Michael Jackson and his fears

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Abnormal encounter of the suds kind

What better place to show off your new brand of beer, Three Stooges, than at the annual Stooges convention in California? That's exactly what Dewey Parsons was doing recently when word came that the convention had to close early to allow a certain VIP to wander through. Complete with entourage, in came Michael Jackson, who, wouldn't you know, is a huge Stooges fan. As he passed by the display, Parsons offered him a sip. Jackson, saying he didn't drink, at first declined, but when Parsons told him it wasn't a "normal" beer, Jackson lifted his trademark surgical mask and took a small slug. As Parsons tells it, Jackson professed delight with the brew and passed it along to a comrade.

But what really caught the Gloved One's eye was a life-size cardboard cutout of Curly, touting Curly's Light, another brand from Parsons's Panther Brewing, the Westwood operation whose name comes from a Stooges film. Jackson wanted it; Parsons told him it wasn't for sale. "Everything's for sale," Jackson whispered in Parsons's ear. Parsons relented; Jackson could have it, free. But even that wasn't enough. Jackson wanted Parsons to autograph the cutout, which he did, right across Curly's chest.

"I got home and told my partner," says Parsons, "and he said, 'Can you imagine? Michael Jackson has your autograph.' It doesn't get much stranger than that."

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