..HH +6GzHH d'h,<KTLLF`F` 33of 4 kyHHx" FIIML+B}regeSTR#spliml+xG ByE|yGH2(S$sCͮ21(=GԿq d?i{Fzpyg(ˈ[fUثWb]v*UثWb]v*UثWb]*UثWb]v*UثWb] Helvetica Helvetica 0d! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .rL     prF" (SbDecember 17, 2001. Copyright, 2001, Graphic News. All rights reserved The many faces of Michael Jackson By Mark Samms LONDON, December 17, Graphic News: AFTER celebrating 30 years as one of the most successful and controversial performers in the historyecember 17, Graphic News: AFTER celebrating 30 years as one of the most successful and controversial performers in the history o SN5_`5|@JjfBR G*0*L N^NuNVH0.. G) G$PB/<4NFS?*&_ g/<zHnN"A-H=j-j BW?</*f popular music, Michael Jackson must be facing the turn of the year feeling more uncertain about his future than he has ever been. At the age of 43 and having achieved only comparatively moderate sales with his latest album Invincible, he will have been relieved at the success of the two concerts staged in New York in September to mark his 30 years as a solo artist. They were typical Jackson extravaganzas, with a 48-piece orchestra, more than 500 people in two separate choirs and a dance troupe of 40. The most expensive tickets were priced at $2,500 and they more than doubled their value on the black market. Stars turned out to show their support, he was in scintillating form and the reunion performance with his brothers after more than 20 years was the highlight of the show. The whole thing should have been an unmitigated triumph. But as ever with Michael Jackson, things are not proving as straightforward as he may have hoped. The rumour mill is already grinding away, and it is reported that he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a special electronic technique that darkens his skin in every one of the 100,000 of frames of film that were used to record the concerts for television. Apparently he was concerned that the plastic surgery he has undergone over the years and the strange bleaching effect of what he claims to be a serious skin disorder made him look so pale that it was impossible to believe that he and his four brothers were actually related. There is a sad irony in this rumour, if indeed it has any substance at all. After years of rearranging his features in a bid to resemble everyone from Diana Ross to Elizabeth Taylor, it would now seem that Michael Jackson is now finding it impossible to be himself. But who exactly is the real Michael Jackson anyway? The only consistent thread throughout his life has been his talent, and that is indisputable. The rest is a strange confection of facts, fantasy, allegations and contradictions which the man himself has been unwilling or unable to unravel. This has left both professional and amateur analysts to come up with their own explanations. There have been hints of a bullying father and suggestions that Jacksons childhood was sacrificed to the demands of showbusiness success. This, say the experts, is why he now prefers the company of children and why he spent millions turning a Californian ranch into a personal zoo and theme park. He opens it to terminally-ill and disadvantaged children from all over the world, and raises millions of dollars for childrens charities. Yet the paradoxes keep coming, because he is also said to have paid out hefty sums to prevent allegations of sexual abuse made against him by the family of a 13-year-old boy from reaching the courts. Even his attempts at domestic bliss have proved fruitless. After a short-lived but well-publicised marriage to Lisa Marie Presley, he wed his dermatologists assistant, only to divorce her three years later after she had provided him with two children. This immediately laid him open to accusations that he had used her as little more than a brood mare. They were quickly denied, like all the rest. But what makes somebody go to such extraordinary lengths to effectively hide away inside their own body? Why would anyone go to the pain, expense and inconvenience of turning themselves into a human chameleon? After all, Jacksons face now bears little resemblance to the one he was born with, and though many famous performers have reinvented their careers and even their image, none before has ever gone to the extreme of reinventing their entire body. Michael Jackson may be considered odd, but he is also one of the most charismatic people the exotic world of pop music has ever produced. He has success, wealth and fame beyond his wildest dreams. He is idolised by millions and has established for himself a permanent place in the history of the most mercurial industry of them all. Yet the years of pleasure and happiness he has brought to others seems to have come at a price. And as he eases reluctantly into middle-age, Jackson could not be blamed for asking himself whether it has all been worth it. /ENDS]   S K ;LV0  yPRFSdesCppdAppdTPref Status DialogUpM>[{^ҺT9966WSaNu&iąZڑK}UYlV;WSVl[f۹*7^?z?{U\KɻRCpy|ug%ęaA&з,xT&9[вy* U (*-pۊj[m?۔$`@|ֶ#T'UA++LF`  LF`  d LF`04 A++LF` 04  J,@.cŷUXHf-fZW7z`*uOAqD3HCbzf1 45t0xa3FhL\QPZ(4sʄt5