In Memoriam: Michael Jackson, Stage-Shoe Inventor and Patentholder

[labricoleuse]

I think probably every person on the planet knows that Michael Jackson, who was indisputably a man of both many talents and many flaws, passed away yesterday at 50 from a heart attack.

Of interest to me though & perhaps unbenownst to most, Jackson--a prodigy, popstar, recluse, an extraordinary dancer and indubitably damaged crazy-person--was also a patent-holder on an innovative stage/shoe-interface design, which he developed with co-inventors Michael L. Bush and Dennis Tompkins. The invention allowed him and his dance troupe to perform the gravity-defying leaning-stance dance moves featured around 7:19 in the "Smooth Criminal" video.

Apertures in the shoes' heels interfaced with pegs in the stage floor, which raised into position for the leaning move and dropped back again afterward to restore a seamless floor surface. You can peruse the entire patent, complete with illustrative diagrams on its construction and use, here on Google. I cropped some of the diagrams though behind this cut:



Shoe detail


Heel structure


Floor pegs


Illustration of effect



I mean, i'm not saying MJ was out in the shop machining parts for these or soling footwear or anything, but nevertheless, his contribution to the conception and execution was essential, and thus, whatever else you might have to say about his oddities and transgressions of the past decade-plus, i salute him for his many talents across a range of arts disciplines, including my own. Great idea executed to great effect.

Requiescat, Jacko.

Comments

[jacquez.livejournal.com]

I always wondered how they did that effect in the video. Neat. It's no Hedy Lamarr level science, but it's brilliant in its own way!

[noralita.livejournal.com]

let alone what he did for dance and creating a demand for working dancers and choreographers and the musical dance film, which had been moribund since before that MGM, with the notable exception of Fosse and the heady days of Grease, those once in a decade flourishes.

[vanessa-lynne.livejournal.com]

Wow, I had no idea. Thanks for posting. I had always wondered how they did it.

[faunhaert.livejournal.com]

bet Dick van dyke would have loved those shoes!

Too bad Michael got so lost
he was a marvelous preformer

Requiem Pacem, Abi in Pace
may the mother wrap you in her arms
and give you peace

[labricoleuse.livejournal.com]

I enjoy that what he actually is on record for having patented is "Method and means for creating anti-gravity." Ha!

[naeelah.livejournal.com]

Ooh, cool. I knew he'd patented a shoe device that allowed him to do the lean, but I didn't know how it worked.

MJ video

[(Anonymous)]

I thought your comments on this were interesting, so I started reading all the patent info, it turns out he wore a harness for the video, and invented the shoes in order to be able to perform the lean move live during concerts. Just thought it was neat, cause otherwise I was suprised he would invent somehting when harnesses would work, but that after the video he realized the problem with the way they did it for performances and figured out how to solve it. -Dallas