(Photo: TortillaReport.com)

Michael Jackson streaked like a fiery comet across the pop universe during his lifetime. It is completely accurate to say that nobody fell in the shadow cast by that great light he shone. He burned bright, a light reaching all corners of the world. Everyone knew who he was. Fans everywhere saved their money to attend his concerts, and sometimes they even used payday loans and cash advance for help.

Unfortunately, almost everyone knows about the day Michael the man was on fire. Like me, you remember the Michael Jackson Pepsi commercial (aka hair on fire).

A surreal, horrific January 27, 1984

Going back in the archives of People magazine, everyone in attendance initially thought that Michael Jackson had been shot. Both the commercial film crew and his brothers in the band were stunned by his screams. They quickly discovered that his head was wreathed in flame.

It was a fireworks display gone wrong

As you’ll see in the video, Michael descended a flight of stairs to a performance stage below. The pyrotechnical display was supposed to go off after he was off the stairs, but on the fateful sixth take, they fired too early. What would have been a dazzling performance at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles turned into a fiery nightmare of second and third degree burns to Jackson’s scalp and face.

According to People, the first person to respond to Jackson’s hair being on fire was Miko Brando, 22, Marlon Jackson’s son and a member of security at the Pepsi shoot. “I tore out, hugged him, tackled him and ran my hands through his hair,” reports Brando, burning his own fingers in the process. Within seconds the fire was extinguished and Michael was rushed to the ER. But the memory (and – depending upon who you ask – after-effects) still lives on.

Medicine and plastic surgery

Dr. Steven Hoefflin, Michael’s personal physician and plastic surgeon at the time, met Michael at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. “It was quite a shock for Michael, and when I got there he was in a daze,” Hoefflin said. “After I examined him and told him he would be fine, he felt a lot better.”

It has been speculated that Michael’s issues with painkillers (and subsequent plastic surgeries) may have come following the Pepsi commercial hair on fire incident. The truth of that, however, is uncertain.

The hospital circus

Millions of fans and well-wishers followed every moment of Michael’s recovery. Friends Diana Ross and Liza Minnelli both called him while he was in the hospital. One female fan sent him a telegram that read, “I heard you were hot, Michael, but this is ridiculous.”

Two young fans claimed they would have been willing to suffer injury to be able to see Michael in the emergency room, which gives some indication of how fanatical Michael’s fans have been over the years. “I would be willing to break my arm,” said 14-year-old Tyrone Davis, “just to be in the emergency room with Michael.” John Thomas, 13 and a friend of Davis, boasted one better: “That’s nothing. I would break my neck.”

Michael made a point of visiting people in the burn unit at the hospital before he left. Nearly all of the staff received souvenirs, pictures, tapes, “Thriller” albums and 8×10 glossies. Autographs flew fast and furious, but Michael was happy to oblige.

What caused the hair fire accident?

(Photo: ImKeepingUp.com)

The people in charge of the pyrotechnical display are experts in their field, so their competence was not questioned. Eyewitnesses believe they saw a stray spark from one of the lighting effects set Michael’s hair ablaze, which would appear to call into safety whatever substance was being used to do up Michael’s hair. Both the Jackson family and Pepsi went through extensive review of the film of the incident to determine whether there had been any negligence involved. At the time, Michael Jackson’s Pepsi sponsorship guaranteed him as least $5 million, which was the most lucrative celebrity endorsement to that point.

Other plans to build a legend

On a much safer front, Michael was planning his first autobiography at the time. Jackie Onassis, the widow of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, was a publisher in her later years. She first met Michael at a Kennedy Center Honors event several years before the Pepsi accident. Since then, she’d gotten the chance to know him better. Doubleday, Onassis’ firm, announced a $300,000-plus deal for Jackson’s autobiography, which hit the shelves in the spring of 1985. Considering the year, that figure was an out-of-sight deal, even though it paled in comparison to the Pepsi dollars.

