MOONWALK: How Michael Jackson Created The Legendary Dance Move (See Video)

On March 25, 1983, Michael Jackson took one small, backwards step onto a television stage, and one giant leap into dance floor history. The pop star was only 24 years old when he took a break-dancing move and transformed it into one of the most recognizable routines of all time: the moonwalk. Jackson debuted the moonwalk during his performance of “Billie Jean” during the ABC television special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever and due the heavy rotation of the video on MTV, it was injected it into America’s pop cultural consciousness. The moonwalk is so fluid, so effortless, that Michael looked like he was floating whenever he did it.

I never knew how Michael Jackson came up with the moonwalk, but I found an old article in TIME Magazine from 1983 which explained how the King of Pop came up with his famous move and even better, instructions on how to do it (in your socks for maximum sliding effect). When done correctly, the dance will produce the illusion of walking forward while actually moving back.

Marcel Marceau

The origins of the Moonwalk can be traced back to urban life and French mime Marcel Marceau’s “Walking Against the Wind” trick, in which he pretended to be pushed backwards by an imaginary gust of wind. Jackson, who praised Marceau for appearing to defy the laws of gravity, once said the move of going backwards while appearing to go forwards was based on dance moves by children in Harlem at the end of the 70s and beginning of the 80s.

“There was a mutual admiration between Michael Jackson and Marcel Marceau,” Elena Serra, who worked with the king of mime for 20 years, told AFP. “Marceau said of Michael Jackson that he was a born mime artist, which was also what he’d said of Charlie Chaplin, because of his easy physical movement, his ability to decompose movements, his understanding. I think Marceau was impressed by him.”

Marceau, who died aged 84 in 2007 and was extremely popular with US audiences, “would often recount how Michael Jackson used to go see him perform when he was around 13 or 14. He told him once backstage that the inspiration behind the moonwalk was Marceau’s Walking against the Wind.”

In 1995, Jackson and Marceau filmed a joint mime routine but their plan to work together never materialized due to Jackson’s health problems.

Michael Jackson Autopsy Results: Cause of Death “Deferred”

Craig Harvey, Chief Coroner LA County, spoke to the press regarding the autopsy. Harvey confirmed they have concluded the autopsy of Michael Jackson and the cause of death has been deferred, meaning the medical examiner has ordered additional tests such as toxicology and other studies (neuro pathology and pulmonary ). Those tests will take 4-6 weeks to complete and once the test results are completed, they anticipate closing the case and issuing final cause of death. Harvey confirmed that Jackson was “taking some prescription medications,” but could not comment on what kind of drugs or if affected his passing.

There was no indication of external trauma or foul play. The LAPD has requested a security hold be placed on Michael Jackson since this is an on-going investigation, therefore limited information will be released.

Harvey went on to say that Michael Jackson’s family hasn’t seen body and the body is ready to be released to the family for funeral preparations.

Michael Jackson’s Children: Custody Battle Could Be Brewing Between Ex-wife Debbie Rowe and Jackson’s Mother, Katherine

It has been reported that Debbie Rowe is prepared to file for full custody of the two children she bore Michael Jackson during their three-year marriage. BRIAN OXMAN said Michael Jackson’s children “are with the nanny. They’re being cared for. Mrs. Jackson loves them. She takes care of them.” He predicts that Jackson’s death will spark a legal battle over Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr, 12, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, 11, and seven-year-old Prince “Blanket” Michael Jackson II. “It will be probably the start of a long battle,” he said. “We will have to see how that plays out in a court of law. I suspect that the death of Michael Jackson is only the beginning of the legal battles over not only his property, but also his children.” The children are said to be, “Well-trained, well educated and extraordinarily talented. They get to play with their cousins and their nieces and their nephews. They are just smarter than smart can be.”

