Movie Make-out

Yesterday, TMZ.com first broke the story that Michael Jackson had suffered from a cardiac arrest and had been rushed to the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, Calif. Later on, CNN confirmed that he died while en route to the hospital at 2:26 pm PST.

Though known primarily as the “King of Pop” for his numerous contributions to the world of R&B and pop music, Michael Jackson’s cinematic contributions are actually quite considerable. His first cinematic role was in The Wiz in 1978 as the Scarecrow and was warmly acclaimed for his performance.

He also worked with Francis Ford Coppola and Anjelica Houston on a 17-minute 3D short called Captain EO that was installed and played at Tomorrowland in Disneyland (1986–1997) and EPCOT at the Walt Disney World resort (1986-1994) hundreds of people several times a day, making it one of the most viewed movies in cinematic history.

I personally remember the most Michael Jackson’s work in his 1983 “Thriller” music video (which was helmed by An American Werewolf in Paris director John Landis) for its inclusion of classic movie horror star Vincent Price’s narration as one of Price’s last performances and the accompanying behind the scenes special they did that showcased the excellent special effects work of the legendary Rick Baker. In fact, most of his music videos played like little movies, and it was no surprise that he won numerous awards for them.

Jackson is survived by his three children.