Buch "Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days"

[rip.michael]

... von MJs beiden ex-bodyguards Bill Whitfield und Javon Beard, erschienen am 03.06.2014 beim verlag Weinstein Books.

Dieses thema steht in verbindung mit "Michaels Bodyguards geben Interview auf Good Morning America"

.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .........................

...
es kommt sicherlich auch auf den einzelfall darauf an. aber im allgemeinen gelten solche verträge eher nicht über den tod hinaus...warum auch? der vertragspartner ist verstorben und damit die vereinbarung. außer es sind verträge die evtl. auf die erben übertragen werden (aber sicherlich kein abkommen dieser art).

Letzteres stimmt so nicht ganz, @Memphis.
Wenn eine privatrechtliche erklärung in einseitiger form geschlossen wurde und keine gesonderte erklärung MJ's vorliegt, die die beiden nach seinem tod von der schweigepflicht entbindet, dann stehen die beiden möglicherweise auf ziemlich dünnem eis, denn die einmal von ihnen abgegebenen rechtsverbindlichen erklärungen erlöschen nicht so einfach nach dem tod MJs.

Wenn diese erklärung in einen vertrag eingebunden ist, also eine zweiseitige willenserklärung (möglicherweise der arbeitsvertrag selbst, was am wahrscheinlichsten ist), dann gelten die darin abgegeben erklärungen für beide seiten als rechtlich bindend gemäß den getroffenen vereinbarungen. Eine schweigepflichterklärung erstreckt sich somit auch über den tod hinaus, es sei denn im vertrag mit MJ ist bereits eine schweigepflichtentbindungserklärung mit enthalten.
Der tod eines vertragspartners entbindet den anderen vertragspartner jedenfalls nicht automatisch von den verpflichtungen in abgegebenen erklärungen. Dazu brauchts immer die ausdrückliche zustimmung des anderen.

Möglicherweise ist nach amerikanischem/kalifornischem recht einiges anders ... und ... so beschränkt werden die beiden nicht sein, dass sie sich nicht vor der buchveröffentlichung abgesichert haben, was rechtlich absolut tabu ist und was ausserhalb dessen ist.
Was bei letzterem den sprung über die eigenen charkterlichen hürden zulässt .... erfahren die leser.

Einblick in die Q / A session in diesem blog.

Möglicherweise haben die beiden mehr einblicke in MJs leben bekommen, als ihnen als normale bodyguards je zugekommen wäre.
Warum?:
Zit.: "(...) For the first couple months, we didn’t even speak with them much. Security is a speak-when-spoken-to type of job. Most of our communications and instructions went through Mr. Jackson’s assistant. Then, rather suddenly, Mr. Jackson fired his personal assistant and we moved into the role of being the primary gatekeepers. Once that happened, we were in greater daily contact with the family and they began to open up and be themselves a little more around us. It was still an employer-employee relationship; we don’t pretend to be closer to the family than we were. But we developed a good working relationship based on trust and respect. (...)"

Die ersten paar monate sprachen wir nicht mal mit ihnen. Security ist ein ein job, wo man sich nur äussert, wenn man gefragt wird. Die meiste kommunikation und anweisungen wurden durch Mr. Jacksons assistent übermittelt. Mr. Jackson entliess seinen persönlichen assistenten ziemlich plötzlich und uns kam die in erster linie die rolle der einlasskontrolle (ich würde 'gatekeepers' in dem fall eher frei mit 'gesichtkontrolle' übersetzen ;-) ) Wir standen ab da in häufigerem täglichen kontakt mit der familie und sie begannen sich zu öffenen (salopp 'aufzutauen') und hielten sich mehr in unserer nähe auf. Es handelte sich immer noch um ein arbeitgeber-arbeitnehmer-verhältnis; wir wollen nicht vorspiegeln, dass wir mehr mit der familie zu tun hatten, als das der fall war. Wir entwickelten ein gutes zusammenarbeit basierend auf vertrauen und respekt.

Auch eine bemerkenswerte stelle unter vielen, zit.:
"(...)
Bill & Javon: We wrestled a long time with whether or not we should write a book. But ultimately we came to the conclusion that his fans deserve to know what really happened, and hopefully in some way this will bring closure to some and truth to others. We’ve been very careful about the information we put in the book, what to reveal and what to keep private. There are some things about Mr. Jackson that we will take to our graves.
(...) "

Wir haderten lange zeit damit, ob wir das buch schreiben sollten oder nicht. Schliesslich entschlossen wir uns, dass die fans verdient hätten zu erfahren, was sich wirklich ereignete und hoffentlich wird es einigen auf diesem weg einiges näher bringen und anderen die wahrheit. Wir gingen sehr sorgfältig mit den informationen um, die ins buch kamen, was offenbart werden sollte und was absolut privat bleiben sollte. Es gibt ein paar begegebenheiten/dinge Mr. Jackson betreffend, die wir mit ins grab nehmen werden.



