1993-2000 Lisa Marie Presley

Michael and Lisa visit a hospital together, August 6, 1994


Michael and Lisa Marie visit sick children at St Jude hospital and meet Bela Farkas, a little boy in need of a transplant. Moved by his story they decide to finance the operation that will save his life.

Michael and Lisa return to New York, August 9, 1994


Michael and Lisa Marie fly back to New York where Michael resumes the recording of his new album.

Robmix on Gearsltuz:


I was there when Lisa Marie was around. They acted like two kids in love. Held hands all the time, and she hung out at the studio for quite a while. I never questioned their love for each other.

Brett Strong on how they met, ET – Aug 10, 1994


Brett Strong: They just fell head over heels in love and that love just grew and grew to the point where they just married.

ET’s John Tesh: Internationally renowed, Brett Livingstone Strong will now be known as Hollywoods hottest match maker. This Australian creator has made millions with his paintings and his sculpting. He has two National monuments now displayed in Washington, DC. and is currently working on his third, a tribute to our space program. And now he is the guy who bought two musical super powers to the altar.

Brett Strong: Obviously Lisa was not looking at Michael for his fame or looking at him for his success. She was purely looking at him because he is a true gentleman.

ET’s John Tesh: Strong is a long time friend of both. He originally talked the pop music icon to meet with Lisa to hear her sing.

Brett Strong: I told Michael what if I came up with and brought to you the best person on this planet who has not been exposed, and is beautiful. Michael’s reponse was “who the heck are you talking about. Who is it?.” I said Lisa Marie Presley. Michael’s response was “No! She can sing?” She is fantastic. Michael said “well Brett obviously I am interested. Can you get me a tape or something?”

ET’s John Tesh: Well Lisa did not want to send a tape. She wanted to perform in person. So Brett arranged a meeting at his house in November 1992 when this picture was taken of the three of them and Bretts’ son, Stason.

Brett Strong: In fact that was the day they first came together and where Lisa performed a couple of song’s for Michael. It was a fabulous experience, for I think both of them. And Michael really felt really honored. He was like “Wow! I am Lucky. You know.” And Lisa felt the same.

ET’s John Tesh: And it turns out that Michael loved more than just her singing. They ran off and got married. Brett said that Lisa did not even

tell her mother. And Brett said you can forget all the rumors you hear about why the couple married. This is the real deal.

Brett Strong: It is a purely a very simple story. It’s a love affair that grew from a friendship.

ET’s John Tesh: And here is the rest of the scoop. Brett Livingstone Strong tells ET thattrue love blossomed last year (Feb 93) when Priscilla Presley threw a birthday party. And Southern California Magic Mountain Amusement Park was rented for the ocassion. Michael sent Lisa a present. The picture of that famous night they met (Nov 92). And the rest is history.

Brett Livingstone Strong, National Enquirer, 1994


Lisa Marie Presley saved Michael Jackson from killing himself when the child sex abuse scandal drove him to the brink of despair, says the man who introduced the pop superstar to Elvis’ daughter.

In an exclusive Enquirer interview, Hollywood artist Brett Livingstone Strong – a longtime friend of both Michael and Lisa Marie – spoke freely about his role in the marriage that shocked the world.

Telling his remarkable story for the first time ever, Strong revealed that:

* Lisa Marie fell in love with Michael first and pursued him relentlessly.

* The newlyweds are truly in love with each other – and both of them want to start a family.

* Lisa Marie told Michael she wanted to be a singing star – and when he warned her she’d have to “give up everything” to succeed, she broke down in tears. But now she’s dedicated to becoming a superstar – and Michael has vowed to make her dream come true.

“When I introduced Lisa Marie and Michael never in my wildest dreams did I think they’d marry,” said Strong, 40, a painter and sculptor.

“But they became close friends. Then their feelings turned to love – and I think they’re the perfect couple!”

Strong’s relationship with Michael dates back to the early 80s when he painted a portrait of the superstar singer tgar a Japanese businessman bought for a whopping $2.1 million.