Michael Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe is said to take full custody of the two children she bore him during their three-year marriage. Today, police are stationed outside her Palmdale home of Rowe, who is inconsolable over news of his death. Prince Michael and Paris is the product of Jackson’s second marriage to Rowe, a nurse, in 1996. Rowe attempted to completely give up her parental rights to Prince Michael and Paris in 2005, claiming her former husband was a wonderful father. The judge presiding over the hearing granted her request, but is reported to have later reversed his decision. The only way she can be denied custody is if the Californian courts determine it would be ‘detrimental for the children’.

If Rowe does ask for custody, she is liable to get a ‘huge’ amount of child support from the dead singer’s estate, or what is left of it. Jackson’s lavish lifestyle had left the ‘King of Pop’ struggling to stabilize his personal finances with his estate an estimated $500million in debt. The singer had been due to perform a series of comeback concerts at London’s O2 Arena, which would have helped clear some of his debts. But even at his death he still made an annual income estimated at $19million.

In 1985, Jackson paid $47.5million for ATV Music, which owned the rights to 251 Beatles songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Jackson agreed to merge ATV with Sony for $150million in 1995, and sold Sony music publishing rights for $95million. But there were still signs his finances were in desperate trouble and in 2002 he faced a lawsuit from Union Finance & Investment Corp for $12million in unpaid fees and expenses. A forensic accountant said during the trial that the performer was spending $20m to $30m more per year than he earned. By last year, the mounting debts became so much he faced foreclosure of his Neverland ranch and was forced to sell off personal items.

It is likely to take months before it is clear whether at the time of his death if Michael Jackson had anything to leave his beneficiaries, assumed to be his three children and his mother, or whether a lifetime of accumulated debts has used up the wealth he earned during his career. Jackson had arranged for his many of his famous stage costumes, paintings, sculptures and awards, arcade games and jewelry to be sold off in April. But despite his financial woes, the superstar changed his mind at the last minute and organizers were forced to return the property, which is currently in storage.

Jacko’s long-term pal, former child star MARK LESTER, has pledged to fulfill his role of godfather to the Thriller star’s children. The actor said: “They’re the most fabulous kids and I will do anything.”I’m here for them 24/7, so whatever they need, they’ve got from me. “Michael was one of the best. He made me ashamed; he was such a good father.”

LAPD Interviews Michael Jackson Doctor: Wants to Speak to Dr. Conrad Murray Again

Dr Conrad Murray

The doctor who was present at Michael Jackson’s home and administered CPR when he collapsed in cardiac arrest has been identified as a Houston-based cardiologist who had been living with the “King of Pop” as he rehearsed in LA for a major series of show dates. “His name is Dr. Conrad Murray,” Jackson’s manager Tohme Tohme told The New Post after denying claims he was at the home and had injected the singer with drugs shortly before he died. A Houston television station reported that Dr. Murray was living with Jackson at the time of his death. Jackson’s family today revealed the 50-year-old had been having daily injections of Demerol, a synthetic pain-killing drug similar to morphine. It has emerged that Dr. Murray was the only person with the singer at the time of his collapse.

The Los Angeles police department said detectives had briefly spoken to Jackson’s “personal physician” – whom they would not identify — shortly after Jackson’s death, but wanted to speak to him again. RadarOnline confirmed this information with Officer Karen Rayner, spokesperson for the LAPD: “Our detectives had a brief conversation with Dr. Murray, where or the contents of that conversation took place, I can’t tell you.”RadarOnline.com also learned that police want to speak to Dr. Murray again. Officer Rayner said: “Reports he was missing are erroneous. Detectives will be talking with him again at some point. I don’t know when that will be.

Tohme Tohme

They confirmed they had impounded a black BMW belonging to the doctor because they could not locate him immediately. “His personal physician’s car was impounded because we want to interview him again and because it could contain medication or evidence,” said LAPD spokesman Robert French.

The autopsy was completed this afternoon and “the coroner is currently in conference with the family and will be back at 1:30 p.m.” said Capt. Paul Hernandez of the LAPD. Results aren’t likely to be final until toxicology tests are completed, a process that could take several days and sometimes weeks. “When the autopsy comes, all hell’s going to break loose, so thank God we’re celebrating him now,” Liza Minnelli told CBS’ “The Early Show” by telephone.