Edit:
Mich würde interessieren, was aus dem dritten im bunde Mike Garcia (s. good morning america IV) geworden ist, offensicht hat er sich ausgeklinkt aus dem buchprojekt ..

[BlaueBlume]

Dieses thema steht in verbindung mit "Michaels Bodyguards geben Interview auf Good Morning America"

und mit diesem auch: http://www.mjackson.net/forum/michae...rinnern/page69
ab Post 1028

[Ghosti]

...

Möglicherweise haben die beiden mehr einblicke in MJs leben bekommen, als ihnen als normale bodyguards je zugekommen wäre.
Warum?:
Zit.: [FONT=arial]"([COLOR=#1A1A1A]...)

Mich würde interessieren, was aus dem dritten im bunde Mike Garcia (s. good morning america IV) geworden ist, offensicht hat er sich ausgeklinkt aus dem buchprojekt ..

Liebe rip, es ist schön, wenn du der englischen Sprache mächtig bist.... sind aber hier nicht alles User und es wäre nett, darauf einbisschen Rücksicht zu nehmen und - wenn schon nicht kompl. übersetzt, dann zumindest - eine Kurzfassung des Inhaltes zu posten. Das NET rühmte sich bis dato immer, das grösste deutsche Forum zu sein! So sollte es auch künftig - hoffentlich - wieder sein! Danke.

Und deine Frage betreffend: Im Forever hatte ich irgendwo gelesen, dass der dritte im Bunde sich ausgeklingt hatte, weil man sich über den Inhalt des Buches wohl nicht einigen konnte.

[rip.michael]

Liebe @Ghosti, die beiden zitate oben übersetze ich gerne, die ganze Q&A session jedoch nicht, das kann und will ich nicht leisten.
Eine zusammenfassung der Q&A ist nicht wirklich zielführend, oder ?

Hab die Ü oben eingefügt.

Danke für die info zu Mike Garcia!

[Ghosti]

Liebe @Ghosti, die beiden zitate oben übersetze ich gerne, die ganze Q&A session jedoch nicht, das kann und will ich nicht leisten.

Um Himmels Willen nein, nur die beiden von dir geposteten Abschnitte!!! Mehr meinte ich doch gar nicht....

Eine zusammenfassung der Q&A ist nicht wirklich zielführend, oder ?

neee, nicht wirklich! Hatte ich nur beim Zitieren übersehen.....

Hab die Ü oben eingefügt.

Danke, lieb von dir.

[Brigitte 58]

http://www.mjj2005.com/kopboard/index.php?showtopic=59304

hier kann man einiges über das buch lesen, angeblich soll es ja 2015 auch in deutsch erscheinen.
ich hoffe, man kann es auch unangemeldet lesen.

[rip.michael]

Die Q&A session kann man übrigens hier in deutsch nachlesen ... danke M.v.d.L
... und noch vieles mehr !

[Brigitte 58]

genau, liebe rip.michael , und hier in englisch bzw. original.

http://www.allforloveblog.com/?p=9205

[rip.michael]

Einer der gründe, warum die realisierung des buchs der bodyguards immer wieder aufgeschoben werden musste ist, dass eine gewisse Dr. Karen Moriarity mit den 3 bodyguards im gespräch war - hab irgendwo gelesen, dass sie als ghostwriterin vorgesehen war, weiss nicht, ob das tatsächlich zutrifft - und sie einige informationen zum geplanten buch erhielt.
Inzwischen hat Dr. K.M. selbst ein buch geschrieben, es ist seit August 2012 auf dem markt und herausgekommen beim verlag Outskirts Press und trägt den titel:"Defending a King His Life & Legacy"

Ursprünglich hatten wohl die bodyguards einen sehr ähnlichen buchtitel vorgesehen.
Die reibereien mit Dr. Moriarity führten wohl zum vorzeitigen ende einer eventuellen zusammenarbeit ... und Dr. M. ging mit ihrem eigenen buch an die pole position.
Wie das leben so spielt.



@Ivy von MJJC hat auch ein review verfasst, Ganz am ende hat sie ein P.S. angefügt folgenden inhalts:
"Ps: the name of "Friend" is mentioned towards the end of the book and the name reminds you of a certain person. However the physical description of "Friend" doesn't fit with the person known to fans. So it looks like they are two different people with the same name.

Hhm .... so wie ich das verstehe, haben die beiden autoren sich nicht zurückhalten könnten, ziemlich am ende ihres buches den code "Friend" zu entschlüsseln und den klarnamen der dame zu offenbaren, mit welcher MJ offenbar eine diskrete beziehung führte.

