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Music Biz Legend Michael Klenfner, 62, Passes Away

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The man who made the Blues Brothers into a hit recording act and movie, and who put Cher’s “Believe” onto the charts, passed away this evening.

Michael Klenfner, 62, was a giant of a man in the record business, a friend to thousands and one of the great mensches of all time, died from complications of congestive heart failure.

Michael worked for Ahmet Ertegun in the 1970s and had numerous hits besides the Blues Brothers. He promoted Laura Branigan, Genesis, Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, just to name a few. He consulted every single company in the business, as well as Madison Square Garden, where he reigned as an unofficial royalty. He also was deeply attached to the T.J. Martell Foundation.

In the 1990s, Klenfner had more hits as a consultant, literally filling the Billboard charts with catchy songs. I can remember when Cher’s “Believe” was a hit in Europe and when no one wanted to play it here, it was Klenfner who took on the project. Cher’s whole career was revived because of him. He had loads of celebrity friends who loved him too, including Dan Aykroyd and Whoopi Goldberg. He also had two terrific daughters, Bryn and Kate, who took excellent care of him in his last difficult weeks.

I’ve been thinking about Michael a lot since I saw him on July 4th in the hospital. We had a great talk. He loved what used to be the music business. He was so proud that the only flowers in his room (the hospital didn’t allow them otherwise) were from Clive Davis.

When I first met Michael officially it was in the early ’90s. We were at Mark Strausman’s Campagna, where everyone in the business ate at the time. Klenfner was the big pasha, he knew everyone. He was eating with Seymour Stein. They were scheming about something. It was that night that he nicknamed me “Belushi” very fondly for his late pal. Tomorrow, there are going to be lots of reminiscinces about him. He was one of those people we will never, ever forget.

Jacko Money Safe; ‘Beatles’ Won’t Be Sold

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La Toya Jackson, fronting for her dastardly father Joseph, went to the British papers over the weekend with a wild accusation. She said that Michael Jackson was murdered for his money and publishing catalogs. I just hope her dad cut her in when the checks came from the tabloids.

But La Toya is wrong, wrong, wrong. Maybe Michael was murdered, accidentally. That remains to be determined.

However: Michael’s estate’will remain the owner of all his publishing catalogs. Spread the word. Sources tell me that Michael’s half interest in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, as well as ownership of his own songs through MiJac Music, will continue to be owned by his estate.

In the case of the former: not only are the executors not planning to sell “the Beatles” catalog to anyone, they are indeed going to maintain it and grow it in a partnership with Sony, as it has been since 1995. Their intention, I am told, is simple: to give Michael’s three kids a legacy. For better or worse,’they will never have to earn a dime.

This plan suits everyone just’fine. Sony is already depleted from making deals this year. They’re not so eager to buy out Michael Jackson. But they do concede that with Jackson deceased, his wild spending has also’stopped. For years Sony has refinanced and’advanced Jackson to keep him from bankruptcy because he couldn’t curtail his spending.

Now Sony and the Jackson estate will refinance once again, lower the obligations and put the music publishing company on an even keel.

This is good news for Michael’s estate, for his kids and his mother. It’s bad news for LaToya, Joseph, and any one else who’d like to advance conspiracy theories. Michael was specific in his will: these other people are not to have a penny from his estate. And they won’t as long as the executors and trustees stick to the document as’Michael Jackson worded it.

As’for Joseph Jackson using’daughter LaToya in his campaign to shake some money free from the estate: a very reasonable, respected and normal friend of Michael’s told me over the weekend that he overheard Joseph screaming at’Michael in May that he didn’t have any money. The Jacksons don’t want this person’giving an affadavit, believe me.

Michael Jackson U.K. Bio Riddled With Mistakes

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A coming biography of Michael Jackson, due soon and excerpted in the New York Post over the weekend, is riddled with errors.

Ian Halperin’s book will make salacious reading but is full of fiction, sources tell me. I could have told you that myself.

For one thing, Halperin’s new assertion that Jackson didn’t know what his contract with AEG Live read is nonsense.

This notion came from Jackson flippantly telling a fan a few weeks ago that he didn’t know how he’d do 50 shows, that he thought it was just 10.

As one of my best sources on the AEG matter reiterates: “The contract always called for 31 shows and MJ had agreed to add 19 more when it was obvious how great the demand was.’ He did not die from doing 50 shows over 9 months since he hadn’t done one yet at the time of his death.’ He never collapsed in rehearsal and worked long days both filming the mini-movies and rehearsing at home with Travis Payne.’ He wasn’t supposed to come to stage rehearsals until the entire company was ready.’ This is the way he has always worked.”

