Bubbles (chimpanzee)
Encyclopedia
Bubbles is a common chimpanzee
, known for being the one-time pet of American recording artist Michael Jackson
. The entertainer adopted the young primate from a Texas
research facility in the early 1980s. The singer's attachment to the animal led to media mockery and, among other factors, to a public perception of Jackson as an eccentric. During the Bad World Tour
, for example, Jackson took Bubbles along to Japan, where he surprised people by taking the animal to tea with a Japanese mayor.
Bubbles was initially kept at the Jackson family's Encino, Los Angeles
, California, home, but was moved to Jackson's Neverland Ranch
in 1988. There, he slept in a crib in Jackson's bedroom, used the singer's toilet, and ate candy in the Neverland movie theater. It was revealed in 2003 that Bubbles had matured into an aggressive adult chimp unsuitable as a companion animal and was sent to a California animal sanctuary where he attempted suicide
. When the sanctuary closed in 2004, Bubbles was moved to the Center for Great Apes
in Wauchula
, Florida, where he has been kept for several years.
research facility that bred primates for animal testing
. There are conflicting reports as to how he came into Jackson's possession. CNN
reports that Jackson had Bubbles bought for him when the chimpanzee was eight months old. The acquisition was said to have been supervised by Bob Dunn, one of Hollywood's most famous suppliers and trainers of animals for films, photo-shoots, and advertisements. Contradictory to this claim, The Daily Telegraph
states that Jackson acquired Bubbles from a cancer research center in Texas when the chimpanzee was three years old.
home until 1988 when he was moved to Jackson's newly acquired Neverland Ranch
. There, the chimpazee slept in a crib in the singer's bedroom, ate candy in the Neverland movie theater, was fed at the dining table, wore a diaper
, and relieved himself in Jackson's personal toilet. Jackson and Bubbles often wore matching outfits.
At Jackson's 2005 People v. Jackson
trial, jurors learned from a videotaped interview with the singer that his several chimps would help him with housekeeping chores. "They run around, help me clean the room. They help me dust, clean the window," the singer stated. At the same trial, Jackson's maids testified that they were not impressed with the behavior of the various chimps that the singer had kept over the years. One housekeeper told of how she had to clean up the droppings of one of the chimpanzees, after it had hurled its feces
at the bedroom wall. Another maid described a chimpanzee called Max tearing off his diaper before crawling into Jackson's bed.
. The media reported that Bubbles would be the ringbearer at Elizabeth Taylor
's October 6, 1991 Neverland Ranch wedding. The report was not true, but was, according to The New York Times
, "an idea that some newspapers found too delightful not to report". The chimpanzee's companionship was enjoyed by the singer and formed, writes journalist Steve Huey, a public perception of Jackson as a "bizarre eccentric, obsessed with recapturing his childhood". "This is when the weirdness began to reach mythic proportions", wrote Robert Thompson, a professor of popular culture at Syracuse University
.
Their human-animal bond, as well as the entertainer's other alleged eccentricities, contributed to the media epithet "Wacko Jacko", a nickname Jackson would eventually come to despise. The media focused on Bubbles, rather than on Jackson's music. News organizations reported an allegation that Bubbles was not a single ape, but one of several. A later claim suggested that Bubbles had died. Commenting on the untrue avowal, Jackson's press agent Lee Solters
quipped to the media that "when Bubbles heard about his demise he went bananas". He added, "Like Mark Twain, his death is grossly exaggerated and he's alive and doing well." Another story, reported in The National Enquirer
, claimed that Prince
, Jackson's longtime rival, had used extrasensory perception to turn Bubbles crazy. "What kind of sicko would mess with a monkey?", Jackson was reported to have asked. "This is the final straw. Poor, poor Bubbles." Jackson found the story hilarious, and his staff reported that they had never seen the singer laugh so much.
