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2013-09-10

A Very Special Conversation with Frank Cascio, Revisited.

 
 By Valmai Owens   Sat, Dec 24, 2011


中文來源:mjjcn.com   翻譯:Sara Lee
下面的問答譯自Frank Casio 最近接受歌迷代表的一次訪談:

歌迷:你難道從來沒有停下來問過自己:“ OMG!我真的是跟Michael Jackson 坐在一起嗎?!

Frank
:說起來的確好笑,因為他對我來說一直是Michael,我的好朋友,我是跟著他長大的,多年來他一直是我們家的老朋友。記得有一次在他的演唱會上,我還扭過頭去問父親:舞臺上的那個MJ和來咱們家的MJ真的是同一個人嗎? 當時我都有些反應不過來了,真的!
歌迷:你成年後也沒有過這樣的感覺?(即:像上面提到的那種 “OMG!我真的是跟Michael Jackson 坐在一起嗎?!

Frank
:是也不是。以前我還常跟他開玩笑說:這些人來這裏不是為了見你,他們是來見我的。不過,我得說,當他上臺表演的時候,我可以每天呆在那兒看他的演出。
歌迷:你看過許多場他的演唱會吧?

Frank
:我看過所有Dangerous HIStory 巡演的演唱會。那時,幾乎每天晚上,我都會呆在舞臺的一側觀看演出。有時,我們就呆在舞臺下面,他會走進那個“toaster”   (Sara:  烤麵包器——相信大家都知道這個東西吧?是用來烘熱土司麵包的家用小電器,通常都配有計時器。有的烤麵包器在預設時間到的時候,麵包片會自動彈起。這裏的“toaster” 顯然是指Dangerous 演唱會開場時,MJ 蹦上舞臺時使用的那個裝置。很形象,是不是?!想像一下,MJ 像片土司麵包似的被彈上舞臺,哈哈。。。LOL),他會說:“ OK. Frank,現在我就會從這個" toaster "  裏跳出去。有時則會說:“ OK. 你們好好欣賞演出吧,咱們等會兒見!


有時,他還會支使人,說:去跟Turkle MJ給化妝師Karen Faye 起的外號)說一聲,讓她吃塊薄荷味兒的口香糖,我可不想等會兒回到她那兒(補妝)時,被她口裏的氣味給熏死Sara:  哈哈。。。果真是名符其實的毒舌邁啊!!如果我是Karen,一定要拍他,而且還要狠狠地拍! LOL),當然他是開玩笑了,他和Karen Faye 是很要好的朋友。之後,他就會從那個“toaster”  裏跳出去,一瞬間就搖身變成了另外一個人。對我而言,那些表演, 即使已經看了那麼多遍了,也從不會讓我覺得乏味,尤其是當他表演


的時候。。。我只能簡單地用難以置信這個詞來形容自己當時的感受了。
那段時間,幾乎每天都在看他的演唱會,那簡直可以說是我當時生活的一部分,一種常態。請別誤會,我並沒有因此而不以為然。不過,現在當我重新回想當時的一切,確實覺得自己真的,真的很幸運。

MJCasio 兄弟以前的合影(圖中MJ 還穿著卡家開的義大利餐館的廣告衫,這不是免費為卡家做廣告嗎?!XD




It’s not often one gets a chance to sit down and have a personal conversation with someone who was close to Michael, especially one who was as close to him as anyone could be, for over 25 years of his life. Frank Cascio graciously and willingly gave up three hours of his time to meet with me and Lauren, on a chilly, Monday afternoon in L.A. Funny, gracious, intelligent, humble and sincere, Frank gave us an insight into his unique life with Michael, and into the man himself, but we also saw and heard with our own eyes and ears, the truth, honesty and love behind his words. It is three hours I will never forget.

 

Valmai:  Frank, I would really like to talk about your book. I would like to know specifically if you had any problems getting a publisher interested, because basically it is a positive book about Michael’s life, but many publishers don’t want that; they want the negative input. In mentioning the drug issue, do you think that altered their decision?

Frank:  Actually, no. I think first and foremost, when Michael passed I was not thinking about writing a book whatsoever. That was the last thing on my mind. It really changed my life, really opened my eyes. I had a unique experience, and it could be a new perspective. It changed my priorities and what I wanted, because I realized life is too short and you shouldn’t take every day for granted—you never know.

