Remembering Bubbles the chimp and Michael Jackson:
Jackson's death posed questions about the singer's former pet, Bubbles the chimpanzee. Sanctuary staff haven't attempted to tell Bubbles about his former owner's death. "We haven't said anything to him yet," Ragan told People Magazine. And here's why!
BUBBLES' SUICIDE:
In late 2003 Bubbles attempted suicide but "was rushed to the hospital in time." No further details of that the attempt were forthcoming.
BUBBLE BULLETS:
Jackson rescued Bubbles from a Texas cancer research clinic in 1985 when the chimpanzee was three years old.
For several years the two were inseparable.
Bubbles slept in crib at the corner of Jackson bedroom, where he alone was allowed to use the singer's private bathroom.
Bubbles was, of course, part of Jackson's entourage -- and of his mystique -- in the 1980s.
He accompanied Jackson to events and and to the studio during the recording of Jacko's "Bad" album (some think the title sprang from Bubble's behavior during the recording).
When Jackson toured Japan, Bubbles was there.
Bubbles learned how to dance and Moonwalk, and was Jackson's escort for many important award ceremonies and events.
Artist Jeff Koons statue, "Michael Jackson and Bubbles," which sold for 5.6 million at auction in 2001.
Per London Times account, this high profile primate, with whom Jackson once shared his private toilet, was sent away from the singer's home after the chimp, nice clothes or no, started acting like an animal.
The chimp eventually faded from public view, with few references made to him until Jackson famous television interview with British journalist Martin Bashir, "Living with Michael Jackson," which aired in early 2003.
In the interview, Jackson told Bashir that Bubbles had become aggressive as he aged, and had been sent away over fears that he would harm Jackson's youngest child, Prince Michael II.
At one time the twentysomething Bubbles resided in Sylmar, CA with Hollywood wrangler Bob Dunn, since at least as early as 2002, when Dunn spoke with People Magazine.
"Bubbles is an adult chimp and wild animal," Dunn told the magazine." We don't let him out to play."
The trainer did say, however, that Jackson and his children had been to his Sylmar Ranch to visit the chimp."
The last time Michael visited, Bubbles definitely recognized and remembered him," he told the Telegraph .
WHERE IS BUBBLES NOW?
He is now living a quiet life at a ranch at the Center for Great Apes in Wauchulu, FL.
~ nichopoulooza
*with thanks to People Magazine, the Telegraph, and Discovery Network's Beast Blog. But most importantly, to the Japanese fellow who has the clip, but which was, in my opinion, not labeled correctly.
Michael Jackson Moonwalk King of Pop Bubbles Chimp Moonwaks Japan Martin Bashir Jeff Koons 1987 Prince Michael II Bob Dunn Sylmar ranch CA wrangler bad Wauchulu FL Discovery
July 4, 2009
Michael Jackson and Bubbles: Chimp Moonwalks (Press Conference - Japan 1987)
June 30, 2009
Remembering Bubbles the chimp and Michael Jackson's other exotic pets | L.A. Unleashed | Los Angeles Times
Remembering Bubbles the chimp and Michael Jackson's other exotic pets | L.A. Unleashed | Los Angeles Times
Remembering Bubbles the chimp and Michael Jackson's other exotic pets
In the wake of Michael Jackson's death, many have posed questions about the singer's former pet, Bubbles the chimpanzee.
Bubbles was, of course, part of Jackson's entourage -- and of his mystique -- in the 1980s. He accompanied Jackson to events and in the studio during the recording of his "Bad" album. When Jackson toured Japan, Bubbles was there. He even learned how to Moonwalk (sort of).
Of course, as with many elements of Jackson's life, it's hard to separate fact from fiction. The star reportedly rescued a young Bubbles from a cancer research center in Texas in 1985. The chimp eventually faded from public view, with few references made to him until Jackson's famous television interview with British journalist Martin Bashir, "Living with Michael Jackson," which aired in early 2003. In the interview, Jackson told Bashir that Bubbles had become aggressive as he aged, and had been sent away over fears that he would harm Jackson's youngest child, Prince Michael II.
