by Donald Bogle
Interestingly, during her later years, Elizabeth appeared to have come to terms with her life—and its meaning. After her brain surgery, she had given an interview to Barbara Walters in which she explained publicly her relationship with her father—and the physical abuse she had suffered yet come to understand. It was something she had referred to but without giving any specifics during Michael’s interview at Neverland with Oprah Winfrey. Now she gave some details and revealed how she came to understand her father. “When I was a little girl, my father was abusive when he drank and seemed to like to bat me around a bit,” she said. “But when I left home and had my own child, I started thinking about my father and how it must have felt for him to have his 9-year-old daughter making more money than he was, all of a sudden shoot to fame when he had been this very proud, beautiful, dignified man. And I don’t blame him at all. I know he was drunk when he did it. I know he didn’t mean to do it. He didn’t know what he was doing.” She remembered that she had called him and asked him to come to her home. There the two discussed her early years. “I put my arms around him and buried my head in his neck, and we both sobbed . . . and we bonded for the first time since I was nine. And it was until he died.” She still maintained a certain privacy. But she had been willing to discuss publicly something she and Michael most likely discussed in the initial years of their friendship.
“Despite compulsive addictions, and addictive compulsions, Elizabeth was not a tragic victim like Marilyn Monroe or Judy Garland, nor was she an empty shell like Lana Turner,” commented Liz Smith. “She did not lash out uncontrollably like Ava Gardner. She did not escape, unhappily, like Grace Kelly. No, Elizabeth did not have any tortured ambivalence about fame or privilege. She accepted it. Fame was all she knew.” But she had channeled that fame for the benefit of others into the AIDS battle, which had given her life a new meaning.
In March 2009, she gave an interview to Kim Kardashian for Harper’s Bazaar in which she had told the young woman who idolized her, “I never planned to acquire a lot of jewels or a lot of husbands. For me, life happened, just as it does for everyone else. I have been extremely lucky in my life in that I have known great love, and of course, I am the temporary custodian of some incredible and beautiful things. But I have never felt more alive than when I have watched my children delight in something, never more alive than when I have watched some great artist perform, and never richer than when I have scored a big check for AIDS. Follow your passion, follow your heart, and the things you need will come.”
• • •
On April 12, 2009—just a little over a month since announcing the AEG concerts—Michael and his children attended Elizabeth’s Easter party. Among the guests, there was much talk about Michael’s forthcoming concerts. Elizabeth herself was making plans to attend. For Michael, there was the pleasure of Elizabeth’s company: the laughter, the warmth, the bravery amid so much discomfort.
There now seemed to be a calm within her that Michael no doubt detected that Easter. He himself had not yet arrived at that point. He had tried to move forward by focusing on his family. But still bruised by the scandals and now struggling with finances, he had to find a way to keep himself afloat. Elizabeth’s friendship helped.
Tito Jackson remarked on “her steadfast loyalty and unwavering friendship” to Michael. “Liz provided a sense of relief and comfort to my brother at various difficult times in his life.”
• • •
In May, Michael took his children to an Indian restaurant in Beverly Hills to be a part of the Jacksons’ “Family Day,” a festive time when the brothers and their large families gathered with their parents to celebrate. This year it was a celebration of the sixty-year marriage of Katherine and Joseph—but with a surprise. Katherine and Joseph were told they would be dining with their children. Unknown to them was the fact that in the restaurant was the entire family, which included not only the children with their spouses but also the grandchildren. Janet had arranged the special gathering. When Katherine first entered a private room of the restaurant, she was greeted by the cheers of everyone. Her face lit up with joy. Michael stood with the rest of the family as happy about the family gathering as everyone else. No matter what, he still loved them all. He and his three children were at brother Jackie’s table. At one point, Jermaine recalled that Janet—seated on the other side of the room—started making strange sounds that were “half scream, half cackle.” Suddenly, Michael burst into laughter. It was a private joke, a special moment, between Michael and Janet, the sister to whom he had felt closest when growing up. It didn’t matter that no one else seemed to be in on the joke. For Michael and Janet, it apparently meant much. That evening, Jermaine said, was the last time the family saw Michael alive.