Bäh ... diskretion ist was anderes, liebe bodyguards ... ein klassischer vertrauensbruch, wie mir scheint. Bäh .. das ist no go.
Aber mit solchem 'speck' fängt man auch lesermäuse ....


Zit. Ivy:

I was given an advance copy of the "Remember the Time : Protecting Michael Jackson in his final days" by MJ's bodyguards Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard.

Below is my review and brief summary.

As a MJ fan who has read all the books written about him, I look for unique and interesting books about him. This book delivers on that front. It's not the same old stuff you read a million times before, it's the unique and first hand experiences of Bill and Javon. Just this could be enough reason to get the book.

The book covers December 2006 (when Michael returned to US) to June 2009 (his death). Although Bill and Javon worked for Michael till the day he died, the bulk of the book covers the period between December 2006 to early 2009 when Michael moved to LA. (Bill and Javon did not go to LA but was supposed to join Michael at London). Book talks about Michael's stay at Las Vegas, Virginia, New Jersey and back at Las Vegas.

The book has several heartwarming, funny and interesting and at times unbelievable stories. Michael Jackson the father is always nice to read. His interactions with his children, their love towards each other gives you warm feelings. So stuff like Michael doing laundry, Michael taking his kids to Chuck E. Cheese, fast food drive through events, after hour store visits to toy stores, go kart place, Krispy Kreme to see how donuts are made, Michael giving responsibility talk to Prince about his dog Kenya, Blanket asking for a hippopotamus as a pet after Prince got his dog Kenya and Paris got her cat Katie, Michael giving money and food to homeless people,ordering a large Tinkerbell statue from eBay, asking bodyguards to get(cough steal) a lifesize Spiderman figurines on the lampposts outside Burger King stores, Michael getting stopped by Secret Service as his car with tinted windows drove around White House etc is interesting and fun stories to read. The book also mentions visits by "Friend" and "Flower", two woman from overseas and yes Michael kissing "Friend". I don't want to give much away for the people who might buy the book.

Book mentions Michael's staff, business people, family and friends as well. Some of them are mentioned negatively (most of Michael's business associates including Bain, Feldman, Cross and Sony, as well as some of his family members such as Randy Jackson), some of them mentioned positively (such as Miko Brando and Cascios) and some just neutral.

Knowing that how some people would be interested in above, I'll provide brief details below:

Raymone Bain : generally mentioned negatively for not paying bodyguards salaries while she was paying herself and others, renting a luxury apartment for herself with what looks like MJ's money, Michael thinking he had an office in DC while Bain was working out of her home and such.

Jacksons: Bodyguards mention that Michael did not want to see his family - his orders. The only person he would see and could come unannounced was Katherine. He refused to see other family members when they came and required them to make appointments. Michael refused to see Joe once, refused to see Randy, Rebbie and Jackie (when they got in by following the chef), refused to see Randy (when he smashed his car to the gate) and only agreed to see his brothers (Jackie, Tito, Jermaine) in the security trailer after making sure Randy wasn't with them and didn't want to see Janet. Bodyguards impressions about Jacksons are mostly positive to neutral with the exception of Randy (see below) and Jermaine who they said always had an angle or some sort of deal he was working on.

Randy crashing the gate: Details of the event is provided in the book. It turns out the gate crashing event happened on Elizabeth Taylor's 75th birthday. Her people had reached out to Michael and he would attend her birthday as a surprise to her. Michael spent 2 weeks preparing to that day. Before they were supposed to leave for Taylor's birthday, bodyguards take the car to fill it with gas. When the bodyguard returns, Randy follows the car, crashes the closing gate, forces his way into the property. Bodyguards rush to the car with their guns out and see Randy with a woman passenger. Randy tells them "Get that gun out my face before I call the press.” and screaming and cursing “Michael owe me money! I want my ****in’ money! I ain’t ****in’ moving ’til I get my ****in’ money! ”. They tell Michael that Randy is there and what he's saying, he tells the bodyguard to get rid of him. But they can't make him leave so Michael decides he won't go to Elizabeth's birthday and goes to bed. Randy refused to leave and stayed at the driveway for hours. Bodyguards had to call Joe Jackson. When Joe came Randy told him he would call the press to tell them he was there for his money. Joe eventually convinced Randy to leave.

Sony: Mottola is mentioned as devil and Michael mentioned not really wanting to work with Sony and on Thriller 25. There's a story about Michael breaking Sony headphones. They say he didn't work on Thriller 25 with enthusiasm and did everything the last minute. Bodyguards also state that Michael eventually was paid $12 Million for the sales of Thriller 25. (Sony initially planned to take the money from Thriller 25 sales and apply it to pay MJ's debt on Sony/ATV catalog. Apparently Tohme got them to pay the $12 Million to Michael so that he could use that money as a down payment for the Las Vegas house he wanted to buy).