The late 1980s were a busy time period for the primate. Jackson took Bubbles on outings and would often talk to him. According to reports, the singer later showed the chimpanzee how to moonwalk
. The animal, who had an agent, was also rumoured to have his own bodyguard. Bubbles sat in for the recording of the Bad
album—Jackson had insisted that the chimpanzee and his pet snake attend as spectators—and accompanied Jackson for the filming of the "Bad" music video. In the short film for "Liberian Girl
", Bubbles made a cameo appearance
. When the Bad World Tour
kicked off in September, 1987, he and the singer shared a two-bedroom hotel suite in Tokyo
. During the tour, Bubbles and Jackson made a social visit to the Mayor of Osaka
, Yasushi Oshima. There, the chimpanzee drank Japanese green tea while seated quietly next to Jackson. Afterward, Oshima commented that he and his fellow officials were "surprised to see the chimpanzee, but we understand he is [Michael's] good friend". He continued, "This is the first time an animal ever entered City Hall." Though allowed to travel to Japan, the chimpanzee was unable to enter Britain and Sweden due to strict quarantine
laws. Jackson also brought Bubbles along for tea at Elizabeth Taylor's house. Taylor did not mind the fact that Jackson had brought a chimpanzee. Later, at a party to celebrate and promote Bad, Bubbles reportedly "worked the room" and was "the life of the party".
Around this time, Bubbles and his owner were photographed by Kenny Rogers
for his book, Your Friends and Mine. The photo shows Bubbles being held on the entertainer's hip, and has been cited as one of the best taken of Jackson. In the black and white photograph, Bubbles is dressed casually in a long sleeved shirt and overalls. Jackson is also dressed casually; he wears jeans and a simple shirt. Rogers said of the animal, "Bubbles was so human it was almost frightening. He would take Christopher [Rogers' son] by the hand, walk over to the refrigerator, open it, take out a banana, and hand it to him. Christopher was amazed... we all were."
In a 2003 documentary, Living with Michael Jackson
, the singer revealed to journalist Martin Bashir
that Bubbles had become overly pugnacious. He was removed to an animal sanctuary over fears he might attack Jackson's newborn son, Prince Michael II. Bubbles' removal was a source of regret for the musician, who stated that the animals could live for up to 60 years. During the interview, Bashir was also told of how Jackson had planned to hold a "celebrity animal party" for Bubbles. Cheeta
, the chimpanzee from Tarzan
, Benji
and Lassie
were to be invited. Bubbles was relocated to Bob Dunn's ranch in Sylmar, California. "Bubbles is an adult chimp and a wild animal", Dunn stated at the time. "We don't let him out to play." According to CNN, the chimpanzee would be visited by Jackson and his children, who also played with the other animals while at the Californian ranch. "He still acts like a kid around them", Dunn added, referring to the musician. The Washington Times
, however, claimed Bubbles was not visited by Jackson, despite the singer's representative stating beforehand that the entertainer would like to meet-up with the animal. Shortly afterward, in December 2003, it was claimed that Bubbles had attempted suicide
. The chimpanzee was supposedly taken to a hospital in time to be saved.
Since the closure of Dunn's facility in 2004, Bubbles has been kept at the Center for Great Apes
in Wauchula
, Florida, where he is said to enjoy painting and listening to flute music. The center for apes, where the care for each animal costs around $17,000 as of 2009, also houses 41 other chimpanzees and orangutans. Patti Ragan, director for the Center for Great Apes, commented on the animals' daily routine at the sanctuary. "They relax. They take naps together. They might go up in the top of the cupola. They go out in the chutes and lie under a tree in the tunnel system. They groom each other and they fight and they have arguments, too." According to animal keepers at the center, the 160 pound (73 kg) Bubbles—whose facial features have changed since his time with Jackson—is now "huge and ugly" but has a "sweet character". The ape now spends most of his time sitting quietly in trees with his best friend Sam, a 40-year-old chimpanzee.
