Michael Jackson, Hubble Telescope draw from New York manufacturing

BY William Sherman
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Sunday, June 14th 2009, 5:33 AM
Handschuh/News



Jay Ruckel at La Crasia Gloves is helping to supply Michael Jackson for this summer's concerts.

Michael Jackson's glove for his upcoming London tour, Martha Stewart's horsehair mattress, Edie Falco's tricycle and electroplating for the Hubble telescope - all are made in New York City.

Manufacturing, long since declared dead here, is in fact alive and well. It's just smaller, lighter and more varied.

Tattoo needles from Canal St. and millions of maraschino cherries made in a factory in Red Hook, Brooklyn, are sold throughout the world.

There are 7,020 manufacturing companies here with 82,200 jobs - down 70% since 1990.

The apparel business that's left is thriving. Lindsey Lohan and Meryl Streep buy straight from a manufacturer on W. 37th St. whose clothes are also in Lord & Taylor.

Jackson, a notoriously picky shopper, picked La Crasia Gloves on Broadway at 28th St. to make the gloves for his upcoming July tour.

"They sent us a tracing of his right hand and we're making some samples for him to choose from," said Jay Ruckel, the firm's master cutter.

La Crasia makes and sells 60,000 pairs a year for the general public, in addition to custom-made items for stars like Jackson, Madonna and Kate Winslet, who wore their white above-the-elbow debutante glove in "Titanic."

Julia Roberts wore the same glove in "Pretty Woman," and the company's production is done in-house with 20 employees using 16 sewing machines and a large cutting machine.

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Heavy manufacturing is gone from the city. Giants like Swingline Staples with a big factory in Long Island City, Queens, and Faberware, the cookware concern with more than 700 employees at a facility in the South Bronx, moved out more than 15 years ago.

Now the average number of employees per company is 14, but they make a wide variety of products.

From A&A Line & Wire Corp., which makes a special vinyl used in jump ropes - particularly those used in Double Dutch - at an eight-person shop in Maspeth, Queens, to Zan Enterprises, a specialty engraver in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, many are doing fine despite the recession.

Some of the products are unusual.

Tattoo needles sold in places like China, Chile and Russia are made by 27 employees of Unimax Supply Co. Inc. on Canal St.

"I kind of fell into the business 20 years ago after I got a couple of tattoos," said owner Westley Wood, a former public school teacher.

Other products are high-tech, made for U.S. aerospace and the military, and cannot be duplicated by other companies.

Take the critical reflective coating on the camera of the Hubble Space Telescope, in orbit since 1990 and sending back thousands of images of the universe.


It's made in Bushwick, Brooklyn, at Epner Technologies, with 40 employees and run by David Epner, whose grandfather founded the company in 1910.

"The coating is a processed gold, we developed the process years ago for Xerox copiers, and it has the highest reflectivity, 99.4%, of any material in the world," he said.

His trademarked electroplating also is used on U.S. military helicopters to jam the radar of surface-to-air missiles, and dozens of other aerospace products including satellites and altimeters. It's also the coating on devices diabetics use to measure their blood sugar.

Some manufacturers - even in the apparel business - choose to stay in the city regardless of the big cost savings of using factories in Asia or South America.

"I'm a hands-on person, I believe in supporting my community, so we make samples and patterns in-house and the garments in factories literally around the corner," said Helena Stuart, president of Only Hearts, a W. 37th St. women's ready-to-wear and lingerie firm founded here in 1978.

Speed is another reason Stuart manufactures here.

"Lord & Taylor is putting in order after order of a particular dress, 1,744 this season, and I can turn it around here in two weeks. If I manufactured overseas, I would need a three-month lead time," she said.

Stuart's dresses range in price from $130 to $250 and her customers include Eva Mendes and Kate Hudson in addition to Lohan and Streep.

For those who want to sleep on the same bedding used by Jon Bon Jovi, Jerry Seinfeld and Martha Stewart, there's Charles J. Beckley Inc. mattresses, 80 years in the same building in Port Morris, the Bronx.

"Every single part of the box springs and mattresses is handmade and handsewn, with horsehair as the top filling," said Tim Marschke, head of sales for the company and a descendant of the founder.

The 25-employee firm makes about 2,000 bedding sets a year. They range in price from $800 to $1,700 and are sold around the world.

Other one-of-a kind items include handcrafted industrial strength tricycles made by Worksman Cycles, in business for 111 years at a 100,000-square-foot factory staffed by 60 employees in Ozone Park, Queens.