The 36 year old performer was so impressed that he formed a business partnership with Strong.

And in November 1992, the artist – who’s known Priscilla Presley and her daughter for 15 years – brought Michael and Lisa Marie together.

Lisa Marie desperately wanted to launch a music career, “but she had no confidence in herself as a singer,” said Strong.

“She was afraid of being compared to Elvis and terrified of rejection. When I suggested Michael could help her, she said, ‘He’s a superstar. Do you really think he’d help me?’

“I introduced them in my Los Angeles home. They sang together and played Lisa Marie’s music – and Michael was blown away. He told her, ‘You have a real talent – and a fine voice.’”

But Lisa Marie soon realized she wasn’t prepared to make a full time commitment to music.

“In December 1992, she told me that Michael explained, ‘To be a superstar you’ve got to give up everything. That’s how I approached my career and it’s the only way to do it. Any other method is doomed to fail,’” said Strong.

“Lisa Marie left that meeting with tears streaming down her face. At the time, she couldn’t dedicate herself to her career.

“She was having a lot of trouble with her musician husband Danny Keough – and she had to deal with her marriage first.

“She said they’d had screaming arguments ‘about everything from bringing up the kids to running our prospective careers.’”

While he marriage deteriorated, Lisa Marie’s feelings for Michael deepened.

“By mid 1993, Lisa Marie was deeply in love with Michael – and she made sure they got together regularly,” said Strong.

“I realize now that she was pursuing Michael – and that she was determined to to make him her husband.”

Lisa Marie proved the depth of her love when a teenage boy accused Michael of sexually abusing him.

The shocking allegations sent Michael into a suicidal depression – and Lisa Marie helped pull him through.

“Michael talked about killing himself but Lisa Marie and his dear friend Elizabeth Taylor talked him out of it,” said Strong.

“They spent days at his Neverland Valley ranch, trying to boost his spirits. Later Michael admitted, ‘I don’t think I’d be here now if it weren’t for Lisa Marie and Elizabeth. They saved my life.’”

Michael didn’t realize he was in love with Lisa Marie until she announced her split from Keough in April, said Strong.

“But believe me, the love affair between them is real. It’s not a phoney marriage designed to make Michael look better. Michael definitely wants to have children with Lisa Marie – and she says she can’t wait to have his baby.”

Now the newlyweds are working feverishly on Lisa Marie’s musical career. “Lisa Marie is determiend to become a superstar – and Michael has dedicated himself to her quest,” said Strong.

“They plan to perform together eventually, starting off in a small way and later giving major concerts. Lisa told me, ‘Michael is my love and my inspiration. I adore the very ground he walks on. I want to become the Queen of Pop just as he’s the King.”

Strong is currently finishing a new portrait of Michael.

He’s also painted a romantic vision of the shirtless superstar in a stream surrounded by topless women. Incredibly one of the bare breasted beauties bears an amazing resemblance to Lisa Marie.

Asked whether the young woman is Michael’s bridge, Strong would only say, “You have to draw your own conclusions about that.”

People, August 15 1994


The families of the bride and groom have not exactly been gushing forth their approval. Jackson’s parents, Joe and Katherine, and his siblings, Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, LaToya, Marlon, Randy and Janet, had no immediate comment about Michael’s marriage, but Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., who represented Michael in the molestation case, says that those in his inner circle “are happily surprised.” (A call to the $3.99-a-minute LaToya Jackson Psychic Network, however, elicited this response from a psychic named Stephanie: “I can see them together a year from now…as far as two.”) Lisa Marie’s mother, Priscilla, 48, who attended her daughter’s first marriage but not her second, said through her publicist that she is “very supportive of everything Lisa Marie does.” But she has said nothing further in public, and one source close to the Presley camp says he saw Priscilla a month after the wedding, “and she looked downright terrible. It was obvious she was very preoccupied.”

