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.
Order of Custom Chocolate Bars with "Lisa Marie and Michael" / Lisa Marie Presley's Statement
Date of chocolate bar order confirmed in LA Times (“last Monday”, August 1, 1994); date of Lisa Marie Presley’s statement release confirmed in New York Times (“yesterday [August 1, 1994]”)
The man on the phone was mysterious, identifying himself only as a friend of Michael Jackson's family.
But what he wanted from Frank Sheftel, a San Fernando Valley candy maker, was absolutely clear: 1,000 chocolate bars about the size of a business card, with raised letters that say, "Lisa Marie and Michael."
A heart and a musical note were also to appear somewhere on the bars.
"At first, I'm thinking nothing," said Sheftel, 33, a fast-talking chocolate lover who has owned the Candy Factory in Sherman Village since 1990.
"Then I'm thinking, 'Lisa Marie and Michael. . . .' And then he's telling me where he wants them delivered and I'm thinking, 'Oh wow. Big wow.' "
The Jackson family friend ordered the sweets last Monday, when Lisa Marie Presley confirmed the previously doubted rumors of her marriage to the pop superstar.
In a polite and straightforward manner, the unidentified man told Sheftel to deliver the chocolates to four places: the Jackson family estate in Encino, Michael Jackson's production company in Westwood, Graceland—the Elvis Presley mansion—in Memphis, Tenn., and the Trump Tower in New York, where the couple were honeymooning.
The reaction of co-workers at the candy store was initially one of disbelief. "With them making it public, then obviously it's true," said Sheftel's mother, Gloria, who helped prepare the chocolates.
Within hours after the order was placed, a courier arrived at the Candy Factory carrying a sealed envelope with $100 bills in it, Frank Sheftel said.
The candy maker declined to reveal how much the order cost, but said such work typically runs as high as $3,000.
It took a team of five people to prepare the 1,000 bars, pouring melted Nestle's chocolate into plastic molds they made from a master mold prepared by an outside firm, and wrapping them in gold foil. Half of the bars were delivered last week, while the other half will be shipped today by express mail…
For the Jackson-Presley order, the Sherman Oaks native turned to the tabloid media to cash in on the celebrity sweets. The National Enquirer was willing to pay thousands of dollars for the story, Sheftel said, but it wanted exclusive rights for three weeks.
So he went to the television program "Hard Copy," which broadcast his story Friday, demanding only that he not talk to other TV reporters. He says he was paid "thousands of dollars" by the program—he will not say how much—but the show's producers will not confirm that.
Sheftel makes no apologies for his decision to go public.
"It's a fun story," he said. "It's not like I'm showing a picture of them on their honeymoon.
"This is a sweet story, no pun intended," he said.
Lisa Marie Presley, full statement, “Jet” magazine (August 15, 1994)
My married name is Mrs. Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson. My marriage to Michael Jackson took placed in a private ceremony outside the United States 11 weeks ago.
It was not formally announced until now for several reasons; foremost being that we are both very private people living in the glare of the public media. We both wanted a private marriage ceremony without the distraction of media circus. I am very much in love with Michael, I dedicate my life to being his wife. I understand and support him. We both look forward to raising a family and living happy, healthy lives together. We hope friends and fans will understand and respect our privacy.
Washington Post (August 1, 1994)
"My married name is Mrs. Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson," said the statement issued this afternoon by one of Michael Jackson's employees here. "My marriage to Michael Jackson took place in a private ceremony outside the United States 11 weeks ago."
...Even some of those inside the vast network of Jackson handlers, attorneys and public-relations people were caught off guard yesterday by the announcement, which was faxed to news organizations by Bob Jones of Jackson's MJJ Productions.
"I just have the statement from Lisa Marie Presley," said Jackson publicist Michael Levine, reached by telephone here. "I got the statement at 12 noon. I didn't know anything about it."...
New York Times (August 2, 1994)
Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of the late Elvis Presley, released a statement yesterday saying that she and the singer Michael Jackson had married.
...At 5:40 P.M., a few hours after the statement was released in Los Angeles, the developer Donald J. Trump emerged from Trump Tower to the kind of reportorial throng normally reserved for the likes of, well, Michael Jackson or Donald Trump, and confirmed that, yes, the couple were ensconced on the top floor of the Fifth Avenue tower.