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They're used by the U.S. Army, supermarket deliverymen and actress Edie Falco, who bought one to travel with her dog Marley.

"She walked in the front door one day, looked around and picked one out," sales manager Al Venditti said of Falco, the "Sopranos" mainstay and star of the new "Nurse Jackie" on Showtime.

Worksman's products, including industrial bicycles, range from $270 to $870 and also are used at automobile plants, oil refineries and Wal-Mart.

The city's two largest manufacturing sectors are apparel, with 20,400 workers, and then food processing, with 946 different companies and 14,302 employees.

Blue Ridge Farms, which makes ready-to-eat meals, is the city's single-largest manufacturing employer with 250 workers at a 300,000-square-foot plant in East New York, Brooklyn.

"Everything's made from scratch - lasagna, meat loafs, vegan products, sausage and pepper, knishes, stuffed chicken breasts, all sold in supermarkets," said Anthony Vitellozzi, vice president of sales and marketing.

"We're hiring left and right. The recession has helped us because people are eating out less."

And the next time you bite into a maraschino cherry at any of Wendy's 6,000 restaurants around the world, think Dell's Maraschino Cherries Co. in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

"We go through a million pounds of cherries a month," said Dell's president Arthur Mondella, whose business was started by his grandfather in 1948.

"Wendy's puts one in every soda and we supply them all, 3 million pounds for Wendy's alone each year," Mondella said.

wsherman@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.co...IZZDxdCg&D


http://www.nydailynews.co...actor.html

Lou Ferrigno



The ‘Incredible Hulk’ actor – a former Mr. Universe – is paying secret visits to the ‘Thriller’ star’s Los Angeles home to help him prepare for his forthcoming ‘This Is It’ run of shows at London’s O2 arena.

A source told Britain’s The Sun newspaper: “Lou has been visiting Michael to build him up so he can perform his dance routines.

“But Michael refuses to lift weights. He doesn’t want to bulk up.”

The 50-year-old singer – who weighs a reported 126lbs and eats just one meal a day - is reportedly battling skin cancer and is said to be terrified gaining weight will damage his chances of beating the disease.

Michael and Lou struck up a friendship two years ago when the ‘Bad’ singer began using the 57-year-old actor’s gym.

Lou said at the time: “Michael is more delicate. Our trainer conditioned him for dancing.

“He likes me, he feels safe with me. He was nervous about people looking at him when he’s training.”

Last month, it was revealed the ‘Beat It’ star would kick off his concert run on July 13, five days later than originally planned.

Shows scheduled to take place on July 10, 12 and 14 have been moved to the end of the residency in March 2010.

http://www.thetimes.co.za...id=1018322

Michael Jackson Prepares Prince Michael To Inherit The Throne
Posted by Josh loposer at 3:15 PM on June 16, 2009



28321687 Michael Jackson Prepares Prince Michael To Inherit The Throne

What’s it like having the King of Pop as a father? Apart from the creepy masks and botched plastic surgery, there are some very real benefits - like one-on-one vocal coaching.

Michael Jackson is reportedly teaching Prince Michael to sing and perform. Will he be able to follow in his father’s footsteps?

An Jacko insider tell In Touch Weekly:

“Michael has been voice-coaching him and asked to do a duet with Prince on his tour.”

“They’ve been working on a track.”

If anybody happens to catch one of these performances, please, please, by all mean share your reviews about MJ’s pre-teen protege. Or, even better, capture it on video and put it up on YouTube. The celebrity parenting universe would be eternally grateful.

Are the other Jackson children getting secretly trained in the way of pop as well? Perhaps we’ll see another Jackson family pop ensemble?

http://www.babble.com.au/...he-throne/

Michael Jackson has been slapped with a lawsuit filed by a music promoter, alleging his appearances in London this year would breach a previous contract.



AllGood Entertainment Inc claimed it had inked a deal with Jackson’s manager, Frank DiLeo, in November according to which the singer was committed to make a US appearance this summer.

The New Jersey-based company alleged, the King of Pop, under the agreement, is not supposed to perform before that show, reports The Telegraph.

AllGood Entertainment contended the singer’s 50-run shows, due to begin at London’s O2 Arena in July, breach the company’s agreement with DiLeo.

The company is now seeking at least 20 million dollars in compensatory damages and at least another 20 million dollars in punitive damages.