Bubbles had apparently been living with his longtime trainer, Bob Dunn, since at least as early as 2002, when Dunn spoke with People Magazine. "Bubbles is an adult chimp and a wild animal," Dunn told the magazine. "We don't let him out to play."
The trainer did say, however, that Jackson and his children had been to his Sylmar ranch to visit the chimp. "The last time Michael visited, Bubbles definitely recognized and remembered him," he told the Telegraph.
In late 2003, a report surfaced that Bubbles had attempted suicide but "was rushed to the hospital in time." (No further details, or even confirmation that the attempt happened at all, were forthcoming.) And then, once again, the chimp returned to a life of relative obscurity.
In 2005, Dunn stopped working with great apes and sent the ones still living on his ranch, including Bubbles, to a the Center for Great Apes, a nonprofit sanctuary in southern-central Florida. The sanctuary's website describes the chimp, now 26, as charismatic and "able to throw sand with amazing accuracy." It sums up his character in three words: smart, distinctive and tender.
A representative for Jackson contacted the sanctuary after Bubbles arrived, suggesting that the star would like to visit his former pet. (The sanctuary is closed to the public, so special arrangements would have to be made for such a visit.) But, sanctuary director Patti Ragan told People in a recent interview, Jackson never made it to Florida. Bubbles doesn't seem to mind, though -- after all, chimps are ill-suited to life with humans, and his new home affords him the opportunity to interact with other chimps, notably his best friend, Sam.
Sanctuary staff haven't attempted to tell Bubbles about his former owner's death. "We haven't said anything to him yet," Ragan told People.
As for Jackson's other animals -- he kept tigers, giraffes, reptiles, birds and other exotics at his Neverland Ranch -- they seem to have been scattered to the four winds. The AFP reports:
While Bubbles remains high-profile, animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said it was hard to track down most of Jackson's former pets.
Lisa Wathne, PETA's specialist in captive exotic animals, voiced particular concern about two of Jackson's orangutans sent to a private owner in Connecticut and reptiles at a roadside zoo in Oklahoma.
She said Jackson's case showed why wild animals should not be kept as pets.
"All too often even people who start with good intentions, as Michael Jackson certainly did, don't have the ability to properly care for these animals," she said.
"And unfortunately in Michael Jackson's case he did apparently run into financial problems that ultimately led to his animals being disbursed to places all over the world. We don't know, frankly, where most of them ended up."
Two tigers, Thriller and Sabu, now reside at Tippi Hedren's Shambala sanctuary in Acton, north of L.A. Thirteen Chilean flamingos ended up at the Cape May County Zoo in New Jersey. Giraffes went to a sanctuary in Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border, but faced eviction earlier this year.
As recently as a few months ago, Jackson's fascination with exotic animals was still causing controversy and making headlines. When reports suggested that the star's planned London concert series would include animals like elephants and panthers, PETA complained, telling music magazine NME that "exotic animals belong in Africa, not the O2 Arena among screaming fans, bright lights and stage explosions." The animal rights group later backed down when it said it had been told no animals would be used in the O2 concerts.
For a look backward at Jackson's exotic-pet history, check out Discovery's Born Animal blog.
-- Lindsay Barnett
Photo: Artist Jeff Koons' statue "Michael Jackson and Bubbles," which sold for $5.6 million at auction in 2001. Credit: Sotheby's
December 9, 2008
Barney Bubbles: Reasons To Be Cheerful (July 1942 - Nov 1983 aka Colin Fulcher)
Reasons to be Cheerful (Adelita) by Paul Gorman is being released next month in the UK. It celebrates the short life of graphic artist Barney Bubbles who helped design the covers and imagery of many Hawkwind albums including Space Ritual and the definitive In Search of Space.Bubbles also designed graphics that Hawkwind used in their concerts. But Bubbles worked with many other British acts, and the title of Gorman’s book relates to the iconic Ian Drury and the Blockheads single of the same name.
