Jackson benefit concert scheduled
A Michael Jackson benefit concert is being held Aug. 29 at the Palms, on what would have been Jackson's 51st birthday.
Talent singing the songbook of Jackson and the Jackson 5 will "run the gamut from cast members in current shows on the Strip to the big guys, along with some bands," according to "Jersey Boys" star Erich Bergen, who is co-producing the event with local writer/blogger Steve Friess of VegasHappensHere.com.
All proceeds will go to the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, with a focus on music education in Nevada public schools, Bergen said.
The event will be held in The Pearl, the Palms' 2,500-seat concert venue.
There will be other components to the tribute, Bergen said. A Twitter feed has been set up @VegasLovesMJ for fans who want to keep up with the latest developments.
Meanwhile, KVBC-TV, Channel 3 entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs reported Saturday, citing an informed source, that Jackson's body has been moved out of music producer Berry Gordy's crypt to an undisclosed location.
Jacobs wrote on her Twitter site that Jackson's sister, LaToya, a former resident at Regency Towers in Las Vegas Country Club, was in charge of her brother's body and picked out everything he wore in the viewing casket. Jackson's body was not in the casket at Tuesday's memorial, according to a number of published reports.
According to Jacobs' source, a white glove was placed in the casket, but Jackson was wearing two black gloves, black pants beaded with black beads; a pearl-beaded white jacket he wore to the Grammys and an over-sized gold belt that resembled a championship boxing belt.
Embossed on the jacket were cherubs with large wings, according to the source.
Jackson's hair was styled with big curls.
Jacobs said she has confirmed that Jackson's brother, Jermaine Jackson, could be meeting with Wynn Las Vegas executives as early as next week to discuss a show featuring most of the Jackson 5.
SHAQ ATTACK
Is Shaquille O'Neal crazy enough to bring his immenseness to the UFC cage?
UFC president Dana White sent a Twitter tweet to the 7-foot-1, 325-pound NBA giant on Friday that read: "After u win another championship this year let's talk."
O'Neal continues to lobby for a shot in the cage, White said Saturday during a break in the UFC 100 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Asked if he would rule out the possibility, White said, "I would sit down and talk to him."
Size wouldn't matter, he said. "We've got a lot of little guys that wouldn't be worried about a guy of that size."
If it happened, White has no doubt about one outcome.
"It would do a lot of pay-per-views," he said.
O'Neal has been training in mixed martial arts for some time.
UFC veteran Frank Trigg, who has worked as an analyst for the sport, agrees that bringing Shaq into the UFC would be huge. But as an ambassador, not as a fighter.
"He's a super athlete as a basketball player, but it would be like when Michael Jordan jumped into baseball. They would kill him.
"As an ambassador, that would be a big deal for us."
SIGHTINGS
British tough-guy actor Jason Statham, at UFC 100 on Saturday. ... "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell and Olivia Newton-John, among the celebrities at and on Lake Las Vegas this weekend for the 60th birthday of Nigel Lythgoe, former executive producer of "American Idol" and currently executive producer of "So You Think You Can Dance." The weekend event has included yacht cruises on the La Contessa. ... Rock band Duran Duran, in the private dining room Friday at Nove Italiano (Palms) with a party of 18. At N9NE Steakhouse (Palms) on Friday: Mötley Crüe lead singer Vince Neil and his wife, Lia; UFC star Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and O.J. Mayo of the Memphis Grizzlies. ...
THE PUNCH LINE
"Now (Ruth Madoff is) looking for an apartment in the $400,000 range. Here in New York City that'll get her a place just a little bit smaller than where her husband is." - David Letterman
Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.
