memory of Jehovah’s Witnesses
(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978). I also referred to comments by Michael Jackson in the 22 May 1984 issue of
Awake!

Louise Gilmore was interviewed on 3 August 1990; Seth Riggs was interviewed by my researcher John Redman on 14 October 1990.
I also drew from an interview I conducted with Joseph Layton on 23 December 1986, for my book
Carol Burnett – Laughing Till It Hurts
(William Morrow, 1988).

I also referred to Roger Enrico’s
The Other Guy Blinked
(New York: Bantam, 1986).

The incident with Michael’s glove was described by Bob Giraldi in
The Making of Thriller
. I interviewed witnesses to the accident on 27 January 1984, and referred to newspaper accounts. There were also a number
of anonymous sources for information in these sections of the book.

Janet Jackson’s Annulment of Marriage from James DeBarge

I interviewed James DeBarge in July 1995, after the original edition of this book was published.

Details on Janet Jackson’s marriage to James DeBarge and the eventual annulment of that union were culled from the following
documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles County, all file number 05113:

Petition to Nullify Marriage, filed by Janet Dameta DeBarge, 30 January 1985.

Income and Expense Declaration of Janet Dameta DeBarge, 30 January 1985.

Request to Enter Default, 4 June 1985.

Summons served to James Curtis DeBarge, 10 April 1985.

Amended Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, filed by Janet Dameta DeBarge, 17 July 1985.

Notice of Entry of Judgment, 18 November 1985.

Notice of Annulment and Restoration of Wife’s Former Name to Janet Dameta Jackson, 18 November 1985.

Also shedding light on Janet’s marriage were details of the lawsuit that resulted from a traffic accident in which Janet and
James DeBarge were involved while driving Katherine Jackson’s Mercedes-Benz. The suit, brought by Manuel R. Mendez, Carmen
Mendez and Barbara Beebe, a minor, against Katherine Jackson, James DeBarge and Janet Jackson, was recorded in the following
documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles County, all case number C522917:

Complaint – Personal Injury, Property Damage, Wrongful Death, 15 November 1984.

Manuel R. Mendez, Carmen Mendez and Barbara Beebe, a minor, v. Katherine Jackson and Janet Jackson
, 8 January 1985.

Manuel R. Mendez, Carmen Mendez and Barbara Beebe, a minor, v. Katherine Jackson, James DeBarge and Janet Jackson
, 2 March 1988.

Declaration of Robert J. Davis, 30 January 1989. Davis was the Jackson’s attorney. This document illustrated Davis’s difficulty
in obtaining payment for his work from Katherine Jackson and Janet Jackson, and also demonstrated the way the family tends
to deal rather unfairly with attorneys representing them.

Interrogatories to Defendant, Janet Jackson, 28 February 1985. Janet Jackson discussed her relationship with James DeBarge,
her mother and other family members. It is fascinating that most of what Ms Jackson was compelled to reveal here had nothing
at all to do with the minor accident in which she was involved.

Post-Victory Tour Years

Louis Farrakhan’s comments about Michael Jackson were widely published on 12 April 1983.

The Denise Worrell
Time
magazine story was published on 19 March 1984. I also drew from my interviews with Michael’s cousin, Tim Whitehead, and with
Steve Howell. I also interviewed Kenneth Nagle (3 January 1989), Harry Weber (3 February 1990), Patty Kellar (15 March 1990),
Ted Culver (3 April 1990), David Kelsey (5 May 1990) and Harold Long (19 May 1990). I drew from Cathy Griffin’s interview
with Joyce McCrae.

John Branca provided some background information on the ATV acquisition on 9 January 1991, just as he had done for Robert
Hillburn’s analysis of the acquisition in the
Los Angeles Times
on 22 September 1985, which I also utilized as secondary source material. I also drew from published interviews with Paul
McCartney (see bibliography).

Bad Years to 1991

Frank Dileo met with my private investigator and researcher Cathy Griffin for three hours at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in Los
Angeles on 11 October 1990. Some of the material in this book was culled from that conversation. A meeting was set up between
Dileo and myself on 19 October 1990. However, just prior to that date, a
People
magazine article about Dileo was published in which he was critical of Michael Jackson. After receiving an intimidating telephone
call from one of Jackson’s representatives, Dileo decided not to meet with me.

I then interviewed Frank Dileo in August 1995, after the original edition of this book was published.

Byron Moore and Max Hart were interviewed on 30 August 1990. Mitchell Fink reported on Michael’s viewing
of Purple Rain
in the
Los Angeles Herald Examiner
on 5 July 1984.

I utilized J. C. Stevenson’s article on Janet Jackson in
Spin
and also referred to Cathy Griffin’s interview with Joyce McCrae.

Most of my sources regarding Michael Jackson’s publicity stunts – the sprained wrist during the filming of
Captain EO
, the hyperbaric chamber and the Elephant Man’s bones – must remain confidential due to the nature of these sources’ employment
in the record industry. I did refer to ‘Michael’s Next Thrill: An Oxygen Chamber’ in the
Los Angeles Herald Examiner
(17 September 1986), ‘Michael Jackson’s Bizarre Plan to Live to 150’ in the
National Enquirer
(16 September 1986) and ‘Michael Jackson Wants Merrick’s Bones’ by Patricia Freeman in the
Los Angeles Herald Examiner
(30 May 1987). I also referred to a story about Michael’s hyperbaric chamber in
Time
(September 1986). Charles Montgomery, who wrote the hyperbaric chamber story, was interviewed in January 1991. Jack Richardson
was interviewed on 23 October 1990. The joke about Michael’s nose was published in
Playboy
in the December 1987 issue.

A note about ‘We Are the World’: by January 1991, more than sixty-one million dollars had been raised from the sales of this
song to fight hunger in Ethiopia. In addition to record sales, funds also came from the marketing of ‘We Are the World’ T-shirts,
posters, books and videos.

In other unrelated matters, I used as secondary material ‘Buckle Debacle’ by Bill Steigerwalk in the
Los Angeles Times
(8 November 1987). I also referred to my interview with Jerome Howard in discussing Katherine Jackson’s interest in working
for Michael Jackson.

In the matter of Michael Jackson’s 1988 purchase of Sycamore Ranch, I had a number of anonymous sources, and I also relied
on an extensive Property Profile supplied by Continental Lawyers Title Company on 27 September 1990, which includes an in-depth,
legal description of the ranch. The profile also includes the Individual Grant Deed filed on 11 April 1988, in which John
Branca and Marshall Gelfand, co-trustees under the Trust Agreement dated 11 April 1988, granted the property to Michael Jackson.

Also interviewed: Gary Berwin (16 November 1990), Steven Harris (17 November 1990), Phillip Meadows (22 November 1990), Bernard
Pancheco (1 December 1990), Virginia August (3 December 1990), Glenn Bascome (6 December 1990), Patty Kellar (8 December 1990)
and Douglas Wilson (10 December 1990). Frank Dileo discussed his feelings about being fired by Michael Jackson in numerous
published interviews to promote the film
GoodFellas
. I also referred to Dileo’s television appearances to promote the film, including one on
Personalities
on 25 October 1990.