The Liz Smith Column | 06/28/2009 11:00 pm

Liz Smith: Remembering My Michael Jackson

Our Gossip Girl remembers back to when she first got to know the King of Pop.

"What do you read my Lord Hamlet?"

"Words, words, words."

So goes the exchange between Polonius and the Melancholy Dane.

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And it’s words, words, words we are getting now in the wake of Michael Jackson’s shocking death at the age of 50. Laudatory and extravagant words, bitter words, accusatory and defensive words.

But what struck me instantly, as soon as I heard the news, was a terrible sense of déjà vu. Hadn’t we somehow been here before? Hadn’t we already seen Michael die so many times over the years – the death of his innocence, the death of his youthful beauty, the death of his reputation?

As with the passings of Marilyn and Elvis, there was shock, but no real surprise … these were icons fated to meet untimely and unhappy ends. And none more so than Michael, who chose to live on the absolute precipice for so many years, even, finally, falling into the abyss.

Was he a victim or a predator? Trapped by fame or enraptured by his cosseted existence? A selfless humanitarian or a ruthless self-promoter? A breathless Peter Pan or a gruff-voiced, hard-eyed business mogul? Or did he inhabit all these selves?

Unlike his great friend Elizabeth Taylor, who was similarly used as a cash-making golden goose by her family and her old MGM studio bosses, Michael couldn’t/wouldn’t break away from his childhood traumas. He seemed unable to begin to live out the life of a functioning adult, with adult passions and a basic center of reality. Taylor’s career was secondary to her life as a passionate woman, the mothering of her children. She managed to balance the inevitable narcissism of self-love with a more down-to-earth view of herself and her situation.

Michael, like Elvis – perhaps because of the emotionalism music creates in audiences – rushed headlong into unreality. He and Elvis built their own prisons and fashioned their odd lives to suit themselves. They took no good advice. They were surrounded by the worst kind of enablers. (Indeed, enablers may have killed Michael!)

Many more words are to come. Current headlines are just the beginning, everything you never wanted to know will be exposed, and the battle for Michael’s millions and the custody of his poor children will fill newspapers and tabloids for years.

So here’s how I want to remember Michael – not as the mega-star, not as Wacko Jacko, but as a lovely boy whom I got to know a bit during the filming of "The Wiz" when he was 16. He was shy – surprisingly so, for somebody who was already a showbiz veteran, and a star. His solo "Off The Wall" and "Thriller" albums were just around the corner. He was still the brilliant lead singer of The Jackson Five – a group that never would have gotten off the ground had it not been for Michael’s unique talents (much like the career of Michael’s friend/mentor/inspiration Miss Diana Ross and her Supremes).

There was nothing, and I mean nothing to suggest what was to come, in terms of eccentricity. He had yet to alter his face at all. He was a handsome young man on the set of "The Wiz." I wish I could tell you something dramatic, but in those days Michael wasn’t given to drama. The vibe he put out was one of eager, honest, hardworking drive. His soft-spoken ways were not quite so soft as they later became. He didn’t seem like a fragile Tennessee Williams heroine, ravaged by life and fearing the light. He was just a boy, on his way up. Charming.

At Elizabeth Taylor’s wedding to Larry Fortensky, I was at Neverland and sat by Michael during the wedding dinner. That night he explained to me his love for Elizabeth: "We were both child stars. We understand each other!" I was amused in that Michael was dressed more elaborately and had on more makeup than the bride. (And the groom, Fortensky, wasn’t even often at the table.)

65 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Lin: Call me Cubie. :D

Yeah. LL and those crazed visits to her ex’s place at 3 a.m. The anorexia. The drugs. The booze. Her parents are obviously completely socked into the celebrity end of all of this. Parenting right out the window. What is their excuse? She’s an adult and can live her own life? Why shut off the golden valve of media attention and money and help their child. They are digusting pigs. And if LL keeps stealing, and I do believe she has been stealing over time, she’s really going to land in the clinker just like good ole Dad. Parent Trap was on the other day. I didn’t linger, but there was pretty Miranda Richardson..gone so tragically…and tiny little LL…freckled face just beaming…cute as a bug. A real pity.