Chapter 24
* * *
AS HE BRACED himself for the performances, Michael began rehearsals at Los Angeles’s Staples Center under the direction of choreographer Kenny Ortega, who had an impressive list of credits stretching back to 1980, when he had worked with the legendary Gene Kelly in the film Xanadu. Later Ortega did the choreography for the 1987 hit movie Dirty Dancing. He also choreographed music videos, including Madonna’s “Material Girl.” On television, he directed and choreographed a trio of deliriously impassioned teen singing-and-dancing spectaculars: High School Musical, High School Musical 2, and High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Imaginative and masterful at capturing the attitudes, rhythms, and energies of youth, he had also worked with Michael on the Dangerous and HIStory tours and was sensitive to Michael’s artistic needs and his methods of expression. He also understood Michael well enough that if there should be personal or health issues, Ortega could navigate his way around them. In turn, Michael appeared to trust Ortega. The This Is It show grew to some twenty production numbers, reportedly running up a tab of $30 million. For the dancers, the musicians, the crew, and the countless behind-the-scenes staffers, the preparations for the concert were certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Some had grown up watching the King of Pop. Others had gazed at him from afar. Now just catching a glimpse of him at the Staples Center during rehearsals was enough to cause goose bumps, to stop people in their tracks.
The long rehearsals, sometimes running for eight hours, could be tough and certainly grueling. Suffering from insomnia and the long-standing anxieties, the now fifty-year-old Jackson fought to maintain his stamina. Some days everything went well, and as was later seen in the posthumously released film of rehearsals titled Michael Jackson’s This Is It, a thin, rather vague and wan Jackson nonetheless remained a fascinating perfectionist, the consummate performing artist, who worked strenuously, demanding the utmost from the musicians, the dancers, and of course, himself. With his magic undiminished, he was a marvel to behold. But other days, things didn’t go well. “He wasn’t himself today,” was what bodyguard Bill Whitfield said he heard about some rehearsals. Very soon there were problems. Shortened rehearsals. Missed rehearsals.
Not long before Michael was to fly to England for the shows, his former manager and television producer Ron Weisner met with him at the Staples Center and was shocked by what he saw. “He hadn’t looked really healthy for a good long while, but this was at a whole other level. The first thing I thought when I saw him was, He looks like a goddamn prisoner of war.” Weisner believed that Michael weighed about a hundred pounds. After watching Michael struggle through a rehearsal, Weisner concluded: “I knew there was no way he’d get to England. No way. For that matter, I knew that was the last time I’d see him.” In Michael’s eyes, Weisner saw “a look I’ve seen too many times in my life, a look of resignation, a look that said, It’s over, and it broke my heart, because up until things headed south in the early 2000s, he had it all.” Few knew about Michael’s “fearlessness,” Weisner said. “There’s nothing, nothing he wouldn’t try in order to entertain a crowd of 100 or 100,000.”
• • •
During long conversations with Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael discussed his family, his trouble
s, his life, and his feelings for Elizabeth. “His father Joe Jackson was one of the destroyers of Michael, and Michael told me his mother was an enabler,” Murray said. “Michael told me that Liz Taylor was more of a mother to him than Katherine ever was.” Harsh as it sounded, Michael no doubt still had conflicting feelings and perhaps even harbored resentment because his mother agreed to so much that Joseph wanted. Concerned that fifty concerts would destroy Michael’s health, Katherine reportedly was persuaded to push for a reunion tour in which Michael’s brothers would be there to help carry the weight, and of course, from the family’s vantage point, ensure a fabulously entertaining show. Much as he loved his mother, he was adamant that there would be no reunion tour. With Elizabeth, he never had to deal with conflicting emotions, never felt torn, which no doubt accounts for his comment about Katherine to Murray. Regardless, Michael appeared always to love his mother profoundly.