One of the sad thing to read that there wasn't many friends or visitors that would visit Michael. They mention nanny Grace telling them some people wouldn't take or return MJ's calls after the 2005 trial. Book mentions Miko Brando, Eddie Griffin (comedian), Chris Tucker, Jesse Jackson and Cascios as people who visited Michael and/or Michael met with. He talked with Nelson Mandela on the phone several times. Eddie Griffin mentioned as a regular visitor, Miko Brando brought his kids to play with Michael's kids, Chris Tucker and Michael went to movies together and Eddie Cascio visited Michael in Vegas and Cascio house was the only place Michael would feel safe to stay without bodyguards in front of the door. Brad Buxer visited to work on music with Michael. (unidentified) choreographers were also coming to work with him regularly as well as a Chinese film professor from USC.

The second half of the book mentions financial troubles. Although they don't blame Michael for such troubles, it's not a pretty picture. Staff not being paid, not having a house to stay, friends/business associates paying for hotels for a while and when they stop hotels were asking them leave and even locking them out. It's obvious there was some frustration on the bodyguards part in regards to not being paid. Like I said they don't blame Michael for it but the finances isn't a pretty picture.

Conrad Murray is briefly mentioned as a doctor that made a housecall when the kids were sick and occasionally came to check up on them. Only a few visits, at day time and for a short amount of time. They mention Michael's insomnia, how sometimes he would have a good day's sleep and sometimes wont. How sometimes he would be up all night and the night security would watch him move around the house - his room, studio/dance room, kitchen and such. There's almost no drug talk. Just once going to a doctor middle of the night for pain and just one time his behavior didn't seem normal / seemed like under the influence of something. That's all. No doctors, no nightly visits and no propofol - given that Michael seemed to be not sleeping most of the time.

Overall I liked the book and I recommend purchase. It's interesting and definitely unique. I enjoyed all the little stories about Michael very much and financials wasn't a pretty picture as I said before. I can't say I liked that part. Book is written in an every day language. It feels like you are sitting with Bill and Javon and they are recapping their day to you. So that's interesting too. I guess it's possible that some fans might have a trouble with this book if they feel overly protective of Michael's privacy. Yes the book mentions Michael's everyday life, stuff that wasn't known before hence private but I thought they were nicely balanced. I personally like positive stories about Michael and/or stories that show him as a normal person. But like I said it's possible that some might think this is an invasion of privacy.

Finally some quotes:

"Michael Jackson had an effect on people. It’s hard to describe. Once he let people in, they started feeling possessive of him. Like, He’s mine! People didn't do it on purpose; he brought it out of them because he was bigger than life. He’s calling them personally, giving them leeway to dictate certain stuff, and they start to feel like, Okay, he trusts me. They see how vulnerable and hurt he is. They see all these other people trying to use him and take advantage of him. So they start to think, If I’m the one in control, I’ll make sure he’s okay.

So once he lets someone in, pretty soon they’re starting to speak on his behalf, as opposed to letting him make his own decisions. They know if they do it, they won’t get that much flak, because they know Mr. Jackson doesn't question things. They start to feel like they’re in control, but to keep that control, they've got to manipulate everybody else that’s trying to get at Mr. Jackson. So they’re spreading lies about this person or telling Mr. Jackson not to trust that person."

---------------------------

"It wasn't necessarily that those other people were bad people. There was just a force that dictated a lot of this madness. But the way it was around Mr. Jackson, nobody trusting anybody, so much money and power in play, it just sucked you into all this drama. "

--------------------
" People look at what happened to Mr. Jackson and they want to blame somebody. “It was Dr. Murray.” “It was Tohme Tohme.” “It was his family.” Nah. That wasn’t it. It wasn't any one person. It was everything."

------------------------------------------

"As we drove back to the house, everyone was being real quiet in the backseat. Then Blanket looked up at his daddy and said, “Daddy, can we go back to the other house? Can we go back to Neverland?” Mr. Jackson shook his head and said, “No. We can’t ever go back there. That place has been contaminated by evil.”