Says Washington attorney John Coale, Lisa Marie’s friend: “I guess she and Michael are our rock and roll royalty.”

This much seems certain: The two definitely get along and enjoy hanging around together. When they stayed a week at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., last winter, they spent each evening, says Trump, “holding hands and talking until the wee hours”—even if they did always adjourn to separate bedrooms. Last week the New York Post reported that the newly-weds have spent many summer nights in the small but lavishly landscaped park atop New York City’s Trump Tower. “They hold hands, kiss and cuddle, stare into each other’s eyes and look out at the stars together,” a source told the Post. And a longtime friend of the Jackson family says that, with Lisa Marie, one gnawing source of anxiety is absent: “Michael always said that he never knew if a girl was going to like him for himself or his money. She’s not after him for money.”

How long has this been going on? One employee of Jackson’s who prefers to remain anonymous says that Lisa Marie “has known Michael almost all of her life. Elvis brought her around to meet the Jackson Five when she was a little kid, and they stayed in touch.” (Lisa Marie, who was raised mostly by her mother after Priscilla and Elvis divorced in 1973, was 9 when her father died in 1977.) Coale says their adult friendship began in November 1992 in L.A. This past April, Lisa Marie announced that she was breaking up with Keough—who it now turns out, obtained a quickie, uncontested divorce in Santo Domingo on May 6 (they will share custody of the children). A mere 18 days later, Jackson and his intended jetted to the deluxe spa Casa de Campo in the Dominican province of La Romana. From there it was viva La Vega, as the lovebirds proceeded to a town of that name for the May 26 nuptials, conducted by civil judge Hugo Francisco Alvarez Pérez.

Since Lisa Marie’s announcement, Jackson and his new family have been spending most of their time holed up in a 12-room duplex near the top of Trump Tower. Michael was making daily trips, via chauffeured van with blacked-out windows, across town to the Hit Factory recording studio, often with Lisa Marie.

Strange as it may sound, Jackson could actually be a maturing influence on his new wife, who is set to assume control of the company in 1998. A close friend of the CEO says Soden has long been nervous about what he considers Lisa Marie’s “unpredictable” behavior. The high school dropout went through an admitted period of rebellious drug-taking and battling with Priscilla. And now, if one source in the Presley camp is to be believed, their future chairwoman up and married Michael Jackson—a businessman with a track record of accumulating music rights—without informing them.

Michael may even unleash the songbird in Lisa Marie. “Maybe he’ll produce a solo album for her,” says his ex-manager Frank DiLeo. Presley-Jackson has long talked about pursuing a music career, and in the early ’90s even made some demo songs before putting showbiz aside to raise her children. Her singing, says Coale, “is fabulous. She likes rhythm and blues, like Aretha Franklin.”

Now there are rumors that Jackson, a former Jehovah’s Witness (he left that religion in 1987, after 24 years), has been meeting with Scientology worldwide leader David Miscavige. “They recruit the emotionally vulnerable,” says Atack, and Jackson—who once stunned a dinner party of Hollywood executives by lowering his head to the table and bursting into sobs—is definitely in that category. But a friend of Jackson disputes that. “No one can control Michael,” he says. “He’s always been independent.”

It would be possible for Michael to marry Lisa Marie without joining her church. But a Scientologist friend of Presley-Jackson says that even if he doesn’t convert, the couple “may have found that they were just right for each other spiritually.”

Meanwhile, Presley-Jackson friend John Coale says simply that “Lisa knows what she’s doing” marrying Jackson—and that he’s planning to go out soon to buy the couple a gift. “Probably something from Tiffany’s,” Coale says. “Lisa Marie has very good taste.”

Michael and Lisa on the cover of Hello, Zimmerman photos, August 20, 1994


Michael & Lisa Marie are on the cover of magazines around the world (Jet, Hello, Paris Match ect…) with exclusive pictures taken by photographer Dick Zimmerman.

