it was a prop. >> it was astair. >> larry: his astaire, his gene kelly? >> yeah.here are so many things that are iconic about michael. we were reminded of all of those things today. i think what you're hearing -- i know i lost a friend, i lost a mentor. i am so -- michael wrote my college -- wrote a letter of recommendation for me. probably the only reason i got into columbia university. >> larry: he wrote a letter of recommendation for you to go to columbia. >> yes, he did. >> larry: do you think it had any clout? >> i would think so. it's probably got a lot of value. i need to get it back. >> larry: are we going to see imitators coming along, patti? >> they are already here. usher will be the first one to tell you. justin timberlake. we all -- everybody sings like michael. >> larry: they're all doing michael? >> they are all doing michael or stevie or james brown. you know. yeah. absolutely. the younger generation particularly is doing michael, male and female vocalists because that sound was very distinct. >> larry: i didn't ask you what you made of today. >> b

fred astaire told me he was the greatest dancer of our time. >> larry: astaire said that?s, to hear that from astaire, who else are you going to hear it from? >> larry: more about michael's life, after this. mr. evans? this is janice from onstar. i have received an automatic signal you've been in a front-end crash. do you need help? yeah. i'll contact emergency services and stay with you. you okay? yeah. onstar. standard for one year on 14 chevy models. >> larry: now, the debbie rowe part of the story. she was your nurse, right? >> yes. >> larry: they met in your office? >> yes. >> larry: was it a real love affair? >> i don't know what love is. i think that she loves him very much. she admired him very much. but if you think they're riding off in a horse-drawn carriage, i mean, we have to put what is a real relationship. we have to go back to what barnhart said to danny kaye. and she didn't even know who danny kaye was. which means who of us is normal. i'll tell you, was that a love affair, you want to know. i think she really cared about his welfare. >> larry: it was not

>> fred astaire told me, he's the greatest dancer of our time. >> larry: astaire said that? you going to hear it from? >> larry: more about michael's life after this. but plavix helps save lives. plavix, taken with other heart medicines goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots. ask your doctor about plavix, protection that helps save lives. (female announcer) if you have stomach ulcer or othp$ condition that causes bleeding, you should not use plavix. when taking plavix alone or with some other medicines including aspirin, the risk of bleeding may increase so tell your doctor before planning surgery. and always talk to your doctor before taking aspirin or other medicines with plavix, especially if you've had a stroke. if you develop fever or unexplained weakness or confusion, tell your doctor promptly as these may be signs of a rare but potentially life-threatening condition called ttp, which has been reported rarely,

he really looks the same way fred astaire did. white socks. white shoes. back on the morning of the memorial. say good morning, america. diane sawyer and robin roberts at the staples center, where in a few hours, the service will be taking pla. robin? >> all right, diane. and in a few hours, the jackson family will be leaving their home to forest lawn cemetery, for a final service. it is the final resting place for a number of hollywood legends. the family will leave here. they'll head to the staples center. they'll join 20,000 people. among them will not be debbie rowe, michael jackson's ex-wife. at first, she was coming. then, she said no. in an abc news exclusive, you're about to hear from debbie rowe. and jim avila is back with that. >> reporter: good morning, again. some will say michael jackson paid her to be quiet when he was alive. now, debbie rowe, in her own words. answering some of the questions we all wanted to ask. she is the mystery woman, barking at paparazzi. >> do not touch me. >> reporter: once an intre gral part of a family that america

fred astaire told me he was the greatest dancer of our time. >> larry: astaire said that? >> yes, and i mean if you heara you going to hear it from? >> larry: more about michael's life, after this. into a fidelity ira. man: okay, no problem. it's easy to get started. i can help you with the paperwork. um... this green line just appeared on my floor. that's guidance from fidelity. it's the route to your financial goals. could you hold on a second? whatever your destination, fidelity has the people, guidance and investments to help you find your way. this is going to be helpful. contact us today. >> larry: now, the debbie rowe part of the story. she was your nurse, right? >> yes. >> larry: they met i guess in your office? >> yes. >> larry: was it a real love affair? >> i don't know what love is. in that sense of the imagination. i think that she loved him very much. she admired him very much. but if you think they're running off in a horse-drawn carriage, i mean, we have to put what is a normal relationship. we go back to marie bone na part who once said to danny cay, he sai