When Michael passed it was like losing a father, so, to this day, part of me is missing. There are so many times I just wish we could talk—he always seemed to make things better. If I was having a down day, he’d just say the right things to motivate you to conquer the world and I miss that. And, there are so many things about him. Just hanging out, talking, having a conversation, family events. He and I used to go shopping for presents and he’d say, “No, no, no, we should get this jacket for your brother…”, or, “This shirt is for my cousin…”
He was the greatest teacher in the world and such a great father, and not just to his children, but to other people in an indirect way. It was like one big family. His fans meant a lot to him. I hope they realize how much they really meant to him, because they kept him going. Fans gave him motivation and he never wanted to let them down; let anyone down.
Valmai:  Did that put pressure on him though? Did he feel that he had to live up to any expectations?

Frank:  No, the only pressure he had was what he put on himself. He always wanted to outdo himself. I remember him telling me stories. When Off the Wall was a really big, huge success, he wasn’t satisfied.  He would say, “I’m going to make the biggest selling album of all time.” And he did it...he was so mentally strong. He was really connected with God, and with the universe.
Lauren:  Was he always like that?

Frank:   He was a human being, but don’t get me wrong, he was just definitely touched by God. He had something a little more than the average person. Yes, he was a human being and he had his faults, but he was different—he was almost like an angel living on earth. He would walk in a room and captivate everyone. We would go out in disguise, shopping or to have dinner, and he’d be all wrapped up, nobody could see his face, but he had this aura about him and people knew it was him. Just his aura and presence was so strong and captivating.

Lauren:  Did you ever sit back and say to yourself, “Oh my God, this is Michael Jackson I’m sitting with?”
Frank:  It’s funny, because I met him as Michael, my friend. I grew up with him and he’d been a family friend for years. I remember going to a concert and I turned to my father and said, “Is that  the same Michael Jackson who comes to our house?” I didn’t put two and two together. I really didn’t. 
Lauren:  And even as you got older that didn’t happen to you?

Frank:   Yes, and no. I’d make jokes, “These people aren’t here to see you; they’re here to see me.” But, I have to say, when he’d go on that stage and perform, I could sit there and watch that show every single day.
Lauren:   And you saw all of his concerts?
Frank:  I saw all the shows. On the Dangerous and HIStory Tours, every single night I’d sit on the side of the stage and just watch the show. Sometimes, we’d be under the stage and he’d get in the toaster and say, “Alright, Frank, I’m going to pop out of this toaster now.”   He’d say, “Alright, enjoy the show. See you after the second show”, or he’d make a comment, “Go tell Turkle to put a breath mint in her mouth. I don’t want to go back there and have her kill me with her breath”, in a joking way. He loved Karen Faye. Then he would pop out of the toaster and all of a sudden he transformed into this other being. It never got old, especially when he did “Billie Jean”…it was just incredible!

In the moment, that was my normality, and my reality. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t take it for granted, but looking back on it now, I was truly, truly blessed. I wish I could say I could give that back to my children when I have them, but I don’t really think that will ever be possible. I can give back to my children my experiences and what I’ve learned in a different way, take a lot of what Michael taught me and my children will be able to experience him in that way. 
It will never happen again with anyone.



Lauren:   What was it like when you were very little and he would visit in the middle of the night? I can imagine that…”Oh, yeah, Michael’s here”, and jumping out of bed. Your folks had no idea he was coming? He would just show up?
Frank:   He made it kind of special, I mean, he was the most famous man in the world. He just came off, Off the Wall or Thriller, and he made a point to drive 35 to 40 minutes outside the city just to come say hello and spend some time with us—out of his own time, and then drive back. He didn’t have to do that. We were very fortunate.
You know, I think God has an ultimate purpose. Sometimes, we don’t realize or understand why people come in and out of our lives. Nothing is forever and you’re lucky if you have a friendship that lasts even a year. It wasn’t a coincidence that our relationship lasted over 25 years.

Valmai:  You and Michael bonded very quickly and made a connection as a child/adult. Why do you think that was? Why do you think that bond was so strong?
Frank:  I think it was several things. I think first and foremost he loved my parents. He had a lot of respect for my father and my mother. He really connected with my father; he saw what kind of person he was. My father took care of him and he treated him with respect; he didn’t look at him as a pop star. They became friends and then Michael wanted to meet the rest of the family.

