Michael Jackson Property nearly cost $1m

The contents of the home where Michael Jackson lived with his three children just before his death have sold for nearly $1 million at auction.

Darren Julien, president of Julien's Auctions, was unable to provide a more specific figure as he continued to tally the totals Saturday after the daylong auction, which brought in nearly triple the company's pre-auction estimate of $200,000 to $400,000.

Among the highlights: A kitchen chalkboard where Jackson's children wrote "I love daddy," which sold for $5,000, and an armoire upon which Jackson wrote a message to himself on the mirror that fetched $25,750.

The auction also included furniture, artwork and other items from the rented mansion at 100 North Carolwood Drive, where Jackson lived as he prepared for a series of comeback concerts in London before his death in June, 2009.

The headboard from the bed where Jackson died at age 50 was removed from the auction at the family's request, but the rug that was beneath the bed sold for $15,360. The estimate had been $400 to $600.

Julien's Auctions re-created the mansion inside its Beverly Hills showroom and invited fans to fill the space where the bed would have been with a tribute to the late King of Pop. Julien promised to deliver all of the tribute items to Jackson's children and family matriarch Katherine Jackson.

"Michael Jackson has the greatest fans in the world. I can see why he lived for them," Julien said. "They came out every day this week to bring gifts. It's unlike anything we've ever seen as it relates to a celebrity and their fans."

Julien's Auctions has conducted auctions for dozens of celebrities, including Cher, Barbra Streisand, William Shatner and Slash.

Jackson commissioned the company to sell the contents of his Neverland Ranch before the auction was called off in early 2009. Julien's also sold Jackson's famous "Thriller" jacket for $1.8 million earlier this year.

Janet Jackson puts new "face" on weight loss

It's no secret that Janet Jackson has battled weight issues her entire life, but what her fans may not know is that even when the singer is on tour, sweating every night, she still has problems staying slim.

So Jackson joined the ranks of Nutrisystem users on Thursday to become the "new face" of the weight-loss program, promoting a new "SUCCESS" diet plan even as she uses it to help raise money to feed the world's hungry.

The "Rhythm Nation" singer and member of the famous Jackson family, wrote fearlessly about self-image issues in her book, "True You," documenting a period in 2006 when she put on weight for a movie and ballooned to 180 lbs, only to become fodder for fat jokes in the tabloid press.

But Jackson said it's not only working as an actress that can cause her to put on pounds. Rather, it is everyday life that gets her. And even after dancing and singing nearly every night on her "Number Ones," she still battles weight gain.

"Your body gets used to different exercises, and I've been performing for so long that my body's just used to it. Actually, I have to work a little harder while doing a show," she told Reuters.

Weight gain, she said "is something I've dealt with my entire life."

In her book "True You," which was published in hardcover earlier this year and hit stores in paperback this week, Jackson writes "eating was emotional for me; eating calmed my nerves and brought me instant gratification."

After Nutrisystem chief executive Joe Redling read the book, he approached Jackson about his weight-loss program and gave her some of Nutrisystem's pre-packaged foods to sample while on tour. Jackson said she was sold.

"When I was in hair and makeup, we were all taste testing. Everybody was going crazy for it," she said.

LOVE THE CHEESE PUFFS

When asked her favorite Nutrisystem meal, Jackson said "I can't say there's just one thing," then she paused.

"They do have cheese puffs," she said. "It had been years since I wrapped my lips around cheese puffs because they were things I had to stay away from."

Jackson joins a long list of celebrities, including Kirstie Alley and Jennifer Hudson, who have publicly battled weight loss and endorsed diet programs. Typically, the stars document how much they lose, but Jackson doesn't want to do that.

"I'm going about this a different way by not putting a pound amount on it," she said. "It's about when I feel healthy, about when I feel good. That is how I want to be," she said.

Like most people, she pops her meals into a microwave to heat them up, but is quick to add that, unlike many others, she has a trainer to help her work out. She stresses the importance of exercise, but emphasizes that people don't need a trainer when all they really need to do is go for a long walk or do other everyday activities that get them off their couches.

Key to Jackson's involvement in Nutrisystem, she said, is that for every pound its dieters loose in 2012, the company will donate $1 worth of food to people in need. The pair have created "Nutribank," (www.nutribank.org ), to work with hunger organizations around the world. Last year, Nutrisystem users lost 10 million pounds, in total.

"I feel that my true calling is to help people," she said. Now, that calling extends to weight loss and quashing hunger.

Michael Jackson doctor plans to appeal conviction

Michael Jackson's doctor filed court papers on Friday indicating he plans to appeal his involuntary manslaughter conviction over the singer's death and his four-year jail sentence.

Lawyers for Dr. Conrad Murray filed the papers with Los Angeles Superior Court in a precursor to a formal appeal being lodged with a California Appeals Court.