he would get calls from his mentor, fred astaire. i remember he told me once about michael calling him after -- i mean, he calling michael after the famous motown 25 performance and just saying he watched him that night. he recorded it. he watched it the next morning and knocked people's socks off. he was also a father. and a brother. he was complicated. >> let's get in a caller right now. i believe our caller is linda or mary? linda is calling us from me vad a. what do you think? >> caller: i think they are trashing him. they're questioning the parentage of his children. which is no one's business. number two, business. number two, they're asking people about what they said, somebody said this, somebody said this, but there's no proof. the person that said he was taking 50 xanax and walking around, that's not true. i'm an rn, and i work with addicts, that is not a true statement. >> okay. linda, thank you for your phone call. i think some people are talking about the tabloid coverage, laura and brian, but we've got to be real. there

you look at his moves and you see grace kelly and fred astaire. >> marcel marceau. >> exactly. >> and fred astaire called him after the motown 25 performance and said, michael, i watched it last night. i taped it. i watched it again this morning, and, michael, you really -- you really knocked them on their behinds as we should say. >> but he didn't use the word "behind." >> he was very much a big fan. if you look at michael's physical shape, when i saw him and hugged him, he very much had the dancer's body. >> was he physically prepared to do this massive tour? i mean, obviously the pressure for the financial interests, the pressure for just getting it right, i mean, having a gigantic fan base that was expecting to once again knock the ball out of the ballpark, do it better than you did it the last time? >> people have to remember, he was 50 years old, but he brought on lou ferrigno to help train him and get him physically ready. >> i interviewed lou ferrigno and they met once in may. a lot of people quoted lou ferrigno as being an expert on michael jackson's physical health. i'm not

>> it was his astaire. his gene kelly.chael. we were reminded about those things today. i know i lost a friend, i lost a mentor. michael wrote my college -- wrote a letter of recommendation for me. probably the only reason i got into columbia university. >> larry: he wrote a letter of recommendation for you to go to columbia. yes. >> larry: do you think it got clout? >> i think so. i need to get it back. >> larry: are imitators going to come along? >> they are already here. usher, justin timberlake. they are all doing michael or stevie or james brown. yeah. the younger generation particularly is doing michael, male and female vocalists because that sound was very distinct. >> larry: i didn't ask you what you made of today. >> boy, heartbreaking. i really struggled with whether or not i wanted to attend for many reasons. >> larry: some people couldn't attend or wouldn't attend, didn't want to break down. >> i didn't want to break down. didn't want to look cheesy. the minute i walked in, i got there say about ten, 15 minutes

calls and set visits when i worked with him, he was visited by lillian disney, by people like fred astaire dad and jackie kennedy. and it was so holy cow. it was remarkable. >> larry: mico, ap reports michael had completed an elaborate video production just two weeks before his death. the sets included a cemetery recalling the "thriller" video. true? >> true. >> larry: when will we see that? >> that's a good question. i'm sure everybody would love to see that. i would think soon, hopefully. >> larry: you reteamed on a video after that, right, mico? black or white"? >> yes, i'm john. >> larry: sorry, john. >> yes, i did. >> larry: this is all getting to all of us. john, did you notice any difference in the michael again? >> truthfully, yes. it was quite a few years later. how many years later, me co? five, six years later. >> five, six, seven eight at least. >> michael had had quite a bit more surgery so he looked very different. and he was -- it was different. i mean "thriller," michael came to me and let me write it and produce it and direct it, and he was totally cooperative. you know, i

i'll be dancing down fifth avenue like fred astaire with ginger rogers." that was going to be my life. >> reporter: how much money did you have in your pocket? >> $50. less than $50. i had spent some of it. >> reporter: and today, a mere 40 years later... >> yes. >> reporter: ...it is made of gold. >> it is made of gold, but it took a long time. and what has happened to me is beyond the wildest imagination of any screenwriter, any novelist. it's certainly beyond my imagination because i never expected this. i never expected to write a book about a slum in ireland that was going to catapult me, as they say, into some kind of... onto the bestseller list. >> warner: frank mccourt died yesterday in new york. he was 78 years old. and some further thought now about frank mccourt from another writer. author and former newshour essayist roger rosenblatt joins me from new york. hello, roger. frank mccourt, your friend, we know and late in life was wildly successful writer, how significant a writer do you think he was in literary terms? >> i think he was a very sign