1958 A STAR IS BORN: Michael Joseph Jackson is born in Gary, Ind., on Aug. 29, the seventh child in the family. Following his dad and older brothers, he takes to music at an early age, performing in a Christmas recital at just 5 years old.
1964 Jackson and his brother Marlon join the Jackson Brothers, a band started by their older siblings Jackie, Tito and Jermaine. After playing percussion, Michael soon begins singing backup vocals and dancing. By 8, he takes on lead vocals with Jermaine, and the group becomes known as the Jackson 5.
1968 MOTOWN AND RISE TO FAME: The group signs with powerhouse label Motown Records in 1968. The Jackson 5 becomes the first act to have its first four singles on a major label reach No. 1 on the charts. The hits include “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save” and “I”ll Be There.”
1975 The boy band leaves Motown after some less successful releases. The group signs with CBS Records, and Motown sues for breach of contract. As part of the agreement to let the Jackson 5 switch labels, the group changes its name to the Jacksons.
1978 “THE WIZ”: Jackson stars as Scarecrow in this movie adapted from the Broadway musical. The film receives four Oscar nominations, along with a Best Supporting Actor nod for Jackson from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.
1979 The performer breaks his nose during a dance routine. He has rhinoplasty surgery but complains of breathing difficulties. The operation is believed to be the first of many cosmetic enhancements.
1982 “THRILLER”: Jackson’s sixth album is released on Nov. 30, featuring hits such as “Billie Jean” and “Beat It.” It goes on to become the best-selling record of all time, with 109 million copies sold to date. It remains on the Billboard 200’s top-10 list for 80 straight weeks and is the first album to have seven Billboard Hot 100 singles.
1983 MOONWALK: Jackson’s trademark dance move makes its debut on March 25, when he performs live on the “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever” TV special. While singing “Billie Jean,” Jackson awes viewers with a move that makes him appear to be stepping forward as he glides backward.
1984: Pyrotechnics set the star’s hair on fire while filming a Pepsi commercial in Los Angeles on Jan. 27. He suffers second-degree burns to his scalp and is rushed to the hospital.
1985 BRANCHING OUT: Hugely popular, Jackson turns his interest to a variety of projects. “We Are the World,” written with Lionel Richie, becomes one of the best-selling singles of all time, and the proceeds are donated to famine relief in Africa. After befriending Paul McCartney, Jackson buys the publishing rights to more than 100 Beatles songs. Meanwhile, the singer adopts a chimpanzee, named Bubbles; his close friendship with the animal, coupled with stories that he has purchased the bones of the Elephant Man and sleeps in an oxygen chamber, earn him the nickname “Wacko Jacko.” The star is troubled by health issues such as vitiligo, which causes chronic depigmentation of large patches of skin.
1987 “BAD”: Jackson releases the followup to “Thriller.” While “Bad’s” sales can”t match those of its predecessor, it includes hummable hits such as “The Way You Make Me Feel” and “Man in the Mirror.”
1988: Jackson’s autobiography, “Moon Walk,” hits shelves and becomes a best seller. The book, named after Jackson’s signature dance move and edited by Jackie Onassis, details beatings he and his siblings received at the hands of their father. “If you messed up, you got hit,” Jackson writes, “sometimes with a belt, sometimes with a switch.”
1988: Jackson purchases some 3,000 acres in Los Olivos, Calif., to create the Neverland Ranch, which will eventually include carnival rides and a zoo. Once thought to be worth more than $100 million, the ranch has since faced foreclosure threats.
1991 “DANGEROUS”: Jackson releases an album featuring the single “Black or White.” “Dangerous” eventually reaches multiplatinum status. The singer is now known by a nickname created by pal Elizabeth Taylor: “The King of Pop.”
1993 SCANDAL: Jackson’s success takes a huge hit when he is accused of child molestation by 13-year-old Jordan Chandler and his father, Evan, once a friend of the singer. Jackson’s home is searched by police. Alleged victims are said to include actor Macaulay Culkin, who appeared in the “Black or White” video. (In a later trial, Culkin testifies in Jackson’s defense that the claims are “absolutely ridiculous.”) Jackson’s lawyers brand the accusations as a plot to squeeze money from the star. The following year, Jackson settles with the Chandlers out of court.
1994: In May, Jackson secretly marries Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley. Some believe the marriage to be a fake, intended only to buoy Jackson’s image, but Presley insists in interviews, “How can you fake this 24 hours a day — sleeping with somebody, waking up with somebody?” They divorce in January 1996.
