


























































See Also
See Again
© Getty Images
1 / 59 Fotos
Favorite character - His favorite animated character was Pinocchio.
© Getty Images
2 / 59 Fotos
Favorite books - His favorite books as a child included 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Old Man and the Sea.'
© Getty Images
3 / 59 Fotos
Muscles - He owned a boa constrictor called Muscles.
© Getty Images
4 / 59 Fotos
Michael Jackson - He was very ticklish.
© Getty Images
5 / 59 Fotos
Racial barriers - 'Billie Jean' was the first video by a black artist to air on MTV.
© Getty Images
6 / 59 Fotos
Plant-based - MJ followed a strictly vegetarian diet.
© Shutterstock
7 / 59 Fotos
Food - He was a fan of Mexican food.
© Shutterstock
8 / 59 Fotos
Trickster - He used to put spiders in his sister La Toya’s bed when they were young.
© Public Domain
9 / 59 Fotos
Hollywood Walk of Fame - He has not one but two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for himself and one for the Jackson Five.
© Getty Images
10 / 59 Fotos
Llama pets - He once owned two llamas called Louie and Lola.
© Shutterstock
11 / 59 Fotos
Short-lived - He and Lisa-Marie Presley were married for only 19 months.
© Getty Images
12 / 59 Fotos
Publishing rights - He paid US$47 million for the publishing rights to the Beatles' back catalog in the 1980s. He later sold a share to Sony for US$95 million.
© Getty Images
13 / 59 Fotos
Grammy - He won eight Grammys in 1984, the highest amount ever won by one person in a single year.
© Getty Images
14 / 59 Fotos
Middle name - His middle name was Joseph, after his father.
© Getty Images
15 / 59 Fotos
First performance - He was five years old when he gave his first public performance, singing 'Climb Every Mountain.'
© Getty Images
16 / 59 Fotos
Skin complaint - In 1993, his dermatologist announced MJ had a skin disease called vitiligo, which causes loss of skin color in blotches.
© Getty Images
17 / 59 Fotos
Still thrilled - 'Thriller' is the world’s best-selling record of all time, with an estimated 66 million copies sold worldwide, according to the Guinness World Records. However, The Eagles’ 'Greatest Hits' has recently surpassed MJ’s 'Thriller' as best-selling album in the United States.
© Getty Images
18 / 59 Fotos
'South Carolina on My Mind' - MJ never owned the rights to the state's anthem, contrary to popular belief. He owned a good portion of The Beatles' catalog, possibly including 'Carolina In My Mind,' which is a likely explanation for the confusion.
© Shutterstock
19 / 59 Fotos
Wax figures - His wax figures are found in five Madame Tussauds museums across the world, behind only those of Elvis Presley and Madonna.
© Getty Images
20 / 59 Fotos
Favorite superhero - His favorite superhero is Morph from X-Men.
© Shutterstock
21 / 59 Fotos
Money from music - It is estimated that he earned around US$500 million from music in his lifetime.
© Getty Images
22 / 59 Fotos
Humanitarianism - He often wore a black armband to draw attention to the plight of children suffering around the world.
© Getty Images
23 / 59 Fotos
Mr. Tibbs - He had a pet ram called Mr. Tibbs.
© Shutterstock
24 / 59 Fotos
Little Richard - The musician wanted to be played by Jackson in a biographical film.
© Getty Images
25 / 59 Fotos
Fanatical - A fan in France committed suicide in 1984 because his mother refused to allow him to undergo surgery to look like the star.
© Getty Images
26 / 59 Fotos
'Scream' - The video for 'Scream' cost US$10.7 million (adjusted for inflation), making it the most expensive ever.
© Public Domain
27 / 59 Fotos
Bookworm - A library once accused the singer of owing US$1 million in overdue book fees.
© Getty Images
28 / 59 Fotos
Royalty
- The Kingdom of Sanwi (found in Côte d’Ivoire) named MJ king in 1992.
© Getty Images
29 / 59 Fotos
Best Movie Song - He won an MTV award for Best Movie Song in 1994 with 'Will You Be There' from 'Free Willy.'
© BrunoPress
30 / 59 Fotos
Appearence - He has said weight loss and being a vegetarian contributed to the change in his looks.
© Getty Images
31 / 59 Fotos
Cosmetic surgeries - But he did admit to having had two nose jobs.
© Getty Images
32 / 59 Fotos
Cough drop tea - Before concerts, he liked to drink Ricola cough drops dissolved in hot water.