He fell in love with my mother. My mother reminded him of his mother, Katherine. He would say, “You have no idea, your mother is just like my mother, sweet, humble, loving, caring, giving to everyone”. Anybody who comes to the house, anybody, my mother is the first one to make sure they feel right at home, that everyone is fed and taken care of. My house is like the hub…no matter who it is. It’s like a hotel; people come in for a cup of coffee; the door is always open.

Michael and I had a connection, where we were somehow connected, and I can’t even explain it. Sometimes he would call out of the blue, randomly, and say, “Frank, are you ok?” I’m like, “Yeah, why?” And he’d say, “I just felt like you were a little down to it.”   He would be on the other side of the world and I’d think, well I am a little down today.  And he’d say, “Yeah, I felt it. Don’t worry about it; everything’s going to be fine”. We would communicate even without having to say a word; we’d just have to look at each other and I knew exactly what he was thinking and he knew what I was thinking. We didn’t even have to speak. That was very helpful in meetings…we’d look at each other and it would be like, “Alright, I think it’s time to go now.”  We were connected somehow telepathically.

We’d go out shopping and we’d talk some random language. We understood what we were saying, but it wasn’t a language, really. It was like Borat, before Borat came out!  Screaming in the middle of Virgin Records or at a restaurant, “The Prince wants to eat chicken wings”.  And we’d speak a random language, and he’d get mad, throw his hands up in the air and sometimes hit the table…it was fun, like comic relief and an escape.

It’s very difficult to give Michael Jackson anything, but one thing we could give him was unconditional love, sincerity, loyalty and a safe place where he felt comfortable to be himself. My whole family made it so he didn’t feel like he was judged; he could walk around the house in his pajamas, socks, penny loafers and t-shirts. Sometimes, he’d wear two different color socks…he just felt like he could be himself. He felt safe and we truly loved him for him, not as the superstar. It was such a sincere love that we had together as a family; it made him feel safe; made him feel like he had a surrogate family. Whether at the house or at the ranch, it gave him family, love, and sincerity, not just people looking at him or wanting something from him or…he wasn’t judged. That’s why the relationship lasted for 25 years. You see a lot of people, who come in and out of his life, friends, then they’d disappear, and another friend and family would come in, and they would disappear. We were the only ones who were constant.

Lauren:  You said you didn’t think about writing your book when he died. What prompted you to think you might do that?
Frank:  Well, I was living in Munich , Germany , and I was building a company called ABC Music Productions. I was in Italy when I heard the news. I went back to Germany and I just started writing and talking. I was with a friend of mine and my way of coping with things, my way of dealing with things…I just started talking and writing, not to write a book, it was just therapy for me. I had so much inside of me, all these stories inside of me…I just needed to somehow write it down, get it out, because it was a very difficult situation…I was really messed up when he passed away. Really depressed. I needed to vent. I held all this stuff in for so long and I wanted to talk about it, but not with the thought of writing a book.
Time goes on, and it was about a year ago around this time that somebody approached me and said…well, during the course of the year a lot of fans approached me and would ask, “Frank, can you tell me how Michael was…you were there”...or “What was his favorite color?”  “What really happened in the Arvizo situation?” So, I took all these questions from fans, and I started thinking and responding. People would say, “It’s such a fascinating story. You have so much to tell”.

And then you see all these people on TV—I  think that was actually the trigger. You have all these people writing books; all these people saying they were Michael’s best friend; trying to dictate and say things  when they had no idea who this man was. And I got frustrated, because I’m thinking, “That’s not true”. I wanted to really set the record straight and tell the world this man was not a pedophile. He had no sexual attraction to children. He sincerely loved them for who they were, and it sincerely hurt his heart when he saw a suffering child in the street. He was so sensitive to it, and he would say children were the closest thing to God. He got a lot of his inspiration from children, and I wanted to make that clear, because there’s so many questions that people have. I wanted to set the record straight for the world, because this man was NOT a pedophile and should never be remembered as that. 
If anyone could set the record straight in the course of 25 years, since the age of 4, I was there, and the man was not sexually attracted to children. One thing that I am very happy about; I made my point very clear in the book and people who actually were questioning it now get it.  “OK, you changed my mind. I understand it now.”  And I’m so happy that I’m getting that response from people; people are changing their minds. They actually see it in a completely different way, and can see that this man was taken advantage of and manipulated