1996-1998 FATHERHOOD: During the world tour for his album “HIStory,” Jackson marries dermatological nurse Deborah Jeanne Rowe. She bears him a son, Michael Jr. (also known as Prince), in 1997, and a daughter, Paris, in 1998. The couple divorces in 1999, and Rowe gives Jackson full custody of the kids.
2001 Jackson releases “Invincible,” which will be his last album. In a concert at Madison Square Garden to celebrate his 30th year in the music business, he is joined onstage by stars such as Whitney Houston, Usher and Britney Spears. The same year, he is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist, an honor to match the group induction he received with the Jackson 5 in 1997.
2002 “BLANKET”: Jackson welcomes son Prince Michael Jackson II, known as “Blanket” in February. The child was conceived with a surrogate through artificial insemination, and the identity of the mother remains a mystery. In November, Jackson dangles the infant over the edge of his hotel balcony in Berlin. He later calls the move “a terrible mistake.”
2003-2005 BACK TO COURT: In 2003, a documentary titled “Living With Michael Jackson” sheds light on the singer’s close relationship with cancer survivor Gavin Arvizo, who subsequently accuses Jackson of molesting him at the Neverland ranch when Arvizo was 13. Jackson maintains his innocence, and on June 13, 2005, a jury finds the singer not guilty.
2007-2009 ATTEMPTS AT A COMEBACK: To celebrate the 25th anniversary of “Thriller,” Jackson reissues the album with remixes and previously unheard songs, and a compilation album follows for the singer’s 50th birthday. Widely reported to have fallen into debt, and facing foreclosure on Neverland, Jackson announces he will perform 50 concerts in London, and the run quickly sells out. Jackson is rumored to be suffering from skin cancer, but his reps insist he is “in perfect health.” In another report denied by Jackson”s staff, the singer is said to worry aloud about whether he will have the endurance to complete the concert series.
THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2009: Jackson, age 50, is hospitalized in Los Angeles following a heart attack and dies.
Probably no celebrity has been as revered and reviled over the past 40 years as Jackson, 50, who died Thursday in Los Angeles, according to the Associated Press. The troubled, reclusive star was rushed to UCLA Medical Center by paramedics responding to a call from his home at about 12:30 p.m.
The cause of Jackson’s death was not immediately announced, nor were circumstances surrounding it. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics got to his Los Angeles home, Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspaper.
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office will perform an autopsy today on Michael Jackson as officials attempt to piece together details of the pop star’s death at age 50.
Jackson died as he was preparing a comeback, with 50 shows scheduled for London this year. Johnny Caswell, a principal at Centerstaging, the Burbank soundstage where Jackson had been rehearsing, said Jackson was “very frail” but approached the rehearsals — including one the night before his death that witnesses at Staples Center called triumphant — with boundless energy.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is one massive movie. The Michael Bay-directed juggernaut earned an astounding $60.6 million on its opening day at the box office. No other film has earned that much money in the middle of the week, and only The Dark Knight ever banked so much in a single day (it grossed $67.2 million on opening day last summer).
How Transformers 2 will hold through the weekend will be very interesting to see. The fanboys sure came out in force on opening day. But Hollywood, hungry for a huge hit, will be closely watching whether they will return throughout the weekend.
Tonight’s So You Think You Can Dance results show opens with a verrrry sexy group number — there’s lots of writhing and undulating and even dancing on water-covered tables. It was choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin and Tabitha and Napoleon.
After the group dance, head judge Nigel Lythgoe acknowledges the tragic losses of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and, of course, Michael Jackson. He says that he himself went into dancing because of Michael Jackson, and they even air a bit of the “Thriller” video.
After the break, they get right started with results, bringing five couples to the floor. Asuka and Vitolio are first; they are in the bottom three. Brandon and Janette learn that they’re safe. Randy and Evan are, too, thanks to their “cheeky” performance, as Cat puts it. Jeanine and Phillip? Also safe. In this group of five couples, that leaves Ade and Melissa, who eventually learn that they are also in the clear.
Karla and Jonathan were predicted to be in the bottom three by Nigel last night, and he is right. Caitlin and Jason and Kayla and Kupono are the last two couples standing, and one of them is in the bottom two. Kayla and Kupono are safe, and Caitlin and Jason are in the bottom three. (This means that Carla predicted the bottom three couples exactly right last night. By the way, thanks for guest blogging, C!)