So there.

As well: Halperin repeats nanny Grace Rwaramba’s assertion that somehow Michael was made to rent a house for $100,000 that was only worth $25,000 ‘ and that’the Nation’of Islam was somehow involved.

In fact, the house was found by Jackson’s shortlived manager Tohme Tohme, who’has nothing to do with the Nation of Islam. The house is’said to be owned by a Tunisian’Jew.

The irony here is that’it was Rwaramba ‘herself who brought the Nation of Islam into Jackson’s life in 2003.

There’s more, including Halperin’s insane claim that Michael had at least two gay lovers in the last years, that he dressed as a woman and slipped out of the house to meet one of them. Unfortunately, Halperin’s timelines are all wrong. Plus, everyone knows that Michael Jackson was a germ freak. The behavior described by Halperin defies all Jacko-like logic.

Beware these sudden “tell alls” and “expert biographies” of Michael Jackson. You can write anything about the dead. This party is only getting started.

Elton, Billy Crystal, Stars Do Minnesota Nice

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You might wonder: what kind of charity or people could bring Elton John, Tony Bennett, Gladys Knight and Billy Crystal to perform in St. Paul, Minnesota on a Sunday night in July ‘ for free, no less?

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But all of these stars, as well as comedian Norm Crosby, “Soul Man” Sam Moore, dozens of star athletes, plus actor’Robert Culp, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, turned up to support Bill and Tani Austin’s Starkey Hearing’Foundation last night at the XCEl Center in St. Paul.

The Austins are famous for running “missions” all over the world, supplying hearing aids to children and adults in impoverished countries. I don’t mean one’or two, either. The Austins travel’constantly all year and fit the hearing aids by the’thousands. It’s utterly remarkable.

Imagine that Billy Crystal opened the’night with a sparkling’stand up set, crafted just for the night. Then came Gladys Knight, still hurting from Michael Jackson’s death. She sang “Midnight Train to Georgia” ‘with brother Bubba,’”Best Thing That Ever Happened to’Me,” and a couple of her early Motown hits.

Tony Bennett followed, with his usual impeccable delivery, on “The Best Is Yet to Come” and “For Once in My Life,” just wowing the crowd.

And into this mix, Sir Elton arrived ‘ it’s the second time he’s come to the Twin Cities for the Austins. And listen to this set: “Your Song,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Don’t Let Sun Go Down on Me,” “Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues,” “Rocket Man,” “Philadephia Freedom” plus “Circle of Life” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from “The Lion King.” They practically had to drag him off the stage. Elton’s whole set was him live vocally and on piano, with’a limited backing track. Extraordinary.

I’m glad I took the Austins up on a complimentary ear cleaning and audio test, by the way, which they offered all the guests. I never heard live music so well! And we did get a chance to go sightseeing for a second: we stopped and saw the house Mary, Rhoda, and Phyllis supposedly lived in back in the 70s on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Phyllis should never have sold after Lars “died” : the house is worth a fortune and it’s in a great neighborhood!

But back to real people: Gladys, by the way, is philosophical about Michael’s death. Said the superstar, who discovered the Jackson 5: “He’s not in pain anymore.”

McCartney Up on Letterman’s Roof

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paul mccartney 226x300 McCartney Up on Lettermans RoofPaul McCartney will brace himself ‘ literally ‘ when he makes his first appearance ever on David Letterman this Wednesday.

McCartney and his band will play not on the stage of the Ed Sullivan Theater but on its marquee, this column has learned.

Of course, McCartney played many times with the Beatles on the Sullivan stage some 45 years ago.

I’m told the marquee will be braced from below and that only Paul and his band will be up on the roof. The audience will remain indoors. Letterman presumably will, too.

Broadway ‘ already a traffic nightmare thanks to Mayor Bloomberg’s office ‘ will be shut down for several blocks during rush hour Wednesday to accomplish this feat.

Michael Jackson’s Father: The Awful Truth

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No one can stop the avaricious, evil father of Michael Jackson.

In the 18 days since Michael’s tragic death, Joseph Jackson has made at least a half million dollars off his late, famous son.

This week, according to sources, ‘Good Morning America’ paid Jackson around $200,000 for a series of interviews that commence tomorrow morning.

ABC says it’s done this as part of a deal for a one-hour documentary on the Jackson family.