Murray was convicted last month of involuntary manslaughter, or gross negligence, after admitting he gave the pop star nightly doses of the anesthetic propofol in June 2009 to help him sleep.

Murray was sentenced on Tuesday to four years in jail by an angry Los Angeles judge who called him a "disgrace to the medical profession."

Jackson, 50, died in Los Angeles on June 25, 2009, of an overdose of propofol - which is normally used to sedate patients during surgery - and sedatives. His death came just weeks before a planned series of comeback concerts in London.

Sherlock Holmes, Clinton, Gates on PBS

NEW YORK—There's good news for fans of Sherlock Holmes and "Downton Abbey": They're both coming back to PBS next year.

A two-part examination of Bill Clinton's presidency, a look at some celebrity family trees by Louis Gates and a series on American infrastructure hosted by a former "Survivor" contestant are all part of PBS' new spring schedule, the public broadcasting service said Wednesday.

An abrupt season ending to "Downton Abbey" with several unanswered questions—including whether the show was even going to return—led to angry phone calls from many fans, said Paula Kerger, PBS president. The first season was only four episodes. The second season, set during World War I, contains seven episodes and starts Jan. 8.

The "Masterplace Mystery!" presentation of "Sherlock, Series 2" is set in 21st century London and will air in three episodes in May, PBS said.

The "American Experience" documentary on Clinton premieres on President's Day and features fresh interviews with many in the administration and some of the president's adversaries. It does not include a new interview with Clinton, Kerger said.

The positive side of profiling such a recent president is that many people within the administration are still alive. The negative side is losing the perspective of history, she said.

"He's an interesting and complex individual and I think the piece captures that," Kerger said.

Harvard professor Gates is host of "Finding Your Roots," a 10-part series that begins March 25. The series will have celebrity juice—Kevin Bacon, Barbara Walters, Tyra Banks and Martha Stewart are among those who have their family roots explored—and Gates tries to tie those family stories to historical trends.

Yul Kwon of "Survivor" will be host of "America Revealed" starting on April 11. He'll try to show how infrastructure is changing traffic and food production, for example.

Cultural programming includes a premiere of Anna Deavere Smith's play "Let Me Down Easy," a music special on Tony Bennett's duets album, and Michael Feinstein's "American Songbook."

"We're going to continue our focus on arts content," Kerger said.

The Justin Bieber baby saga keeps on going

JUST hours after it was reported that Mariah Yeater had dropped the paternity lawsuit against Justin Bieber, her newly appointed lawyer has declared that the case is still very much alive.

The 20-year-old baby mama's new attorney, Jeffrey Leving, has told TMZ he firmly believes his client's allegation that Bieber is the father of her four-month-old son and they will push on with their mission to get the singer to take a DNA test.

Leving claims Yeater dismissed the lawsuit to open the door for a private settlement and avoid a "media circus".

"We want privacy," Leving told ET, "and we want to wrap this up."

"The case is completely out of control and I don’t want something terrible to happen to my client or her child."

Leving said Yeater is still recieving death threats and is being constantly stalked, but has still been coping as well as "a 20-year-old woman with no money and no job" can.

As for the Bieber's threats that he will counter-sue, Leving told the gossip website it was just another example of a celebrity trying to push around the little guy.

Ms Yeater claims she got pregnant after having sex with Bieber, then 16, while backstage at one of his concerts in Los Angeles in October 2010.

Bieber vehemently denies the allegations, saying he has never met Ms Yeater. He is reportedly prepared to take a paternity test to prove he is not the father.

He also plans to sue Ms Yeater and her lawyers for making a bogus claim.

Bieber, who is dating Disney starlet Selena Gomez, hired crisis management guru Matthew Hiltzik of Hiltzik Strategies to help manage the scandal.

Yeater had claimed on CBS show The Insider that Bieber immediately took a liking to her after his concert at the Staples Centre and asked if they could go somewhere.

She claimed that once in a backstage bathroom, "his whole demeanour changed. It went from cute and gushy to just more aggressive." She added that the sex lasted 30 seconds.

Michael Jackson's deathbed was withdrawn from auction

The headboard from Michael Jackson's deathbed was withdrawn from auction on Tuesday at the request of the singer's family.

But previously unseen footage of the King of Pop's 1993 concert tour is up for sale in London this month, and auctioneers say it could fetch up to $6 million.

The London-based Fame Bureau is selling the concert footage, filmed during Jackson's "Dangerous" tour in 1993 at a stop in Argentina, on Nov. 26. If the film meets expectations, it would become among the top prices ever paid for any pop culture memorabilia at auction.

It was shot by Jackson's production crew and meant to be an intimate portrait of Jackson on tour. But the singer was unhappy with the quality and gave the lone copy to his driver, who is now selling the footage, the auction house said.

"It's a film that's frighteningly personal and up-close," said Fame Bureau CEO Ted Owen in an interview posted on YouTube. "It's like you're on stage with Michael Jackson".

