Anais Gutierrez
Michael Jackson tops Forbes’ annual list of the top-earning dead celebrities. Proving he’s still the King. Elvis Presley, Albert Einstein, and Elizabeth Taylor also made into the list.
Following the releasement of Jackson’s compilation album ‘Scream,’ CBS premiered this Halloween ‘Michael Jackson’s Halloween,’ an animated special honoring the King of pop with some of his all-time hits.
The King remains
Michael Jackson was named the highest paid dead celebrity in the world according to Forbes. Jackson earnings were $75 million, making this the fifth time he tops the list.
However, this year’s earnings are just a fraction of what he made in 2016, a total of $825 million.
Jackson’s postmortem empire continues to boost by the new greatest hits album ‘Scream’. Also a long list of ventures including a Cirque Du Soleil show in Las Vegas and a stake in the EMI music publishing catalog.
The King of Pop, who died eight years ago, is without a question an important fixture in American culture. Jackson’s $75 million put him on par with Bruce Springsteen. He’s the 17th best-paid living entertainer, according to Forbes.
Following Jackson comes golf legend Arnold Palmer at No. 2 with $40 million. His earnings come from the Palmer-branded apparel and Arizona Beverages.
In third comes cartoonist Charles Schulz with $38 million. While Snoopy and Charlie Brown were recently retired from MetLife’s ads campaign, the contracts go on until 2019.
Then number four and five belong to musicians Elvis Presley and Bob Marley. $35 million and $23 million respectively. Presley’s income comes from the recently opened hotel The Guesthouse at Graceland, while Marley’s comes from House of Marley audio products and the Marley Beverage Co.
Also on the list are Dr. Seuss with $16 million, actress Elizabeth Taylor with $8 million mostly thanks to her perfumes that remains best-sellers, and model Betty Page with $7.5 million.
However, is not all about entertainment world. Scientist Albert Einstein is positioned in tenth place with an earning of $10 million mainly from licensing.
‘Scream’ and getting in the Halloween mood
Michael Jackson’s fans welcomed his new compilation album ‘Scream’ that was released digitally on September 29th.
The compilation album features Jackson’s “most electrifying and danceable tracks”. Including: ‘Thriller’, ‘Bad, Dangerous’, ‘HIStory: Past, Present, and Future’, ‘Book I’, ‘Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix’, ‘Invincible’ and the posthumous LP Xscape.
In a statement, Epic/Legacy Recordings noted that “the choice of tracks for Scream reflects The King of Pop’s affection for this time of the year. Its themes of costumes and disguise, darkness and light, character transformations and surprise.”
‘Scream’ also includes two songs that appeared on records by the Jacksons. ‘Torture’ and ‘This Place Hotel,’ plus Rockwell’s ‘Somebody’s Watching Me,’ which featured Jackson on hook duties.
The album also features one newly created piece of music, ‘Blood on the Dance Floor X Dangerous,’ a bonus mash-up put together by production duo The White Panda.
Scream is one of the several projects that Jackson’s estate has in the works.
“Now we have Thriller 3D, and two more announcements are coming up in the next couple of weeks,” estate co-executor John Branca explained recently.
“Michael had an expression: ‘The quality goes in before the name goes on.’ So we are not ready to announce them yet.”
The next King of Halloween
Michael Jackson is not only the King of Pop and the King of postmortem earnings. He’s also set to be the King of Halloween.
CBS premiered animated hourlong special ‘Michael Jackson’s Halloween’ on October 31. In an effort to make the singer an upcoming Halloween fixture.
“Michael’s songs are very important to people,” says Mark Dippé, the program’s director.
“We just wanted to sort of tell a story that was based around the world that Michael had created with his music, and his dancing, and his performances.”
The film was directed by Mark Dippé and produced by Jackson’s estate co-executors John Branca and John McClain.
“Michael loved Halloween. He loved animation; he was basically a big kid at heart,” says Branca.
“We wanted to stay true to and be inspired by Michael and what his tastes and loves were.”
The program acted as a visual follow-up to Jackson’s recently released album ‘Scream,’ which is a compilation of his eeriest work.
The special follows a pair of kids who are confronted with a major choice, picking between following their dreams of doing what’s expected of them.
The special features Jackson’s classics such as ‘Thriller’ and ‘Somebody’s Watching Me,’ and Jackson himself, who takes the form of three characters: a dancing pumpkin, a spider security guard, and a black cat scientist, in order to help the kids through their journey.
The cast of voice actors includes CBS stars Lucy Liu and Jim Parsons. The animation takes stylistic cues from seasonal classics like ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’.
Source: Forbes