It seems Bubbles made the transition from Hawkwind’s brand of SF Heavy Metal to the raw pulse of the emerging British Punk rock scene, reports The Sunday Times:Soon Bubbles was designing record covers for Hawkwind, an explosion of ideas that pushed their freeform space-rock into a new dimension. The 1971 classic X in Search of Space, which unfolded into the shape of a cruciform hawk, was an elaborate triumph of sci-fi nouveau.“It was in the days of LSD, and I think Barney used to take the odd acid tab when he was doing the sleeves," laughs the Hawkwind co-founder Dave Brock. “You can probably see the results of that in his artwork, like Space Ritual.” Indeed, with its sleeve panels of cosmic embryos, nipple planets and sonic waves, Space Ritual combined Bubbles’s ideas on philosophy, theatre and art.
Still he refused to sign his work, though his reputation was growing apace.
By the mid-1970s, Bubbles made the transition from hippie to punk, reshaping [New Musical Express] NME’s logo and landing a job as in-house designer at Stiff Records.His graphics gave the fledgling label a sharp, smart new identity. He created sleeves for Nick Lowe, the Damned, Ian Dury, Elvis Costello and more — many of which cleverly subverted art movements such as dada and constructivism. It was a fiercely intelligent streak he carried through to F-Beat, Radar and Go! Discs.“His sleeve work was sensational,” asserts the Stiff photographer Brian Griffin. “And his work rate was phenomenal.
I never saw Barney sleep, ever.Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick is one of the great art pieces of the 20th century. It’s mind-blowing. I think it’s up there with a Picasso painting.”
You can see some of Bubbles’ work from Word Magazine here. However, like many creative people, Barney Bubbles was a troubled soul who tragically ended his life, here reported by Mark Paytrees at the Hawkwind fan site Starfarer:
Barney was struggling. The regular outlets for his work were drying up. He was underpaid for the work he was still doing, and a love affair crumbled around him. "I used to do this magazine with him called Y," recalls Brian Griffin. "And one day we had this argument about the rude words in the text. It was the only argument we ever had. I went round to see him and patch it up, and he'd lacerated his face with a razorblade." Nik Turner also witnessed a more desperate Barney around this time."I got a call from his girlfriend, who said,'Come round and help us, Barney's threatening everyone with a knife.' I did and he said,
'Look, I'll kill you too.' Then he threw the knife on the ground.
He was having a nervous breakdown. Soon afterwords, he committed himself to a hospital.
"But Barney never recovered. "He phoned me up on the morning he committed suicide," Griffin remembers. "He said, 'I really feel terrible.'
I recall him being worried about his VAT. I said, 'Don't worry, after I've finished shooting this Echo & The Bunnymen video I'll come straight over.' I finished early, mid-afternoon, and I phoned up. But it was too late.
January 21, 2010
Michael Jackson Bubbles Koons HD
Michael Jackson's Pets and Animals
June 26, 2009
Animals played an important role in Michael Jackson's life, abruptly cut short yesterday. One of Jackson's earliest hits, and a personal favorite song of his, was "Ben," a loving tribute to a pet rat. Jackson was just 14 years old when he recorded the song, becoming the youngest ever performer at the time to top the U.S. charts while still being a member of a group, The Jacksons.
"Ben" was written for a 1972 film of the same name. A young boy befriends Ben the rat in the movie, which was echoed in Jackson's own life since he owned a rat as well.
Pet rats were just some of the animals that Jackson cared for, and was associated with, throughout his much too short time on Earth. Please join me in a look at some of the others.