A DVD of the "Dangerous" concert tour, filmed in Bucharest, was released in 2005 and is still available on Amazon.com and other retailers for about $12.

Items related to Jackson have skyrocketed in value since his death in 2009. The red and black leather jacket he wore for his 1983 "Thriller" video sold for $1.8 million in Los Angeles in June.

But an elaborate antique Louis XV-style headboard from the bed where Jackson died on June 25, 2009 is no longer among potential Jackson collectibles, according to Julien's Auctions.

It carried an asking price of $3-5,000 in a December sale of items from the rented Los Angeles mansion where the 50 year-old singer was found lifeless more than two years ago.

But auctioneer Darren Julien said the headboard was removed from sale at the request of the Michael Jackson estate and the singer's family.
"We want to maintain a good relationship with the family and we don't want to do anything upsetting for them," Julien told ET

Michael Jackson doctor due in court in LA

LOS ANGELES: Michael Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray finally goes on trial Tuesday accused over the King of Pop's death two years ago, aged 50, from an overdose of a powerful drug.

A jury of seven men and five women will be sworn in at Los Angeles' Superior Court to decide Murray's fate on involuntary manslaughter charges over the star's death on June 25, 2009.

Murray, 58, faces up to four years in jail if convicted at the twice-delayed trial, expected to last five weeks.

Murray is accused of giving Jackson an overdose of the powerful sedative propofol to help alleviate his insomnia at a rented estate in the posh Holmby

Hills neighborhood while rehearsing for a series of London comeback shows.

The doctor has never denied administering the drug -- typically used as an anesthetic during surgery -- to Jackson, but denies having "abandoned his patient" at the fatal moment.

His lawyer Ed Chernoff is expected to argue that the world-famous "Thriller" singer, desperate for sleep, administered more of the drug himself while Murray was out of the room.

The trial will be televised live, but judge Michael Pastor has stressed that jurors cannot be recorded in any way. He has rejected a defense request for them to be sequestered, as took place during the O.J. Simpson trial.

Security will be ratchet-tight at the court in downtown Los Angeles, where a major media circus is expected to be joined by often colorful Jackson supporters lamenting the star's demise and demanding justice.

Some fans complain that Grenada-born Murray, who was being paid $150,000 a month by Jackson at the time of his death, faces only four years in jail. He has been free on $75,000 bail since being charged in February 2010.

"I believe the trial is going to be a big disappointment no matter what the outcome is," said Wesley Noorhoff, head of the Legendary Michael Jackson Fan Association, which has members in over 180 countries.

The jurors include high school graduates, some with a college education and one with an MBA. Six substitute jurors were chosen in case any of the first 12 selected drop out.

Half are Jackson fans -- one of those selected, a 54-year-old woman, wrote that she "loved his music as a very young girl, as an adult not so much," while a man of the same age said he thought Jackson was a "gifted performer."

The trial was originally due in March, but was delayed twice. In that time the judge has rejected a string of requests, notably to let Jackson's former doctors testify, in what the defense hoped would prove he was a drug addict.

On the eve of the trial the judge ruled that footage of Jackson the London comeback shows cannot be shown in court.

Murray's defense lawyers claimed the footage showed Jackson already under the influence of drugs -- by implication out of control -- while prosecutors said the footage was "absolutely irrelevant."

Jackson's family is expected in court -- his mother and father, Katherine and Joe Jackson, as several of his siblings who attended six days of pre-trial hearings in January.

But simmering tensions between them were stirred in July, when Katherine Jackson announced a tribute concert for her son, scheduled in Britain on October 8, a couple of weeks into the trial.

Two of her sons, Randy and Jermaine, immediately criticized the plans as "inappropriate" and an "ill-timed event" during the LA trial of their brother's doctor. (AFP)

The Michael Jackson Mansion Goes Back on the Block

Buckle your safety belts butter beans and prepare for a shit storm of publicity because the Los Angeles mansion where Michael Jackson met his untimely death in June of 2009 is back on the market with an asking price of $28,995,000.

The Richard Landry designed dwelling on N. Carolwood Drive in the hoity-toity Holmby Hills area contains a total of 7 bedrooms, 7 garage spaces, 12 fireplaces, and an unlucky 13 poopers. When our seriously superstitious house gurl Svetlana heard there were 13 terlits in the house she dropped to the floor, flailed and wailed around a bit screaming about how "Michael should have known. He should have known..."

The 17,171 square foot faux French chateau sits on a 1.26 acre lot according to listing information and is owned by Roxanne Guez and her controversial clothing manufacturing mogul huzband Hubert who is the current CEO of that upsetting Ed Hardy brand.

Your Mama has written about and dissed on the palatial pile a thousand time before so there's no need for us to rehash the hashed. However, iffin any of the children missed any of our previous discussions some of them are here, here, and here.

photo: Pacific Coast News