Meanwhile, Jackson’s organisers for London shows AEG Live have dubbed the allegations pointless and Jackson is yet to comment on the matter. (ANI)

http://www.newspostonline...9061559104

unique said:

This isn't suprising. With the Victory Tour and Bad Tour, he went on mountain treks and went to the gym often

Unique - please post the actual pictures with the actual news stories, not ones you are adding in. The first two in this new batch did, whilst the last two didn't.

An in the interest of clarity once the story has been posted once, I don't think it needs to be reposted from various other sites when it is the same report. I think that incredible hulk story has been posted 3 times now, and the Allgood law suit has been posted like 4 or 5 times now?

Thanks

Swa
[Edited 6/16/09 0:35am]

http://www.madametussauds...fault.aspx

Affirming Michael Jackson’s mega superstar status, we are celebrating the King of Pop’s 'This is It' comeback with a brand new figure of the music legend. It will be the tenth time we have portrayed Jackson, making him the most featured star ever, with only The Queen having been portrayed more often.
'It is extremely unusual for a personality to have been portrayed so many times', comments Liz Edwards, PR Manager at Madame Tussauds London. 'But Michael Jackson is totally unique and his iconic status makes him one of the most popular stars here. He has 'appeared' at Madame Tussauds as Thriller Jackson, Dangerous Jackson and with the huge excitement and buzz around his upcoming return to the stage we wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate his amazing 40 year career and present the 'This is It' Jackson for the 21st century.'
The new figure recreates the classic Jackson pose of the new tour poster – arms outstretched, pelvis thrusting and tip toed with his trade-mark trilby angled forward – and will be revealed before the eagerly anticipated tour kicks off in July.
Jackson’s current figure was created from a sitting the singer gave to sculptors 15 years ago.

bboy87 said:

That pic looks like him from the "Bad" era. The way they described his pose (in bold), are they talking about the stance he does in the beginning of the billie jean performances?

BoOTyLiCioUs said:

First off you can stop with the telling me what I can and cant post--this is NOT a MJ forum it is a PRINCE forum. If you dont like the kinds of articles that are posted in this thread than maybe you should hang out more at the MJ messageboards--thats what they're for to cater to the fans. Perhaps I should remind you that this thread was not made to cater to MJ fans but to cut down on all the MJ topics flooding this forum, so anybody and everybody is free to post whatever they like regardless of if people agree with it or like it or not.

Also if you'd read my posts in this thread you would see that I dont just post tabloid articles, I post ARTICLES--a few have been tabloid, the rest were general news articles, as well as my own opinions on MJ events.
As for the Maximum Jackson forum I've never been there, I might check it out someday but I've been a longtime member of 2 major MJ messageboards so I know what I'm talking about when I say that MJ fanatics dont like other fans who even slightly criticize Michael. I've seen fans bashed or threatened to be banned for raising even the slightest issue many times. It happens alot so dont try to deny that it doesnt. Not all MJ fans but a lot of the newer fans of them are a highly sensitive bunch who dont take criticism of their idol very well.

Swa said:

okay its pretty obvious that he/she is doing this on purpose so i think we should ignore him/her
[Edited 6/16/09 8:02am]

NaughtyKitty said:

hear hear. people shouldn't be told what they should or shouldn't post, particuarly when it's clear that some don't even bother reading what's posted. i'm not suggesting anyone moves to MJ sites to post, only to bear in mind that this isn't an MJ site and not everyone thinks the sun shines out of his arse, and not everyone who posts something that some might consider negative is a hater. i enjoy contributing, and i've added some interesting articles, and not all of them could be considered negative, such as the glove dude and the waxworks, and if the article comes with a crap stock photo i'll use something more interesting instead. if the article is tabloid crap, then it's only fitting to use an appropriately crap photo to highlight the stupidity of it all. if tabloid articles bother you, then i think it's an issue you need to address within yourself

Swa said:

use a sense of humor

http://www.imeem.com/amer...on-xscape/

Xscape

Wow you can hear raw frustration in this song by Michael. I have never heard it before until now but I like it!

Michael said he gotta get away from the madness.
[Edited 6/16/09 12:21pm]

Chic35 said:

The song got leaked in 2002-, an outtake from the Invinicble.
[Edited 6/16/09 12:23pm]

Well... actually it got leaked in 2003... shortly after the Bashir doc and supposedly had nothing to do with Invincible!

