Oprah will have a whole Michael show

Oprah Winfrey will dedicate her entire show to Michael Jackson on September 16th. The show will feature never-before-see outtakes from her 1993 interview with him. Oprah has yet to issue any sort of statement regarding Michael's passing and she was not necessarily sympathetic towards him during that infamous interview where, for the first time publicly, he revealed he suffered from vitiligo. I sincerely hope Ms. O is not planning to hop on the "Bash Michael" bandwagon populated by the likes of Diane Dimond and her ilk. Class and respect better be the words of the day Oprah. Tread lightly.

Always and Forever the King of Pop

Michael Jackson was finally laid to rest last night in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California in front of his famous family and approximately 200 of their closest friends. After the arrival of the 26 car Jackson family motorcade, Michael's five brothers carried the $30,000 golden casket wearing a single sequined glove on their left hands along with purple armbands embroidered with crowns. His three children, Blanket, Prince, and Paris, placed a crown atop his casket to remind all he is still the King of Pop. Pastor Lucius Smith officiated and Gladys Knight sang "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" followed by Clifton Davis singing "Never Can Say Goodbye." Davis wrote the hit for Michael and the young Jackson 5 when they were at Motown. Statements by Michael's father, Joe Jackson, and family friend, Rev. Al Sharpton were not allowed to be heard by members of the press.

Among others in attendance were Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records, producer and close friend Quincy Jones, Elizabeth Taylor, "Dangerous" producer Teddy Riley, Suzanne de Passe, producer of a Jackson 5 miniseries, actor and perennial Michael impersonator Chris Tucker, Macaulay Culkin, Corey Feldman, Kenny Ortega producer of Michael's "This Is It" concerts. Michael's lawyer Thomas Mesereau and first wife Lisa Marie Presley also attended. Michael's second wife and the mother of his two oldest children, Debbie Rowe did not attend.

Michael's brothers lifted his casket one last time for his final moonwalk into the Great Mausoleum while Gladys Knight led the mourners in "The Lord's Prayer." The mausoleum is also the burial place for Nat King Cole, Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, Jimmy Stewart, Jean Harlow, Red Skelton, and Walt Disney, among many others. Modeled after ancient Italian architecture, the posh mausoleum boasts acres of marble, gilt structures, and stained glass as well as a reproduction of Leonardo DaVinci's "The Last Supper" and Michelangelo sculptures. The Great Mausoleum is under constant 24-hour video and ground surveillance. The crypts are not open to public viewing.

Michael Jackson is scheduled to be buried

Michael Jackson is scheduled to be buried this evening at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California. His family plans a private sunset ceremony with close friends and family in attendance.

German magazine admits it faked MJ Coroner Van video

A spokesperson for German television station RTL produced the hoax video for its daily magazine "Explosive" to tell people not to believe everything they see or read on the internet or media. "This was so obviously fake, in the case of Michael Jackson, it just was not possible," Schultz said.

RTL claims some viewers have been happy the station showed how easy it was to fake information online. Many others have commented online that this was completely tasteless to do in the wake of such an important person's death; this was the wrong topic to do this kind of experiment on. The video sparked incredible worldwide interest; more than 880,000 people have viewed the original video on YouTube. I called out this video as a hoax last week; I have posted a link to the annotated video showing why the video is a hoax. Click on the bubble in the upper right hand corner to translate it. I told y'all we're worldwide!

You've got to strike before the casket gets cold...

WS/wms

It will now cost three times as much to bury Michael Jackson

The Jackson family's decision to bury Michael at Glenlawn Cemetery this Wednesday instead of on his birthday Saturday will cost them three times as much, or $150,000. That high price includes security and perimeter control, street closures, and a police helicopter to patrol from the sky and discourage paparazzi choppers from attempting to get pictures of the golden casket.

Dr. Murray may have administered 16 times the amount of Propofol he said he did

Michael Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, claims he started Michael on a 50 milligram dose of propofol for approximately six weeks then tapered it down to 25 milligrams out of fear Michael might become addicted. He maintains he only adminstered 25 milligrams of propofol the night Michael died, however authorities say it would take at least 400 millligrams—16 times the amount he allegedly gave him—to put someone of Jackson's body size to sleep for eight hours. Reportedly, investigators remain unconvinced Dr. Murray is being entirely truthful of his accounts of Michael's last night.