at the age of 50, after suffering a cardiac arrest
. News organizations reported that Bubbles was not brought to the singer's memorial service
, but instead stayed at the Center for Great Apes. It has not been revealed whether Jackson left money to support Bubbles, whose care, to date, has been paid for from public donations. Animal trainer Dunn, speaking to the News of the World
, stated that the chimpanzee would miss Jackson. "Bubbles definitely missed him when they parted and will miss him now. Chimpanzees are intelligent. They remember people and stuff. Bubbles and Michael were close friends and playmates. The last time Michael visited, Bubbles definitely recognized and remembered him." He revealed that Bubbles was thought of by the singer as his first child, and added that he hoped Jackson's children would keep in touch with their "stepbrother" following their father's death. In 2010, La Toya visited Bubbles at the Center for Great Apes in Florida.
Despite popular belief Bubbles did not appear in a 1998 BBC adaptation of Jeffrey Archer's 'Not a Penny More Not a Penny Less'. Bubbles is however a big fan of Archer's work and according to once source wrote to the erstwhile author/politician during the latter's incarceration.
In 1988, Jeff Koons
made three identical porcelain sculptures of Bubbles and Jackson as part of his Banality
exhibit. At the time, each sculpture was said to be worth $250,000. Koons once said of the pop star, "If I could be one other living person, it would probably be Michael Jackson." The art piece went on to become one of Koons' best known works. The figure shows Jackson and the chimpanzee wearing gold military-style suits. In 2001, one of the figures was put up for auction and was expected to fetch between $3 million and $4 million. The figure sold to an anonymous telephone bidder for $5.6 million. The sale was a record for a work by Koons.
The Daily Telegraph
reported in August 2009 that Bubbles was to publish a "tell-all memoir" about his time with Michael Jackson. The book—entitled Bubbles: My Secret Diary, From Swaziland to Neverland—is, in actuality, a spoof diary by journalist John Blake
. The book fictionally documents the "darker aspects" of Bubbles' life, including a "$2,000-a-day banana addiction, depression, romantic conquests, and [his] 'vicious rivalry' with Tarzan star Cheeta". The "collection of very personal and honest entries from [Bubbles'] diary" fictitiously revealed how the chimpanzee coped with the death of Jackson. The publication was released in October 2009. Speaking of Bubbles, Blake stated:
Common Chimpanzee
The common chimpanzee , also known as the robust chimpanzee, is a great ape. Colloquially, the common chimpanzee is often called the chimpanzee , though technically this term refers to both species in the genus Pan: the common chimpanzee and the closely related bonobo, formerly called the pygmy...
, known for being the one-time pet of American recording artist Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
. The entertainer adopted the young primate from a Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
research facility in the early 1980s. The singer's attachment to the animal led to media mockery and, among other factors, to a public perception of Jackson as an eccentric. During the Bad World Tour
Bad World Tour
The Bad World Tour was the first solo concert tour by American megasuperstar Michael Jackson that visited Japan, Australia, the United States and Europe. Sponsored by Pepsi and spanning 16 months, the tour included 123 concerts to 4.4 million fans across 15 countries...
, for example, Jackson took Bubbles along to Japan, where he surprised people by taking the animal to tea with a Japanese mayor.
Bubbles was initially kept at the Jackson family's Encino, Los Angeles
Encino, Los Angeles, California
Encino is a hilly district of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Specifically, it is located in the central portion of the southern San Fernando Valley and on the north slope of the Santa Monica Mountains...