-------------------

One time, we were driving and Blanket started to say something, and Mr. Jackson kinda shushed him. The kids kept giggling and Mr. Jackson kept going, “Shhh! No, I didn’t! No, I didn’t!”
Blanket said, “Yes, you did, Daddy. You said that Bill looked like—”
“Shhh! ”
So now I was curious. I said, “Bill looks like what?”
I looked in the rearview mirror. Blanket and Mr. Jackson were both staring at each other like, Who’s gonna tell him?
Blanket looked at me and said, “Bill, Daddy says you look like the Thing!”
“The Thing? What’s the Thing?”
“You know,” Blanket said, “the guy from the Fantastic Four! Daddy said you look like the Thing from the Fantastic Four.”
And I was like, Wow. Okay. The brother’s got jokes. Then Blanket said, “And Javon looks like Frozone from The Incredibles!”
We all had a good laugh about it.

---------------------------

Michael to Bill

“I just want my kids to have a better life than me,” he said. “I never want them to go through what I had to go through. How would you guys feel if your kids asked you for something and you had to send someone out to get it? I appreciate what you guys do for my kids, but I’m their father. I should be the one doing those things, but I can’t just get in the car and go. There are so many things I can’t do for them because those people out there won’t let me. You have no idea how that feels. You really don’t. I just wanna live my life with my kids.”

-------------------------------------------------

Ps: the name of "Friend" is mentioned towards the end of the book and the name reminds you of a certain person. However the physical description of "Friend" doesn't fit with the person known to fans. So it looks like they are two different people with the same name.

Quelle: MJJC

[BlaueBlume]

genau, liebe rip.michael , und hier in englisch bzw. original.
http://www.allforloveblog.com/?p=9205

haben wir auch schon hier: http://www.mjackson.net/forum/michae...rinnern/page69 ..............

[Brigitte 58]

doppelt hält besser......................................

[rip.michael]

Weiss nicht genau, von wann dieses statement von Mike Garcia ist ... es wurde hier und da bereits herumgereicht .. ursprünglich hat er's wohl hier geschrieben.

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1s21iqg:

From Mike Garcia's Facebook (former MJ bodyguard):

The two other bodyguards i worked with for are coming out with a book in conjunction with those that never had Mr Jackson's best interest and stole from him. In the past years, I've been asked about the other two bodyguards and always remained silent.
Now i can no longer do that.

They made a deal with a book author behind my back which the book author had to end the deal with them because of the fiction they wanted in the book, they are using my image for their book sale and its not "MJs Bodyguards" writing this book, its the greed of just them two, and they care of only money. This is the second attempt at writing a book with my image and I'm not even involved.

For the record, I am NOT involved in their book and I'm in disbelief that they have sided with the ones who took advantage of Mr Jackson. Just when i thought these two couldn't disrespect Mr Jackson even more, they do it again. Sad and the karma, in the name of Mr Jackson will come to you both.

Die beiden andern bodyguards, mit denen ich arbeitete, bringen ein buch heraus, und es steht in zusammenhang mit leuten, die nie die besten interessen von Mr. Jackson vertraten und ihn bestohlen haben. In den letzten jahren wurde ich wegen der beiden anderen bodyguards befragt und ich bewahrte stets stillschweigen.
Jetzt kann ich das nicht länger.

Sie schlossen hinter meinem rücken einen deal mit einem buchautor, dieser deal zerschlug sich schliesslich, weil sie fiktive geschichten in dem buch wollten. Sie benutzten mein image für den buchverkauf ..es ist nicht "MJs Bodyguards" schrieben das buch, es ist einfach die habgier der beiden und es geht ihnen nur um's geld. Es gab einen zweiten anlauf das buch zu schreiben, wieder mit meinem image und ich wurde nicht mal beteiligt.

So war's: Ich bin nicht an ihrem buch beteiligt und ich kann nicht glauben, dass sie sich auf die seite derer schlugen, die Mr. Jackson ausgenutzt haben. Ich dachte, dass die beiden Mr. Jackson nicht nochmehr mit verachtung überziehen könnten, doch sie taten es wieder.
Traurig .. das karma im namen von Mr. Jackson soll über euch beide kommen. Mike Garcia scheint ziemlich gefrustet und enttäuscht zu sein von seinen beiden ex-kollegen.

[rip.michael]

Auszug aus dem buch:
The King of Pop in Exile

Michael Jackson’s personal security guards describe his final days.

By Javon Beard, Bill Whitfield, and Tanner Colby
This article is adapted from Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days, by Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard, with Tanner Colby.

On Dec. 22, 2006, Michael Jackson’s private jet touched down at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. Eighteen months earlier, Jackson had fled his native country, taking his three children and going into self-imposed exile, trying to escape the swarm of tabloid media coverage that had attended his 2005 trial on charges of child molestation. The trial exonerated Jackson of any wrongdoing, but he’d been devastated by the ordeal nonetheless—financially, physically, and emotionally—and hoped to find peace living overseas, first in the Middle Eastern kingdom of Bahrain and later in Ireland.

