Michael Jackson

Date of birth:: 1958
Date of death:: 2009

Mini Bio:: Michael Jackson’s success as a masterful entertainer and best-selling recording artist transformed him into one of the most famous men in the world. He debuted at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5, whose energetic and joyful performances led to success with classic songs such as ‘I Want You Back’ and ‘ABC’. His solo career began in 1971 while still a member of The Jackson 5, but was later propelled into superstardom by the success of 1982’s Thriller, the best-selling record of all time. Coinciding with the unveiling of his signature ‘Moonwalk’ it would provide Jackson with key hits such as ‘Billie Jean’ and earn him the title The King of Pop. His four other studio albums are also among the world’s best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and History (1995). Jackson’s screen performances consist of two feature films. He played the character of the Scarecrow alongside Diana Ross’s Dorothy in The Wiz (1978), an African-American musical reworking of The Wizard of Oz. His sole starring vehicle was Moonwalker (1988), an uneven yet imaginative mixture of concert footage, animation and a fantastical gangster/sci-fi story which positions Jackson as the hero. It contains moments both bizarre and brilliant; at one point Jackson turns into a car, and at another he dazzles with his performance of ‘Smooth Criminal’. Jackson of course also starred in a string of classic, high-budget and pioneering music videos. Thriller pushed the boundaries of the music video, becoming a 13-minute genre film that saw Jackson transform from a high-school sweetheart, to a werewolf, to a dancing zombie. Famous for the sequence in which Jackson leads a troupe of zombies in a synchronised dance, it became one of the most-watched videos of all-time.