The Paley Center for Media offers rare material from the early days of the King of Pop in tribute to his life's work as one of the world's greatest entertainers.

Screenings run at 12:15 pm and 4:00 pm in New York, and at 3:00 pm in Los Angeles, Wednesdays through Sundays.

A Three Pack of the Jacksons

NY: July 1 to 12, 2009
LA: July 2 to 12, 2009
Screenings repeat July 29 to August 9, 2009

Michael Jackson and his brothers were an exuberant presence on seventies television. CBS’s short-lived variety series The Jacksons, an oft-forgotten credit in the history of MJ, presented not only the quintet of musical brothers who had become recording superstars, but their sisters as well, including ten-year-old Janet. This half-hour combination of music and blackout comedy sketches allowed Michael and his siblings to strut their stuff in full late ‘70s splendor. Michael certainly honed his singing and dancing skills in this series just before his solo career went “off the wall.” Guest stars on these three episodes are Sonny Bono, Carroll O’Connor, and Ed McMahon. (1976–77; 75 minutes)

Hi-Five with the Jackson 5

July 15 to 26, 2009
Screenings repeat August 12 to 23, 2009

Five different programs present the Jackson 5 at the peak of their popularity in the 1970s. Two episodes of their short-lived variety series, The Jacksons (1977), feature guest stars Tim Conway and Georgia Engel, as well as ten-year-old Janet Jackson and series regular David Letterman. Michael and his brothers are also seen on The Flip Wilson Show (1971) and on two episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1974), receiving an endorsement from no less than Lucille Ball in the second clip. (1971–77; 85 minutes)