Frank Cascio's New Book: Some Interesting Stories
MichaelsAngel
Posts: 246
Hey guys, I'm currently reading Frank Cascio's New Book: My Friend Michael and I thought I'd share some interesting stories for those of you who don't have time to read it or don't want to. The book is divided into three parts and I'm on part three. I have to say that while it is a good book and it does tell about the magic of Michael but it is not all positive. It talks a lot of Michael's drug use and the problems that Michael faced. I wouldn't say that Frank is trying to portray Michael in a bad light, he actually comes off as protective of him, but I think these stories are being told for a reason. So here are some of the highlights:<br /><br />-Frank ALWAYS talks about how natural a father Michael is. I loved reading all of the stories about when Frank was a kid and Michael essentially helped raise him. He said that Michael always found a lesson in everything and stressed the importance of knowledge. <br /><br />-Frank's dedication to Michael: "To Michael, my teacher--thank you for being a father, a brother, a mentor, and a friend, and for the greatest adventure I could ever have imagined I love you, and I miss you every day.<br /><br />-Frank says that Michael explained his marriage to Lisa Marie as a business deal. Michael said that he needed to appear as if he was a family man to Prince Al-Waleed especially after the 1993 allegations. However, it kind of seems as if Frank doesn't really believe that was the entire case. He also said that they were intimate and he thinks that Michael really just wanted to have children. He said that Michael complained that Lisa liked to fight and that Michael's response would be to just sit there clapping and smiling lolol/ And although, Lisa said that they remained close for four years after the divorce, Frank said he hardly ever saw them together. But Frank does believe that Lisa thought the marriage was real.<br /><br />-Michael also said that the marriage to Debbie was for business as well. He married her because Prince Al-Waleed didn't like the idea of him having children outside of marriage. Based on the book, Debbie and Michael lived separately and rarely had contact but they were still good friends. During this time, Michael also had a few casual girlfriends with some of his fans. <br /><br />-According to Frank, Michael had a lot of love for his family but always kept them at a distance. He said that Michael always praised Randy for his musical talents and that he could play any instrument he wanted. Interestingly, Frank said that while Michael forgave La Toya for what she said in 1993 but he still wanted nothing to do with her. And Michael had had problems with Jermaine contracting him to appearances and business deals without his permission and so even though he loved Jermaine, he had to keep him at a distance, which Jermaine then wrote Word to the Badd in response, and while Michael eventually forgave, he wanted nothing to do with him after that. <br /><br />-Michael did not want to reunite with his brothers for the 30th reunion special, especially because he didn't want to deal with Jermaine, but he did for his mother<br /><br />-From what I gather, It was actually Frank who had the meeting in the World Trade Centers on 9/11 to return a $2 million watch that Michael had worn in the 30th anniversary special to the Bank of America<br /><br />Ok this is where it gets really sad:<br /><br />-based on everything I've read so far, it seems that everything went downhill after the 1993 allegations. Frank made sure to emphasize that NOTHING inappropriate happened when him and his brothers stayed with Michael. It was also interesting to note that every time Frank and Jordie were both at Neverland, Jordie always stayed in the Guest units and based on my interpretation, it didn't seem like Michael and Jordie were as close as the press made them out to be. <br /><br />-Michael did take demerol in 1984 after the Pepsi incident and in 1993 but he wasn't addicted. Here is a quote about him going to rehab in '93:<br /> "in later years, Michael would explain to me that the cancellation of the tour had had nothing to do with drug addiction. It was because his next tour date was in Puerto Rico, on American soil, and if he had entered the United States at this time, there was a very real chance that he would have been arrested on the allegations of child molestation. To avoid his arrest, his team of handlers had to come up with a way to get him out of the rest of the tour. The only way to guarantee that the part of the tour that was canceled would be covered by insurance would be if Michael opted out because of a medical problem..."<br /><br />-According to Frank, Michael really became dependent after his bridge accident in 1999. This was the first time that he witnessed Michael receiving propofol. Frank became increasingly concerned when he noticed all of the medication Michael was receiving and at times doctors would put prescriptions in Frank's name. However, Michael told Frank it was because he was in extraordinary pain and he had been entertaining since he was five and it was catching up to his body. So at first, Frank trusted the doctors.<br /><br />-But Frank really started to worry when Michael once told him, "One thing doctors can't measure and diagnose is pain. If you tell them you're in pain, they have to treat you based on what you feel." Frank told him he didn't want to end up like Elvis but Michael said he didn't have a problem.<br /><br />
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