A Prank That Didn't Work
The 1986 Grammys set the stage for one of Michael's more bizarre pranks – but one that didn't pan out as he had expected.
Frank Dileo, John Branca, Norman Winter and Michael Jackson had often discussed the careers of show-business icons like Frank Sinatra and The Beatles, and how their representatives were known to sometimes hire teenagers to scream and weep at the sight of them at public appearances. Hysteria does photograph well. Michael always believed that hiring youngsters to holler, faint and sob was a masterful public relations stroke.
One evening Michael and Frank telephoned Norman to tell him of an idea. Michael wanted to cause a commotion during the televised Grammy Awards presentation in February. It had been decided that Quincy and Michael would accept the award if ‘We Are the World’ won for Record of the Year, accompanied by some of the other participants on the record. It's not known whether it was his intention to do so, but it would seem that Michael wanted to steal a little of Quincy's thunder during the acceptance. He and Quincy always had a strange relationship, symbiotic but also competitive.
Michael's plan was to have a female teenager run out on to the stage from the wings and jump him as he stood next to Quincy. Bill Bray's security staff would be ready and waiting to pull the girl off Michael, who would then act surprised and frazzled. Since the Grammys are televised internationally, the whole world would witness this mad scene. The next day, Michael's popularity, and the hysteria it had caused at the Grammys, would be the subject of worldwide news. The scene caused by Jackson's ‘overwrought fan’ would probably even overshadow the fact that ‘We Are the World’ had won the coveted Grammy for Record of the Year. Certainly, Quincy's acceptance speech would be overlooked in favour of Michael's manic adoration.
Frank and Norman were against Michael's idea. If word ever got out to the press that the girl who had attacked Michael had actually been hired by him to do so, it would be embarrassing to everyone involved. ‘But it'll never get out,’ Michael said, enthused. ‘So, who do we get? Who can we hire to do this thing?’
Frank and Norman didn't have a clue. Finally, a female publicist who worked in Norman's office found a teenager who she felt was savvy enough to pull off the hoax. She was hired for the job.
The night of the awards, those involved in the trickery held their breath as ‘We Are the World’ was announced by presenters Sting and Phil Collins as Record of the Year. Michael, who was wearing a black military jacket, red shirt and red brooch, rose from his seat. Frank, seated behind Michael, smiled broadly, a cigar hanging from his mouth. Michael then walked up on to the stage with Lionel Richie.
Before long, Quincy Jones, Dionne Warwick, Kenny Rogers and Stevie Wonder were also on stage. As Quincy gave his speech, Michael nervously rocked from side to side. He kept looking off into the wings, as if he was wondering when the girl was going to make her move.
Unbeknownst to Michael, the teenager, who had full backstage credentials, was having a difficult time trying to break through the crowd of people – technicians, production people, members of the press – who had gathered in the wings to gawk at the celebrities on stage. Before the hapless ‘attacker’ knew what was happening, the speeches were over and she had missed her moment. The scheme didn't work.
‘What happened? What happened?’ Michael wanted to know later. ‘I'm standing there waiting and waiting, and nothing?’
When Frank Dileo explained, Michael cracked up into laughter. ‘The joke's on me, I guess,’ he said. ‘I couldn't even concentrate on what was going on because I'm waiting for this girl to come out and jump me… and she never did it. Quincy said I was squirming so much, he thought I had to go to the bathroom! Next time, we'll have to plan it better,’ Michael concluded, with a wink.