By Washington Cube on 06/29/2009 1:54 pm

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HEY CUBIE: FYI, IT WAS THE LOVELY, RADIANT NATASHA RICARDSON WHO PASSED. I DON’T KNOW ABOUT LL STEALING, BUT I DO KNOW A LONELY, SAD CHILD DESPERATELY NEEDING SOME "HEALTHY" LOVE AND SUPPORT WHEN I SEE ONE. THIS KID WILL PROBABLY FIGHT OFF ANY ATTEMPTS FROM TRULY CARING PEOPLE - BECAUSE SHE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT THAT IS - SHE STILL ACTUALLY THINKS HER MOTHER IS GREAT. SHE’S IN DENIAL, EXTREME DENIAL. SHE - LIKE MICHAEL HAS NEVER HAD UNSELFISH LOVE. SHE LIKE MARILYN, MICHAEL AND SO MANY OTHERS - DOESN’T KNOW WHAT LOVE IS. THIS POOR KID NEEDS FRIENDS WHO DON’T WANT ANYTHING FROM HER - IT WILL TAKE A GREAT DEAL OF PATIENCE AND DEDICATION TO GET THROUGH TO HER. WHO OUT THERE IN CELEB LAND HAS IT TO GIVE???

By Lin Cercone on 06/29/2009 8:17 pm

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Lin: Right on Natasha. I was making mistakes left and right this a.m. I saw the most disturbing picture of LL this morning…her "tribute" to MJ….a black fedora tilted, taken in a bedroom…some strange boy sitting on the edge of a bed and LL with her hand jammed down her black underwear. Tasteful. Another picture where she was looking…very "used" and twice her age.

By Washington Cube on 06/29/2009 9:00 pm

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Michael was used in a way most wouldn’t understand. Having seen the people in different circles that Lisa Maria called vampires and leeches I feel for him. He only wanted to be loved. Sadly enough the love he dreamed of always eluded him. Liz you are so right to remember the young boy. I think through out the years it was the early abuse by his father and who knows who else in the business that sent him over the edge. Children should be children Having worked in show business I have seen parents who curdled my blood. Handlers who were abusive and teachers on tour who were no more in behavior than nasty children making fun of others. Please don’t get me wrong not all the business is like that. But children should be able to be children. Not cattle to be used.

By S G on 06/29/2009 7:42 am

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Michael Jackson was a very talented and tortured soul but one who non the less brought great joy to millions around the world. Like Elvis he will live on in the hearts of many and his music will be played for years to come.

By caj p on 06/29/2009 8:36 am

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Unlike some I never got to meet MJ but I can tell you that I never thought he molested any children. He may have over stepped some boundaries but never went that far. I feel for his kids, they are now with their Grandmother, which I have heard has always been in their lives so maybe she can keep them safe and guarded. His Father is showing his true colors again and how he used his family for his own fame & fortune. I dont blame Michael for not wanting to look like his father and getting the plastic surgery but I wish he hadnt of taken it so far.

The media was awful to him in life and I feel they will be just as awful if not more in death.

By C Hardy on 06/29/2009 8:51 am

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I was never a Michael Jackson fan although I had great appreciation for his talent. His trajectory from a sad, abused child to a super star to someone unrecognizable is both wondrous and troubling. I didn’t watch much of the coverage on him, but did see an interview where he denies ever having plastic surgery except on his nose, claims he is the father of his two older children although the mother claims otherwise, talks about his abuse by his father, and says when interviewer asks him about the Peter Pan motifs that are so plentiful at Neverland answers: "I AM Peter Pan…I will never grow up." It seems to me that by taking care of children, he is really taking care of himself––having the childhood he was denied and needed so desperately. I couldn’t help thinking while watching his intimate discussion with this interviewer that here was a man that looked like a woman mothering himself in the process.

By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 06/29/2009 9:08 am

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I didn’t believe the allegations against Michael Jackson. I couldn’t remember what happened during the 1993 so I read some info regarding the case. Just like 2003 allegations, that case smelled too!!