Like many young boys, Jackson owned a mini menagerie of dogs and reptiles. But, just as his superstar life spun out of "normalcy," so too did his collection of animals as time went on. His November 1986 line of stuffed toys called "Michael's Pets" paid tribute to just a handful of these animal companions— frogs, rabbits, snakes, ostriches, giraffes, llamas and, of course, Bubbles the chimp.
Jackson rescued Bubbles from a Texas cancer research clinic in 1985 when the chimpanzee was three years old. For several years, the two were inseparable. Bubbles slept in a crib at the corner of Jackson's bedroom, where he alone was allowed to use the singer's private bathroom.
Bubbles Moonwalking
Bubbles was present during the recording sessions for the Bad album. Bubbles learned how to dance and Moonwalk, and was Jackson's escort for many important award ceremonies and events. We all seek out individuals who are like us as friends, but I think Jackson had such an extraordinary life that he had trouble finding anyone to truly bond with. My guess is that he could project his need to care for another onto Bubbles, at least during this period.
When Jackson's son Prince Michael II was born, Bubbles supposedly became aggressive toward the new young presence in the singer's residences. The chimpanzee was moved to an animal sanctuary. He is now believed to be living a quiet life at a ranch in Sylmar, California.
Michael Jackson also famously loved spiders, with Katharine Hepburn and other celebrity friends at the time expressing awe, and often dismay, at his elaborate spider enclosures. His tarantulas made headlines during a few of the singer's seemingly endless series of legal trials. In 2002, for example, the singer limped into a courtroom on crutches, explaining that he was suffering from a spider bite.
"I love tarantulas, but not the little kind," the shoeless Jackson explained.
Jackson's own enormous ranch, Neverland, housed not only rare spiders, but also a video game arcade, amusement park rides and a train. But the real eye-catcher was the private zoo, which once held an elephant, a lion and other exotic animals.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals filed a complaint in January 2006, claiming the animals were being mistreated. This was attributed by others to Jackson's money, legal and paparazzi problems, which forced him to abandon the ranch. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, however, inspected the animals at the zoo and found no evidence of abuse or neglect.
Neverland
Jackson rarely visited Neverland Ranch again, instead living between Bahrain, Europe and Las Vegas. More recently, he'd been living in a rented home in Holmby Hills near Los Angeles.
The connection between Michael Jackson and animals, as well as related controversies, swirled until the very hour of the singer's death.
Animal activists were planning to stage a boycott of Jackson's 50 planned, sold-out concerts, since sources leaked that the singer planned to make his entrance with exotic animals.
An unnamed source was quoted by the London Telegraph as saying, "He hopes to make it the most spectacular gig ever. For the jungle section, he wants to ride out on an African elephant with panthers led on gold chains. Parrots and other birds will fly behind him. If it goes to plan it will look incredible."
Craig Redmond, director of the Captive Animals Protection Society, issued a response that included, "Exploiting animals in this way really is a thing of the past and not something that someone like Michael Jackson should be doing. It would be like a circus act – a practice opposed by most people in the UK – and we are appealing to him and his management not to spoil the show by using animals."
If the rumor was true, Jackson may have had in mind the Ben Hur Live show, planned for the same venue and scheduled for later this year. It supposedly will include some 100 animals on stage.
The controversies mirror Jackson's own life: part spectacle, part quiet, withdrawn gentleness. Over the years he reached out to animals for their unconditional love and non-judgmental companionship, which I think he often gave back to them in return. While details about his private world will no doubt continue to emerge in the months to come, it would not surprise me to learn that his deepest and most long-standing friendships were with the many animals with which he shared his life.
July 1, 2009
Michael Jackson's Pets and Animals
Michael Jackson's Pets and Animals
June 26, 2009
Animals played an important role in Michael Jackson's life, abruptly cut short yesterday. One of Jackson's earliest hits, and a personal favorite song of his, was "Ben," a loving tribute to a pet rat. Jackson was just 14 years old when he recorded the song, becoming the youngest ever performer at the time to top the U.S. charts while still being a member of a group, The Jacksons.
