Note: If viewing Michael Jackson Ultimate Archive on archive.org (Wayback Machine), please view the latest snapshot of this page for the most up-to-date information and media.

Key to the City Acceptance / Tea Ceremony Participation

“People” magazine (October 12, 1987) (archived) (original article scan archived)

[Jackson] has visited with friends Gregory Peck and designer Issey Miyake, but mostly he socializes with two favorite companions: his manager, Frank Dileo, and his chimp, Bubbles, from both of whom he seems to derive a good deal of fun and comfort. It would be difficult to imagine a figure of less physical resemblance to Jackson than Dileo, 39. Portly, short and balding, the colorfully loquacious Dileo has become Jackson’s most trusted confidant. Determined to erase unflattering descriptions of Dileo by the press, Jackson calls him “my shield of armor, my other half. We dream together and achieve together.” As for Bubbles, a 3½-year-old chimpanzee released from a cancer lab in 1985, he eats at the table with Jackson, mimics his master’s moonwalk, plays hide-and-seek, plays dead, blows bubbles and joins in pillow fights. The Japanese find it all fascinating. When Bubbles arrived in Japan on a separate flight from Jackson’s, he got a Very Important Chimp reception from 300 photographers. The Mayor of Osaka later entertained Michael and Bubbles at a formal tea ceremony. “Bubbles is so popular here,” says one Tokyo merchandiser, “that if he announced he was doing a concert tour, he’d sell out.”

On off days Jackson has ventured out to shop for clocks, Japanese art books and a colorful Oriental screen. He also plundered two of Japan’s biggest toy stores: Dileo won’t disclose what the singer purchased, but jokes, “His hotel room is a mess. I told him it’s starting to look like his room at home.”

If Jackson does at times resemble a child, it may be because he identifies so closely with children. Quietly he has given rafts of free concert tickets to handicapped youngsters, visited Japanese schools and sent condolences and $20,000 to the family of 5-year-old Yoshiaki Ogiwara, an Osaka boy who was kidnapped and murdered recently. At one concert he dedicated his tour to the boy, a gesture that brought tears to the eyes of adoring fans. “People just don’t have a realistic picture of who Michael is,” says makeup artist Karen Faye. “He’s innocent and inspiring without being preachy—and a lot of fun to be around.”