By Kristy B on 06/29/2009 9:13 am

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Thank you Liz, for the article. I thought he only had two children but I guess there were 3. It must have been tough growing up the way Michael did. Having read official stories from the Jackson camp when I was younger, Michael had a great deal of love for his mother and was interested in spirituality (at that time Jehovah’s Witnesses). Whose mission in knocking on your door ,is the redemption of their name for God. He used to knock on doors with his mother as well. If you watch the Thriller video the beginning, out of respect for the faith of his mother, has a disclaimer. I’m not JW advertising just saying…

Michael reportedly wrote the song Somebody’s Watching Me and did background vocals for it even though Rockwell (who was that?) recorded it. Youtube it and you get a glimpse of the situation Mj was dealing with his whole life especially after the Thriller album.

It’s so ironic, I’ve been listening to Elvis cd’s for the last few weeks (gospel and secular) and thinking what a tragedy -mulling that idea. Then boom my school age entertainment idol passes on. May Jehovah remember him in JW terms, or perhaps he’ll be one of 5 People the media meets in heaven. Who knows?

May God Bless the Jacksons, in their time of sorrow who have entertained us and taught by many of their songs since before I was born. It was nice to see an article from someone who met him.

By Jennifer Michaels on 06/29/2009 9:20 am

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boy Liz… you’ve lost a lot of people lately. that sucks. My condolences.

My daughter made a comment the other day about how the world really lost Michael Jackson a long time ago. That we lost what "might have been" long before he actually died. Your post made me think of that.

By Chrome Toe on 06/29/2009 9:27 am

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I will remember Michael Jackson for his wonderful musical talent and his magical dancing ability, and say, "Thank You." I will also recall the words and the insight of Ms. Smith and my fellow posters on wOw. I thank you, too. As I’ve previously posted, Michael Jackson is definitely Moon-Walking among the clouds.

By Patricia Sprofera on 06/29/2009 9:46 am

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Nicely put, Liz.

I remember watching the Jackson Five on television at my Grandmother’s house, amazed by little Micheal (my age!) out front and center, stealing the show. I had a transistor radio that I rode around in the basket of my pink bicycle with a banana seat and tall handlebars, singing along to "ABC," and other Jackson Five tunes. A poster of Micheal was on my wall from "Tiger Beat" magazine, and when Asheville City Schools were integrated when I was in the sixth grade, Michael Jackson was common ground between the white kids and the black kids.

He morphed quite a bit before "Thriller," but I had the cassette and was still a fan. At two, my son could sing part of the words to "Beat It."

My kids are all grown now, and the Micheal Jackson they knew was truly a horse of another color (excuse the pun!). I was sickened and disappointed when the molestation accusations came out; even if he was innocent, he set himself up for the allegations — not smart. No, it’s not appropriate for a grown man to have sleepovers with kids and sleep in the same bed with them. Even then, though, Micheal was a bit of a weirdo, so what were the parents thinking??

And dangling the baby off a balcony? What’s that about?

The Micheal Jackson I admired passed away a long time ago.

By Dee L on 06/29/2009 10:24 am

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Dee…your post sums up my feelings very well.."The Michael Jackson I admired passed away a long time ago".

By Kelly In Texas on 06/29/2009 12:55 pm

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My question- which I guess I already know the answer to - why put all of this out in publci? Why not just say he died of cardiac arrest or drug overdose and leave it at that? Why open yourselves up (his family) to the publicity to see them ranting and raving? (as it seems his father is doing - I haven’t seen any of that, I haven’t watched tv this weekend.) Why not hole yourselves and your family up in the house - or compound - and refuse to release any information? It will now become a big fight over how he died, who is to blame (which if someone is to blame, yes they should be held accountable), where the money will go, how much in debt he was, etc. Why fight on TV? Why not do things quietly, discreetly and privately? It seems that his death has become as much of a circus as his life was. And you know the family will not be kind in the custody fight of the children.

I choose to remember him as a good singer, great dancer who influenced those my age to wear any red/black leather jacket immitation they could get their hands on. I don’t think it matters to me just how he died, only that he did.

By r t on 06/29/2009 10:50 am