Michael Jackson waving goodbye
Michael Jackson has plans to move to Virginia because of a family tug of war, according to a published report.
Over the weekend, Jackson moved out of a Las Vegas home he had leased for six months, and his staff told my source he was relocating to Spanish Trail.
Jackson is reportedly still in Las Vegas and has plans for a Fourth of July party here for his three children.
Fox News’ entertainment columnist Roger Friedman reported Tuesday that he’s “100 percent” certain the self-proclaimed King of Pop is heading for Virginia.
Why Virginia?
According to Friedman, Jackson is ailing and his advisers want to get him away from his family members, who have concerns about his “health and welfare.”
It was first reported here on June 26 that Jackson was moving out of the 10-bedroom home he leased for six months for a reported $1 million.
At the time, when I asked Jackson’s Washington, D.C.-based spokeswoman, Raymone Bain, about rumors that he was planning to leave Las Vegas, she said she wasn’t aware of “any plans to leave.”
According to Friedman, Jackson was supposed to be on the BET Awards a week ago. But when the show’s producers approached his handlers, Bain and nanny Grace Rwaramba, they were told Jackson was too incapacitated to appear.
Friedman said another source told him Jackson was also invited to give Diana Ross her lifetime achievement award at the BET Awards.
“Michael would never miss doing something for Diana,” the source told Friedman. “But the producers were told he was too messed up to make the show.”
Jackson may be staying at a sprawling 100,000-square-foot compound at Spanish Trail. If so, he’s likely occupying two 4,500-square-foot villas, said real estate broker Susie Perrine, who has represented the property since it was built 10 years ago.
The 37,000-square foot main home has never been lived in and kitchen appliances were never installed, Perrine said.
“Someone would have to have spent a small fortune in purchasing and installing the appliances and finishing off the kitchen. It would take a million or so just to get the house up to par to a move-in condition,” said Perrine, one of a handful of people to ever see the inside of the compound.
It was built for $60 million in 1997 by Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei, brother of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. The sultan took control of the 16-acre property after a falling out with his wild-spending brother.
The compound includes a 47,000-square foot sporting house that features an Olympic size pool, fitness rooms, squash court, racquetball court, disco room and other amenities.
Perrine said she brokered a deal for the sultan to sell the compound for $84 million in late 2005 to the Joe Blasco family, developers of Spanish Trail. But the sultan’s people didn’t respond for 10 months and the deal died.
The Blascos wanted to use the land to develop a high rise and condos, Perrine said.
WAYNE BRADY DIVORCE
The wife of comedian Wayne Brady, who has been headlining at The Venetian since earlier this year, has filed for divorce, according to the celebrity Web site, TMZ.com.
Mandie Taketa Brady, who filed the divorce document Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, is also requesting joint custody of their 4-year-old daughter, Maile Masako Brady.
Taketa Brady is citing irreconcilable differences for the split.
The Bradys split a year ago in April, according to the court papers. They were married in 1999.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Lure, the ultra lounge at Wynn Las Vegas, is closing Saturday and will be turned into a new nightclub.
SIGHTINGS
Pamela Anderson, rocker Tommy Lee, illusionist Hans Klok and celebrity photographer/director David LaChappelle, partying over the weekend at Piranha nightclub on Paradise Road. Anderson and her group arrived around 2:30 a.m. Saturday in a pair of Planet Hollywood sport utility vehicles. They were seen in the VIP balcony at Piranha, a popular gay hotspot. She was celebrating her 40th birthday.
THE PUNCH LINE
“It’s Lindsay Lohan‘s birthday. She’s 21. She’s finally old enough to start drinking. Just as she gets out of rehab.” — Craig Ferguson
Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.
NORM CLARKEMORE COLUMNS