Lauren:  It was extortion.
Frank:  It was extortion; it was publicity….
Lauren:  Tom Mesereau recently explained why Sneddon named you as a co-conspirator.
Frank:  Tom said that on his own and I feel vindicated in so many ways, because that was such a big question in fans minds. People say I wasn’t there when Michael needed me the most. Well, I was there when he needed me the most, more than most of his friends. My attorney was talking to Tom on a constant basis and helping him with the case; giving him all the information that they needed and we were 100% supporting him, and to get that label that I wasn’t there to support my friend when he needed me the most and that I didn’t testify, that really hurt me for so many years for people to think that. It was such a relief when Tom said that, because he didn’t have to say that and he did. It was such a weight off my shoulders. About two weeks ago, I reached out to him, because we both did the David Gest documentary and he saw it and said I did a great job. 
Lauren:  And he liked your book.
Frank:  And he liked my book, thank God!

I talk in my book about the ups and downs—it was a friendship; it wasn’t always perfect. I made mistakes, Michael made mistakes; there was a lot of misunderstandings. But you know what, at the end of the day we worked it out. Michael and I worked it out. And that’s the way life is with any friendship. Ups and downs, good times and bad.  And, yes I talk about the situations when I was concerned about the drugs, because if I was going to write a book I wanted to be honest. I didn’t want to sugar coat things. I wanted it to be an honest book, because to me Michael’s imperfections are what make him beautiful.
A lot of people have chronic pain, a lot of football players, and no one can understand how this man has been working since the age of five, on his feet dancing in 2 hour shows for years. Do you know that takes a toll on your body?  It would take a toll on anyone’s body. It’s only normal for someone to be in pain at times, and have chronic pain depending on his schedule and his fatigue. Your body gets abused. Were there times when I was concerned? Yes! Was I a doctor to understand maybe I was also over exaggerating, because he was my friend and I wanted to make sure he’s ok and questioning things? I didn’t talk about the drug situation to air dirty laundry. That was just not my purpose in the book. 
Valmai:  Have you been accused of that, Frank?

Frank:  Oh, yes. “Why would you talk about that?” If you read it, it puts things into context; why there were certain issues and why he had certain problems at times, but he got through them. One thing that makes me upset is people who say that he was a junkie for years. He wasn’t a junkie, he wasn’t. Were there times when I was concerned and it was worse than other times? Yes, there was, but that’s life, that’s human nature, and we understand that this is a man who’s been working since the age of 5; attacked and getting falsely accused of molestation twice, people trying to extort him for money, family members trying to talk about him, going along with it. Jermaine writing a book, doing “Word to the Bad” and LaToya going public and saying she was concerned about children. Don’t get me wrong, Michael forgave both LaToya and Jermaine. They worked everything out as well, and in the book I try to also put things into context. I’m not talking bad about Jermaine or LaToya. LaToya was also in a situation where she was scared for her life, and I know she has a lot of guilt and regret. I know that’s one of the reasons why she wrote her book, and the same with Jermaine. They’re trying to do their part, so I’m not talking about them in a negative way at all. I don’t agree with some of their actions, but that’s life and you move on.

Lauren:  To me, the importance of including the history and reasons for drug use, in context, is that it gives more credibility to the other issue that you speak about, the false accusations.
Frank:  I went in to write an honest book, good or bad or not do it at all. And that’s not something publishers said we needed to include. When I was seriously exploring this, I said this is what I want. I want the book to be an honest portrayal of Michael Jackson, good times and bad over the course of the 25 years of our relationship. This is not a salacious book. We’re not going to market it or position it as a tell-all, salacious book; this is a story of my friendship, put into context, for the world to understand a man who has been so misunderstood and misjudged for years and years. And if they were not on board, that was fine.
It was just one publisher I spoke with. It’s not like I went shopping this book to people. It was one stop.  We had a meeting and I have to say they are so supportive; they’ve been incredible; they’ve been great.  They didn’t try to take my story and make it something it wasn’t. 
Lauren:  Who is responsible for the initial interview focusing on drugs?
Frank:  You know how the media is. I think it was an AP article that came out. Somehow, they got a copy and when that happened I was so hurt and so upset. I really…I’m saying, “Why do people always have to do this, take something good and manipulate it and try to make it ugly?”  I wanted to confront them, attack them, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t attack them, because then you get all the media not supporting the book when it did come out. I wanted to strangle them. [Laughing]…I love the media; I love the media.
Lauren:  You know, before Jermaine’s book came out it was a very similar circumstance. And then, once people read it, they loved it.
Frank:  I think it’s important for everyone to read the book, Michael’s fans and the world, because if you want to know about the man….there will never be another Michael Jackson, ever again. 

