The Peacemaker at 30,000 Feet

My Michael Jackson Story:

“When I was laid off (fired) from MGM/UA in 1994, I opened my own movie marketing consultancy. I decided to concentrate on animated films. Over the years I was fortunate enough to work on wonderful animated projects like Steven Spielberg’s An American Tail, among many others. Before long my business was booming. I was making more money than I ever did with Columbia, Universal or most recently MGM/UA. And more importantly, I didn’t have that awful commute I did for years, plus no committee diluting some wonderful ideas that individuals conjured up.

I was exposed to the international marketplace (my movie career with the studios was confined to domestic) and found myself at the Cannes Film Festival numerous times exposing and selling some of the animated projects I was representing. Yes, Cannes is beautiful, sexy, sensual, alluring, intoxicating, exciting and downright the bomb, to use an old expression.

One year on my way to Cannes, I had to travel from LAX to Berlin and then make a connecting flight to Cannes. In first class there were five rows with two seats on each side of the plane. I was sitting in the aisle seat in row three on the left. In front of me was a single gentleman. The front two seats were occupied but they were already seated when I got comfortable for the 12 hour flight.

The man in front of me asked for a cocktail prior to take-off. Once airborne, he was the recipient of a steady stream of drinks. About a half-hour into our flight, the man on the aisle in the front seat stood and moved to the center of the cabin. His seatmate got up and stood behind him.

Another man who was in the front seat on the aisle on the right side of the plane got up and joined the two standing in the cabin and got behind the second man. In almost lock step they walked to the toilet. The cabin lights were dim for those who wanted to sleep on the long flight. As they walked by me it was clear that the center man in this abbreviated parade was Michael Jackson.

The flight progressed but the man in front of me never stopped with requesting more booze. Eventually the steward cut him off. I could only guess the perfect storm that was brewing. Frequently raising his voice in the quiet cabin, it was easy to hear his entitlement demands after paying so much for a first class ticket and that they had no right to stop serving him. The steward was firm.

The boozy man kept ringing the call-button and the steward reluctantly would come to his seat, only to be greeted by insults for refusing his right to service. After a third call-button ring, the boozy man apparently was waiting in wait for the steward. The steward repeated what he had told the man about no more service. The boozy man leapt like a gazelle onto the steward and they both crashed to the floor. They wrestled. You could hear another steward frantically summoning the pilot who quickly came down to see what the commotion was all about.

With no fanfare, no lights, no audience, a concerned Michael Jackson got up and separated the two sparring men. As soon as they realized that the King of Pop was acting as peacemaker, they sheepishly stopped like school kids busted by the principal or even their own mom. The captain (or co-captain) arrived on the scene to see that peace had been restored with no bloodshed.

Michael asked his bodyguard friend to sit in the boozy man’s seat and invited the inebriated man to sit with him. I couldn’t hear a word that was spoken by Michael nor his new seatmate but they were talking away for 20 minutes. Michael signaled to his bodyguard to help the boozy man back to his seat. Within minutes he had passed out and slept for the duration of the flight. Michael and his bodyguard were both back together to complete the remaining hours in relative silence.

It was a rare glimpse into Michael Jackson. Who knew he would be a peacemaker at 30,000 feet on what could have erupted into an ugly confrontation?”

(c) Don Barrett LA Radio 2010

Who is Don Barrett?
Don Barrett is a name that is recognized as celebrity in the world of radio. The founder and publisher of LA Radio, Mr. Barrett is the eyes and ears of radio with about 30,000 visitors a day to his online publishing company. He is the voice of radio in Southern California. A mention on Don’s website is punctuation of your relevance in the industry.

Don’s resume reads like an impressive up and coming story about a young man who wanted to DJ and do radio. He cut his teeth on the teenage forbidden music of Rhythm and Blues and later Rock ‘n Roll and he aspired to be a Radio DJ. His mentor told him to go to school, get the piece of paper. He did. Then his mentor told him to pack his clothes, get in his car and head in any direction and to knock on the doors of radio stations along the route. And the rest is a remarkable history through the entertainment field.

Radio, film, Television Broadcasting, movie marketing, and publishing are all entertainment avenues that have seen a touch of Don’s genius. So has Steven Spielberg and others along the way as Don worked for Columbia, Universal, MGM and United Artists. He is the one who sold us the movie Close Encounters with the clip of the mysterious light at the end of the road.

Don knew music well because it was his life in the radio business. The first record he ever loaded onto a turntable was Diana Ross’ Stop In the Name of Love. It was behind one of the doors he knocked on along the route to entertainment information mogul, that had just lost a DJ, and that put him on air by sundown. Those were the days that included the birth of the “Top 40.”

Not “slick shtick,” Don, who is obviously a good writer with a huge audience said “The story pretty much speaks for itself,” and so declined when I offered him space to write his own introduction to the story I share with you here. He is an accomplished man. And modest.

How did Don create his success? With this philosophy:

“When you are passionate about what you do, you are optimistic about what you do. When you are optimistic and passionate, you are naturally good at what you do. You must be an optimist. Find your dream, and chase it optimistically. It’s irresponsible not to reach, to grow or think about life; your life, the life of those around you, the life strangers. I always tell young people to follow their dreams and be persistent. You can do anything that you want to do if, indeed, you are willing to pay the price. The price may be schooling or tenacity or working long hours; getting to the job half-hour early and staying half-hour late and thanking the boss for the job every day.” -D.B.

Don Barrett is someone Michael Jackson would have liked. Their philosophies are similar. Don knew Michael Jackson’s music. It turns out he knew Michael Jackson. He had a chance encounter with him on his way to Cannes Film Festival. Don caught a glimpse into the real “Inner Michael” Jackson and gave me permission to share that “close encounter” with you here.

Don did not have to write that story. He did not have to share it. But I have found that although cliche` thereis truth to it takes one to know one so I am not surprised that he took the time to do it. His piece gave us a glimpse into the soul of Michael Jackson in an unguarded and unscripted moment. Thank you for your gift, Don.

You can find Don here at:
LA Radio