Photographer Dick Zimmerman on taking photos of the two, Québécois magazine translation, Aug 1994


"A kind of magic emerges from this young couple. I really did not know what awaited me when I arrived, but what I saw made me think of the scene which two in love act as if they were alone in the world, in spite of the crowd which surrounds them. That only comes when two people are deeply enthusiastic about one another. Like everyone, I had heard rumours which surrounded their marriage several weeks ago. But it was necessary that I see them with my own eyes to work out the depth and sincerity of their love. This love, neither could hide from me. It will be enough for you to realise it by looking at my photographs, especially those which I took of Lisa. There are attitudes which cannot be faked. In fact, I did not even need to guide Michael and Lisa. I did not need, for example, to ask them to intertwine. They spontaneously did it and most naturally. I had to only say to them to place themselves at such or such a place, and the rest came naturally. They spoke to each other in a very soft tone, the tone of two people very much in love with one another.”

“It’s like when you see two people in the street who’re in love and act like there is no one else around them. I saw it with my own eyes.

If you look at the photographs, you’ll notice that there is something going on, especially with Lisa. I didn’t have to tell them to put their arms around each other, they just did it.

Having spent an entire day with them, I saw some magical things. They talked to each other very quietly like lovers would. For the first shot, I told them to stand close. They immediately put their arms around each other and Lisa cuddled right up to Michael. I told Lisa to sit in a chair and Michael to kneel beside her. He put his arm around her and pulled her head to his chest, while Lisa tenderly took hold of his hand.

Between shots, they were whispering and giggling to each other. They were so happy it was hard to keep their attention on the camera. They were so much into each other.

They are so happy with the photos. Michael put Xs over the ones he liked, and the pages of photos were covered with Xs. But the loving ones with Lisa, showing their happiness, were his favourites.”

Another interview with Dick Zimmerman, “Last Time” (Vol. 1, No. 31) (rough translation) by journalist Solange Plamondon, August 27 1994


The photographer Dick Zimmerman

Dick Zimmerman, the photographer assigned to several persons at the international level, has spent nearly 24 hours with Michael Jackson and his new wife Lisa Marie Presley. He has been privileged to witness the love they had hitherto concealed and the beginning of their honeymoon. He gives us this story in moments of tenderness he has seized on the spot…

Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue near Central Park, has always been the rendezvous of tourists who visit New York. Its 70 floors, happy marriage of windows and roof gardens, proudly soar skyward. Its gigantic hall, with all its gilding, its escalators and giant sparkling fountain, has always been the pride of its owner, millionaire Donald Trump, one of the richest men in New York. The crowd besieged the Trump Tower seems to have grown in recent days and this is not Donald Trump and Marla Maples that all these people want to see today is the famous couple Michael Jackson-Lisa Marie Presley, whose marriage made headlines recently when they chose this luxury building to house their first days of newlyweds.

One of the most famous photographers of the world, Dick Zimmerman, the man with all the stars and all members of the jet-set quarrel lenses and projectors is popular with celebrities because he is a remarkable photographer and his discretion helps draw their confidence. We often speak of the secrecy of confession. Without being the least priest or pastor, Dick Zimmerman has made its trademark and does not reveal anything in public that could betray the trust of his famous clients. The interview that we publish is therefore marked with the seal of the utmost sincerity.

When we joined a few weeks ago, Hugo Perez Alvarez, a Dominican lawyer who performed the marriage of Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley, the gentleman, tired of seeing his word doubted by the entourage of the two famous married, we had launched at the end of the phone interview:

“Listen, I do not know if these people were serious when they married, I’m not in their skin. What I do know, however, is that it is indeed Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley which I helped celebrate the marriage. Their passports were there to identify them, and the numbers of those passports are on their marriage, I’ve sent. I’m not judging whether it was a publicity stunt or not. What I can say is that marriage is an official act seriously in the Dominican Republic.”

Well, according to the attitude of a young married couple that Dick met with them, it seems that Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley, too, regard their marriage as an act very seriously and are deeply in love l ‘one another.

But we let Dick tell him.