Valmai:  I was going to ask what the media has been focusing on more in your book.
Frank:  With the Murray trial, the main focus was about drugs and it’s so frustrating for me, because this book is not about drugs. Is it part of it? Yes!  But there is so much more to the story; putting it into context.  The media…that’s what they want.
Out of all the interviews I’ve done my favorite one was with Wendy Williams. It wasn’t about drugs; it was about a human being…the fun aspect of the relationship. It was about everything else but drugs. I think there was one question on it. I want to do more of those kinds of interviews where people can see the other side. But from the media standpoint, we just came out of the Murray trial and that’s what people want to hear.
When I talk about it I get mad. I’m more than willing to deal with it and confront it, but there’s just so much more to my story and this book that the world needs to know. I put the issue of drugs into context in my book. It’s not that I’m exposing his dirty laundry; that’s not what I do in my book and that’s not the story I tell. 

Lauren:  And you have to read it to know that.
Frank:  And you have to read it to understand it and know it. My story is completely different than Jermaine’s story. I don’t look at it as a competition with Jermaine or LaToya; it’s a different book, a different story from a different perspective. It’s from a perspective that Jermaine and LaToya didn’t have.  It’s a perspective that no one had. There’s not one other person in this world who could actually write this book. I was blessed to have these experiences and to be in a position to share my story with the world. It’s funny, Michael always told me throughout the years, “You have no idea how fortunate you are to travel the world and to have all these experiences. And if you ever write a book when I’m alive, I’ll kill you’.  In a joking way, that’s how we spoke to each other. 

Lauren:  Do you think he would be ok with it now?
Frank:  I think he would be very proud of this book, because later in his life he wanted to explain himself. And he tried to, but unfortunately he wasn’t very good at doing so. He tried to do that with Martin Bashir and that completely backfired on him. He was somebody else who manipulated Michael, and took advantage of him. Michael’s intentions with Martin Bashir were to try to do what I’ve done in my book.  The thing is with this book, it is important to be honest and truthful and, good or bad, it’s the truth. I’m not fabricating or sugarcoating anything.

Lauren:  Was Michael that friendly with David Gest also?
Frank:  I have to tell you that he’s somebody who…he’s a piece of work. I love David, but I was really disappointed with the 30th Anniversary Special, because conceptualizing the show was technically my idea. David was there and going off track, and had ideas to have lots of stars to honor Michael. I said, “Why don’t we just do a tribute show for him? It’s been 30 years, why don’t we have the artists come out”…and David says, “Great idea.” So we began planning the show on a bus, driving from San Francisco to Neverland. I was hands on working on it with David and Michael. I had to sign every single check with David, and I never got an official co-producer credit. It wasn’t the end of the world. At the end of the day I knew, and Michael acknowledged what I did. David knows that if it wasn’t for me pushing him, this show would have never happened, but I learned a lot from David. As crazy as he is, he’s so smart and bright…I learned a lot.
He’s so much fun to tease and mess with. I’m not kidding. We’d be at his apartment in NY, and he made everyone put booties on to walk in his house. He’d always be in his robe like Hugh Hefner. He was really superstitious.

We’d tease him about his hair, “David, hair number 32 is out of place. David, hair number 54 is on the floor”.  We were in London and I told him, David, I have a bad feeling about this. I think you should cross the street and touch the sign six times with your finger”. Michel would say, “Yeah, David, the show…something’s wrong. I think you should do it”. And David would run across the street and do it. And we’d say, “David, say thank you eight times”.  Michael loved messing with him.  They had a good relationship. They were friends; traded memorabilia…it was like watching two kids exchanging trading cards…”I’ll trade you two Shirley Temples for one of your Charlie Chaplin posters”. It was fun, we had a good time.
Lauren:  Were there any other people that Michael really trusted?

Frank:  He trusted Frank DeLeo. He did fire Frank, not that he wanted to. He’d never tell anyone he fired Frank, because he felt bad in doing so. The truth about Frank is; the story that Michael would tell everyone, because he never wanted to admit that he fired Frank…the truth is he always told people that Frank was such a strong personality, that he told him he should go and do movies and films and that he had to be independent. And Frank went and did Goodfellas and other things, but the truth is, unfortunately, Michael fired Frank, because he really wanted to do movies and films; that was a passion for him. 
If you ever called one of his videos a video, he would get really mad at you. He’d say, “Short films…you tell everyone to call it short films. We’re not making videos here”.  And he was the pioneer of short films. In fact, what’s sad is one of the few movies that he did Frank DeLeo put together…”Moonwalker”.

