The Return of “Uncle Tookie”
Of all the twists and turns that have inevitably filled Michael Jackson’s latest comeback attempt, the return of Frank DiLeo—aka “Uncle Tookie”—as his manager is among the most surprising.
Jackson is due to play 50 shows at London’s O2 arena starting in July, and may benefit financially if Colony Capital LLC manages to sell Neverland, his ranch in Santa Barbara County, Calif., for more than the $26 million or so it has invested in the property.
Now he’s replaced the manager who lined up those events, a Saudi Arabian business associate of Colony’s named Tohme Tohme, with DiLeo, who served as Jackson’s manager for five years in the ‘80s.
DiLeo was a promotion man at Jackson’s label, Epic Records, responsible for plugging songs to radio stations when “Thriller” came out in 1982. He became Jackson’s manager in 1984. Walter Yetnikoff, then Epic’s president, wrote in a 2004 autobiography that Jackson hired DiLeo because the executive “was a fast talker and a slick operator.”
It didn’t hurt that DiLeo helped land seven singles from “Thriller” in the Top 10. The album went on to become one of the best sellers in history.
“Tookie’s a genius,” Yetnikoff quotes Jackson saying.
“Bad,” Jackson’s 1987 follow up to “Thriller,” went on to sell less than a third as many copies as “Thriller.” The 8 million units “Bad” shipped domestically fell far short of Jackson’s goal of 100 million.
In addition to marking the beginning of Jackson’s demise as a bankable artist, “Bad” also started the singer’s long slide into an increasingly bizarre physical appearance. The album’s cover showed the singer with loads of eyeliner, vastly altered facial features and much paler skin than he’d had circa “Thriller.”
Jackson abruptly fired DiLeo in a miniature Valentine’s Day massacre in February 1989, according to contemporary press accounts that quoted him. He remained active in the music business and, thanks to his cigar-chomping demeanor and fireplug build, Martin Scorsese cast him as a mobster in 1990’s “Goodfellas.”
Now, DiLeo appears to be the beneficiary of turnabout. About a month ago, Jackson stopped speaking to Tohme, according to several business associates, who were informed that DiLeo was back in the saddle.
The normally voluble DiLeo remained nearly silent during a recent call in which the Wall Street Journal sought comment on a series of details for a story on Neverland and Jackson’s finances.
Jackson has already postponed the first four dates of his 50-show run in London. Some close to him have privately questioned whether the notoriously flaky Jackson will have the physical and psychological stamina to pull off so many shows.
If he does, it will be proof positive that Tookie still has the magic touch.
(wallstreet journal)
