"Michael Jackson's" Ghost.com

Michael jackson's Thriller

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Michael Jackson’s 1983 short movie “Thriller,” the song-and-dance horror flick that helped popularize television music videos, will live on in the U.S. National Film Registry.

The 14-minute “Thriller” is among 25 films the Library of Congress on Wednesday named to the registry, and it became the first music video included in the 2009 list of cultural treasures that will be preserved for all time.

“The Muppet Movie” of 1979, featuring Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, 1975 bank robbery drama “Dog Day Afternoon” starring Al Pacino, the 1957 science fiction movie “The Incredible Shrinking Man” and Sergio Leone’s 1968 spaghetti western “Once Upon a Time in the West” also made the list.

Jackson, who died at age 50 on June 25 from an overdose of powerful medications, worked on the “Thriller” video with director John Landis.

The Library of Congress described the video as a lavish production that “revolutionized the music industry.” It played on TV, and was released theatrically on 35mm film.

In “Thriller,” which was set to Jackson’s single of the same name, the singer is out with a girl when zombies start to crawl out of a graveyard. Jackson joins the zombies in a dance, and himself becomes a zombie for a time.

In 2007, hundreds of prison inmates in the Philippines performed the “Thriller” dance, in a video that went viral on the Web and has been seen by millions.

Los Angeles police are still probing Jackson’s death, in an investigation that appears focused on his personal doctor.

With the addition of “Thriller” and the other 25 films, the U.S. National Film Registry now lists 525 movies.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Jill Serjeant and Vicki Allen)

MICHAEL JACKSON TRIBUTE SONG HEAVEN CANT WAIT from Pleasure-Ellis on Vimeo.

Reports are coming in from actual Michaeal Jackson fans, that Michael’s Ghost is visiting them! We are not making this up! Michael is visiting hi fans in dreams, in shadows of bedrooms, and even one report of Michaels poster seemingly coming to life!

Is this Michael’s ghost? What do you think? Write us and let us know!

Apparently Michael Jackson is more in touch with his fans than ever before! Perhaps for Michael, that truely is heaven.

Michael Jackson, Rest in Peace

Vincent Price (1911-1993)

Vincent Price, an actor known for his work on horror films, did the narration at the end, including the evil laugh. Price’s rap includes the line “Must stand and face the hounds of hell.” This was inspired by the most popular Sherlock Holmes novel to date, The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in which Sir Henry Baskerville’s family is supposedly cursed by a bloodthirsty, demonic hound. Price’s personal friends, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee (who appeared in several Hammer horror films with him), starred in a loose 1959 film adaptation of it. It was the first Sherlock Holmes film shot in color.

While a guest on the Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, Vincent Price, laughingly stated that when he did the narration for “Thriller” (at the request of Michael Jackson who was a big fan of Price) he had a choice between taking a percentage of the album sales or $20,000. Price was well along in his career, so he took the $20,000. He was good-natured about it when Carson told him he could have made millions off of the royalties due to the vast number of copies sold even at that time. Price laughed heartily and said: “How well I know!”

Vincent Price came to be identified with gothic horror and crazed villainy through a series of leading film roles in the 1960s that were based on such Edgar Allan Poe poems and short stories as The Raven, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Masque of the Red Death. Thanks to the actor’s wide exposure in those movies and others like them, his voice became immediately associated with the horror genre, opening the door for Price to contribute to a number of different recordings, as well as an album of his own. His spooky laughter alone was enough to conjure all sorts of macabre thoughts and associations, and his elegant diction only enhanced the effect. A sampling of Price’s contributions includes an appearance on Alice Cooper’s Welcome to My Nightmare from Atlantic in 1975 and a guest spot on Michael Jackson’s Thriller from Epic in 1982. He was also included on a 1998 children’s soundtrack, Scooby-Doo’s Snack Traks: The Ultimate Collection. Price’s own album, Witchcraft and Magic, was released by Capitol Records.