Before there was Melyssa Ford or Karinne Steffans, there was Ola Raye

Before there was a Melyssa Ford or a Karinne Steffans (Ms. Superhead her self), there was Ola Ray. Ola Ray (no relation to LisaRay--I think), the original video girl is STILL harping that she didn't get paid for Thriller. Ola did what is perhaps the most famous 14 minute walk in the world, but she couldn't seem to walk over to the court house for 27 years. Her attorney filed documents in Los Angeles court claiming she is a creditor to Michael Jackson's estate. Ray claims she hasn't been paid royalties for the video and is seeking an unspecified amount of money from his estate (now valued at $1.3 Billion by some estimates).

Ola is currently a stay-at-home mom but in 1982 she was a "model/actress" who posed for Playboy in 1980. For those of you who have a collection, she was Playmate of the Month for June 1980. Michael picked her from thousands upon thousands of candidates reportedly because she had "the look." People the world over responded to Ola's processed curl, cropped denim outfit, and bright red lipstick that matched her red pumps. Ola was indeed the "it girl" for about two years in the early 80's. Her career eventually fizzled with her last acting credit listed as Beverly Hills Cop II in 1987 (she is not even on the third tier list of actors).

This is hardly the first time Ola has started squawking about Thriller; in 1997 she apologized to Michael for complaints about payments only to start up again 12 years later and two months before his death. After Michael's passing in June, Ola made the media rounds, just like a host of his other "friends," saying "I am freaking out, I can't believe that he is gone," she said. "He was my hero as well as my mentor. And I really respected him".

Reportedly, Ray still has one of Michael's Grammy Awards in her possession; she accepted it on his behalf and never gave it back. I also seem to recall reading Michael bankrolled Thriller and paid everyone up front so he would own all the rights and profits to the video. If this is true the Ola Ray and director John Landis (another so-called "friend" who is also suing for royalties from the estate) may be S.O.L.

Michael Jackson's Birthday Party in Brooklyn: A Spike Lee Joint

On-and-off-again rain showers be damned, thousands turned out today in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park to celebrate what would have been Michael Jackson’s 51st birthday. For what was essentially a joyous block party — but held in a giant meadow, and helmed by Spike Lee — some said they almost didn’t make it for reasons other than the weather.

"I was kind of emotional this morning, but I pulled myself together,” said a Michael Jackson impersonator who goes by Gritty, channeling “Bad”-era MJ (with extra sequins).What about the dance-offs between the other fans dressed in tribute?“There’s always somewhat of a rivalry,” Gritty adnitted, in between having his photo taken with fans. “But I just represent a piece of him. We can never be the best.”

DJ Spinna played a roughly five-hour set, with Lee and other famous Brooklynites and Jackson fans cutting in — including Ed Lover (of 105.1FM, “Yo! MTV Raps” and — everyone’s favorite — the “Ed Lover Dance” fame) and Tracy Morgan introducing crowd karaoke to “Black or White,” “The Way You Make You Feel,” and “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin.’ ”

For “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin,’ a song whose lyrics have famously confused listeners — at least until this summer, when it seemed to be blasting out of everyone’s car or cafe in homage — party organizers handed out “Yeah, yeah!!!” and “Mama se, mama sa, ma ma coo sa!!!” placards. People got the lyrics, but just waved the cards in excitement at the wrong time, despite Lee’s attempts to dissuade them: “You gotta wait till your part comes up! Put it down!”

Rev. Al Sharpton gave a blessing that somehow included a nod to Ted Kennedy and the fourth anniversary of Katrina. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz popped in to proclaim the occasion “Michael Jackson Memorial Day.” “Whatever Spike Lee wants in Brooklyn, Spike Lee gets,” Markowitz said, not ruling out future Michael Jackson memorial events. Would Markowitz call this a Spike Lee joint, then? “It is a Spike Lee joint. It is a Spike Lee joint!”

Have the Kennedy's Handed Their Political Keys to Obama?

Many saw Ted Kennedy's endorsement of Obama in the Democratic primaries last year as his handing the keys to Camelot to someone outside the family.

Kennedy's son Patrick, a Democratic congressman from Rhode Island, has kept a relatively low profile in Congress and has faced substance abuse problems that have led to stints in rehab facilities.

JFK's daughter, Caroline, stepped into the political spotlight recently, only later to drop out of the running for Hillary Clinton's vacant Senate seat.

Robert Kennedy's son Joe was derailed after a messy personal life involving a high-profile annulment, and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland, has largely stayed out of the spotlight.

Others, like Robert Kennedy Jr., have careers in public service outside of government.

But Stephen Hess, a former staffer in the Eisenhower and Nixon administrations and an adviser to presidents Ford and Carter, says that right now, there are no other Kennedys to assume Ted Kennedy's place in American politics. But don't count them out....