Michael needed to get involved with really big Hollywood managers and producers, but Frank sincerely loved and fought for Michael. Nobody could ever touch Michael. If Frank was around that whole thing in 1993 would have never happened. He would never let that happen.
I can tell you a couple of things about 1993. That was just extortion. Jordy‘s father wanted to do a film called “Robin Hood, Men in Tights” which actually got made. Before it came out, it was announced that Michael had made a billion dollar deal with Sony, so this guy, Jordy’s father, told Michael he would love for him to invest in the film and get it going. Michael said yes, and then his advisors blew this guy off to a level where this guy got really pissed off and angry. It’s one of the things that triggered everything else. He would do everything in his power to destroy Michael, everything.

Lauren:  Why do you think Jordy doesn’t come out and say it never happened?
Frank:  I don’t know if he can, but we’re publically asking Jordy to please come out and tell the truth. I would love to sit with Jordy and talk to him, ask him to tell the truth and interview him myself. The sad thing is, Michael forgave Jordy. Michael wasn’t mad at him at the end. He knew that this kid was manipulated and that it was really his father. After that, the kid put a restraining order on his father; barely saw his mother and his father shot himself a year or two ago. Talk about having a lot of guilt about what he’s done. It caught up with him. He had a lot of guilt. He tried to ruin Michael’s career, his life. He destroyed his own family; he had no relationship with his son and a son doesn’t put a restraining order on his father if he doesn’t want anything to do with them. He ruined this kid’s life. It was sad.
Lauren:  If you could go back and change something in Michael’s life, if you could do that, would that be something that you would change? 

Frank:  Yes. If I could take away something that would be it. 100%. So yes, if I could remove something from Michael’s life it would be when he was falsely accused in 1993 and extorted, because it would be a much different situation right now. You have to understand; in 1993, I was with him on the Dangerous Tour…people were writing about him all over the world—he was being falsely accused.  People from all angles were trying to take money, and every single day he had to go out and perform like everything was fine. That just goes to show you how strong this man was. And no matter what, he got through it. But that really, really, really affected him. 

On the tour, that was one of the reasons we were there and we stayed with him. My parents would come in and out of cities just to give him family around him. He would go into his room and he’s alone, and then go out the next day to perform, and then back to his room being alone. We gave him a sense of responsibility, purpose, family; where he could go back and be around family. We made sure he ate and we kept him laughing and smiling.
He loved teaching reading, and he loved sharing whatever he had inside of him and share this experience  with us. He’d perform on stage and come back and read us a book. One of the first books he ever read to me was Jonathon Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. He made it so interesting. I wasn’t really into reading and he’d say, “If you don’t read then you’re going to become a bum and you’ll never do anything with your life. Knowledge is power. Do you want to be ignorant for the rest of your life and not know anything? That way you’ll get nowhere in life, but it’s up to you”.  He made reading and knowledge and storytelling so much fun. He’d read us a chapter and then he’d discuss it. 
The whole purpose of Jonathon Livingston Seagull was there is more to life than what there appears to be. Jonathon was the seagull that wanted to fly higher than any other seagull, wanted to travel and fly as fast as the speed of light. Everyone told him, “You’re a seagull, you can’t do it”.  It’s a story about a seagull that could do anything he wanted to if he put his mind to it and believed in it.

That was the first book that he read to me that really got me going, and then he suggested another book after that. He loved reading and discussing everything. It was great, because he would explain things after he would read, and we would want more. He’d say, “You know what, that’s all you’re gonna get for today. We’re gonna put this away for now”.
Lauren:  How did he know how to do that? He didn’t have that as a kid, did he?
Frank:  He taught himself. He wanted to know more just like Jonathon, and he started doing research. One thing he would always say is, “You can take all my money away from me, but never take my books. Without the knowledge of how to make the money you never will”.  He’d say, “I can give you a million dollars or I can teach you how to make a million dollars.”  I’d say, “Well, tell me how to make a million dollars”. Right answer.
Valmai:  Did he get that from his own family? He had you as a surrogate family and was very, very close to you, but did he get the same feeling of support from his own family; of having a safety net?

