Michael Jackson’s longtime physician, who was something of a celebrity in his own right and was called “the father of Botox,” has died. TMZ.com reports that Dr. Arnold Klein died Thursday night in Palm Springs of natural causes. He was 70.
Klein reportedly entered the hospital four days ago with severe abdominal pains, and remained hospitalized until his death.
“Klein, a renowned Beverly Hills dermatologist, had an astonishing fall from grace in the wake of Michael’s death,” TMZ reports. “He was the go-to dermatologist for scores of celebrities, including Elizabeth Taylor, Dolly Parton, Goldie Hawn, Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone and Cher.”
Klein, a Botox pioneer, also became a close friend to Jackson. TMZ reports that the pop singer used his friendship with Klein to “help fuel his drug addiction.”
“Everything unraveled for Klein when Michael died,” the website adds. “TMZ broke the story, Klein had injected Jackson with Demerol 51 times in the 3 months prior to his death.”
The TMZ story says: “Klein also took Jackson to various surgery centers to put him under with Propofol, the drug that killed the singer. On one occasion, Klein took Jackson to the gynecologist next door to his office and put him under with anesthesia which one doctor said was Propofol under the pretext it was for an acne treatment. Klein denied it was Propofol.”
The AP reports that Klein treated Jackson for more than 25 years leading up to the singer’s death in 2009. The AP story adds: “When Jackson died, federal drug agents investigating the singer’s prescriptions cleared Klein.”
The AP story also says: “Another doctor, Conrad Murray, was charged and convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Murray’s defense sought to involve Klein in the trial, claiming that he contributed to Jackson’s addiction to a medication, Demerol, which was not found in the singer’s body.”
The AP also notes: “Debbie Rowe, a nurse who worked for Klein, married Jackson and had two of the singer’s three children, Prince and Paris, before the couple divorced. The doctor dismissed media reports alleging that he fathered the children through a sperm donation.”
I knew Arnie Klein first and then became his dermatology patient for a brief period.
I knew and worked with Michael Jackson on the CBS-TV series THE JACKSONS for most of a year.
I am thankful that both periods of which I write here were long before all the messes described above.
My experiences with both Michael and Arnie were rewarding on both personal and professional levels. Those are the memories I will hold on to of both men for my years to come.