I gotta catch up on Michael's music because I've never heard this one before either!

http://www.imeem.com/arti...hreatened/


These lyrics are interesting!

Threatened lyrics
[ROD SERLING INTRO]
Tonight’s story is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introducing
A monster had arrived in the village
The major ingredient of any recipe for fear is the unknown
And this person or thing is soon to be met
He knows every thought, he can feel every emotion
Oh yes, I did forget something didn’t I? I forgot to introduce you to the monster.

You’re fearing me, ‘cause you know I’m a beast
Watching you when you sleep, when you’re in bed
I’m underneath
You’re trapped in halls, and my face is the walls
I’m the floor when you fall, and when you scream it’s ‘cause of me
I’m the living dead, the dark thoughts in your head
I know just what you said
That’s why you’ve got to be threatened by me

[CHORUS]
You should be watching me, you should feel threatened
Why you sleep, why you creep, you should be threatened
Every time your lady speaks she speaks to me, threatened
Half of me you’ll never be, so you should feel threatened by me

You think you’re by yourself, but it’s my touch you felt
I’m not a ghost from Hell, but I’ve got a spell on you
In one blink I’ll disappear, and then I’ll come back to haunt you
I’m telling you, when you lie under a tomb
I’m the one watching you
That’s why you got to be threatened by me

[CHORUS]

[ROD SERLING VERSE]
The unknown monster is about to embark
From a far corner, out of the dark
A nightmare, that’s the case
Never Neverland, that’s the place
This particular monster can read minds
Be in tow places at the same time
This is judgement night, execution, slaughter
The devil, ghosts, this monster is torture
You can be sure of one thing, that’s fate
A human presence that you feel is strange
A monster that you can see disappear
A monster, the worst thing to fear.

[CHORUS x 3]

Chic35 said:

That's from INVINCIBLE.

PatrickS77 said:

Yeah its 2003, but I still believe its an outtake from Invinicble.

Well, it was a song he was working on at the time of the leak... 1 1/2 years after Invincible!

This week, local D.C. attorney Henry W. Asbill of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP appeared in court to represent Michael Jackson against the charges filed by Raymone Bain.

Also, three additional attorneys from the New York firm have been arranged to help work on the case pro hac vice (as they aren't legally licensed to practice law in D.C.) alongside Mr. Asbill, including Frank C. Salzano, Donna L Gordon, and most notably L. Londell McMillan.

It is now expected that a response to the suit will be filed before the 10-day default notice is up--later this week, and that no default judgment will be awarded.

bboy87 said:

LOL, Now the possibility of raymone to get the ridiculous amount of 44 million is just FARRRRR WAY.
[Edited 6/16/09 16:42pm]

I am a "Hater" of MJ
AND proud of it!

cdcgold said:

You do realise this is just Janet's voice pitch shifted and slowed right? It's obvious when during Janet's part the music speeds up and during "Michael's" the music winds down, lol.

Swa

chocolatehandles said:

Lawsuit won’t stop Jackson concert series

A lawsuit filed against Michael Jackson won't stop his planned 50-date concert series, a source says.

Courtney Hazlett
The Scoop

A $40 million lawsuit filed against Michael Jackson isn’t causing much concern behind the scenes of Jackson’s comeback tour, which kicks off in London next month.

“We’re not worried at all,” says a source who is closely involved with the planning of the production. “Things are beyond belief, absolutely incredible!”

Promoter AllGood Entertainment Inc. is behind the lawsuit, which alleges that Jackson’s 50-date concert series at London’s O2 arena violates a contract signed by Jackson’s manager.

AllGood claims that the contract requires Jackson to perform at a Jackson family reunion concert in 2010, and he can’t individually give a show before that date or for a certain period of time afterwards.

Meanwhile, rumors that Jackson’s oldest son, Prince Michael I, age 12, will make his musical debut alongside his dad in London continue to gain steam, as Prince Michael has been photographed going to rehearsals in L.A.

A rep for the production couldn’t confirm whether Prince Michael would definitely be onstage. “Everything is very secretive,” was the only comment.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...nt-gossip/

Swa said:

i know that was the point, that's why i posted it, to show another similarity between janet and michael

cdcgold said:

Ok well that was lost on me, lol.

Swa

Swa said:

Swa, looks like Michael and Stevie DIDN'T perform Just Good Friends in Sydney

they performed Bad at the last show in Brisbane