How did you meet Michael and Lisa?

I met Michael Jackson for the first time in 1982. It was I who, at that time, did the cover of his album “Thriller.” Subsequently, he gave me the task of making the photograph that adorns the cover of his album AND As for Lisa, I’ve known her for years. It was a little girl when I took the first photographs of her mother, Priscilla Presley, 18 years ago.

Did you suspect the existence of a romance between them?

Not at all. I had not the slightest suspicion. I knew that Lisa knew Michael, but never would have any idea that there was something serious between them. I am very surprised this marriage, but I also think that nothing more could logically happen. Michael is an incredible superstar, and Lisa, also ranks in a separate category because of his father. It will be even more of a superstar when she starts recording. A union between these two characters as popular and as famous as they are, so this is the perfect “match.”

If I trust what I saw during the whole day that I had passed, first to take pictures, then to choose with them, I can tell you that kind of magic emerges from this young couple.

I really did not know what to expect when I came in after them, but what I saw made me think of the scene can offer in the street two lovers who act as if they were alone in world, despite the crowd around them. This only happens when two people are deeply fond of each other.

Like everyone, I had heard rumors surrounding their marriage several weeks ago. But I had to see them with my own eyes to realize the depth and sincerity of their love. This love, they were neither one nor the other me hide. All you need to make you aware, for looking at my pictures, especially those that I took of Lisa.

There are attitudes which can not be feigned and belong to a scenario, if the actors are good.

In fact, I did not even need to guide Michael and Lisa. I did not need, for example, to ask them to hug. They were spontaneous and most natural way. I had to tell them to put in a particular place, and the rest came naturally. They spoke in a very soft tone of two very loving one another.

How have they contacted you?

They must have thought of me when they had the intention to have pictures of the couple taken by a professional. Especially since, as I said earlier, I worked for Michael Jackson.

And how did it happen?

The usual routine, even if I live in Los Angeles and they settled in New York. I flew to New York and I rented all the equipment on site. For this shoot, I wanted to work alone without assistance. It seemed to me that would be more comfortable to work. So I arrived at Trump Tower at about 10 am, and it took me three hours to install my equipment in their wake. Throughout this installation, Michael and Lisa getting ready and dressed. The event took place in two sessions: one that lasted about an hour, after which they changed for a second meeting, which lasted about half past one.

It is they who choose their clothes. Let’s say for the first meeting they were to say the least sophisticated and for the second, at my suggestion, they were dressed so much easier.

Furthermore, I arrived home was not easy. The hotel was literally full of security guards. You could not get close to lifts without a pass and permission. And all this without speaking to the crowd that thronged in front of the building! The marriage had been confirmed officially by the two stars, and everybody wanted to meet: Paparrazzi and representatives of all major newspapers and all television channels embedded in a host of admirers who asked that to the promise. For a moment I wondered if I could be home at 10 as expected!

I was especially nervous when transporting all my gear in the hotel that people have recognized my truck. For my convenience, security guards allowed me to take the service elevator. It was the only solution.

Finally, I found myself in front of my young married couple. Real newlyweds, have I already said that?

Once the pictures were completed, however, I had to leave, and it worried me a lot: I found myself with nine rolls of pictures in a bag and I was afraid that fans unleashed stinging me. I knew, however, that nobody would recognize me. So I decided to leave through the front door, overlooking Fifth Avenue, the simplest way. I was engulfed in a taxi, I went to the laboratory, which would develop the film immediately. I had indeed made arrangements with the people of this laboratory, that had even signed a document guaranteeing me, on pain of fines, none of these photographs would be placed in the general public. Anyway, as two precautions are better than one, I stayed with the technician while the time lasted printing of these pictures and their doubles. A rather challenging experience!

Quite simply, during all those hours, I had the impression of being in a spy movie. Firstly, the flight to taxi with the fear of being followed, then the constant supervision of everyone in the lab so that no negative me is stolen and no additional photo is printed without my knowledge.