At the same time, Jackson is said to be arriving in London tomorrow, the day that Michael was set to start his shows at the O2 Arena. Sources tell me that the British tabloids are paying Jackson at least $250,000 plus expenses to exploit Michael’s memory.

Meanwhile, Michael’remember him? ‘ is lying in a borrowed vault in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles, still not permanently buried or interred because the Jackson family hasn’t figured out which location would maximize their profits best.

The horror of Joseph Jackson is only more heightened by the fact that he’s told reporters this week that he somehow foresees exploiting Michael’s children as performers in a bid to regain his glory days of the Jackson 5.

If Michael had a grave, he’d be rolling in it.

Michael Jackson told interviewers many times how his father abused and beat him when he was a child. He said it through tears to Oprah Winfrey.

There is abundant evidence that Michael hated his father. One insider working on Jackson’s business affairs since his death, a person who hadn’t known Joseph Jackson previously, said to me last week, ‘He killed Michael. Everything he did to to him led up to this. I’ve never met a more awful person.’

Indeed, Joseph Jackson has never hesitated to try and cash in on Michael’s success after his superstar son finally broke free of him in the late 1970s with the ‘Off the Wall’ album. Joseph is famous for coming up with schemes behind Michael’s back.

To wit:’On the day of Michael’s famous 30th anniversary solo show, Joe Jackson called a news conference and invited select journalists. I was one of them. It was obvious Michael had no idea this was going on. Mr. Jackson told us he was going to start selling footage of the Jackson 5 for profit. He was eager to be a star himself, clearly.

I asked him about his parental philosophy. “You have to be strict with kids,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with punishment as long as you know how to punish.” What would be a typical punishment? “Beat his back,” Joe Jackson replied before I could even get the question out.

In 2004, before Michael’s child molestation trial began, I received a call from vulture journalist Daphne Barak. She said, ‘I have Joseph Jackson here and we want to talk to you about a project.’ I hung up.

This year, on March 26th, Jackson himself called me to say he wanted to take over the just announced concerts at the O2 Arena because only he and his partner Leonard Rowe would know how to run them. Shortly after that, Jackson and Rowe threw in with another concert promoter. The latter man filed suit against Michael to get a cut of his AEG Live contract.

And still: three days after Michael died, Joseph Jackson turned up at the BET Awards in Los Angeles with a Michael Jackson impersonator in tow. He announced that he was starting a record company on national TV.

It’s not the first time that Joseph Jackson has tried to claw his way back into the music business. A few years ago he tried in vain to launch a young female singer out of Las Vegas. The project didn’t go anywhere.

Meantime, the judge in the custody hearing next Monday July 20th deciding the fate of Prince, Paris and Blanket Jackson should be aware of some things in the Jackson family history. Joe Jackson has an illegitimate daughter named JohVonnie by a woman named Cheryl Terrell. Janet actually mentioned this in an interview with Parade Magazine in 2008.

He also had at least one other extramarital relationship, with a woman named Gina Sprague. All of this has been documented in various Jackson books, including one by LaToya.

Also, Katherine Jackson filed for divorce twice during her marriage, once in 1973 and again in 1979. In each case she was persuaded not to go through with it rather than hurt the family’s reputation.

Jacko Case: Homicide Detectives Take Over

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Was Michael Jackson’s death an accidental murder? Was it more than just an accidental overdose on drugs?

The LAPD seems to think so: starting right after Michael’s memorial service on Tuesday, sources say that homicide detectives began making calls to Jackson’s inner circle, asking tough questions.

The questions are centered on the doctors around the world who regularly prescribed sedatives and painkillers to Jackson without even seeing him. Among the names are Dr. Arnold Klein, whom Jackson was seeing three times a week before his death.

But there are others. Right now, websites like tmz.com are thrilling to reports from a 2004 police raid on Jackson’s Neverland Ranch that turned up all kinds of prescriptions made out to aliases and Neverland employees.

But Jackson died two weeks ago, so the real investigation will be centered on current doctors and what they were giving Jackson. Klein’s name is the one that keeps coming up as the most contemporaneous. There are no doubt others, from Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and elsewhere.

Investigators might want to look into how Jackson got the drugs he needed when he was in Bahrain from 2005-2006, Ireland in 2006, and Virginia in 2007. Jackson also lived near Alpine, New Jersey in 2007 before returning to Las Vegas.

LAPD Chief Bill Bratton told CNN yesterday that based on the questioning by detectives of those closest to Jackson “we will have an idea of what it is we are dealing (with) — are we dealing with a homicide or are we dealing with an accidental overdose?”