, California, home, but was moved to Jackson's Neverland Ranch
Neverland Ranch
Neverland Valley Ranch is a developed property in Santa Barbara County, California, most famous for being a home of American entertainer Michael Jackson from 1988 to 2005. Jackson named the property after Neverland, the fantasy island in the story of Peter Pan, a boy who never grows up...
in 1988. There, he slept in a crib in Jackson's bedroom, used the singer's toilet, and ate candy in the Neverland movie theater. It was revealed in 2003 that Bubbles had matured into an aggressive adult chimp unsuitable as a companion animal and was sent to a California animal sanctuary where he attempted suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. When the sanctuary closed in 2004, Bubbles was moved to the Center for Great Apes
Center for Great Apes
Center for Great Apes is a permanent sanctuary for orangutans and chimpanzees located in Wauchula, Florida. The center serves as a place of retirement for several entertainment and celebrity primates.-Notable residents:...
in Wauchula
Wauchula, Florida
Wauchula is a city located in Hardee County, Florida, United States, and had a population of 4,368 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the city had a population of 4,441.It is the county seat of Hardee County...
, Florida, where he has been kept for several years.
Bubbles's acquisition
Bubbles was born in the early 1983 in an Austin, TexasAustin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
research facility that bred primates for animal testing
Animal testing
Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and in vivo testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments. Worldwide it is estimated that the number of vertebrate animals—from zebrafish to non-human primates—ranges from the tens of millions to more than 100 million...
. There are conflicting reports as to how he came into Jackson's possession. CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
reports that Jackson had Bubbles bought for him when the chimpanzee was eight months old. The acquisition was said to have been supervised by Bob Dunn, one of Hollywood's most famous suppliers and trainers of animals for films, photo-shoots, and advertisements. Contradictory to this claim, The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
states that Jackson acquired Bubbles from a cancer research center in Texas when the chimpanzee was three years old.
Life at Neverland Ranch
Bubbles was kept at the Jackson family's EncinoEncino, Los Angeles, California
Encino is a hilly district of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Specifically, it is located in the central portion of the southern San Fernando Valley and on the north slope of the Santa Monica Mountains...
home until 1988 when he was moved to Jackson's newly acquired Neverland Ranch
Neverland Ranch
Neverland Valley Ranch is a developed property in Santa Barbara County, California, most famous for being a home of American entertainer Michael Jackson from 1988 to 2005. Jackson named the property after Neverland, the fantasy island in the story of Peter Pan, a boy who never grows up...
. There, the chimpazee slept in a crib in the singer's bedroom, ate candy in the Neverland movie theater, was fed at the dining table, wore a diaper
Diaper
A nappy or a diaper is a kind of pant that allows one to defecate or urinate on oneself discreetly. When diapers become soiled, they require changing; this process is often performed by a second person such as a parent or caregiver...
, and relieved himself in Jackson's personal toilet. Jackson and Bubbles often wore matching outfits.
At Jackson's 2005 People v. Jackson
People v. Jackson
People vs. Jackson was a 2005 trial involving recording artist Michael Jackson. The accuser was a boy, Gavin Arvizo, who was 13 years old at the time of the alleged crimes...
trial, jurors learned from a videotaped interview with the singer that his several chimps would help him with housekeeping chores. "They run around, help me clean the room. They help me dust, clean the window," the singer stated. At the same trial, Jackson's maids testified that they were not impressed with the behavior of the various chimps that the singer had kept over the years. One housekeeper told of how she had to clean up the droppings of one of the chimpanzees, after it had hurled its feces
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
at the bedroom wall. Another maid described a chimpanzee called Max tearing off his diaper before crawling into Jackson's bed.
Media mockery
Jackson's attachment to the chimp resulted in media mockery and helped shape a widely held view of Jackson as eccentricEccentricity (behavior)
In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive...
. The media reported that Bubbles would be the ringbearer at Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
's October 6, 1991 Neverland Ranch wedding. The report was not true, but was, according to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, "an idea that some newspapers found too delightful not to report". The chimpanzee's companionship was enjoyed by the singer and formed, writes journalist Steve Huey, a public perception of Jackson as a "bizarre eccentric, obsessed with recapturing his childhood". "This is when the weirdness began to reach mythic proportions", wrote Robert Thompson, a professor of popular culture at Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
.
