Michael Jackson lived such an unusual life that even longtime fans are still discovering stories about him.
Away from the concerts and record-breaking albums, Michael had habits, friendships and business ideas that rarely made the headlines.
One of the strangest involved “Smooth Criminal.” Michael wanted to recreate the impossible forward lean from the short film during live performances, so he and his collaborators helped develop a special shoe system that could temporarily lock into the stage. The design was eventually patented.
Michael also once had an entire supermarket closed so he could experience something most people never think twice about: grocery shopping.
Because his fame made ordinary shopping almost impossible, friends and employees pretended to be customers while Michael pushed a cart through the aisles. He later laughed about how exciting such a normal experience felt.
Another surprising story connects Michael to Sonic the Hedgehog 3. His longtime collaborator Brad Buxer said they worked on music connected to the 1994 video game, although exactly how much of Michael’s work remained in the finished release is still debated.
Then there was Michael’s approach to money.
In 1985, he spent about $47.5 million purchasing ATV Music, a publishing catalogue containing thousands of songs, including many compositions by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The purchase became one of the most famous business moves ever made by a recording artist.
Michael Jackson’s Private Home Movies
That special gives fans a rare look at Michael away from the stage, including the famous supermarket experiment, family moments and parts of his private life that audiences normally never saw.
Michael’s friendships could be just as unexpected.
After Home Alone made Macaulay Culkin one of the most famous children in the world, Michael reached out to him. Culkin later explained that Michael understood something very few adults could: what it felt like to become enormously famous while still a child.
Michael’s charitable work was also far larger than many people realize. Guinness World Records once recognized him for supporting 39 different charities, covering causes ranging from children and education to medical research and humanitarian relief.
And one of the sweetest stories happened at Neverland.
Because Michael had grown up as a Jehovah’s Witness, traditional Christmas celebrations were not part of his childhood. In 1993, Elizabeth Taylor surprised him by decorating Neverland for Christmas. Michael later shared footage of the experience in Private Home Movies, reacting almost like a child seeing the holiday properly for the first time.
These stories are very different from the Michael Jackson most people saw under spotlights.
Behind the King of Pop was a man fascinated by ordinary life, obsessed with creating, surprisingly sharp in business and still trying to experience pieces of the childhood fame had taken away from him.