SPIKE LEE - LEE HOSTS PARTY FOR JACKSON ON HIS BIRTHDAY

LEE HOSTS PARTY FOR JACKSON ON HIS BIRTHDAY

Director SPIKE LEE braved the rain to celebrate what would have been MICHAEL JACKSON's 51st birthday on Saturday (30Aug09) with a massive outdoor party in New York.
Thousands of people turned up at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, where the Malcolm X filmmaker hosted the free bash, celebrating the King of Pop's life and music.
Lee, who directed two of the singer's music videos in 1996, remembered Jackson's genius, telling the crowd, "I was just like everyone else. I loved his talent."
Brooklyn borough President Marty Markowitz designated the day Michael "King of Pop" Jackson Memorial Day, while DJs played the star's hits for the dancing audience.
Meanwhile, in Mexico thousands of fans marked the day by attempting to break the record for the most people dancing to Thriller simultaneously in one place.
Fans donned black fedoras and white gloves to recreate the star's 1983 video in front of Mexico City's Monument of the Revolution, led by a Jackson impersonator who wore a sequined jacket.
Organiser Javier Hildago claims 12,937 people danced, and bosses at the Guinness Book of World Records will make their official decision in a week.