'This Is It' Choreographer Overlooked Michael Jackson's Insomnia

By Amber James Posted Oct 23rd 2009 01:55PM

To the world, Michael Jackson was a musical genius. But behind closed doors, Jackson suffered from bouts of insomnia as he focused on conjuring enough energy to practice for his tour. Although Jackson's 3 a.m. phone calls to 'This Is It' choreographer Travis Payne may have been a warning sign, Payne told PopEater that he and director Kenny Ortega suffer from insomnia too, so they overlooked Jackson's symptoms. The seriousness of Jackson's health was made clear when the music icon died unexpectedly at age 50 from an acute intoxication of the anesthetic propofol, which allegedly helped him sleep.

"A lot of times, Michael would call at 3 or 4 in the morning, and we would just continue working. That was when we'd be able to get a lot of things done because the phones weren't ringing, and we didn't have a schedule... We wanted everything to be perfect. We would have our days off... but while we were working, we were immersed in the process and burning the midnight oil. It was normal," Payne said.

Payne knew Jackson was taking pain killers, but he thought it was due to the pain he still suffered from his hair catching on fire during the 1984 Pepsi commercial. "The only thing we were aware of was the insomnia," he said.

Behind the scenes, Payne saw Jackson as a friend and dedicated father. The two met in 1993 when Payne became a dancer for his tour. Payne became his choreography partner soon after and then landed the role of associate director and choreographer for the planned 'This Is It' tour. Their friendship grew and Payne soon considered the 'Thriller' star a mentor who kept him grounded.

"He never accepted credit for his talent and achievements. He was in touch with a higher power and was a very spiritual man who always talked about God," Payne recalled. Jackson didn't even like to keep his awards. "He didn't want to live in the past. He was always looking for the future," Payne said.

Jackson was also a true humanitarian, who pushed his colleagues and friends to change the world. "He wanted each person to do just one thing each day to help the planet and challenge the world to make a change. Because he was a father and had three children, he wanted to do everything he could to make sure there was a safe environment for his children to grow up in," Payne recalled.

He was honored in the 2000 edition of the Guinness Book Of World Records for breaking the world record for the "Most Charities Supported By a Pop Star". It states that Jackson supported 39 charity organizations either with monetary donations through sponsorships of their projects or by participating in their silent auction. Some of the organizations he supported were Heal The World Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation and Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

Even after the media put Jackson through the wringer during the child molestation allegation case, his friends saw a much more private individual -- who was a "pure and spiritual" and "not looking for acceptance from anyone," Payne told PopEater. "He was so misunderstood. He never wanted to make anybody feel bad, so often times he would just take the brunt of it and not retaliate," Payne said.

During his tough times, Jackson had strength to persevere though all the media scrutiny. Payne remembered questioning Jackson during this tough time. "Aren't you mad about this?" Payne asked him. Jackson shrugged his shoulders and said, "No. They just need more love," Payne recalled. "That was his answer to everything," he said - noting Jackson didn't want to waste his time with "negative energy."

Jackson's legacy will live on as 'This Is It' begins its two week movie engagement on Oct. 28. (Purchase Tickets.) The movie will show footage of the singer rehearsing for his planned London concerts, which never happened because of his sudden death on June 25.

"The world has mourned. Now it's time to celebrate his legacy and music in hopes of affecting some positive change," Payne said.

Tags: kenny orte, KennyOrte, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, this is it, ThisIsIt, travis payne, TravisPayne

Comments

(30)

Friday 23 October

By Mahogany

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I really understand the severity of insomia However
I am also sure he kept alot of who he was a secrect from becoming publicly known which considering the fact he was "Michael Jackson" all I know is there are some things un-answered MJ's fans are curious and concern as to what the " real truth " is
I have ALWAYS been a jackson fan and will continue.

Saturday 24 October

By Tell It Like It Is

To Mahogany,

Then continue the love as a fan, nothing more. There are many fans who love King Michael no matter what too, however, we are privy to nothing, and "need" to know nothing other than just loving King Michael, and praying God will carry his family through this extremely difficult time in their lives!!!

By Huck

Michael Jackson was a good guy. Good guys seem to always get used, abused, called names and harassed. Sadly people also wanted his money, to take away his fame and glory just because they thought they could.

One thing though, Michael Jackson was what he showed himself to be. Talented, giving, caring, sharing, loving, hard working and above the BS of the every day hecklers. He gave his all in this world.