The special guest dancer tonight is the Rage Boys Crew, a group of b-boys that is made up of, well, boys, some of whom are clearly in the single-digit age range. Very cute.
Then, it’s solo time. Asuka has the usual awkward partner-dancer-doing-a-solo problem going on. Vitolio looks very strong but somewhat manic all over the stage. Karla shows about 10 times as much energy and range than she did last night. Jonathan does a lot of tricks, but his actual dancing isn’t that exciting. Caitlin and Jason have to wait until after the break.
Caitlin, who also has a gymnastics background, manages to incorporate her tricks into, you know, actual dancing. Jason kicks butt.
The judges are excused to figure out who’s getting ditched, and in the meanting, the Veronicas perform. The audio is a little funky during the performance — some of it is really loud, some, not so much.
Cut time! Nigel calls Caitlin forward: “YOu are without doubt growing in confidence each week. We think you gave the best solo tonight.” Whew, the Annapolis/BSA grad dancer is safe, though I think she was confused at first. Nigel says Karla was a little bit desperate tonight, falling out of pirouettes. He tells Asuka she is a beautiful performer, but they don’t think she’s growing in the competition, so she is out. That means that Oxon Hill, Md., dancer Karla is also safe.
Nigel says they weren’t unanimous with the guys. He calls Vitolio forward, and says he doesn’t always follow through, that they will expect bigger movements from him based on his preparation for said moves. Jonathan is told that last night wasn’t good and that his solo was lots of gymnastics, but not enough dancing. Nigel says that Jason’s solo also seemed desperate and didn’t dance for his life, but he is good enough to stay. Nigel yells and says they need to hurry up because they are running out of time. Vitolio is safe, and Jonathan is out.
I think these two cuts are pretty good. I totally agree that Asuka didn’t seem to show much growth and that Jonathan was full of tricks, but not enough dancing most of the time. What say you?
At the very end of the show, Cat announces that Fox is rebroadcasting the American Idol Top 13 from this season, which was all Michael Jackson tunes. This, by the way, is the first time Fox has ever rebroadcast an episode of AI.
After months of speculation, the questions surrounding the returns of T.R. Knight and Katherine Heigl to “Grey’s Anatomy” have been answered. Heigl will be back for its sixth season and Knight will not.
On Friday, ABC e-mailed a statement from the show’s creator and executive producer, Shonda Rhimes, confirming that Knight is no longer with the show, while adding, “He is an incredibly talented actor and a person whose strength of character is admired by all of us.”
Knight and the rest of the cast became stars when the show became a success after its debut in the spring of 2005. He played George O’Malley, a sensitive doctor from a working-class background.
But it has been a rocky road for Knight at “Grey’s.” In October 2006, his fellow cast mates Patrick Dempsey and Isaiah Washington had an on-set fight during which Washington reportedly referred to Knight as “a faggot.” Knight had not yet come out publicly as gay, but he did so shortly after that widely publicized incident.
Knight and Heigl, his close friend who plays Izzie Stevens, were unhappy that Washington was allowed to remain on “Grey’s,” particularly after the actor repeated the slur in front of the media at the Golden Globes. (In June 2007, Washington was let go.)
For the last year, the scandal-prone show has been beset by rumors that both Heigl and Knight wanted to leave for good. And the season finale paved the way for a double death. The Izzie character had been suffering from cancer, and it appeared to have gotten the best of her. George, meanwhile, had been run over, injured so badly he was an unrecognizable patient to his friends.
Which, logically, would have made it difficult for Knight to come back under any circumstances. Heigl, on the other hand, who has a burgeoning film career, will return to “Grey’s” next season, the final one in her contract.
Through Kelly Bush, his PR person, Knight issued a statement that read in part: “Leaving ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ was not an easy decision for me to make. I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to play this character and will miss my fellow cast and crew very much.”
Bradley Cooper’s already denied dating Jennifer Aniston, but the He’s Just Not That Into You costars were spotted having a late-night dinner à deux last night.
The two shared pasta, steak and salad at Il Cantinori restaurant in Manhattan. There was no hangover for these two…they sipped Pellegrino water instead of alcohol.
The restaurant’s manager says Jen is a frequent customer, but this is the first time she’d brought in her new boy-toy.
“They were very nice and chatty,” says the manager.
This isn’t the first time these two got romance rumors swirling…
They were first spotted together at a party in May for her flick Management.
Jen’s currently in NYC filming The Bounty Hunter with Gerard Butler.
