When people picture a bodyguard, they usually see a big, serious man pushing back a crowd. Bill Bray did plenty of that. But that’s not where his story with Michael Jackson starts.
Bill was born on February 2, 1925. Before he ever met the Jacksons, he’d made a career with the Los Angeles Police Department and retired as a chief security officer there. So he knew a thing or two about keeping people safe.
In 1971 he was hired to protect Michael and his brothers. Michael was still a kid then, singing lead in the family group.
The fans could get wild. Author Chris Cadman, in his book “Michael Jackson the Maestro,” described those years for little Michael: “During the early years Michael would be lifted off the floor by Bray to avoid being crushed by his fans.”
Bill stayed. And stayed. He worked with Michael until 1996. That’s more than 25 years, and along the way he became his head of security. Rolling Stone once called him Michael’s “top bodyguard.”
But go back to the start, to those first weeks with a houseful of famous boys. What do you do with them when there’s no show that day?
Cadman wrote it down in one simple line: “One of Bray’s first jobs was to take the brothers to Disneyland.”
So before the tough part of the job really kicked in, the ex-cop’s task was keeping a bunch of young brothers happy for a day at the park.
We couldn’t find any film of that trip, and Cadman doesn’t say when it was or what they rode. But the Jackson 5 did turn up at the park on camera in 1974 for a TV show called “Sandy in Disneyland” with Sandy Duncan. It’s a fun look at the brothers in exactly the right setting. We can’t promise Bill is in the shot.
The Jackson 5 at Disneyland in 1974
That trip was the beginning of something much bigger than a job.
In his 1988 book “Moonwalk,” Michael wrote about Bill like he was family. “I can’t imagine life without Bill; he’s warm and funny and absolutely in love with life.”
He wasn’t only there for the big shows, either. “He travels with me everywhere and occasionally he’s my only companion on short trips,” Michael wrote.
Michael also put his feelings on paper in notes to Bill. One said, “Thank you for being there at the right time and sharing your love.” Another one simply ended, “I love you, M.J.”
And in a handwritten letter in early 1992, Michael wrote to him, “Thank you for being a father.” That’s quite a thing to tell the man who once took you and your brothers to Disneyland.
Bill’s wife was named Gail. In old photos of Michael from the 1970s and 1980s, Bill is easy to spot as the older man right at his elbow.
If you saw this year’s biopic “Michael,” you’ve already met him on screen. Bill Bray is played in the film by KeiLyn Durrel Jones.