Disoriented and struggling to focus, his problems were exacerbated by his chronic insomnia. When desperation set in, he was vocal about his need for sleep medication, mainly the drug propofol—a high-powered sedative used in surgeries to numb patients to pain. But propofol had to be administered under tight security. A nurse Michael met said he pleaded with her for the drug. She declined to help.
Michael was on a frantic search for relief from the pain and his insomnia. He apparently turned to his friend Arnold Klein for help. During this time (roughly from February to May), “Klein had injected Jackson with Demerol fifty-one times in the three months prior to his death,” TMZ later reported. “Klein also took Jackson to various surgery centers to put him under with propofol, the drug that killed the singer. On one occasion Klein took Jackson to the gynecologist next door to his office and put him under with anesthesia which one doctor said was propofol under the pretext it was for an acne treatment. Klein denied it was propofol. Klein gave Jackson prescriptions for various narcotic drugs including Demerol under a variety of aliases, including Omar Arnold, Fernand Diaz, Peter Madonie and Josephine Baker.”
Kenny Ortega became alarmed by the missed rehearsals and by Michael’s state of mind. On June 19, Ortega sent Michael home from a dismal rehearsal. Afterward, Ortega e-mailed an AEG executive: “He appeared quite weak and fatigued this evening. He had a terrible case of the chills, was trembling, rambling, and obsessing. Everything in me says he should be psychologically evaluated. If we have any chance at all to get him back in the light, it’s going to take a strong therapist to help him through this as well as immediate physical nurturing.” Ortega added: “I believe that he really wants this. It would shatter him, break his heart if we pulled the plug. He’s terribly frightened it’s all going to go away. He asked me repeatedly tonight if I was going to leave him. He was practically begging for my confidence. It broke my heart. He was like a lost boy. There may still be a chance he can rise to the occasion if we get him the help he needs.” But on June 24, Michael was back in action at the Staples Center for a dress rehearsal.
That night at home, Michael turned to Dr. Murray for help with sleeping. Murray gave him the sedatives lorazepam and midazolam. But nothing helped. After ten in the morning on June 25, Murray gave him twenty-five milligrams of propofol. Later, Murray realized Michael was not breathing. After administering CPR, Murray ran downstairs. He called for help. Michael’s children Prince and Paris went into their father’s bedroom. After almost a half hour, 911 was finally called.
An ambulance rushed Michael to the UCLA Medical Center. Hearing the news, Katherine Jackson rushed to the hospital. Other family members soon congregated at the hospital. La Toya. Randy. Janet called from New York. But it was too late. En route to the hospital, Jermaine received a call on his cell phone from his mother, who said, “He’s dead!” Once at UCLA Medical Center, Jermaine recalled: “I walked over, knelt beside her and hugged her as tight as I could. She was rigid and didn’t even flinch, such was the strength of her daze. I kept holding her, gaining comfort as much as giving.” Later Jermaine met with the press to announce: “My brother, the legendary King of Pop, Michael Jackson, passed away Thursday, June 25, 2009, at 2:26 p.m. It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home. However, the cause of his death is unknown until the results of the autopsy are known.” According to Jermaine, Michael had stopped breathing in his bedroom around 12:05.
Once TMZ’s website broke the news, social media—Google, Twitter, the website of the Los Angeles Times—went into a frenzy as fans and others, unable to fathom what had happened, feverishly searched for information. (That same day, actress Farrah Fawcett also died.) Later they expressed their shock and their grief. At New York’s Apollo Theater, distraught fans gathered outside in tribute to Michael. Around the world, there were candlelight vigils. At London’s O2 arena, where Michael was to have performed, fans gathered, many dressed in sequined military jackets and one single white glove. The next day, newspapers around the country ran front-page stories on his death. Network broadcasts opened with the story. Social media continued to relay an outpouring of grief.