Their human-animal bond, as well as the entertainer's other alleged eccentricities, contributed to the media epithet "Wacko Jacko", a nickname Jackson would eventually come to despise. The media focused on Bubbles, rather than on Jackson's music. News organizations reported an allegation that Bubbles was not a single ape, but one of several. A later claim suggested that Bubbles had died. Commenting on the untrue avowal, Jackson's press agent Lee Solters
Lee Solters
Lee Solters was an American press agent who used his flamboyant style to represent celebrities from stage, movies and sports including 26 years with Frank Sinatra.-Early life and career:...
quipped to the media that "when Bubbles heard about his demise he went bananas". He added, "Like Mark Twain, his death is grossly exaggerated and he's alive and doing well." Another story, reported in The National Enquirer
The National Enquirer
The National Enquirer is an American supermarket tabloid now published by American Media Inc . Founded in 1926, the tabloid has gone through a variety of changes over the years....
, claimed that Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
, Jackson's longtime rival, had used extrasensory perception to turn Bubbles crazy. "What kind of sicko would mess with a monkey?", Jackson was reported to have asked. "This is the final straw. Poor, poor Bubbles." Jackson found the story hilarious, and his staff reported that they had never seen the singer laugh so much.
Out and about
Moonwalk (dance)
The moonwalk or backslide is a dance technique that presents the illusion of the dancer being pulled backwards while attempting to walk forward. A popping move, it became most popular around the world after Michael Jackson executed the dance move during a performance of "Billie Jean" on Motown 25:...
. The animal, who had an agent, was also rumoured to have his own bodyguard. Bubbles sat in for the recording of the Bad
Bad (album)
Bad is the seventh studio album by American songwriter and recording artist Michael Jackson. The album was released on August 31, 1987 by Epic/CBS Records, nearly five years after Jackson's previous studio album, Thriller, which went on to become the world's best-selling album...
album—Jackson had insisted that the chimpanzee and his pet snake attend as spectators—and accompanied Jackson for the filming of the "Bad" music video. In the short film for "Liberian Girl
Liberian Girl
"Liberian Girl" was the ninth single to be released from Michael Jackson's 1987 album Bad. The song was written as early as 1983 and was among those considered for The Jacksons' Victory album. It was reworked and rewritten for Bad...
", Bubbles made a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
. When the Bad World Tour
Bad World Tour
The Bad World Tour was the first solo concert tour by American megasuperstar Michael Jackson that visited Japan, Australia, the United States and Europe. Sponsored by Pepsi and spanning 16 months, the tour included 123 concerts to 4.4 million fans across 15 countries...
kicked off in September, 1987, he and the singer shared a two-bedroom hotel suite in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. During the tour, Bubbles and Jackson made a social visit to the Mayor of Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Yasushi Oshima. There, the chimpanzee drank Japanese green tea while seated quietly next to Jackson. Afterward, Oshima commented that he and his fellow officials were "surprised to see the chimpanzee, but we understand he is [Michael's] good friend". He continued, "This is the first time an animal ever entered City Hall." Though allowed to travel to Japan, the chimpanzee was unable to enter Britain and Sweden due to strict quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
laws. Jackson also brought Bubbles along for tea at Elizabeth Taylor's house. Taylor did not mind the fact that Jackson had brought a chimpanzee. Later, at a party to celebrate and promote Bad, Bubbles reportedly "worked the room" and was "the life of the party".
Around this time, Bubbles and his owner were photographed by Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
for his book, Your Friends and Mine. The photo shows Bubbles being held on the entertainer's hip, and has been cited as one of the best taken of Jackson. In the black and white photograph, Bubbles is dressed casually in a long sleeved shirt and overalls. Jackson is also dressed casually; he wears jeans and a simple shirt. Rogers said of the animal, "Bubbles was so human it was almost frightening. He would take Christopher [Rogers' son] by the hand, walk over to the refrigerator, open it, take out a banana, and hand it to him. Christopher was amazed... we all were."