© Getty Images
33 / 59 Fotos
Controversy - In 2002, he set the world ablaze when he dangled his infant son Prince Michael II, commonly known as Blanket, over a hotel balcony in Berlin in front of fans.
© Getty Images
34 / 59 Fotos
Controversy - He once acknowledged sharing his bed with children but described it as sweet, and not sexual.
© Getty Images
35 / 59 Fotos
Friendship - He was a best man at Liza Minnelli’s wedding to David Gest.
© BrunoPress
36 / 59 Fotos
Record audience - The largest television audience in U.S. history watched him perform during the 1993 Super Bowl.
© Getty Images
37 / 59 Fotos
Worldwide phenomenon - A survey in 1997 declared him the Most Famous Person in the World.
© Getty Images
38 / 59 Fotos
Inventor - Michael Jackson patented a shoe device that allowed dancers to lean forward at gravity-defying angles.
© BrunoPress
39 / 59 Fotos
Michael Jackson - Jackson once described Elizabeth Taylor as "a warm cuddly blanket that I love to snuggle up to."
© BrunoPress
40 / 59 Fotos
Godfather - Macaulay Culkin is the godfather to MJ's three children.
© BrunoPress
41 / 59 Fotos
Godfather again - MJ is godfather to Nicole Richie.
© BrunoPress
42 / 59 Fotos
And yet again - And he is also godfather to Bee Gees singer Barry Gibb’s son Michael.
© Getty Images
43 / 59 Fotos
'We Are The World' - MJ cowrote 'We Are The World' with Lionel Richie.
© Getty Images
44 / 59 Fotos
The Jackson Brothers - He was four-years-old when he joined his brothers Marlon, Jermaine, Jackie, and Tito in their band.
© Getty Images
45 / 59 Fotos
Jackson 5 - The group's number-one hits included 'I Want You Back,' 'ABC,' and 'I’ll Be There.'
© Getty Images
46 / 59 Fotos
Injured - Jackson suffered burns when an explosion set his hair on fire during production of a 1984 Pepsi advertisement.
© BrunoPress
47 / 59 Fotos
Michael Jackson - Jackson has 13 number-one hits on the US Billboard charts, behind only Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Mariah Carey.
© BrunoPress
48 / 59 Fotos
Loneliness - In 1993, MJ opened up in an interview with Oprah Winfrey about his traumatic childhood, including the loneliness he felt.
© Getty Images
49 / 59 Fotos
Religious upbringing - MJ's mother was a Jehovah's Witness and raised him as such.
© Getty Images
50 / 59 Fotos
Early talent - The family band was originally called the Jackson Brothers.
© Getty Images
51 / 59 Fotos
Jackson 5 - At age eight, MJ was promoted to joint lead vocals and the group became the Jackson 5.
© Getty Images
52 / 59 Fotos
"Wacko Jacko" - He initially used his eccentric personality to promote his music, but he disliked the “Wacko Jacko” nickname.
© Getty Images
53 / 59 Fotos
Crazy stories - Rumors about him included that he slept in an oxygen chamber and that he bought the bones of The Elephant Man.
© Getty Images
54 / 59 Fotos
Neverland Ranch - He bought the land in California that became the Neverland Ranch for US$17 million in 1988.
© Getty Images
55 / 59 Fotos
Humanitarianism - The profits from his single 'Man in the Mirror' went to charity.
© Getty Images
56 / 59 Fotos
Bubbles - His most famous pet was Bubbles the chimpanzee.
© Getty Images
57 / 59 Fotos
Bubbles - MJ bought Bubbles when he was three from a cancer research clinic in Texas.
© BrunoPress
58 / 59 Fotos
Artwork - American artist Jeff Koons made a series of sculptures of Jackson and Bubbles.
© Getty Images
59 / 59 Fotos
Controversial, cute, and random facts about the King of Pop
Michael Jackson would be turning 60
© Getty Images
The late Michael Jackson would be turning 60 years old. For more than four decades, the world’s greatest entertainer moved us, amazed us, entertained us, and shocked us. To honor the one and only King of Pop, browse the gallery for some fast facts about his life, tastes, and controversies.
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
































MOST READ
- Last Hour
- Last Day
- Last Week
-
1
CELEBRITY Relationships
-
2
CELEBRITY Cinema
-
3
LIFESTYLE Tips
-
4
LIFESTYLE Space
The stories behind the most beautiful constellations in the sky
-
5
LIFESTYLE Nature
-
6
CELEBRITY Weddings
-
7
MUSIC Musicians
-
8
TRAVEL Usa
-
9
MOVIES Film
-
10
TRAVEL Nature
COMMENTS