I finally left the laboratory to 11 pm and I immediately went to find my two famous clients. At that time, there was naturally far fewer people at Trump Tower, and I quickly found before them. It was the moment of truth. Pictures they liked the best?

They are so happy with the photos. Michael put Xs over the ones he liked, and the pages of photos were covered with Xs. But the loving ones with Lisa, showing their happiness, were his favourites.”

Michael’s friend Amy Agajanian remembers their relationship, 1994/1995


She said she thinks she was MJ’s best friend (but of course she wouldn’t really know for sure) until Lisa Marie came along. She told me about accompanying the couple to a few outings, including at Neverland and a Disney trip, and she BURNED with jealousy, the poor little thing. She said it was obvious they were in love, always holding hands and kissing. So Michael started finding less and less time for her.

Oh, in the interest of fairness to LMP, she said LMP was as sweet as could be to her and she did come to like her.

Michael and Lisa visit Nice, September 2-6, 1994


Michael and Lisa Marie visit France (Nice, Cannes , Paris & Disneyland) and spend time with Prince Al Waleed who wants to launch a production company with Michael.

At Disneyland, Paris Match: September 6, 1994


Michael Jackson and his bride, Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson,treated their fans to an audience with rock royalty at the disneyland hotel at eurodisney over the weekend.

Predictably everyone went nuts,crowds at the themepark outside paris gathered below the newlyweds balcony and chanted “MICHAEL!MICHAEL!MICHAEL!” until the pair came out and waved. At midnight,Jackson a frequent eurodisney visitor-took Presley to the park to play.They romped until 3 a.m.,hours past the official closing time and yesterday the couple hit paris to do some shopping.

Michael Shopping With Lisa Marie at the Emporium, by 1karenhb, Date: 1994


Findadeath, 30th June 2009

When I worked at Disneyland I talked to a fellow worker who worked at the Emporium (the parks big store on Main Street) the night MJ and Lisa Marie came in during a private party they had. She said MJ walked throughout the store saying he wanted to buy practically everything and Lisa Marie followed him continually saying NO. She said it was really funny to watch.

Michael and Lisa kiss at the MTV Awards, September 12, 1994


Michael & Lisa Marie open the MTV Video Music Awards Ceremony with a kiss.

“Afterward, they had a huge fight about it,” said Monica Pastelle. “Her whole thing was, “I told you no, and you just disregarded it.” But Michael thought it was great, a showstopper. He was all about the show, you know? What could they do that would cause headlines? That’s where his head was at. “But people will be talking about that kiss for decades,” he said. “Don’t you see? They’re gonna run that clip over and over.” Lisa was pissed off for days. “Don’t you fucking even come near me,” she told him.”

Lisa Marie on Oprah 2010 :

O: Did you ever feel manipulated in the relationship?
L: Sometimes. But he knew that I didn’t love that and he was okay. He got it. He needed to do his thing, I would be there uncomfortably, like the MTV thing, his hand was blue afterwards after we got off that stage. He showed me and it was completely blue, I had squeezed it so hard! (laughs) I did not want to do that. It’s not in my nature to do that sort of thing. But I understood it as his way of, he needed to do things like that.

Michael interview, London Mirror, September 12, 1994


After his telephone proposal, once they were in LA together. “Lisa and I were in the living room [at Neverland] having a glass of wine,” he said. “We had just finished watching All About Eve, starring the Bette Davis. We both love that movie. I just walked over to her, reached into my pocket and pulled out this huge diamond ring. “So what do you think?” I asked her. “You want?” She screamed out, “Yes, yes yes.” I never even officially popped the question. We never actually discussed marriage. It just sort of happened.”

“This is not a hoax,” Michael insists, “I swear it’s not.”

“I want people to know that I wouldn’t marry someone just for publicity. That’s just not me. I love her. This is serious. I hope people believe it. If not, then, hey, too bad for them.”