Michael Jackson's house

At first, reports identified Tohme as the doctor at Jackon’s side when he died, but he denied it in an interview with The New Post. “It’s not me. I wasn’t there at the house when this took place,” said Tohme, who described himself as Jackson’s manager and was present at a press conference where Jermaine Jackson formally announced his brother’s death yesterday. I am his manager and I feel lost. I loved Michael and I was his friend. I was handling all his affairs,” he said by phone from Los Angeles. He said reports that Jackson was using prescription drugs were inaccurate and blasted claims by a Jackson family lawyer, Brian Oxman, that Jackson had been surrounded by disreputable people before his death, as untrue. “That guy Oxman … is not allowed to make any statement for the family. Only Jermaine can make statements on behalf of the family,” he said. “I have never seen [Michael] do any drugs. I have never seen him take any pills,” he said.

Madonna’s Second Ad Campaign for Louis Vuitton Leaked

Madonna has signed on for a second round of ads for luxury brand Louis Vuitton and one of seven images from the Autumn/Winter ‘09 campaign have been leaked. The Vogue singer posed for acclaimed photographer Steven Meisel, who shot her controversial 1992 book Sex, who also took the previous season’s ad. The result of this new collaboration is simply stunning and “Part Deux” has a very different look and feel from the original campaign for Spring/Summer ’09.

Madonna looks eternally youthful and ethereal as she reclines in a blue armchair wearing a burgundy taffeta dress, lacy fingerless gloves and pink bunny ears – similar to the headwear she wore to the Costume Institute Gala earlier this year. The Material Girl’s overall look in the new images will be one you’re all familiar with thanks to the MET Costume Institute Gala: long boots, a few variations of dresses mainly in blue and magenta, and this year’s Louis Vuitton’s signature bunny ears. Madonna is always wearing gloves and in every image she holds a different bag from the new collection.

The full collection of campaign photographs will be released in the August 2009 issue of fashion magazines worldwide coming out next month.

MICHAEL JACKSON’S Alleged Physician Dr Tohme Tohme: I Wasn’t There When Jackson Died; TMZ Reveals Dr. Conrad Robert Murray Lived with Jackson

Dr Tohme Tohme

A doctor who worked as Michael Jackson’s manager told The New York Post today that he was not at the “King of Pop’s” home when he collapsed in cardiac arrest and denied reports that he had injected the singer with drugs shortly before he died. “It’s not me. I wasn’t there at the house when this took place,” said Dr. Tohme Tohme, who described himself as Jackson’s manager and was present at a press conference where Jermaine Jackson formally announced his brother’s death yesterday. “I am his manager and I feel lost. I loved Michael and I was his friend. I was handling all his affairs,” he said by phone from Los Angeles. He said reports that Jackson was using prescription drugs were inaccurate and blasted claims by a Jackson family lawyer, Brian Oxman, that Jackson had been surrounded by disreputable people before his death, as untrue. “That guy Oxman … is not allowed to make any statement for the family. Only Jermaine can make statements on behalf of the family,” he said. “I have never seen [Michael] do any drugs. I have never seen him take any pills,” he said.

Tohme said that the insurance company backing AEG, the promoters of Jackson’s upcoming 50 show revue at London’s O2 Theater, insisted the singer undergo a rigorous physical before they signed off on the deal and that he was in top shape. “To be able to perform, AEG had to get insurance and he had a four-hour physical by a doctor chosen by the insurance company,” he said. “For a guy to go on and dance for four hours, not even an athlete can do that, and he was doing this at rehearsal every day.” Several reports identified Tohme as the personal physician who was trying to revive the pop legend when EMTs arrived at his LA-area house yesterday. It’s being reported that authorities want to question Tohme, but that he had gone missing. London’s The Sun newspaper identified Tohme as a doctor who injected Jackson with the potent narcotic Demerol before he collapsed.

