It was January the 27th, 1984,
and Michael Jackson was arguably at the very peak of his career
since his album Thriller had been released at the end of 1982.
Jackson was on a meteoric rise to global
superstardom, generating mass hysteria wherever he went.
He and his brothers had signed a promotional deal with Pepsi worth five
million dollars in November the previous year.
The deal shattered records for the largest celebrity endorsement deal at the time.
Three million dollars was allotted
to sponsoring their upcoming tour, and then the remaining two million dollars
was paid for two television commercials starring Michael and his brothers.
On this day, the stars and crew were hard at work filming a quasi concert
performance inside Los Angeles's Shrine Auditorium.
It was at the end of a long day of filming.
Having shot all the scenes needed
backstage, the crowds eagerly awaited their musical idol.
It was finally Michael Jackson's time
to shine with the venue filled with 3000 screaming fans.
The Jacksons finally hit the stage during the filming of the concert scene,
the chanting in the hall erupted into a single searing shriek of elation.
The deep, pulsing beat rolled off the stage, the beat of Billie Jean,
Michael's best selling single, with the words altered for the commercial.
During filming, Jackson had completed five takes of the same shot,
appearing at the top of a short flight of stairs and dancing down them as
fireworks were let off around him writing in his memoir.
Jackson said the commercials director,
Bob Giraldi, hadn't been happy that the star was so far
down the flight of stairs by the time the explosion went off.
Jackson's security guard, Mike Brando,
said that, quote, Jackson was directed by Bob Giraldi
in the final take to remain alongside the fireworks until after the blast.
Suddenly, there was a blinding explosion
at the center of the stage, much larger than in previous takes.
There, at the top of a staircase stood Michael Jackson,
an unmistakable silhouette as Michael descended the staircase.
He appeared, as always, to be in total control.
But little did he know that a spark had
ignited his hair, still focused on his feet.
Michael was unaware of what was happening, and it was not until he took his first
spin at the bottom of the stairs that he realized he was, in fact, on fire.
Frantically, he cried out Tito Tito to his startled older brother.
A coat was quickly thrown over Michael's
head, and an onslaught of crew members urgently smothered the flames.
Quote, All his hair was gone and there was smoke coming out of his head.
Jackson's longtime makeup artist, Karen Fay, testified.
I never saw anything like that in my life.
This was someone I knew and he was on fire.
Although the fire was put out quickly,
pandemonium erupted in the auditorium as screens filled the hall,
crowds of teenage fans shouted, Michael Jackson has been shot.
Michael Jackson is dead.
Comedian Kathy Griffin, who happened to be working as an extra
that day, later told The Hollywood Reporter what had happened.
The last thing a production would do
following an action like this would be to tell thousands of extras something like
there's been a horrible accident, everybody go home, she wrote.
I just remember we were all abruptly excused for the day.
By the time I driven back home was all over the news.
From what I saw, Michael was coming down from the riser
off like a little bit of it, crushed the back of the neck.
And then from there he realized it was going up the back of his neck.
And then he started and then it started spreading.
And then he was tackled by his brothers and friends and relatives on the set.
Yeah, I was backstage and I didn't know what the situation was at the time,
but the director gave me some instructions and I were to stand there longer.
You'll look more majestic.
Also, I found out some Inspector Thomas,
that the technicians were told that Jackson's gonna say he's going to be
under the spotlight and he's going to live.
So he has to look like he's appearing out of the smoke.
And that was totally against what the instructions.
I'm
in shock and screaming in pain.
Jackson was swiftly escorted off stage
and rushed to hospital, making light of the incident.
Jackson later wrote in his autobiography,
Moonwalk, I never thought I'd ride in an ambulance with the sirens wailing.
It was one of those things I had always wanted to do.
Jackson was then wheeled off
the ambulance, swathed in bandages with only his spangled glove showing.
Leave the glove on. He instructed an ambulance attendant.
The media's here.
While brought in Memorial Hospital.
Michael Jackson was treated for a palm
sized patch of second and third degree burns on his scalp,
Jackson was said to have been in intense pain and stayed up until one a.m.
that night in the burns ward before eventually falling asleep.
More than 200 calls a minute streamed
into the switchboard at the hospital in the Los Angeles suburb of Culver City,
and avid fans had poured into the hospital and attempts to see him.
Michael Jackson's plastic surgeon and personal physician, Dr.
Stephen Hoffman, held an impromptu press conference stating that Jackson still had
some discomfort from the burns and could suffer from some permanent hair loss.
He also stated that Jackson would probably
be hospitalized a day or two for observation
the next day.