Other mediums also opened their doors to Price, with wonderful results. When he lent his distinctive voice to Disney for the movie Great Mouse Detective, songwriters whipped up two new numbers especially for him. In television, he became host of the 1980s PBS series Mystery. He wasn’t above spoofing himself, and in 1984, he appeared in the cartoon The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo as the character Vincent Van Ghoul. Unfortunately, not everyone appreciated Price’s melodiously velvet voice. When Disneyland Paris opened its Phantom Manor with narration by Price in English, attraction-goers’ complaints forced the park to dump Price in favor of a Frenchman. But this affront was just a small, aberrant blip in a long career that began with degrees from Yale University and the University of London (the latter in theater arts) and on the British stage, Broadway, and the Mercury Theater with Orson Welles. In addition to his stage and film work, Price worked in radio, authored several books, and was a gourmet chef. He also was an art aficionado and collector whose own 90-piece donation helped establish the art collection at East Los Angeles College, as well as related educational programs. The college named its Vincent Price Gallery in his honor. The actor began collecting works of art when he was 12 with the purchase of an etching by Rembrandt.

Price was wed three times, the first to Edith Barrett in 1938. They divorced ten years later, and Price wed Mary Grant in 1949. In 1973, his second marriage also ended in divorce. He married Coral Browne the following year, and the union lasted until her death in 1991. He had two children, Vincent and Victoria. Vincent Leonard Price, the actor’s father, was head of a candy company. Marguerite Wilcox, his mother, helped establish the St. Louis Community School. The actor had three older siblings, James Mortimer, Lauralouise, and Harriet. He passed away in 1993. The cause of death was lung cancer. (~Linda Seida)

Richest dead celeb? No, not Jackson

Topping the list of top earners among the deceased is fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, who earned $350 million to beat out Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley and others.

[Related content: income, celebrity, entertainment, earnings, celebrity news]

By Forbes.com

The money might be drying up in Hollywood, but there’s still plenty of cash to be made in the graveyard. The 13 iconic figures on Forbes’ list of the top-earning dead celebrities grossed a collective $886 million in the past 12 months.

Celebrity deaths in 2009

Topping the list for the first time is Yves Saint Laurent, who earned $350 million in a much-heralded estate sale. Over three days in February, auction house Christie’s sold many of the French fashion icon’s possessions, including expensive art, antiques and furniture, garnering $443 million. 

After commissions, the cash was split between the Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent Foundation and a soon-to-be-created philanthropic group aimed at supporting scientific research and the fight against AIDS.

YSL died of brain cancer in June 2008.

• Forbes slide show: Top-earning dead celebrities

Debuting on the list in third place is musician Michael Jackson. In the four months since his death, the King of Pop’s estate has brought in $90 million.

Though his afterlife earnings didn’t land him atop the list, as many had anticipated, few celebrity deaths have garnered more media attention. Since his June 25 passing, Jackson’s estate has sold an estimated 9 million albums worldwide, plus more than 5.5 million digital downloads.

Sony shelled out $60 million for the rights to produce “This Is It,” the highly anticipated movie featuring rehearsal footage of what was to be a 50-date concert engagement at London’s O2 arena.

The $60 million advance will be split between Jackson’s estate and concert promoter AEG. The estate, AEG and Sony will divvy up any profits from the movie.

Merchandise created for the tour has been selling briskly online.

Top 5 ‘delebs’

Rank	Celebrity	Income	Occupation	Died	Age
1	Yves Saint Laurent	$350 million	Fashion designer	June 1, 2008	71
2	Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein	$235 million (combined)	Musical composer (Rodgers); playwright, songwriter, producer (Hammerstein)	Dec. 30, 1979 (Rodgers); Aug. 23, 1960 (Hammerstein)	77 65
3	Michael Jackson	$90 million	Musician	June 25, 2009	50
4	Elvis Presley	$55 million	Singer, actor	Aug. 16, 1977	42
5	J.R.R. Tolkien	$50 million	Author	Sept. 2, 1973	81

At No. 2, between Saint Laurent and Jackson, are Broadway legends Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. The songwriting duo, who wrote the music and lyrics to widely successful musicals like “Oklahoma!,” “South Pacific,” “The King and I” and “The Sound of Music” made the bulk of their $235 million in combined earnings from the sale of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization and the rights to music they wrote together.