By MSF

I CAN APPRECIATE THE TALENT AND GREAT PERFORMANCES MICHAEL HAD. HIS BROTHERS HAD COME TO MY PARENTS HOME ON LONG ISLAND, NY, WHILE I WAS IN MISSOURI. SOMEHOW, WHERE OUR PATHS CROSSED WITH DEBBIE ROWE, AND PHIL ANSCHUTZ, IS STILL A MYSTERY TO ME. ALTHOUGH, HUCK, AFTER ALL I'VE EXPERIENCED THIS PAST DECADE, WHAT YOU SAY, IS INDEED TRUE. BEING PART OF HISTORY IS ONE THING. BUT, SURVIVING IT, IS ANOTHER. ALL THE BEST....................

By LyMartin

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Perhaps this Choreographer is seeking some FAME!!!

To LyMartin,

Perhaps he is speaking truth.

Thursday 29 October

By caroline

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martin I really thank you for your wonderful comment your rent is high mistakenly I hit the lowerst please your are the highest ok.

Sunday 25 October

By Mz. Jackson

I believe that all Michael needed was a FRIEND. He often said that he can only count his TRUE friends on ONE hand. I fel that if he had just one person who understood him, who felt what he felt, who was there for him through thick and thin, that he would still be alive to this very day.

Sunday 01 November

By Kelly N-C

I also believe a friend or a hug is all that MJ wanted. I can relate to his loneliness because I love everyone and enjoy to give hugs immensely...some think this is creepy or even unethical. Where is the love? I will miss watching MJ's adventures as he inspired me immensely. Hugs to all! H-U-G

Tuesday 01 December

By Susan

I TOTALLY AGREE THAT ALL MICHAEL NEEDED" WAS A FRIEND".He had many handlers and assistant but never a true honest friend that he could tell or ask anything to.If you ever read MOONWALK he talks about wandering around his neighborhood late at night just to find someone to talk to besides his family.I truly believe that he was a tortured soul just drifting alone in this life and i think he's at peace now.Anyone who was that kind and so misunderstood deserved much better in life, now i pray to GOD that he has found it in DEATH.
GOD BLESS ALL

By meanjean

Susan - stop being the slave to the media. Michael never harmed a child - he wouldn't cause any child any pain. He was blackmailed by unscrupulous low-lifes who saw a chance to grab some money. Michael was a gentleman and a true human being - there are so few in this world, that is why he seemed so different....Love you MJ!

By whoaaah

Well, bless YOUR lil christian heart. You could always just stop paying attention to any stuff written about him. The article is about his sleep issues.
Insomnia is terribly taxing on the body. I've dealt with it for over 50 years. The hours that show business commands are insane, up all night in the studio and then on the road all day to the next gig. In an odd way, insomnia can benefit the business, but it crashes the person.
Have a little (christian) mercy.

By mj fan

michael jackson was a visionary .and visionary people are not always understood in their lifetime.the guy was awesome and if i had to put up with the world wide media attacks like he did,i probably wouldnt have made it to fifty.may his family find peace and comfort in knowing how many miss this man

By Melissa Murphy

Working 3rd shift, i can relate to insomnia. I have a hard time falling asleep even though i have been doing it for 14 years. It is a shame that Michael had to suffer through this like alot of issues in his life. He was a very good man, talented, warm and kind, very sensitive. I would like to hear about all the positive he put into the world instead of everyone always focusing on the negitive things that occurred. There was more to Michael then people even knew. He donated the most amount of money to charity then any other celebrity. Michael was a wonderful person. I would of been proud to walk down the street and hold his hand in front of everyone. I will always Love him and believe in him.

By Stephanie

Some people are still mourning the his death, which is as you know a murder committed by greedy leeches that wanted his money, I hope they didn't get any, I hope they go to jail. I hear his sister LaToya is fearing for her life now that she's been talking in interviews about his being murdered because she knows the names of the people that did it. They don't want the truth to come out, they want to silence her, I hope she can beat them at their "game" and have them jailed for killing her brother Mike. It sounds like the ones the wanted him dead paid Dr. Murray to kill him, so there is MORE than one person to FOCUS ON in the investigation if it's still going on.
I've seen a video in which he had said he feared for his own life after he in the 1980s after buying the rights to the Beatles' songs which is worth billions now. I heard him say in an interview that he feared the same fate as Princess Diana as well. There's a video where he is talking about fears he had about his own adviser getting too close to him. He should have been talking to the police instead of his spiritual adviser.
I still can't believe he's gone physically from our sights, I grew up with his videos in the '80s and '90s, I remember hearing "Rock with You" on the radio when it came out, I have the vinyl album of Thriller and I fell in love with him when I saw his Bad video, he was in such great shape and I loved that black outfit. Thriller is a really neat video, I love the voice of Vincent Price, he did a spooky voice very well.

