Top 10 Michael Jackson Moments

The tragedy of Michael Jackson's death at age 50, reportedly from cardiac arrest, pales in comparison to the tragedy of his life. To understand all that Jackson had and lost requires wiping away three decades of plastic surgeries that deformed him (see Many Faces of MJ), erratic behavior that made his name synonymous with the warping powers of fame, and a 2005 trial for sexually abusing a child that, even though he was spared of any finding of wrongdoing, made him a pariah to all but the most brainwashed of fans.

A look back at the storied highs and troubled lows of Michael Jackson's career, compiled from the TIME.com.



1. A Breakout Star - As a scrawny 11-year-old from Gary, Indiana in child-sized bellbottoms and a radiant smile, Michael Jackson first stepped onto the scene at age 11 as part of the unforgettable Jackson 5.

2. Thriller - Jackson's 1982 album Thriller became a worldwide sensation and established the artist as a transcendent superstar.

3. The Single Glove Debuts - In a 1983 television special commemorating the 25th anniversary of Motown, Jackson debuted the crystal-encrusted glove that would become his most recognizable wardrobe hallmark. It quickly became a sensation: so many kids wanted to imitate Jacko’s style that by 1984 a New Jersey high school had banned students from wearing a single white glove.

4. Michael Jackson's Hair Up in Flames - A 25-five-year-old Jackson was filming a Pepsi commercial in Los Angeles on Jan. 27, 1984 when a pyrotechnic display exploded behind him, burning his glossy Jheri curls as he sang "Billie Jean" in front of 3,000 fans. Jackson covered his head with a coat to put the fire out, and was later hospitalized with second-degree burns on his scalp.

5. Moonwalking - All the unverified accusations and nose jobs in the world can't change the fact that when Michael Jackson glided across the floor in skinny black pants and bright white socks, he looked like the coolest person in the world. His ability to keep one leg straight as he moved the other backwards was an act of dexterity and timing. Jackson debuted the dance on a 1983 television show, but the 1984 music video for "Billie Jean" made it iconic. Where can we get one of those light-up sidewalks?

6. A Private Playground - Nestled in the hills of California's Santa Ynez Valley near Los Angeles, Michael Jackson's 2,800-acre estate was a child's fantasy. Neverland, a sprawling theme park that took its name from the fantasy world of Peter Pan, came complete with amusement park rides, arcade games and a private petting zoo. Among his companions at Neverland, which Jackson purchased for $17 million in 1987, was Bubbles, a suspenders-clad chimpanzee who slept in Jackson's bedroom and used his personal toilet.

7. An Unexpected Union - It was a match made in tabloid heaven: Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of the King of Rock n' Roll, and Michael Jackson, the eccentric King of Pop, married in secret the Dominican Republic in May 1994. In the end, the marriage didn't last. Presley and Jackson would divorce two years later.

8. Going Over the Edge - One minute, Michael Jackson was blowing kisses to fans from the balcony of his presidential suite at Berlin's Adlon Hotel. The next, he was clutching his 9-month-old son, Prince Michael II, with one arm as the child, with its face shrouded in a blanket, dangled precariously over the edge. Michael Jackson dangles his child Prince Michael II over a balcony of the Adlon Hotel in Berlin on Tuesday Nov. 19, 2002.

9. Living With Michael Jackson - One of the most revealing — and disturbing — glimpses into Michael Jackson's private life came during a blockbuster interview the pop star held with British journalist Martin Bashir in 2003. Some 27 million viewers tuned in to Living With Michael Jackson, a two-hour documentary based on eights months of unprecedented access to the music icon. Jackson was depicted spending millions during a Las Vegas shopping spree for oversized vases and other gaudy furnishings, and acknowledged to Bashir that he had slept in the same bed with young boys. But he insisted it was "sweet" and "the most loving thing to do," denying any sexual interest: "I am Peter Pan," he memorably insisted. Jackson's comments helped lead to child molestation charges in 2005.

10. Michael Jackson On Trial - In December 2003, months after the airing of a documentary in which Jackson held hands with a child and outlined his habit of sharing a bed with young boys, Jackson was charged with child molestation, alcohol and conspiracy charges that carried nearly 20 in prison. In June 2005, after some 30 hours of deliberation, the jury acquitted Jackson of all charges.