Free Jacko, His Rise and Fall: The Social and Sexual History of Michael Jackson by Darwin Porter Page A

free-for-all. There was evidence
of violence. I got out of there as soon as I could. That Joe Jackson had some
temper. I didn't want to become a victim. As the years went by and more and
more scandals were revealed, I came to realize that the address in Encino
housed America's most dysfunctional family."

    "Only in America can you be born a black man and end up a
white woman. "
    --Truman Capote
    "I would kill myself if I couldn't be close to young boys."
    --Michael Jackson
    "You can't say somebody's guilty of a crime when you have no
evidence to prove it...I hate the media for what they do to
Michael, I do hate them."
    --Whitney Houston
    "He wasn't at all sure that he could make it on his own. And
me too. I had my doubts. "
    --Quincy Jones before Off the Wall
    "Michael Jackson is like a skyscraper built on eggshells. "
    --Former CBS Records executive
(name withheld)
    "He had a real intensity... People take him for a simpleton with
a head full of silly songs, but he's a complex young man, curious about everything, who wants to go further and further. He
behaves like an adolescent and, at the same time, like a wise
old philosopher. "
    --Quincy Jones
    "Michael would rather cut his wrist than harm a child. "
    --Elizabeth Taylor

     

Chapter Three
    Michael would spend the rest of his life fretting over and eventually altering his appearance. His obsession with his looks began in 1971 when he broke
out with "history's worst case of acne." At the same time, his body shot skyward. No longer was he mistaken for a midget.
    "My years as a cute kid were suddenly over," he said. "I was a gangly adolescent at almost five feet ten inches." He spent a good part of the day staring
at his reflection in the mirror. Every night seemed to bring a fresh pimple or
two. "It was like having measles," he later said.
    He became even shier around people. Some of the business associates in
the record business Joe introduced Michael to didn't even believe he was who
he said he was, but one of his "uglier brothers." For the first time in his life,
he began to think of himself as "disfigured," and he longed to be beautiful like
Diana Ross. He was all right as long as he was on stage, because heavy coatings of makeup obscured his bad complexion. "At night I lived with my
demons," he said. "I came to hate mirrors as my pimples got worse." He gave
up greasy processed foods such as hamburgers and French fries and began to
consume a healthier diet, concentrating on fresh fruits and vegetables.
    In addition to his acne, Michael had to endure the taunts of his brothers,
who, for some reason, had taken to mockingly calling him "Liver Lips" or
"Big Nose."
    At the same time, Berry Gordy Jr. was putting pressure on Michael to
make solo recordings. At first Joe opposed it, seemingly not wanting Michael
to be a star on his own. Perhaps Joe thought he'd lose control of his boy if he
broke away from his singing brothers. Berry went so far as to urge Michael to
start rehearsals for an album all his own.
    There were some bright moments along the way. In 1971, The Jackson 5
Show, a Saturday morning cartoon film, was launched on network TV. The
brothers recorded the musical numbers for this animated series. Michael later said, "I couldn't wait to wake up on a Saturday morning and see myself in a
fantasy cartoon." He was less enthusiastic when he learned that the entire
group, including himself, was being paid less than $4,000 per episode. With
this series on his own family, Michael began his lifelong fascination with animated motion pictures. He developed a consuming passion for all the commercial products inspired by founding father Walt Disney.

    Someone at Motown, the identity of the person not known, showed
Michael a Hollywood newspaper with its "Second Coming" headline: WALT
DISNEY WAS A HOMO. The underground newspaper was published right
before Christmas in 1966, following Disney's death on December 15. Michael
apparently had no