Michael Jackson this time, wrote hits such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" (1979), "This Place Hotel" (1980), and "Can You Feel It" (1980). Jackson's work in film began in 1978, when he moved to New York City to star as the Scarecrow in "The Wiz", a musical directed by Sidney Lumet. It costarred Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell, and Ted Ross. The film was a box-office failure. Its score was arranged by Quincy Jones, whom Jackson had previously met when he was 12 at Sammy Davis Jr.'s house. Jones agreed to produce Jackson's next solo album. During his time in
Michael Jackson (writer) styles. His influential television series "The Beer Hunter" was shown in fifteen different countries. He was as well-versed in malt whisky as he was in beer, and his book "Michael Jackson's Malt Whisky Companion" (1989) is the best-selling book on the subject in the world. At the time of his death Jackson had been suffering from Parkinson's disease for at least a decade. He did not declare his illness until his symptoms caused some to think he was drunk. Jackson was born in Wetherby, West Riding of Yorkshire. His father had Anglicised his Lithuanian Jewish surname Jakowitz to Jackson. The