Ian Halperin (born August 17, 1964)Michael M. Miller
The Halperin & Fish Family Descendants ver. 0014, May 1st, 2009
at posluns.com (archive version), access date 5 August 2015 is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

investigative journalist Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

maker. His 2009 book, ''Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson'' was a #1 best-seller on the New York Times list on July 24, 2009. He is the author or coauthor of nine books including ''Celine Dion: Behind the Fairytale'', ''Fire and Rain: The James Taylor Story'' and ''Hollywood Undercover''. He coauthored ''Who Killed Kurt Cobain?'' and '' Love and Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain'' with Max Wallace. Halperin has contributed to '' 60 Minutes II'' and was a regular correspondent for Court TV. He is a graduate of Concordia University in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

(BA 07).

Michael Jackson biography

In late 2008 '' The Sun'' and ''

In Touch Weekly ''In Touch Weekly'' is an American celebrity gossip magazine. The magazine is focused on celebrity news, fashion, beauty, relationships and lifestyle, and is geared towards a younger readership, billing itself as "fast and fun", along with making ...

'' cited Halperin as the source in articles stating that

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

had serious health issues. In December 2008 Halperin had predicted that Jackson had six months to live; Jackson died on June 25, 2009. At the time, the BBC reported that Halperin would release an

unauthorized biography An unauthorized biography is a biography written without the subject's permission or input. The term is usually restricted to biographies written within the subject's lifetime or shortly after their death; as such, it is not applied to biographi ...

on the pop star. Halperin's statements had been denied by a Jackson representative who said in a December 2008 statement, "The writer's wild allegations concerning Mr. Jackson's health are a total fabrication...Mr. Jackson is in fine health and finalizing negotiations with a major entertainment company & television network for both a world tour and a series of specials and appearances." Shortly afterward, Jackson announced a 50-date residency at

The O2 arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the s ...

, holding a public press conference. Halperin released his biography on Jackson, titled ''Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson'', in July 2009. Halperin commented on the timing of the book: "I timed it because I knew around this time he was a candidate to die. I'm being totally up-front about that. Google it."

Documentary film

In 2010, Halperin directed and produced a documentary film about Jackson titled ''

Gone Too Soon "Gone Too Soon" is a ballad recorded and popularized by American musician Michael Jackson. It was written and composed by Larry Grossman and Buz Kohan. Dionne Warwick first performed (but never recorded) the song in February 1983 on a TV sp ...

''. It premiered on the

TV Guide Network The American cable and satellite television network Pop was originally launched in 1981 as a barker channel service providing a display of localized channel and program listings for cable television providers. Later on, the service, branded Prev ...

on June 25, 2010, the one-year anniversary of Jackson's death. The documentary was based on 300 hours of footage Halperin recorded before and immediately after Jackson's death.

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * (with Max Wallace) * * * * * * (with Max Wallace) *

Filmography

* 2005: ''The Cobain Case'' (documentary) * 2008: ''His Highness Hollywood'' (documentary) * 2010: ''

'' (documentary) * 2012: ''Chasing Gaga'' (documentary)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Halperin, Ian 1964 births Living people Journalists from Montreal Anglophone Quebec people Canadian investigative journalists Jewish Canadian journalists