"Ben" was written for a 1972 film of the same name. A young boy befriends Ben the rat in the movie, which was echoed in Jackson's own life since he owned a rat as well.
Pet rats were just some of the animals that Jackson cared for, and was associated with, throughout his much too short time on Earth. Please join me in a look at some of the others.Like many young boys, Jackson owned a mini menagerie of dogs and reptiles. But, just as his superstar life spun out of "normalcy," so too did his collection of animals as time went on. His November 1986 line of stuffed toys called "Michael's Pets" paid tribute to just a handful of these animal companions— frogs, rabbits, snakes, ostriches, giraffes, llamas and, of course, Bubbles the chimp.
Jackson rescued Bubbles from a Texas cancer research clinic in 1985 when the chimpanzee was three years old. For several years, the two were inseparable. Bubbles slept in a crib at the corner of Jackson's bedroom, where he alone was allowed to use the singer's private bathroom.
Bubbles Moonwalking
Bubbles was present during the recording sessions for the Bad album. Bubbles learned how to dance and Moonwalk, and was Jackson's escort for many important award ceremonies and events. We all seek out individuals who are like us as friends, but I think Jackson had such an extraordinary life that he had trouble finding anyone to truly bond with. My guess is that he could project his need to care for another onto Bubbles, at least during this period.When Jackson's son Prince Michael II was born, Bubbles supposedly became aggressive toward the new young presence in the singer's residences. The chimpanzee was moved to an animal sanctuary. He is now believed to be living a quiet life at a ranch in Sylmar, California.
Michael Jackson also famously loved spiders, with Katharine Hepburn and other celebrity friends at the time expressing awe, and often dismay, at his elaborate spider enclosures. His tarantulas made headlines during a few of the singer's seemingly endless series of legal trials. In 2002, for example, the singer limped into a courtroom on crutches, explaining that he was suffering from a spider bite.
"I love tarantulas, but not the little kind," the shoeless Jackson explained.
Jackson's own enormous ranch, Neverland, housed not only rare spiders, but also a video game arcade, amusement park rides and a train. But the real eye-catcher was the private zoo, which once held an elephant, a lion and other exotic animals.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals filed a complaint in January 2006, claiming the animals were being mistreated. This was attributed by others to Jackson's money, legal and paparazzi problems, which forced him to abandon the ranch. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, however, inspected the animals at the zoo and found no evidence of abuse or neglect.
Neverland
Jackson rarely visited Neverland Ranch again, instead living between Bahrain, Europe and Las Vegas. More recently, he'd been living in a rented home in Holmby Hills near Los Angeles.The connection between Michael Jackson and animals, as well as related controversies, swirled until the very hour of the singer's death.
Animal activists were planning to stage a boycott of Jackson's 50 planned, sold-out concerts, since sources leaked that the singer planned to make his entrance with exotic animals.
An unnamed source was quoted by the London Telegraph as saying, "He hopes to make it the most spectacular gig ever. For the jungle section, he wants to ride out on an African elephant with panthers led on gold chains. Parrots and other birds will fly behind him. If it goes to plan it will look incredible."
Craig Redmond, director of the Captive Animals Protection Society, issued a response that included, "Exploiting animals in this way really is a thing of the past and not something that someone like Michael Jackson should be doing. It would be like a circus act – a practice opposed by most people in the UK – and we are appealing to him and his management not to spoil the show by using animals."
If the rumor was true, Jackson may have had in mind the Ben Hur Live show, planned for the same venue and scheduled for later this year. It supposedly will include some 100 animals on stage.
The controversies mirror Jackson's own life: part spectacle, part quiet, withdrawn gentleness. Over the years he reached out to animals for their unconditional love and non-judgmental companionship, which I think he often gave back to them in return. While details about his private world will no doubt continue to emerge in the months to come, it would not surprise me to learn that his deepest and most long-standing friendships were with the many animals with which he shared his life.