Bubbles's relocations
Living with Michael Jackson
Living with Michael Jackson is a Granada Television documentary, in which British journalist Martin Bashir interviewed Michael Jackson over a span of eight months, from May 2002 to January 2003...
, the singer revealed to journalist Martin Bashir
Martin Bashir
Martin Bashir is a British journalist and media personality, currently with NBC News as a contributor for its Dateline program, and an afternoon anchor for MSNBC, hosting Martin Bashir...
that Bubbles had become overly pugnacious. He was removed to an animal sanctuary over fears he might attack Jackson's newborn son, Prince Michael II. Bubbles' removal was a source of regret for the musician, who stated that the animals could live for up to 60 years. During the interview, Bashir was also told of how Jackson had planned to hold a "celebrity animal party" for Bubbles. Cheeta
Cheeta
Cheeta is a chimpanzee character appearing in numerous Hollywood Tarzan movies of the 1930s–1960s as well as the 1966–1968 television series, as the ape sidekick of the title character, Tarzan...
, the chimpanzee from Tarzan
Tarzan (1999 film)
Tarzan is a 1999 American animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on June 18, 1999...
, Benji
Benji
Benji is the name of a fictional dog who has been the focus of several movies from 1974 through the 2000s. It is also the title of the first film in the Benji series....
and Lassie
Lassie
Lassie is a fictional collie dog character created by Eric Knight in a short story expanded to novel length called Lassie Come-Home. Published in 1940, the novel was filmed by MGM in 1943 as Lassie Come Home with a dog named Pal playing Lassie. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six...
were to be invited. Bubbles was relocated to Bob Dunn's ranch in Sylmar, California. "Bubbles is an adult chimp and a wild animal", Dunn stated at the time. "We don't let him out to play." According to CNN, the chimpanzee would be visited by Jackson and his children, who also played with the other animals while at the Californian ranch. "He still acts like a kid around them", Dunn added, referring to the musician. The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
, however, claimed Bubbles was not visited by Jackson, despite the singer's representative stating beforehand that the entertainer would like to meet-up with the animal. Shortly afterward, in December 2003, it was claimed that Bubbles had attempted suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. The chimpanzee was supposedly taken to a hospital in time to be saved.
Since the closure of Dunn's facility in 2004, Bubbles has been kept at the Center for Great Apes
Center for Great Apes
Center for Great Apes is a permanent sanctuary for orangutans and chimpanzees located in Wauchula, Florida. The center serves as a place of retirement for several entertainment and celebrity primates.-Notable residents:...
in Wauchula
Wauchula, Florida
Wauchula is a city located in Hardee County, Florida, United States, and had a population of 4,368 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the city had a population of 4,441.It is the county seat of Hardee County...
, Florida, where he is said to enjoy painting and listening to flute music. The center for apes, where the care for each animal costs around $17,000 as of 2009, also houses 41 other chimpanzees and orangutans. Patti Ragan, director for the Center for Great Apes, commented on the animals' daily routine at the sanctuary. "They relax. They take naps together. They might go up in the top of the cupola. They go out in the chutes and lie under a tree in the tunnel system. They groom each other and they fight and they have arguments, too." According to animal keepers at the center, the 160 pound (73 kg) Bubbles—whose facial features have changed since his time with Jackson—is now "huge and ugly" but has a "sweet character". The ape now spends most of his time sitting quietly in trees with his best friend Sam, a 40-year-old chimpanzee.
Death of Michael Jackson
In June 2009, Jackson diedDeath of Michael Jackson
On June 25, 2009, American singer Michael Jackson died of acute propofol intoxication after he suffered a respiratory arrest at his home in the Holmby Hills neighborhood in Los Angeles. His personal physician, Conrad Murray, said he found Jackson in his room, not breathing, but with a faint pulse,...
at the age of 50, after suffering a cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
. News organizations reported that Bubbles was not brought to the singer's memorial service
Michael Jackson memorial service
A public memorial service for Michael Jackson was held on July 7, 2009 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California 12 days after his death on June 25...
