So you thought you'd escape the 24-7 barrage of Michael Jackson coverage by coming here and reading about Orange County history? Sadly, you were wrong. I've had this weird picture - taken at Knott's Berry Farm in April 1984 - for a while now, and this may be the only excuse I ever get to post it. (Note that the sign on the Good Time Theatre marquee behind them reads, "Flash Beagle" - a show based on arguably the worst animated "Peanuts" special of all time.).
You probably don't associate Jackson with Knott's. But you probably remember his connections to Disneyland.
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In a move I'm sure Disney executives later regretted, Captain EO - a 3-D movie starring Jackson - opened at Disneyland's Magic Eye Theatre on Sept. 18, 1986. (It actually debuted six days earlier at Epcot Center.) The special effects extravaganza was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, with George Lucas as executive producer. They are seen on the set with Jackson in the photo below.
Captain EO was 17 minutes long and cost 17 million dollars to make. That's five million less than Jackson paid in 1994 to settle one of the molestation cases against him..
The short film was technically and visually impressive, but the glow faded over the years as Jackson's creepy personal life (e.g. sleeping with little boys) became public. The show closed in 1997 to no fanfare whatsoever.
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I'm told Jackson was a regular at Disneyland at various points in his career, going from ride to ride with his entourage - sometimes wearing a disguise. He was so enamoured of the park that he built a half-baked version of it on his Neverland Ranch near Santa Barbara.
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And speaking of Disney connections,... Did anyone else notice that Jackson died in a rented mansion on Carolwood Dr. - the same street Walt Disney lived on when he was developing Disneyland?
