Newsmakers

Michael Jackson 'Thriller' jacket fetches $1.8m

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-06-27 06:36

BEVERLY HILLS, California - A famed black-and-red calfskin jacket that Michael Jackson wore in the classic "Thriller" video has sold at auction for $1.8 million.

The jacket worn by Michael Jackson in his "Thriller" music video sold for a whopping $1.8 million at an online auction Sunday, a day after the two-year anniversary of the singer's death. [File Photo]

Darren Julien, president and CEO of Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills, says the jacket was purchased Sunday by Milton Verret, a commodities trader from Austin, Texas.

The jacket is one of two Jackson wore during the filming of the 1983 "Thriller" video. Jackson wears the jacket in a scene with a troupe of zombies who rise from their graves and break into a dance routine.

Verret says the jacket will be sent on tour and used as a fundraising tool for children's charities.

A portion of the sale price will go to the Shambala Preserve, a big cat sanctuary caring for two tigers Jackson once owned.