But it’s clear that the LAPD already is thinking murder accidental or otherwise. That’s why the questions are coming from homicide.

Two things are clear though: Jackson admitted to his drug problems in a 2007 deposition. And he was running up bills of $48,000 a month at his local pharmacy. Revisit my reporting on these two important facts:

Michael Jackson Admitted Drug Use in 2007 Testimony

Jacko: $48,000 A Month in Prescriptions


Jacko Nanny Was Paid For Negative Interview

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Michael Jackson’s longtime nanny and employee, Grace Rwaramba, did indeed sell out to vulture-like celebrity interviewer Daphne Barak.

Barak has posted a clip from the interview on her website and on YouTube as a teaser.’ The intention is to sell it somewhere. Barak routinely gets her “scoops” by paying her interview subjects, according to sources.

Today Barak started e-mailing the clip around to various Jackson insiders hoping to get them to jump on her bandwagon.

Rwaramba has denied doing the interview. But the clip speaks for itself. She tells Barak how she was fired last spring on a Sunday morning by telephone. The nanny says “the guy”’presumably Tohme Tohme’”terminated” her by offering her a “ridiculous” salary.

“Were you surprised?” Barak asked her. “Not really,” Grace replied. “It had happened before.”

The minute-long clip is interesting because Rwaramba will be offered as an important person in the lives of Jackson’s children when their grandmother, Katherine, goes to court next Monday to establish custody rights. The Jacksons seem unaware that Rwaramba’who was well compensated by Jackson’would turn on him, and for money.

Also, the nanny seems to indicate to Barak that she was “laid off” because she refused to take a low salary. That would certainly bring into question her selfless devotion to the children.

Ironically, Barak now is the common thread between Rwaramba and Michael’s parents, Katherine and Joe Jackson. Back in 2005, Barak interviewed the Jacksons, then sold the interview to CBS. Sources told me then that Barak kicked back a fee to the Jacksons. In 2005 I reported that both Joe Jackson and Daphne Barak were secretly in business with a man named Charles Coupet, who also served as a literary agent for Macaulay Culkin’s father, Kit. ‘A year earlier, in 2004, Barak called this reporter and said, “I have Joseph Jackson on the phone and we want to talk to you about a project.” I passed.

Michael Jackson Did NOT Have Skin Cancer

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Michael Jackson‘visited dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein an average of three times a week in recent months. And he had no evidence of skin cancer, despite public reports.

Jackson, an insider says, was using the skin cancer as a cover story. “There was no evidence of skin cancer,” says my source, who indicated if there was, Klein required just three visits in total.

Meantime, while Klein is doing TV appearances, he remains high on the LAPD’s list of Michael’s doctors who are being questioned. Also on the list is’Dr. Conrad Murray, who was with Jackson when he died.

Possibly also on the list is Dr. Ralph Massey of Santa Monica. When Jackson concocted the story about the skin cancer, Massey’s name came up in news reports as the surgeon Klein was referring him to. Calls to Massey’s office were not returned.

Interestingly, Jackson was photographed leaving Klein’s office on May 16th with a bag labeled “skin cancer.”

Eleven days earlier, on May 5th, an old friend saw him in the office, as I previously reported, where Jackson was practicing dance kicks. Jackson seemed “very fit,” according to Joanne Horowitz, who assumed the singer was there to get a Botox-like injection.

Jennifer Hudson Risked a Lot for Michael Jackson

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Jennifer Hudson is safely home in Florida today, awaiting the birth of her child.

But Jennifer risked a lot to be in Michael Jackson’s memorial service. The Oscar-winning ex-American Idol contestant flew back and forth across the country even though she’s in her ninth month. She’s due to give birth in the next four weeks.

But Hudson felt it was necessary to express her sympathy to Jackson’s family and friends. Her performance of “Will You Be There” — a song from Jackson’s “Dangerous” album that was used in the movie “Free Willy” — was mesmerizing. Coupled with her February performance at the MusiCares concert for Neil Diamond of “Holly Holy,” this song could hint at a direction for Hudson: gospel tinged soul. No one in her generation does it better.

This summer, while she waits for the birth, Hudson will be going through songs for her second solo album. She’ll have some downtime from touring and recording once the baby is born — and she can announce that she was, indeed, pregnant and not just large from too much pasta!

Hudson did prove herself to be a trouper. She says she was nervous when she took the stage at the Staples Center. “There was so much emotion in the room,” she says. But she handled it like a pro, turning in one hell of a performance that no one will ever forget.