TMZ is reporting that the doctor who was with Michael Jackson at the time of his death has been identified as a cardiologist from Houston, Texas. KHOU in Houston reports the man is Dr. Conrad Robert Murray, who had been living with Jackson in his rented mansion. We’re told Murray attempted to revive Michael until paramedics showed up at the scene. The station reports the car that was towed from Michael’s house last night was registered to Murray’s sister. Law enforcement is looking for the doctor so they can question him.

MICHAEL JACKSON’S Personal Physician Missing; Autopsy Underway Amid Reports of Painkiller Addiction; Coroner To Test for Demerol, Painkiller Linked to Death

An autopsy is underway right now for Michael Jackson, the King of Pop. Chief Los Angeles County coroner, Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran, is performing the autopsy and was a star witness in the O.J. Simpson murder trial. “Family will not be there,” his spokesman, Lt. Brian Elias, said. “It’s not known if any representatives for LAPD will be there.” While Jackson family insiders suggested prescription drug abuse, specifically Demerol, might have caused the 50-year-old superstar’s heart to stop, Elias said it will be several weeks before toxicology results are ready. Pressed on early reports that Jackson died of cardiac arrest, Elias said, “Everybody’s heart stops, it’s very non-specific.”

Meanwhile, Michael Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Tohme Tohme, who was trying to revive the pop legend when EMTs arrived at his LA-area house yesterday, has gone missing. Detectives are hunting for Tohme, who was summoned to his rented house on Sunset Blvd. on Wednesday night when he first fell ill. It is believed the missing doctor gave the star a dose of Demerol, a painkiller similar to morphine, before he suffered a cardiac arrest. “Michael Jackson’s personal physician’s car was impounded,” said Officer Richard French, an LAPD spokesman. “The car might contain medication or other evidence that could assist the coroner in determining the cause of Michael Jackson’s death.” French did not identify the doctor, who was with Jackson on Thursday when he stopped breathing and tried to resuscitate him. Paramedics were called to Jackson’s home at 12:26 p.m. and they worked on him for 45 minutes before rushing him to UCLA Medical Center. There, doctors took over and tried to revive Jackson for nearly an hour before pronouncing him dead at 2:26 pm PST. While Jackson suffered from a host of health problems, his reported addiction to prescription drugs fueled speculation he overdosed.

London’s Sun reported that Jackson had trouble breathing after his morning shot of Demerol on Thursday, which was administered by his personal physician. “He started to experience slow, shallow breathing,” a source told the paper. “His breathing gradually got slower and slower until it stopped. His staff started mouth-to-mouth and an ambulance was called which got there in eight minutes.” Brian Oxman, a former attorney of Jackson’s and a family friend, said he was concerned about Jackson’s use of painkillers and he warned the singer’s family about possible abuse. “This (Jackson) family has been trying for months and months and months to take care of Michael Jackson. The people who have surrounded him have been enabling him. If you think the case of Anna Nicole Smith was an abuse that is nothing compared to what has taken place in the life of Michael Jackson. I do not know what medications he was taking, but the reports that we have received within the family are that they were extensive.”

He later added: “I did warn him about the drugs, but I am sorry I didn’t warn him enough. I am going to wait until I get the toxicology report, and if his death has something to do with drugs, I am prepared to name names of doctors who prescribed them.”

Oxman claims Jackson had prescription drugs at his disposal to help with pain suffered when he broke his leg after he fell off a stage and for broken vertebrae in his back. “When the autopsy comes, all hell’s going to break loose, so thank God we’re celebrating him now,” Liza Minnelli told CBS’ “The Early Show” by telephone.