Speaking of best sellers

“Thriller” quickly made its way into “The Guinness Book of World Records.” It had sold 23 million copies, and in light of the singer’s untimely death, the numbers will only continue to climb. The duet off the album in which he performs with Paul McCartney, “Say Say Say,” set records as a chart-topping single, too.

Remembering Michael

Michael Jackson is missed by millions around the globe. Just for the chance to be near his memorial service, fans spent ridiculous amounts of money so that they’d have the chance to show their devotion live and in person. It seems likely that some sought budgetary aid in order to make their devotion a reality. Whether or not payday loans and cash advance had a role seems plausible.

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There were rumors that Michael Jackson’s last will was not Michael Jackson’s last will. There were rumors about what was in it. There were crazy women claiming to be MJ’s wife.

However, now it’s all out in the open. Copies of Michael Jackson’s last will have hit the internet. His last will is, in fact, the one written in 2002. I found a scanned-in copy of the will at The Smoking Gun.

Where the money will go

In Michael Jackson’s last will, regarding his money and property it says:

I give my entire estate to the Trustee or Trustees then acting under that certain Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust executed on March 22, 2002 by me as Trustee and Trustor which is called the MICHAEL JACKSON FAMILY TRUST, giving effect to my amendments thereto made prior to my death. All such assets shall be held, managed and distributed as a part of said Trust according to its terms and not as a separate testamentary trust.

Michael Jackson left his estate and his kids to his mother, Katherine. I wonder how he knew she would outlast him?

I guess that doesn’t really clarify who is responsible for paying all the money lenders MJ owes, but I’ll be honest — I didn’t read all eight pages of Michael Jackson’s last will. The will estimates his estate to be worth $618 million. Let’s not forget, though, this will is from seven years ago.

The kids are off to grandma’s house

It has been common knowledge for quite a while that Michael Jackson wanted his mother to have the kids in the event of his death. However, just in case there was any lingering confusion, the text is now available for all to see:

If any of my children are minors at the time of my death, I nominate my mother, KATHERINE JACKSON as guardian of the persons and estates of such minor children. If KATHERINE JACKSON fails to survive me, or is unable or unwilling to act as guardian, I nominate DIANA ROSS as guardian of the persons and estates of such minor children.

Because of this stipulation that Diana Ross gets the children if Katherine is not around, many people have wondered about Ross’ age. She is 65. Michael Jackson and Diana Ross shared the screen in the 1978 movie release of “The Wiz,” and many sources refer to Michael Jackson as Diana Ross’ “protege.”

Old wives tales

Just to make it perfectly clear, in case Nona Paris Lola Ankhesenamun Jackson, the seemingly random woman who has been claiming for years to be Michael Jackson’s “secret wife,” Michael Jackson’s last will says:

I declare that I am not married. My marriage to DEBROAH JEAN ROWE JACKSON has been dissolved. I have three children now living, PRINCE MICHAEL JACKSON, JR., PARIS MICHAEL KATHERINE JACKSON and PRINCE MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON, II. I have no other children, living or deceased.

So, should any seemingly random women have intentions to cry “baby mama” to a Michael Jackson offspring, that issue has already been clarified as well. Good thinking. Michael Jackson’s last will also clarifies that Debbie Rowe gets nothing, in no uncertain terms:

Except as otherwise provided in this Will or in the Trust referred to in Article III hereof, I have intentionally omitted to provide for my heirs. I have intentionally omitted to provide for my former wife, DEBORAH JEAN ROWE JACKSON.

Off of Neverland

In other news of legal rights, it seems no one, not even Michael Jackson, is above the law. The plan was to bury him at Neverland Ranch, but people can’t go around burying bodies wherever they wish, and the Jacksons are no exception. X 17 Online reports:

In order to bury Jackson on the property, the family would need to get permission from local land-use officials and submit an application and paperwork with the state Cemetery and Funeral Bureau. The state application would then need to be approved by the funeral board, a process that could take anywhere from seven to 30 days.