, but instead stayed at the Center for Great Apes. It has not been revealed whether Jackson left money to support Bubbles, whose care, to date, has been paid for from public donations. Animal trainer Dunn, speaking to the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
, stated that the chimpanzee would miss Jackson. "Bubbles definitely missed him when they parted and will miss him now. Chimpanzees are intelligent. They remember people and stuff. Bubbles and Michael were close friends and playmates. The last time Michael visited, Bubbles definitely recognized and remembered him." He revealed that Bubbles was thought of by the singer as his first child, and added that he hoped Jackson's children would keep in touch with their "stepbrother" following their father's death. In 2010, La Toya visited Bubbles at the Center for Great Apes in Florida.
Legacy
Jackson launched Michael's Pets, a range of soft toys based upon the animals the singer owned, in November 1986. The toys consisted of a frog, dog, rabbit, snake, ostrich, giraffe, llama and Bubbles the chimp. Jackson also appeared, as a bear wearing sunglasses and a fedora. "He [Jackson] was very instrumental in designing the toys", said Bob Michaelson, who was responsible for developing them. "He was very instrumental in how it should be programmed... he's got tremendous intuition." Jackson, in approving the toys, stipulated that the manufacturers donate $1 per sale to a children's charity.Despite popular belief Bubbles did not appear in a 1998 BBC adaptation of Jeffrey Archer's 'Not a Penny More Not a Penny Less'. Bubbles is however a big fan of Archer's work and according to once source wrote to the erstwhile author/politician during the latter's incarceration.
In 1988, Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons
Jeffrey "Jeff" Koons is an American artist known for his reproductions of banal objects—such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror finish surfaces....
made three identical porcelain sculptures of Bubbles and Jackson as part of his Banality
Banality (sculpture series)
Banality is a series of sculptures by American artist Jeff Koons. The works were unveiled in 1988 and have become controversial for their misuse of copyrighted images. Several editions of the sculptures have sold at auction for millions of dollars....
exhibit. At the time, each sculpture was said to be worth $250,000. Koons once said of the pop star, "If I could be one other living person, it would probably be Michael Jackson." The art piece went on to become one of Koons' best known works. The figure shows Jackson and the chimpanzee wearing gold military-style suits. In 2001, one of the figures was put up for auction and was expected to fetch between $3 million and $4 million. The figure sold to an anonymous telephone bidder for $5.6 million. The sale was a record for a work by Koons.
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
reported in August 2009 that Bubbles was to publish a "tell-all memoir" about his time with Michael Jackson. The book—entitled Bubbles: My Secret Diary, From Swaziland to Neverland—is, in actuality, a spoof diary by journalist John Blake
John Blake (journalist)
John Blake is a British journalist and publisher. He lives beside the River Thames near London with his wife Diane.-Debut:Blake first came to prominence in the early 1970s as a pop columnist for the Evening News in London...
. The book fictionally documents the "darker aspects" of Bubbles' life, including a "$2,000-a-day banana addiction, depression, romantic conquests, and [his] 'vicious rivalry' with Tarzan star Cheeta". The "collection of very personal and honest entries from [Bubbles'] diary" fictitiously revealed how the chimpanzee coped with the death of Jackson. The publication was released in October 2009. Speaking of Bubbles, Blake stated:
Behind his seemingly-perfect life of glamorous friends, gold-plated tyre swings, and personal chefs, there is a dark history of medical experiments, addiction and loss. But Bubbles has fought against his personal and professional problems and, with his help of man-pet Michael Jackson, he has grown to become bigger than King Kong—figuratively speaking.
See also
- List of famous apes
- Pet monkey
- PrimatologyPrimatologyPrimatology is the scientific study of primates. It is a diverse discipline and researchers can be found in academic departments of anatomy, anthropology, biology, medicine, psychology, veterinary sciences and zoology, as well as in animal sanctuaries, biomedical research facilities, museums and zoos...