The singer likely would have stayed abroad for good, but mounting legal and financial problems forced him to return to the U.S., where an offer to perform as a headliner at a Vegas casino promised a steady income and a stable home for his family. World famous since the age of 10, Jackson had always relied on a personal security detail shadowing his every move, and upon his arrival in Vegas, the singer decided to replace the team that had served him overseas. The two men he hired for the new detail were Bill Whitfield, who’d previously served as head of security for Sean “P.Diddy” Combs, and Javon Beard, a trusted family member of one of Jackson’s associates. For the next 2½ years, Whitfield and Beard worked as Jackson’s personal security team, stationed at his side almost 24 hours a day, often serving as the only gatekeepers between the outside world and the increasingly isolated King of Pop. In that time, they came to know a quiet man and a loving father very different from the figure depicted in the tabloids, and they were given a
front-row seat for the unending parade of problems that had driven Jackson to live a life of seclusion behind the gates of his Las Vegas mansion.

Bill Whitfield: Prior to working for Mr. Jackson, my main job had always been handling external threats—stalkers, the paparazzi. That type of stuff I knew how to deal with. But what Mr. Jackson was really paranoid about, the thing he felt he needed most from us, was protection from the people who were already in his life. He wanted us there so he could hide his movements from his own lawyers and managers. He wanted us there to be a buffer between him and his own family. No one in his family was allowed past the front gate without advance notice, with the exception of Mrs. Jackson, his mother. If she showed up, we’d open up the gate and she’d go right on into the house. She could come unannounced. Everyone else needed an appointment, and that was a very delicate situation to handle.
We had fans that did drive-bys all the time. They’d come, circle the block, stop, look around, drive off. On this one particular day, would have been in early February, we saw a burgundy PT Cruiser going back and forth in front of the house. It had tinted windows, so we couldn’t see who it was. This car circled the block maybe four times and drove off. The next day, the same PT Cruiser came and pulled right up to the gate. Javon stayed in the trailer to watch the monitors. I went down to the gate to see what was what.
I got down there, and Mr. Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson, was getting out of the car. I stuck my hand through the gate to shake his and said, “How you doing, Mr. Jackson?”

He wouldn’t shake my hand. He just eyed me and said, “You’re probably one of those putting needles in my son’s arm.” I didn’t respond. He said, “I’m here to see Michael.”

I said, “OK,” left him there, and went back to the house to get Mr. Jackson. He was in his room, listening to music very loud. I knocked on the door and he came out, and I said, “Sir, your father’s outside.”

He said, “Does he have an appointment? Is he on the calendar?”

“I don’t believe so, sir.”

“No, no, no. I’m working. I cannot be disturbed when I’m being creative. Tell him he has to come back and make an appointment.”

I walked back out to the gate, thinking, Damn, I’ve got to go tell this man that he needs an appointment? To see his son? Uh-uh. I wasn’t doing that. I was gonna have to ad lib this one. I went down to the gate and told him that Mr. Jackson was busy, but if he came back tomorrow, I’d make sure to let his son know he wanted to visit. Then I held out my business card for him. He wouldn’t take it. He just went off on me. “I don’t need your damn number! If it wasn’t for me, none of you bastards would have a job! I’m the one started this shit!”
Once he started rapping all that? Our conversation was over. I walked off. He just stood there on the sidewalk, yelling at nobody in particular. Eventually he got in his little car and left. At that point, I started to wonder what kind of situation we’d walked into. I hadn’t signed up for this part, getting involved with family.

Javon Beard: Mr. Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor were old friends, and she was having a 75^th birthday party at a resort out at Lake Las Vegas, this big, red-carpet affair. Her people had heard that Mr. Jackson was living here now, and they reached out to his manager to ask if he would attend. Of course Mr. Jackson wanted to go. So about two weeks out from the event, word came down to us, and things started to gear up.

First thing Mr. Jackson did was call Roberto Cavalli, the designer, to create a custom outfit for him for the party. Cavalli took an emergency flight out here. We picked him up from the MGM Grand, brought him to the house, and he and Mr. Jackson started designing this whole new thing for him just for the party.

Mr. Jackson was obsessing over every detail. He flew his hair-stylist and his makeup artist in too. Once we saw that? We knew he was really taking this seriously. We’d been working for him for over a month, and this was the first detail where he said, “Make sure you have on new suits.” Not just suits, new suits. “Clean the cars. Wax the cars. Make sure your shoes are shined like mirrors.” He never did that kind of thing before. This was the first time we’d be stepping out in public, where we knew that the paparazzi and the press were going to be there. So every day, Mr. Jackson was like, “You guys have to look great. I want everybody to look great.”
Whitfield: We hit the mall a few times, slipping in and out in disguises. Went to Tiffany’s, to Hallmark. He picked out some gifts, a birthday card. We’d hear him talking in the car about how amped he was. We were getting excited just being around him. It was the first time we’d really seen him like this.

