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Wednesday, Jul. 08, 2009

Jackson memorial has special meaning for Draper family

WARNER ROBINS — For former Northside High School drama teacher Ray Horne, the death of Michael Jackson brought back memories of Wylie Draper, a young drama student he taught in the 1980s who had so much promise — and an uncanny resemblance to Jackson.

“I thought of Wylie first. I thought about how sad he would be,” Horne said of the young man who often told friends he was going to be Jackson one day.

Draper died in 1993 at age 24 after being diagnosed with leukemia. Before his death, however, Draper had the opportunity to portray Jackson in the 1992 miniseries “The Jacksons: An American Dream,” depicting the pop star during his adolescent and adult years.

During filming of the movie, Al Desmond, Draper’s brother and manager, finally noticed what everybody else had been seeing all along.

He said it happened when Draper was re-enacting Jackson’s “moonwalk” on a television special as well as a Pepsi commercial in which Jackson’s hair was burned.

“Those were the times I was like ‘you do kind of look like him,’” Desmond said.

And he had the talent. When Draper was about 10, Desmond would throw parties at a local skating rink, where Draper would dance like Jackson, soon becoming a main attraction.

“People would come just to see him,” Desmond recalled.

Eventually Draper grew into an athlete and played football at Northside High School, but his focus changed during his sophomore year.

That’s when Horne saw him and remembered his initial reaction.

“That boy looks like Michael Jackson,” Horne said.

And as Berry Gordy deemed Jackson the “consummate student” during Tuesday’s memorial, Horne said the same of Draper’s drive, determination and willingness to learn.

“I would teach forever if I had a class full of Wylies,” said Horne, who now serves in an administrative position at the high school.

Desmond credits the high school with propelling Draper toward the success that he had.

He graduated from Northside and eventually found his way to then-Point Park College, where he honed his craft even more.

In the summers, he served as a lead dancer on one of the main stages at Disney World.

From there, he found a job on Norwegian Cruise Lines as an entertainer.

During this time, he flew to Los Angeles to audition for the movie. Soon, they received a call saying that Jackson had selected Draper to portray him in the movie.

Desmond recalled his younger brother’s excitement. They found themselves traveling to the Jackson compound in California and learning more about the family for the project.

For that reason, Desmond said the news of Jackson’s death hit particularly hard.

In a way, he said he and his family have felt as if they were dealing with the death of his brother again. Hits increased on his brother’s YouTube dedication, and calls flooded in.

“It’s been very surreal,” Desmond said.

To contact writer Natasha Smith, call 923-3109, extension 236.