Was Lisa pregnant, as had been reported? “No, that’s not true at all,” he sighs, “Lisa Marie is not pregnant.” But he admits: “Yes, we want to have children. Yes, we will have children.” Then he laughs: “Don’t rush me.”

There had been recent reports that Lisa had plastic surgery in an LA hospital, her breasts enlarged and liposuction on her hips, at Michael’s behest. It was preposterous, but I decided to ask him about it, anyway. “Ridiculous,” he told me. “Just try telling Lisa Marie what to do. It would never happen. I would not be able to convince her to do anything, let alone plastic surgery. The truth,” he said, “is that she had scar tissue removed from an appendectomy, and dermabrasion on her face to get rid of old acne scars.”

Did he and Lisa have a prenuptial agreement? “No way,” he said. “What kind of marriage would that be?”

“I love Lisa Marie. Why won’t people believe that? Why won’t the public let me be happy?”

Michael claims it was their similar tastes that drew them together. They love watching slapstick, screwball comedy films, like the Three Stooges and old movies, particularly ones starring Jackson’s great pal Liz Taylor.

They also share a love of animals.

“One of the things that most attracted me to Lisa is that she gets along well with the many animals in my zoo,” he says.

“Elizabeth Taylor for instance, is scared to death of all the animals, especially the horses. But Lisa Marie just loves them. It’s hard not to fall in love with a person who can relate to animals.”

Michael is astonished at the public scorn the announcement attracted. When he was told one of the reasons was because Lisa Marie’s press release only discussed her feelings for him, he was perplexed.

“Why should I have to explain how I feel about my wife in a press release?” he asked.

“The press release was Lisa Marie’s idea. She wanted to set the record straight. If it was up to me, I would have just said, “Let people think what they want.”

A final rumor Michael dismisses was the report that he and Lisa Marie will sing a duet on October 8 at a Tribute to Elvis Presley in Memphis. “But he adds, we’ll be together forever so there’s plenty of time to sing together.”

Tabloid story about MJ attending Scientology courses, Scientologist Terry Dangers, 1994


Contrary to rumour, Michael is not taking courses in Scientology. “At least not yet,” says Terry Dangers, a former center employee. “But most people believe he will, soon. For the last few months he and Lisa Marie have been so often they know everyone by first name. Michael is very open and friendly to the people there. He used to show up in disguise – once as an old woman. But not anymore.

“Recently, he enrolled in a complicated purification program which involves a lot of reading, studying and psychological testing. He passed with flying colours, meaning he’s ripe for Scientology. After the test, Lisa Marie hugged him and kissed him on the lips. She was so proud and happy. It certainly looked like they were a happy couple.
Everyone knows it’s been Lisa Marie’s intention that Michael be exposed to Scientology and then make up his own mind about it. Passing the purification tests was a big step.

According to Terry, Lisa Marie has said that by the time they couple celebrate their second anniversary, Michael will be a Scientologist. “She also believes that Scientology can help Michael with lupus,” he says.

Michael and Lisa interview, Ebony, October, 1994


Michael and Lisa Marie are on the cover of Ebony with an exclusive interview of Michael by Robert Johnson.

Michael and Lisa In The Studio Together, Mike Dean Ellis
http://mikedeanellis.com/?p=751


There were producers and engineers, but I didn’t ever see talent when I was there. Finally one Monday night I was told MJJ is coming. The staff and folks from his group always referred to him as “MJJ” instead of Michael. Sure enough a bit later he showed up. When he walked in it appeared he already knew the other staff but I saw him eyeballing me realizing I was new here. Someone introduced me to him, “This is Michael..”, as he walked up and shook my hand and quietly said “My name is Michael too..” with a very nice smile and firm handshake. The biggest thing I remember about it was he smelled like baby powder. Big time. That was really the only strange thing I saw from him.

My impressions of him were that he was a quiet, pleasant, very humble, normal man. Sure, I have read the stories that circulated in the years before that everyone else has as well. He didn’t come across to me as being that person that everyone read about in the tabloids. One time a very beautiful lady arrived, Lisa Marie Presley. She was only there once while I was there but it was clear they were very into each other and in love. Even displays of affection like a kiss or holding hands I noticed.