Royalties from other works further fattened their wallets over the course of the year.

To place on this year’s list, a deceased celebrity — or “deleb,” as industry insiders have dubbed them — needed to rake in at least $6 million between Oct. 1, 2008, and Oct. 1, 2009.

In compilng the list, we spoke with agents, lawyers and other sources involved with dead celebrities’ estates to estimate their gross earnings (before taxes, management fees and other costs).

More from MSN Money and Forbes.com

• Products even Oprah couldn’t save
• Michael Jackson’s money machine
• Celebrities’ big financial blunders
• Near misses on the richest celebrities’ list
• 2008’s top-earning dead celebrities
• Yves Saint Laurent sells out

Behind Jackson is longtime list-topper Elvis Presley. The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll earned $55 million during the yearlong span. That’s more than some of the music industry’s biggest living acts command: New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi brought in $50 million for the 12 months ending in June; Britney Spears grossed $35 million during the same period. 

Unlike Jackson, Presley doesn’t count music royalties among his revenue streams; his manager famously sold the rights to the King’s pre-1973 recordings to RCA (now part of Sony) for $5 million. The handlers of his estate have found other means of expanding the fortune, from merchandising to admissions to Graceland.

Expect the estate’s income to expand next year as Graceland celebrates Elvis’ 75th birthday with new exhibits and a massive birthday celebration.

Video: Rapper 50 Cent on getting rich

Coming in fifth is author J.R.R. Tolkien, whose estate banked $50 million in the past 12 months. While he still takes in book royalties from his vast collection, the majority of Tolkien’s earnings this year came from settling a long-standing lawsuit with New Line Cinema over the profits on “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

How can dead celebrities continue to earn millions every year? The short answer is merchandising and licensing deals struck in exchange for their name and likeness, along with sales of their recorded music, books or films.

Lucrative one-off events

Falling off this year’s list are several dead-celebrity mainstays, including Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and Steve McQueen. Despite inking new deals over the past year, these icons couldn’t keep up with their peers. 

One reason: Folks like newcomer Saint Laurent or returnees Rodgers & Hammerstein have benefited from lucrative one-off events, which can include estate sales, posthumous releases and lawsuit resolutions. As a result, both YSL and Rodgers & Hammerstein aren’t likely to earn enough to garner a spot on next year’s list.

Jackson, on the other hand, will likely make tens of millions of dollar a year from sales of his back catalog, merchandise and memorabilia as well as royalties from his stake in the Sony ATV catalog of songs, which includes music by artists like the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Taylor Swift.

Industry brokers say it’s only a matter of time before Jackson also makes posthumous appearances in new advertisements, a practice made possible by technology. In recent years, Monroe and Audrey Hepburn have appeared in ads for MasterCard and The Gap, respectively.

In addition to name recognition and broad appeal, deceased celebrities offer the marketing community something living entertainers do not: peace of mind.

“Albert Einstein isn’t going to get busted for drunk driving, and Steve McQueen is not going to have an affair and be in the tabloids,” says David Reeder, the vice president of Corbis’ GreenLight, which represents Einstein, McQueen and many others. “Anything that’s happened is behind them, making them a safe harbor for advertisers.” 

Mark Roesler, the chairman of CMG Worldwide, which counts the estates of Monroe and Dean among its clients, says that with security and cultural resonance come limitations. “Regardless of what technological changes have occurred,” he says, “you’re still dealing with personalities who are deceased. They can’t exactly make personal appearances.”

This article was reported by Lacey Rose and Dorothy Pomerantz for Forbes.com.

Published Oct. 29, 2009

michael jackson came to visit me he was sitting on my bed. i know millions of people wont believe. but its the truth it was so shocked he look at me for a long while smiled at me and left

Hi, ever since I joined I can’t get a profile pictur