What Now For Michael Jackson’s Three Children? Rare Photos of Prince Michael, Paris, and Prince Michael II

Paris (left) and Prince Michael

Brian Oxman, the Jackson family’s longtime lawyer, revealed that Michael’s Jackson’s three children will most likely be placed in the care of his mother Katherine. “Probably Mrs. Jackson will take care of them, she loves them dearly,” Oxman said. Unfortunately the children were at the home when their father was taken away in an ambulance Thursday afternoon and witnessed the events that unfolded though they were not at UCLA Medical Center where Jackson was taken.  They are currently still in LA and with a nanny.

The death of Michael Jackson is likely to spark a massive legal battle over how much of his fortune, what is left of it, goes to his three children after the singer was pronounced dead aged 50 at a hospital in Los Angeles on Thursday. Although Jackson ranked alongside the Beatles and Elvis Presley in terms of his earnings, in recent years he had amassed massive debts of an estimated $60million. He had planned a series of comeback concerts at London’s 02, which would have cleared his debts.

Jackson is survived by Prince Michael, 12, and Paris, 11, and seven-year-old Prince Michael II, known as Blanket. Sources say that Jackson’s ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, is also expected to receive initial custody while long term arrangements are sorted. Prince Michael and Paris were the product of Jackson’s second marriage to Rowe, nurse, in 1996. After the couple divorced in 1999, Jackson took on sole responsibility for their children’s upbringing. His third child, Prince Michael II, was born to a mystery surrogate mother he never even met.

Jackson took an unusual approach to protecting his children from the media glare by covering their faces while in public. In 2002, Jackson caused a public outcry by dangling the baby, referred to as ‘Blanket,’ out of a third-floor hotel balcony in front of the worlds press. He later said he regretted the incident. Earlier this month, Jackson was photographed with his two older children in Los Angeles and the public was given a rare glimpse of their unmasked faces as they walked into a recording studio. Later, when they realized they were being watched, the children donned feathered pink and green masks.

Despite accusations that the fair-skinned boy and girl were not his biological children, Jackson always insisted they are biologically his. During his infamous 2003 interview with Martin Bashir, Jackson said: ‘I used a surrogate mother (for Blanket) and my own sperm cells. I had my own sperm cells in my other two children. They are all my children.’

Did Painkiller Addiction Contribute to Michael Jackson’s Death?

The untimely passing of Michael Jackson, at the age of 50, has stunned the world of music. But those who knew Michael Jackson say the warning signs of his fading health were clear in recent months and his long-term addiction to painkillers is the obvious underlying health issue which, combined with the considerable pressure of attempting a show business comeback, may just have claimed his life.

An Emergency Room source at UCLA hospital said Jackson aides told medics he had collapsed after an injection of potent Demerol, similar to morphine. A Jackson source said: “Shortly after taking the Demerol he started to experience slow shallow breathing. “His breathing gradually got slower and slower until it stopped. His staff started mouth-to-mouth and an ambulance was called which got there in eight minutes but he was in full respiratory arrest, no breathing and no pulse. They started full CPR and rushed him to hospital.  When he arrived they started resuscitation, giving him heart shocks and inserted a breathing tube and other supportive measures to try and save his life. He never regained consciousness. The family was told that he had passed.”

Only last month, the UK Daily Mail reported that Jackson was struggling to attend rehearsals for his comeback tour, which was due to start in July at the O2 in London. Out of 45 rehearsals, he has attended only two. Rumors of a painkiller addiction surfaced after enduring back pain in addition to other medical issues. The source, who asked not to be named, said: ‘He has pain in his back and that is the reason for the drugs, but it is obvious that the painkillers have taken over his life.’ He added: ‘His family is telling him to ditch the medications and get on with the tour.’ ‘He had been so frail, both physically and emotionally,’ the acquaintance said. ‘Many warned he was pushing too hard and overdoing things, but he wanted to get back to work so badly, he kept pushing himself harder and harder.” Another family source said he had become increasingly withdrawn over recent weeks, leaning on his mother Katherine for support as his health deteriorated.