Frank:  No, he did not get that from his family. He loved his mother very much. He loved his whole family. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like his family didn’t want to be a part of his life or not be there for him. They wanted to. They tried their best, but unfortunately, Michael kept them at a distance. Michael would push them away at times…somebody would call who needed money or Jermaine would sign another deal, he signed papers for the family where Michael was going to perform somewhere and he had never agreed to it. It would be one thing after another and he’d say its better I stay away. But, his family wanted to be there for him. When Michael was going through the trial, his whole family was at court every day. You have to give them a lot of credit. If anyone in the family needs something they are the first to have each other’s back, even if they don’t speak for years. It was that type of relationship and every family is different. You don’t have to necessarily speak to each other every day or once a month to know that at the end of the day, they’ll be there for you.
Valmai:  I know you must still be affected, I know you must feel Michael’s loss every day. I never had the opportunity to meet him in person, but I did meet him through his music, as many of us have done. The trial is over now, we have “Immortal”, but what do we do now?  What would Michael want us to do now?

Frank:  One thing that was dear to his heart which I tried to do before this book came out…unfortunately, charitable things are so complicated and difficult to coordinate. I wasn’t able to do what I wanted to do. It wasn’t to do with me; third world countries and dealing with governments is not always what it appears to be. What I think is important …charity was really important to Michael, but I don’t believe in just donating to a charity for the sake of donating, because it’s the ethical and right thing to do. I don’t believe in that personally. I believe in doing something of substance; building a children’s orphanage or a hospital in Michael’s honor, all over the world, but a little different where it’s not just a hospital. It could be fun where there could be a game room; magician’s coming in and out. It was one thing he was exploring and wanted to do with Neverland; have a children’s hospital where children could come and recover, go on the rides…that was really dear to Michael’s heart. Getting children off the streets and giving them homes and if they’re in the hospital, making it fun; giving them hope. I think that is something I would love to eventually participate in and be a part of.

Lauren:  Michael mentioned that in the tape played at court.
Frank:  I’ve been talking about this with the Estate since day one, but unfortunately it didn’t work out.
I really wanted to figure out a way to do something with the Estate charitable wise, even with the book, and we’re still in the process. Just because I haven’t announced anything right now it doesn’t mean I’m not going to do anything in the future, because it’s dear to my heart and I know that’s what Michael wanted. We just have to make sure the book sells a lot of copies so we can do it. [Laughter]
Lauren:  There are fan groups trying to get the hospital idea off the ground, but it is really difficult without the Estate’s involvement.
Frank:  I know, and it’s one of the conversations we’ve had. I like John Branca; whatever anyone says about him, I like him.

Lauren:  Did Michael like him?
Frank:  Michael always thought John Branca was the best. Like any relationship, they had their ups and downs and their falling outs, but no matter what, at the end of the day, John Branca always came back into the picture, because Michael always said that John was the best. No matter what, Michael could love him, hate him, but at the end of the day John Branca was the best. He loved John. John and Michael put together probably the greatest deal in history in buying the Beatles catalogue. That was the two of them. Michael pushed John when everyone told Michael it was crazy, “You shouldn’t”…”Why would you pay 47 million dollars?”  He would say, “Buy the catalogue, I don’t care. John, get it done.  I’m giving you 5%, go get it done”. Sure enough, John got the deal done.
In all fairness, there is just so much that has happened since the day Michael passed, and trying to get things in order and organized. So, that is definitely one of their priorities in one or two years.

Lauren:  Charity as a whole or maybe a hospital?
Frank:  Charity as a whole, but they’re also exploring and understanding exactly what they can do.
Lauren:  So then what can we do to honor Michael that he would approve of?
Frank:  I’ve gotten calls from people who might want to convert this story into some kind of film in a way to honor Michael’s legacy, visually. I hope to meet with John in the next few weeks to catch up and to see what we can do.

Unfortunately, the recording of our conversation with Frank, accidently stopped at this point. We had kept Frank for over three hours so perhaps this was sign to stop and let Frank go. He went on to discuss the possibility of a film on Michael’s life based on his book, briefly with us, and we agreed that it would have to one that had never been done before; one that at least would offer an honest and truthful portrayal of who Michael was. I think if anyone can do this, it would be Frank, and he would do it with taste and heart, and all the love he still holds for his friend.

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