Day of the party, he was in good spirits all day long. It was infectious. It spread to everybody in the house. “Hey, Mr. Jackson’s in a good mood!” Everybody was pumped. The whole atmosphere of the place changed. The security team, we were checking each other out, making sure we were all set. Suits pressed. Shoes shined. Even our weapons were polished. Shit, we looked good.

Beard: We were getting ready to walk out on the red carpet with Michael Jackson. It was surreal to us. We’re security, but we’re fans too. How could you not be? We were escorting the King of Pop to Elizabeth Taylor’s birthday party. This was top of the line. A-list.

Whitfield: We were ready to roll out, the cars were in the driveway, all set to go, and Mr. Jackson was taking forever to get ready. While we waited, I left to go and gas up one of the vehicles. I came back and they opened the gate for me and I pulled in on the right-hand side of the circular driveway. The gate was closing behind me. I was getting out of the car and the gate was just a couple feet from closing when all of a sudden—BAM!—there was this loud crash. I turned around to see this gray Mercedes SUV come smashing full speed into the gate. It started to wobble back open, like a garage door does when it can’t close. The Mercedes punched forward, scraping through the opening, and then it raced up the left side of the driveway. I was thinking this was some deranged person about to crash his car into the house. I pulled out my weapon and ran toward the car.

Beard: I was in the garage, waiting to lock up behind Mr. Jackson, who was on his way down. I heard the crash and looked up and saw Bill pull out his joint. The boss was coming through the garage door at that same moment. I screamed, “Mr. Jackson! No!” I grabbed him and pushed him back into the house and locked him inside. He was all freaked out, going, “What’s happening? Is everything okay?”

Whitfield: Everything felt like it was moving at super speed and in slow motion at the same time. The Mercedes came screeching to a halt right in front of the main door. I came between it and the house, drew my pistol and took aim at the driver. I had the laser sight right on his chest and the only thing running through my mind was, Whoever this is, they’re about to get shot.
The driver ducked down and out the corner of my eye I saw this woman in the passenger seat. That threw me. I wasn’t expecting to see a woman. Then the driver lifted his head up and I saw who it was and I froze. Holy shit, I thought. That’s his brother. That’s Randy Jackson. I was only a split second away from pulling the trigger. All I could think about was the madness that would have broken loose if I’d taken that shot. I could see the headlines: Michael Jackson’s Brother Shot by King of Pop’s Bodyguards.

Randy cracked his window open and yelled, “Get that gun out my face before I call the press.”

The press? That was the last thing the boss needed. I went up to the window and said, “Mr. Jackson, you can’t be doin’ this.”

“I’m here to see my brother,” he said.

“Not like this, you’re not. I’d appreciate it if you’d go back outside the gate. Go back outside, and I’ll inform Mr. Jackson that you’re here.”

“I ain’t moving until I see my brother!”

Beard: He started screaming, cussing his brains out, rapping all this stuff about money he’s owed and how he’s not leaving without it.

Whitfield: I left Javon and the others to watch Randy and went in the house to talk to Mr. Jackson. “Your brother Randy’s crashed the gate,” I told him. “He says he’s here to see you about some financial matters, and he won’t leave until he talks to you.”

Mr. Jackson raised his eyebrows for a moment. Then he winced and looked away. “Get rid of him,” he said.

I went back down to try to talk to Randy again. He wouldn’t move.

Beard: I had the idea to block Randy in with one of the trucks, bring the boss out through the side entrance, hop into a different car, and then slip away. But Mr. Jackson shot it down. He said, “He’ll just find out how to follow us to Liz’s party and cause a huge scene; she doesn’t deserve that.”

Whitfield: After about 30 more minutes, I went in the house and told Mr. Jackson again that Randy wasn’t leaving. Mr. Jackson sat there for a moment, then he let out a sigh and said, “OK. I’m just going to go to bed.”

He went upstairs, closed the door, and didn’t come back out.

Beard: That killed us. We were devastated, for Mr. Jackson and for ourselves. I was proud to work for him, and I wanted the chance to do that in public, to show people I worked for Michael Jackson. We had brand-new suits; we were very excited. Elizabeth Taylor’s birthday party? Are you kiddin’ me?! I’m just a normal guy. It was just human nature for us to be excited.
And Mr. Jackson? He’d been making plans for two weeks. This was so important to him. So for him to write it off and go to bed? That was a moment that let us know, okay, this family has some real power over him. It threw off his whole night.