When word first broke of Michael’s death, Elizabeth was in the bedroom of her Bel Air home, where her staff was preparing for her trip to London. Upon hearing the devastating news, Elizabeth was said to have let out a piercing cry and shrieks that could be heard throughout the house. What had happened? How could this be?
Having opened a Twitter account, she expressed her sorrow the day after Michael’s death:
My heart . . . my mind . . . are broken. I loved Michael with all my soul and I can’t imagine life without him.
We had so much in common and we had such loving fun together.
I was packing up my clothes to go to London for his opening when I heard the news. I still can’t believe it. I don’t want to believe it.
It can’t be so. He will live in my heart forever but it’s not enough. My life feels so empty.
I don’t think anyone knew how much we loved each other. The purest most giving love I’ve ever known. Oh God! I’m going to miss him.
I can’t imagine life without him. But I guess with God’s help I’ll learn.
On July 7, 2009, a tribute was held at the Staples Center with Michael’s children, his family, and a host of celebrities that included Brooke Shields, Berry Gordy Jr., Stevie Wonder, Usher, Mariah Carey, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, and John Mayer. Michael’s daughter, Paris, broke down as she paid tribute to him. More than thirty-one million in the United States watched the televised event. Millions of others watched in England, Brazil, and other countries. Some thirty-seven million streamed it on their computers.
But Elizabeth was nowhere in sight.
On Twitter on July 6, Dame Elizabeth had announced:
I’ve been asked to speak at the Staples Center. I will not be a part of the hoopla.
And I cannot guarantee that I would be coherent to say a word.
I just don’t believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others. How I feel is between us. Not a public event.
I said I wouldn’t go to the Staples Center and I certainly don’t want to be a part of it. I love him too much.
My heart goes out to Katherine and Michael’s beloved children.
But columnist Cindy Adams believed the family did not want her at the tribute. “Michael Jackson’s twists and turns in death mirror those in his life,” Adams commented. “Ever wonder why two bold-faced names, topping any list of those who crept closest to him, were not among those who cried for the cameras? Debbie Rowe ostensibly shunned that media attention? Really? Why? . . . Elizabeth Taylor, Krazy Glued to him forever as his closest, truest friend, ostensibly preferred to mourn privately? Really? Why?” Adams added: “About Debbie, who knows? Who cares? About Elizabeth, I know. I also know both sides will deny this and issue press releases saying I’m an imbecile, I’m babbling, I should be committed. OK, now that that’s out of the way. Elizabeth Taylor was snubbed. Not accidentally. Deliberately. Willfully. Given short shrift. Put on the B-Minus
list.” Adams also commented: “The family purposefully dissed her. Didn’t want her. Offered her a seat someplace in the Staples Center, but not with them. Not near them. Nor was the world’s most famous name given an invite or access to any of their private events. Not one. Why? Because she was always Michael’s friend. Not the family’s. Michael’s. They resented her. Elizabeth Taylor was crushed. She’s still crying.”
• • •
On September 3, 2009, Elizabeth did, however, attend Michael’s private funeral at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, along with the Jackson family and various friends that included Lisa Marie Presley, Macaulay Culkin, Quincy Jones, Corey Feldman, and many more, in total about two hundred people for the private ninety-minute service. Gladys Knight sang “His Eye Is on the Sparrow.” The pallbearers were Michael’s five brothers—Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy. Michael’s children placed a crown on his coffin. The family had hoped Michael might be buried at Neverland. But because of red tape that would have entailed for months, it was decided to bury him in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery. Frail and in a wheelchair, Elizabeth looked as if struggling against pain. Yet she was as magnetic as ever, her eyes still drawing the world in. There she saw Tito Jackson and his son TJ, Michael’s beloved nephew, as well as other members of the family.