Jimmy Jam on working with Michael, October – December, 1994


Jam can talk about how cuddly Jackson is with his wife, Lisa Marie Presley. Jam can talk about how Jackson wore essentially the same outfit to the studio every time – whether in New York, L.A. or Edina: an oversized cotton shirt over a T-shirt (usually white), black jeans, penny loafers (sometimes white socks) and makeup.

“Michael is the nicest guy in the world. I remember reading a quote from Lisa Marie when they got married. And someone asked what she liked most about him, and she said, `He’s the nicest guy in the world.’ I laughed when I read that. But he really is. It sounds corny, but he’s definitely the nicest guy I’ve ever met.”

At an Elvis Tribute Gala, October 8, 1994


Michael and Lisa attend an Elvis Presley tribute gala in Memphis with Janet and Rene and Lisa’s mother Priscillia Presley

Bruce Swedien in “Black and White” – Nov. 5th 1994


BLACK&WHITE : Michael is married now. What do you think about his marriage with Lisa Marie Presley?

Bruce Swedien : This marriage is not for commercial purposes. This marriage is pretty serious thing and I’m glad to see him happy finally. Lisa Marie is great, they feel very good together. They are inseparable. She comes very often to the studio.

It feels good to me, seeing that, because of that relationship Michael has changed.

Friend and artist David Nordahl recalls meeting them together and working on a painting of them together, November 1994





“In November, 1994, I spent 2 weeks with Michael and Lisa Marie at the Trump Towers in New York. I was there to work on 2 projects for Michael while he was in the recording studio. Michael and Lisa Marie were great together and a lot of fun to be with.

In 1995 Michael asked me to do a painting of the 2 of them. Not one to do a normal portrait, he came up with a creative vision of how he wanted to portray their love for each other. Michael gave me a list of things he would like to see in the painting. I made a sketch and sent the original to him. He called me when he received it. He said he loved it and not to change a thing except to make the castle more “fanciful”. At this time, I was working on 3 or 4 projects for Michael. I asked if I should set aside these projects in favor of this painting. Michael told me to finish what I was working on and to do the painting afterwards.

Sadly, by the time I got around to this painting, Michael and Lisa Marie had separated.”

Michael confided in Niles Rogers that his marriage to Lisa Marie was not going well, “Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco, and Destiny” by Nile Rodgers, December 1994


We chatted for a while, and to my great surprise and relief, I didn’t have a pressing urge to drink or drug in the studio lounge.. I actually felt comfortable. From that point on, Michael carried most of the conversation. . He continued reminiscing about the early days on the road. I could tell he missed the music, as well as the love and camaraderie, not specifically mine, or his brothers’ or his crews’ or his family’s—it was more general: He missed the adulation his crews’ or his family’s—it was more general: He missed the adulation that he had always elicited up to that point in his life. . Unsurprisingly, I sensed that he was happiest when the world really loved him and everything he did, before his personal proclivities sparked constant tabloid fodder.

The tone of the conversation changed. His mood shifted and something happened that I would have never thought possible in a million years: He opened up to me about his dark feelings. Until that point our rap was all upbeat—typical musician laughing and joking around.

He said gossip in the news upset him and ultimately saddened him. I was very fragile and so was lie, and we connected over our mutual state of mind. It was as if we were on the bus in the early

seventies, only this time the secrets we shared were Far less innocent. I’d made it clear I wanted to play guitar and go home. But I was also so grateful for the Fact that Michaeljackson felt comfortable enough with me to share such intimate revelations. He confided that he was having marital problems and would probably be getting divorced. This was a full year before the slightest mention of his split with Lisa Marie Presley hit the press.

Why share this with me? I thought to myself as Michael continued to unload. Maybe because I outwardly seemed very happy and well adjusted,, and he could sense that I was trustworthy.