Michael was reportedly still shaken by the accident, but also happily joked
with his doctors agreeing to take pictures with medical staff and fellow patients.
He was photographed wearing hospital
scrubs, but with his signature rhinestone glove still intact,
Jackson left the hospital in a wheelchair around noon the following day,
although the incident was made light in the press.
Jackson had suffered from serious injury,
and recovery was expected to be a long and painful one.
He reportedly said he was most hurt by jokes about his Jerry Curl,
indignantly denying that hair lotion caused the blaze.
He was also furious with how he was handled.
The man who directed the filming project, Bob Giraldi, said the accident marked
the end of his working relationship with the star.
He recalls that the moment when
the accident happened is one he would never forget,
and partly blamed it on a bit of tension between Jackson and the ad executives.
Alan Potiche, Company's vice president
for creative services, said, quote, We wish it had never happened.
Jackson threatened to sue Pepsi,
but backed off when the company agreed to pay him one point five million dollars
on top of his seven hundred thousand dollar fee,
which he donated to the hospital who treated him in order for them to build
a new burns unit named the Michael Jackson Burn Center.
According to his makeup artist, Michael Jackson suffered debilitating
migraines in the wake of the accident for which he required strong pain
medication for it's been speculated that the agony Jackson found himself
in after the accident kick started the prescription painkiller addiction
that eventually snowballed, killing him years later.
Powerful sedatives were also prescribed to the star.
In order to calm his nerves and help him
sleep, it was clear that Michael Jackson was shaken by the accident.
The intense pain stood as a constant
reminder of the traumatic event and an indication of what can happen if
Jackson allowed himself to be vulnerable and put trust in others around him
with a high profile concert tour scheduled to begin in the summer.
Jackson became paranoid about his own health and well-being.
For all the money, the tour is not without its dangers.
I worry all the time, said Jackson's representative, John Branca.
The Pepsi accident has caused everybody to be concerned.
The WHO had riots with the tour of this magnitude.
It's got to be planned with perfectionism to make sure it's conducted smoothly.
Indeed, the potential for disaster
on the Jackson's tour was undeniable, and the extraordinary scope of Michael's
popularity magnified tenfold the problems presented by an average rock tour.
Later that year, Michael Jackson was diagnosed with lupus,
a long term autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system becomes
hyperactive and attacks normal healthy tissue.
Symptoms can include inflammation, swelling and damage to the joints and is
often triggered by stress or a traumatic event.
In a final twist of fate for one
of the world's most image conscious entertainers, it emerged that Jackson wore
a wig because his hair had never properly grown back after it was burned.
As part of his autopsy, the coroner found Jackson's hair was
sparse and connected to a wig, which he'd worn for years to cover up his bald spot.
It seemed neither Michael Jackson nor his
scalp ever really recovered from that disastrous day in 1984 and any
attempts was worsened by his autoimmune illness.
However, after his freak accident caused a media whirlwind and a spike in record
sales for the superstar, Michael's behavior grew more bizarre.
During his recovery.
He fooled around his Encino state
and an electric car and tossed his hospital gown to a fan at the front gate
while visiting other burn patients.
He discovered the hyperbaric oxygen chamber, a coffin like box used to speed
healing, which he tried to buy to sleep in.
Photographs first emerged of Jackson lying
in the machine in nineteen eighty six, and the images caused a stir when they
were seen by the general public who were completely unfamiliar with the equipment.
It was later revealed that Jackson had leaked the photos in order to promote
Captain Ito, a sci fi film written by George Lucas and released that same year.
Michael Levine, a prominent Hollywood publicist, confirmed that he helped
Jackson and his manager, Frank DiLeo, plant the story in the press.
Michael Jackson believed
that the outlandish story would generate publicity for his high profile project
and would further add to his larger than life public persona.
But the plan appeared to have backfired.
As The National Enquirer claimed,
the machine was part of a regime followed by Jackson to keep himself alive longer.
It reported him as having said, quote,
I've taken several long naps in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
And when I awoke, I felt like a new person.
I've never felt better.
I believe if I treat my body properly,
I'll live to be at least one hundred and fifty.
He later said that the claims were stupid.
That's stupid.
It's completely made up and I'm embarrassed.
However, years later, Michael Jackson did by his own chamber.
Adrian Gray, president and CEO
of Hyperbaric Modular Systems, confirmed that Jackson had purchased
the hyperbaric oxygen machine in nineteen ninety four.
He apparently approached Broughton Hospital and they sold the chamber.
He had donated back to him and it was installed in his home at Neverland.
Gray added that sleeping in it would have
caused oxygen toxicity in his blood and that instead he probably used
the chamber at home for one or two hours at a time for health reasons.
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