Could she have found her “everlasting love with an adult, stable male”? Stay tuned!
Ryan Reynolds stays cool for the hot cover of Entertainment Weekly by taking off his shirt. “The Proposal” star reveals a very ripped physique for the magazine’s “Must List” issue. Must what? Well, that’s open for discussion.
Despite showing off his abs, Reynolds doesn’t put much stock in being seen as a sex symbol. “If you take any of that seriously, you need to be euthanized, ASAP,” he says. “There are moments when you can use that to your advantage. But it’s really embarrassing. I think I fear more than anything just sounding like a complete a–hole when I have to answer that question.”
Reynolds also shares his thoughts on a few other subjects:
His marriage to Scarlett Johansson: “Fantastic.”
Playing Deadpool: “At its core, this is a movie about a guy in a red spandex suit who’s in the midst of a shame spiral. That cracks me up.”
Working with Sandra Bullock on “The Proposal”: “We had a kind of Abbott and Costello routine we’d been doing for years anyway. When I get someone like Sandy to work with — who’s so good at hitting the gas — it’s perfect for me.”
“The Proposal” hits theaters nationwide Friday, June 19.
McG is a director with an above-average eye and an original instinct for camera placement. To his credit, he’s not one of those lazy types who thinks he can generate excitement in an action sequence by shaking the camera or kicking it. But he has a major weakness as a filmmaker, and that weakness is all over “Terminator Salvation”: It’s as if his grand, elaborate visual sense is completely detached from his brain.
Taylor Daniel Lautner (born February 11, 1992) is an American actor and martial artist who is perhaps best known for his 2005 family film performances in The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D and Cheaper by the Dozen 2 with Steve Martin or as Jacob Black in the 2008 film Twilight.
Call it double whammy for the Jacob Black-personified Taylor Lauter. After getting the approval to play the third wheel in the famous Twilight novel’s next installment–New Moon, is Vanessa Hudgens’ approval next?
After finishing the program, Lindsay Lohan will make visits back for outpatient treatment. Lindsay Lohan checked out of Cirque Lodge Treatment Center in Utah after spending a few months in rehab.
Lindsays father, Michael, said her daughter extended her stay at the recovery center, longer than needed because she had chosen to. He also went on to say that he will be there for her, but she’s going to have a lot of decisions to make on her own.
The Heartbreak Kid represents The Farrelly Brothers returning to their roots. After making a couple of tame and light hearted comedies that were hit or miss with audiences, The Farrellys have gone back to their raunchy ways that were more in line with their first few efforts. But just because the raunch factor is back, does that mean it’s any good? For the most part yes, but compared to their earlier works, this is a step down.
Failing fixer Clooney is great but has to fight for center stage next to supporting actress Tilda Swinton as the ethically maimed corporate attorney. Add Tom Wilkinson, Sydney Pollock and a dynamite screenplay and we have the thriller of year.
Having scored big as the screenwriter for all three Bourne Identity box office bonanzas, Tony Gilroy saw two opportunities instead of just one. The first opportunity was to break another top-notch screenplay on a viewing audience hungry for mystery thrillers. The second opportunity was to break into directing. In unleashing his new hit Michael Clayton he made good on both. The result is a first rate thriller in which newbie director Gilroy is graced with top-notch talent.
It is no secret that Britney Spears has been going through quite a rough patch of late with her turbulent personal life and the humiliation of her much panned performance at the MTV Video Music Awards. But it looks like Britney may finally be getting a break, as her latest song *Gimme More* is a success on the music charts, topping the Billboard Charts at Number 1.
Although its origins can be traced back to the late 1960s, The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising plays like a Harry Potter knockoff. It communicates almost no sense of its own identity; everything seems borrowed and tired.
Alexander Ludwig, a young actor best known for his work in sports sequels (The Sandlot 3, Air Bud 3), plays the Potterlike hero, Will Stanton. Christopher Eccleston is his chief adversary, a monstrous creature known as The Rider, who might as well be called Lord Voldemort.
STEVEN Spielbergs secret material for the new Indiana Jones movie has been stolen.
The director is furious after discovering confidential computers and photographs for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull were taken from his Los Angeles offices.
BOOKIES refused any more bets on a Royal wedding last night after Prince William and girlfriend Kate Middleton appeared in public for the first time since their reunion.
Mischievous Kate stoked speculation they were about to announce their engagement by wearing a dazzling new ring for the night out.
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