Difference between revisions of "Michael Jackson"

'''Michael Jackson''' (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was a singer who guest starred on The Simpsons in the episode "[[Stark Raving Dad]]". He performed the speaking voice of [[Leon Kompowsky]] under the pseudonym John Jay Smith. Jackson was a fan of the show,<ref name="fan">{{cite news|url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117467944.html?categoryid=14&cs=1|title=Gloved One secret 'Simpsons' fan|author=Ray Richmond|accessdate=2008-08-27|date=1998-20-20|publisher=''Variety''}}</ref> and called [[Matt Groening]] one night and offered to do a guest spot.<ref name="Groening">Groening, Matt. (2003). Commentary for "Stark Raving Dad", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> The idea for the episode was pitched by [[James L. Brooks]] and the script was written by [[Al Jean]] and [[Mike Reiss]].<ref name="Reiss"/> In an early version of script, Homer decided to take [[Barney Gumble]] in for rehab, but whilst there Homer began acting crazily so the doctors assumed he was the one to be committed.<ref name="Groening"/> Jackson pitched several story ideas for the episode, including Bart telling everyone in town that Michael Jackson was coming to his house.<ref name="Reiss"/> He also requested several script changes, including that he wanted to have a scene in which he and Bart wrote a song and asked that a joke about Prince be changed to one about Elvis Presley.<ref name="Jean">Jean, Al. (2003). Commentary for "Stark Raving Dad", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref>  

One of Michael Jackson's conditions for guest starring was that he voiced himself, but a sound-alike would receive credit.<ref name="Brooks"/> While he recorded the voice work for the character, all of his singing was performed by [[Kipp Lennon]],<ref name="Reiss"/> because Jackson wanted to play a joke on his brothers and fool them into thinking the impersonator was him.<ref name="Brooks"/> Michael Jackson's lines were recorded at a second session by Brooks.<ref name="Jean"/> Jackson showed up for the recording session alone and did not use the special trailer that was set up for him.<ref name="Reiss"/> Lennon and Jackson recorded their parts at the same time, and Jackson found Lennon's impersonations hilarious.<ref name="Reiss">Reiss, Mike. (2003). Easter Egg Commentary for "Stark Raving Dad", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> Jackson actually did record versions of the songs, and while there have been rumors that those tracks were the ones used in the final episode, ''Simpsons'' music editor [[Chris Ledesma]] says the Lennon versions were used.<ref name="Jean"/> Leon Kompowsky's normal speaking voice was recorded by [[Hank Azaria]].<ref name="Castellaneta">Castellaneta, Dan. (2003). Commentary for "Stark Raving Dad", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref>  

The producers of the show were legally prevented from confirming Jackson guest starred at the time, although many media sources assumed it was really him.<ref>{{cite news|title='Simpsons' Returns with a Big White Michael Jackson|date=[[1991-09-19]]|accessdate=2008-08-27|publisher=''[[Press of Atlantic City]]''|author=Jay Sharbutt}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Simpsons Plays Name That Voice|date=1991-09-19|accessdate=2008-08-27|publisher=''[[Wikipedia:The Record (Bergen County)|The Record]]''|author=Virginia Mann}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=TV Previews - Simpsons: A Surprise Thriller|date=[[1991-09-19]]|accessdate=2008-08-27|publisher=''Washington Post''|author=Tom Shales}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Some Clues as to why 'The Simpsons' is Simply the Best|date=1991-09-18|accessdate=2008-08-27|publisher=''Daily News of Los Angeles''|author=Phil Rosenthal}}</ref> After this episode the producers decided that if a celebrity wished to guest star on the show, they had to be willing to be credited under their real name and not a pseudonym.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE3DD1338F936A35751C1A965958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1|title=The Voice Is Familiar but I Can't Place the Overbite |author=Anita Gates|accessdate=2008-09-04|date=1994-12-05|publisher=''The New York Times''}}</ref>