Sadly there were no signs that Jackson was able to conquer his dependencies, believed to be to over the counter prescription opiates such as Dialudid. As it happens, a consequence of an overdose of these drugs is cardiac arrest. Jackson’s body has been transferred to the coroner for an autopsy on Friday.

According to most sources, his addictions actually dated back to the accident he had when filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984, when a stunt went badly wrong. It is also widely known that he became hooked on the prescription painkiller Demerol after an accident in rehearsals for a 1993 tour. At the time, he was also said to have developed a dependency on the anti-anxiety medications Valium, Xanax and Ativan, and entered rehab.

Jackson’s overall health has been in question and as recently as 12 months ago he was frail enough to ask for a wheelchair when on a shopping trip. He also said that the repeated operations on his nose left him struggling to breathe. Recently, Jackson denied reports that he was suffering from skin cancer, and promoter Randy Phillips said: ‘I would trade my body for his tomorrow. He’s in fantastic shape.’ But the truth is that Jackson was destroyed emotionally and physically by his trial on charges of sex abuse in 2005 (a trial, incidentally, during which he spent much of the time in a wheelchair, claiming to be in serious pain from a broken vertebra in his back). Though he was cleared of all charges, the sordid details that emerged during the trial left him mentally and physically broken. Since then, Jackson lived in his own bubble, surrounded by staff and protected by a permanent security team of five. He spent most days playing with his children Prince Michael, Paris Katherine and Prince Michael II (known as Blanket).

Farrah Fawcett’s Son Notified of Her Death in Jail, Will Attend Funeral; Charlie’s Angels Pay Tribute

Arrangements are underway for a private funeral service for Farrah Fawcett, who died on Thursday in Los Angeles. Longtime love, Ryan O’Neal, recently said that he and Farrah would tie the knot before she passed, but sadly the ceremony didn’t happen. “There just wasn’t time, and Farrah wasn’t in any condition to do it,” Ryan said.

Farrah Fawcett’s son, Redmond O’Neal, learned of his mother’s death while serving time in the L.A. County jail. Redmond is devastated by the death of his mother and is committed to his sobriety to honor her because he promised he would stay clean for her. “He was told last night that death was imminent. His dad called him again this morning and informed him.” Redmond O’Neal did not speak to his mom last night or this morning so the jailbird’s final words to Fawcett were spoken during that April visit. Officials sent a chaplain and a grief counselor, accompanied by a sheriff’s deputy, to break the news, according to L.A. County sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore. “He’s doing well, considering the circumstances,” Whitmore said. Redmond was also allowed to speak by phone to his father from jail today about his mother’s death. O’Neal will be allowed to attend his mother’s funeral, he added. A similar court-approved visit was allowed when Fawcett fell ill in April.

O’Neal, 24, whose father is actor Ryan O’Neal, was arrested in April on charges of trying to smuggle drugs into a county jail, the latest in a string of drug-related arrests. Redmond O’Neal’s three-hour visit with his mother in April took place at Fawcett’s home and was supervised by a sergeant and a deputy. Wearing his jail garb, Redmond O’Neal gently crawled into bed with his mom in hopes of not making any sound from his leg chains since Redmond and his dad wanted to hide the son’s confinement from Farrah, who didn’t seem to notice. That was the last time he saw his mother in person.

“Charlie’s Angels” and a famed red bathing suit poster in 1976 catapulted Fawcett to mega-stardom (and teen boy’s bedrooms). “I’m terribly sad about Farrah’s passing,” former “Angels” co-star Cheryl Ladd said today. “She was incredibly brave, and God will be welcoming her with open arms.” “Angel” Jaclyn Smith said she hopes Fawcett is now in a better place. “Farrah had courage, she had strength, and she had faith,” Smith said. “And now she has peace as she rests with the real angels.”

Ryan O’Neal has asked that in lieu of flowers donations be made to support cancer research via Farrah’s charity:
The Farrah Fawcett Foundation
c/o P.O. Box 6478
Beverly Hills, CA 90212