Michael Jackson was the most famous guest star on “The Simpsons” — and also the strangest, even 16 years ago, says former Vanity Fair staffer John Ortved in his book on the much-beloved Fox cartoon series.
In “The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History,” the show’s writers and producers detail just how bizarre it was working with the former King of Pop, who appeared on the 1991-1992 season as a bald, 400-pound mental patient who believes he’s Michael Jackson while sharing a hospital room with Homer.
The crew did a rehearsal “at Jackson’s manager’s house, which was unheard of — we never left the studio — and it was a crazy environment where we were all served food by Sikhs in white robes and turbans,” recalls writer Wallace Wolodarsky.
Hank Azaria, the voice of Moe and Chief Wiggum, adds, “I remember having to make conversation with Michael Jackson. That had to be one of the freakiest moments of my life . . . he wasn’t quite the figure he’s become today, but still, I remember even then, staring at his nose, and it was all about, ‘Don’t Stare at His Nose.’ ”
When it came time for Jackson to come into the studio, editor Brian Roberts recalls, “I literally didn’t want to look at him. So I get my head buried in the script, and then at one point in the script he sang, ‘Man in the Mirror,’ and I said, ‘All right. How many times in your life are you sitting next to Michael Jackson and he’s singing “Man in the Mirror?” I just gotta look.’
“So I look over to Michael Jackson, and he wasn’t singing! He had a sing-along guy next to him who was actually singing for him. I couldn’t believe it. I was like, What kinda weird [expletive] is this?”
The book goes on sale Oct. 13.