To Susan

Why are you reading about Michael Jackson then? KING Michael is WORTHY of all the press he is getting, AND THEN SOME!!!! He is surpassed in record sales and NUMBER ONE HITS only by the Beatles and Elvis, yet he BEAT Elvis in concert sales. KING MICHAEL IS GREATER THAN GREAT, HE IS GREATER THAN THE WORD GREAT ITSELF!!!!!! The definition of great can easily be SUBSTITUTED with the name MICHAEL JACKSON, and the definition of great would then become MICHAEL JACKSON!!!! He is so great, we could talk about his greatness until another MICHAEL JACKSON NEVER comes along, we would exhaust EVERY WORD in the English language in an effort to describe his GREATNESS, and still a COMPLETE DEFINITION of his GREATNESS would elude us!!!! Are you sick and tired? It has only just begun, and talk about KING MICHAEL WILL NEVER, EVER CEASE!!!!!! At last, my "FOREVER CAME TODAY"!!!! You don't like the Jackson Five either? Notafan huh? Too bad, build a space ship, MILLIONS WANT TO HEAR about King Michael, and EVERY OTHER JACKSON for that matter, until we are all called home. God is GREAT, Earth's rightful ruler yes, however MILLIONS still LOVE, MISS, HONOR, and CELEBRATE the life of the KING OF POP, THE GLOVED, AND ONLY ONE WE WILL EVER SEE IN THIS LIFETIME, THE GREATEST ENTERTAINER IN THE UNIVERSE, GREAT HUMANITARIAN, WRONGFULLY ACCUSED, MISUNDERSTOOD, TAKEN FOR GRANTED, SWEET, TALENTED, SOFT SPOKEN, GENTLE , KIND, AND OH SO SEXY, I KNOW MANY HATED HIM FOR IT, GOOD, GOOD, DAMMMNNN GOOD LOOKING KING, KING, ,I SAY KING MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON!!!!!!!!!!! Stay tuned for the Jackson reality show my dear, then you can really get your fill going on!!!! LOL!!!!!

High Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

To 10 inches for who?,

Correction. The only criminal AFRICAN-AMERICANS are FORCED to embrace is YOU and the BS your fingers spew on this website. Additionally, you probably don't have half an "inch" in comparison to ANY JACKSON here or beyond. Keep dreaming though. "I never never had a dream come true"! You don't like the Jackson Five either? Sorry folks! All I listen to nowadays! "Ain't no sunshine when he's gone"!!!!!!

To "Dreaming of Being 10 inch(s)",

Are there any healthcare facilities in your galaxy? I sure hope so, you need medical attention, the sooner for you the better. Your brain is warped as per your written misconceptions. Every African-American is a credit to their race, FOOL!!! What planet are you from, we are from planet earth, which incidentally is King Michael's planet. We are located in the Milky Way galaxy, third planet in from the sun. Actually, I should not have disclosed our SANE location to you, due to the fact we prefer you remain millions of light years away from the rest of us!!!!!

He DID NOT COMMIT any crimes!!!! EVERYONE, INCLUDING YOU are still MEDIA SLAVES, or GULLIBLE to the point that you'll believe anything anyone tells you and that you doubt your own ideas and thoughts. I really hate what the media had done to such a great person, he could not escape the torment they had foisted on him and or get away from those leeches that were always clinging to him like postage stamps in an envelope! HE REALLY WAS INNOCENT he said in an interview that he knew it wasn't the kid's idea to press any charges, that is was the parents because the parents wanted to get money. I knew all along that he didn't do anything wrong, the media just WANTED A STORY SO THEY CREATED SOME. The one that was settled out of court was settled because he was pressured by his insurance company to do so, it WASN'T because of guilt. Here's ANOTHER EXAMPLE of A MEDIA SLAVE, does the media own you or something? Would you jump off a bridge if someone said to do because they've tried it? Would you believe someone told you a friend met an creature in Roswell, New Mexico and got a tour of their space ship? Do you even have the dignity forgive any mistakes or admit when you're wrong about someone?
I know he was using painkillers after his accidental scalp burning, he was under the influence of painkillers, that is what would have strange actions, just like someone who's drunk might talk with slurred speech and stagger or say things that don't make sense, who are you to stand in judgment when you are NOT PERFECT, nobody is, WE ARE ALL HUMAN. He didn't have a childhood, he grew up performing on stage, he didn't get to play baseball, basketball, hockey, go camping, go fishing, take hikes outdoors, or just relax at home, he wanted to be able to do all those things but couldn't. His father is the one that exploited them because he himself wanted to get out of their mid-western life. Unlike folks like you I read about his life to try and find out what went wrong or right, I want to find out about his past beyond the years I saw him performing and interviewing. You all just want to listen to the media and believe them instead of finding truth.
IT'S REALLY SAD WHAT THE COUNTRY HAS COME TO.

By Tim

"The seriousness of Jackson's health was made clear when the music icon died"

Yeah I would say that would be a small clue

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'This Is It' Choreographer Overlooked Michael Jackson's Insomnia

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