After that, Mr. Jackson didn’t leave the house for three days. We didn’t hear from him. No phone calls, no communication, nothing. He just shut down.
Whitfield: A couple of weeks later, the whole family showed up—all of them. Around midnight, we walked out to the front and saw a bunch of people standing outside the gate. There were a whole lot of familiar faces. Looked like everybody except Randy and Marlon. For a minute it was like I was looking at some kind of Jackson reunion special.

Beard: They all had on hats and sunglasses. It was very incognito, this big family of famous people standing out on the sidewalk in the middle of the night, and quiet all around.

Whitfield: I walked up to the gate, asked them what their business was this time of night. They said, “We heard our brother’s sick. We came to make sure he’s OK.”

I told them I hadn’t seen any signs that Mr. Jackson wasn’t okay. They told me they wanted to see for themselves and weren’t leaving until they did. So now I was in a jam. We had strict instructions from Mr. Jackson not to bother him, but at the same time we couldn’t just leave the entire Jackson family standing in the street at 1 a.m. without it turning into a scene, which Mr. Jackson also wouldn’t want.

I told them to hold on. I went back to the house, rang the doorbell. When Mr. Jackson came to the door, I said, “Sir, your family is out front, and they insist on seeing you.”

He was not happy. He was pissed, and I could tell he was pissed at me for not handling the situation myself. I said, “They heard you were sick and they want to know if you’re okay.”
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he said. “Tell them I’m fine.”

“Sir, they’re not leaving until they see you.”

He went quiet for a moment, then said, “OK, I’ll meet with them. But I don’t want them in the house.”

“I can bring them over to the security trailer. You can talk to them in there.”

“Fine. But I’ll only speak to my brothers.”

Then he asked if Randy was there. I said I didn’t see him. “Good,” he said. “I don’t want to see Randy.”

I went back to the gate and said, “Mr. Jackson just wants to see his brothers.”

This voice from the back said, “What about me?”

At first I couldn’t see who it was. Then I realized it was Janet.

“Sorry, ma’am. He said only his brothers.” She was not happy about that.

The brothers came in. I escorted them over to the trailer, and they stepped inside.

Then I called Mr. Jackson and he came down and joined them. They closed the door and talked for about 20 minutes. Mr. Jackson came out first. Walked straight into the house. Didn’t say anything. The brothers came out, walked to the gate, and that was it. What they talked about, I don’t know.
Beard: They’d come because of a rumor they’d heard that their brother was sick, but Mr. Jackson wasn’t sick. The kids were. Back in January, they’d all come down with colds. Arrangements were made to see a private doctor at his office one evening, after regular hours. The receptionist in that office leaked the story that Michael Jackson had come in, and the family had heard about it. It seemed suspicious to them. They heard he was seen going to a doctor’s office in the middle of the night, and they wanted to make sure he was okay.

Whitfield: That was the difficulty of being Michael Jackson and trying to move around in the world. Just to take his kids to the doctor required days of planning and advance work. You’d use every precaution, and all it took was 15 seconds walking past the wrong person, some nosy receptionist, and all of a sudden you’ve got this rumor circulating.
Paris didn’t get better. Her cold wouldn’t go away, and Mr. Jackson was worried she was coming down with the flu. We couldn’t go to the emergency room, and Mr. Jackson didn’t trust going back to some strange office. He wanted a doctor who would come to the house. So the word was put out there to find a private physician who made house calls. I was given a name and told when to expect him.

On the scheduled night, this silver BMW 745i pulled up to the driveway and a tall, slender gentleman stepped out. He was wearing light blue medical scrubs. He walked up to the gate and introduced himself. “I’m Dr. Conrad Murray,” he said. “I’m here for a visit.”

I told him he was expected, opened the gate, and directed him as to where he could pull his vehicle in. He drove in, parked, and got out.

I had a confidentiality form waiting. Before I pulled it out, I asked him if he knew who he was here to see. He said no. I told him he’d need to sign the agreement before I could allow him to go inside. He said sure. I pulled it out, and he glanced at the heading on the document and saw the name Michael Jackson. His eyebrows raised up and he gave me this look, like, Are you serious?

I gave him a nod. He signed his name. We walked to the front of the house, and I rang the bell and we waited. I could see the silhouette of Mr. Jackson through the glass as he came over toward us. He opened the door, and I said, “Mr. Jackson, this is Dr. Murray. Dr. Murray, this is Mr. Jackson.”

Excerpted from Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days by Bill Whitefield and Javon Beard with Tanner Colby. Available from Weinstein Books, a member of The Perseus Books Group. Copyright © 2014

Quelle: slate.com

[rip.michael]

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[Ghosti]

Sicherlich! Aber, es wäre vll. auch schon eine kurze Zusammenfassung schön.....