Jackson's head on fire in online footage

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-17 10:12

NEW YORK: A US entertainment magazine has released never-seen-before footage of Michael Jackson's hair catching fire while filming a commercial in 1984, an accident it said led to an addiction to painkillers.

Jackson was filming the advertisement for Pepsi when fireworks were exploded too early, causing the superstar to suffer severe burns as his hair and scalp were engulfed in flames, according to the video Us Weekly magazine released on its website on Wednesday.

The "King of Pop," who died on June 25 from cardiac arrest at the age of 50, at first keeps dancing apparently unaware that his head is on fire. Still images of the accident have already been released but the video had never been shown publicly before.

"He was never the same after the accident," Us Weekly said.

"To relieve the second and third-degree burns on his scalp and body (and later to help him tolerate multiple surgeries on the scorched spot on his head), Jackson was prescribed several medications - which kicked off his addiction to painkillers and obsession with plastic surgery," the magazine quoted sources as saying.

Los Angeles police said on Wednesday they were investigating Jackson's death, but would not confirm it was being treated as a homicide investigation, as reported by entertainment website TMZ.com.

Jacko mural draws attention

The artist who worked on a giant mural of Jackson has said that his work has been drawing attention following the singer's death.

Kent Twitchell's larger-than-life vision showing the entertainer decked out in a white suit and matching fedora, stands 30 meters tall and 18 meters wide. Once planned for the entire side of a Hollywood building, it was so big it had to be mounted in sections across a two-story gallery wall, the bottom of it strung out along the floor.

"Since Michael died my phone is just ringing off the hook," said Look gallery owner Jerri Levi, who mounted a retrospective of Twitchell's work, including the Jackson mural, in April this year. Collectors from around the world have inquired about buying the mural, she said, and others have asked whether it will be displayed again.

But for now Twitchell is keeping it safely rolled up and hidden away.

"It would be nice to see something happen with it eventually," he said this week. "But I don't want to just hawk it and I wouldn't want to get involved in something that might be seen as cheesy. I'm an artist, not an entrepreneur."

The mural was originally planned for the side of Hollywood's historic El Capitan Theatre building, and Twitchell collaborated with Jackson on it for three years. The project, part of a Hollywood restoration taking place at the time, was shelved in 1993.

Originally Jackson wanted to dress in black leather for the mural, Twitchell said, but he told him he'd like to go for a classic 1930s Hollywood pose, outfitting him in something Cary Grant would have worn at the time. "He said, 'Oh yes, I can see that,'" Twitchell recalled.