’Net Junkie
‘King of Pop’
is 1 weird dudeHe was an adorable child star with a glorious, angelic voice. Even as the littlest member of the famed Jackson 5, Michael Jackson was undoubtedly the group's starring attraction; the unwitting scene stealer in a band of seasoned, multi-talented showmen. A quarter-century before the boy band explosion of the mid '90s, it was young Michael's face that set girls' hearts a-flutter as he graced the covers of numerous teen magazines.
As his popularity grew throughout the wild, woolly 1970s, so did his well-maintained 'fro. You may recall photos and videos of the teen sensation in the days before MTV, as the Jacksons' big-haired main man. It was a wonder to view his voluminous Afro sitting perfectly still atop his head as his feet magically zig-zagged this way and that.
There is no greater mystery to this phenomenal performer, however, than his ever-changing visage. At http://anomalies-unlimited.com/Jackson.html, one can find a timeline of Jackson's evolving countenance. At the top, we see Michael as he appeared in 1979, with the face Mother Nature provided him.
Compare that portrait to the one just below it, in which the Gloved One circa 1984 -- at the height of Michael-Mania -- has a new, slightly sharpened nose, sculpted eyebrows and a cool-for-then Jheri Curl. Initially, no one made much of a fuss over his new look as he had just come into his lofty position as the undisputed King of Pop.
Further down we see a photo of M.J. in his "Bad" stage, beside that of a possessed Sigourney Weaver in "Ghostbusters," and the resemblance is uncanny. (As to whether Jackson suffers from the skin condition vitiligo or bleaches his skin, log onto http://itsb.ucsf.edu/~vcr/Freeze2.html, where Web surfers provide both conjecture and supposed "inside information" on his cosmetic habits.)
This is followed by a photo of Michael in 1991 with longer locks and dark sunglasses ... no, wait a minute, that's his sister LaToya. You know, the weird, misunderstood one.
Other more recent photos follow, juxtaposed with portraits of the Phantom Of The Opera, The Joker and a fictitious anime character.
Meanwhile, the creators of the site at http://www.robearly.com/Michael.html have put together a morphing pictorial of Jacko's looks throughout the years. As his face changes from cute kid crooner to peculiar-looking eccentric recluse, so will yours, out of disbelief.
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