ANN CURRY, co-host:
Back now at 7:39. It has been more than two years since
Michael Jackson
's shocking death and -- in his rented
mansion
in
Los Angeles
. And now
for the first time
,
NBC
's
Jeff Rossen
will take us exclusively inside the
mansion
where the pop star spent his final months in guarded secrecy.
Jeff
, good morning.
JEFF ROSSEN reporting:
Hey, Ann. Good morning to you. Look, we've all seen those now famous
crime scene
photos, snapshots of
Michael
's final moments, but that's it, until now. This morning you're about to see what no one has ever seen before. I got full access to
Michael
's
mansion
, and there our cameras captured everything from his
inner sanctum
, literally off limits to everyone but him, to love notes from
Michael
's children. Welcome to 100
North Carolwood
in the heart of
Los Angeles
, where
Michael Jackson
spent his final months. And in true
Jackson
style, the grounds are gorgeous, eclipsed only by the beauty inside.
Mr. DARREN JULIEN:
How are you? Welcome.
ROSSEN:
Good to see you.
Mr. JULIEN:
Good to see you as well.
Mr. MARTIN NOLAN:
Morning,
Jeff
. Welcome.
ROSSEN:
Thank you for having me.
Mr. NOLAN:
Yeah.
Mr. JULIEN:
Come on in.
ROSSEN:
Showing us around, that's
Darren Julien
and
Martin Nolan
from
Julien
's
auction house
, preparing to sell everything in here. The decor is majestic.
Michael
lived in this
mansion
...
ROSSEN:
...as he was rehearsing for his upcoming tour, and as you look around,
Michael
's fingerprints are everywhere. As soon as you get to the top of the stairs, you're greeted in this beautiful, giant foyer with high ceilings and, of course, a piano.
Michael
loved his music. He has a huge collection of pianos here and at
Neverland
. But the real interesting section of this house, right through these doors. This is
Michael Jackson
's private bedroom, and when I say private, I mean ultraprivate.
Michael
's children weren't even allowed here, not his assistants, not his security guards, no one. This was for
Michael
only. This was his bed, and by the way,
Michael Jackson
didn't enjoy sleeping in a king. This is a
California
queen. Something else that jumped out at me, he has a sitting area in the bedroom here as well, and for somebody who was so huge in the entertainment industry, no huge flat-screen
TV
for
Michael Jackson
. This was his television set, a fairly standard model. But the real prize in the auction when they start selling off
Michael
's items may be this armoire. And you can see that
Michael
actually handwrote
something on the mirror, so every time he looked at himself he would see this:
"Train, perfection, March April. Full out," underlined, "May." And a little stick figure that he drew on the bottom.
Michael
was so desperate, many say, for this comeback and for this tour. He wanted to see that motivational message every time he looked at the mirror. And by the way, how much money would this mirror go for normal?
Mr. NOLAN:
We estimate the armoire to be 6 to $8,000. That's if you or I owned it. Because it's
Michael Jackson
's and because of what he wrote here -- he desperately wanted to make a comeback; this was a constant reminder to him.
ROSSEN:
How much will it go for then?
Mr. NOLAN:
It could be 40, 50,000.
ROSSEN:
Wow. And that's part of the point here,
Darren
, right, that this is
Michael
's
inner sanctum
and everything goes for more money?
Mr. JULIEN:
That's exactly right.
Mr. NOLAN:
Yeah.
Mr. JULIEN:
Anything in here will sell for more money because these were part of his
private life
that no one else got to see.
ROSSEN:
How much of this is for sale?
Mr. JULIEN:
Well, everything in the house that's movable's for sale.
ROSSEN:
Right through here is
Michael
's personal bathroom, and again, this is all part of that master suite that is so private only
Michael
was allowed in here. So big it can fit a tub and a chaise lounge right in the middle. There's something very interesting right through here, and his shower, by the way, is enclosed in double-sided glass. It's this shower bench. And you can see if you look up close,
Michael drew
those stick figures on every piece of wood on this shower bench and this is for sale, too. And then right through here, as you go out the other side, this is
Michael
's -- well, I guess this would be his closet. It would be a -- it would be an apartment in
New York City
for most people. And we're told in his final days, this room was literally stacked with his belongings. Every closet was filled, every tabletop was filled with stuff.
Michael
loved accumulating stuff and he kept a lot of it right in here. Of all the rooms in the house, this one has the most meaning. It's been called the medication room. This is where
Michael Jackson
spent his final moments. In fact, it's in this very bed where
Michael Jackson
spent his final moments, and this bed is going up for auction soon. This is how we're used to seeing the medication room, from
crime scene
photos taken just after
Michael
died, and it was a mess, pill bottles everywhere, pillows thrown around. There's even a doll in the middle of the bed. Dr.
Conrad Murray
administered the propofol right here at
Michael
's bedside. Of course this is a piece of history now.
Mr. JULIEN:
Yeah. I mean, like his
inner sanctum
, anything in this room's going to have more value, but the bed we conservatively estimate 3 to 5,000. It's what the value is of a bed, but because it's historical significance in this room, it's going to be far greater.
ROSSEN:
Do you expect to get perhaps the most money for this particular item of everything?
Mr. JULIEN:
We anticipate it being one of the top-selling items, yes.
ROSSEN:
Just down the hall, more bedrooms, lavish and spacious. It's believed
Michael
's children, Prince,
Paris
and "Blanket" slept here. In fact, you can see the kids everywhere. Prince carved his name into this candle.
Mr. JULIEN:
And this is the kitchen, and this is where the family spent much of their time during the day.
Mr. NOLAN:
I mean, a kitchen that's very similar to what they lived in at
Neverland
, a home that was filled with love. And that's represented here on
the chalkboard:
"I love daddy. Smile. It's free."
ROSSEN:
The kids wrote that and it's still here.
Mr. NOLAN:
For their daddy.
ROSSEN:
The chalkboard with that message is up for auction, too. Also downstairs, a
living room
, a formal
dining room
, and just like
Neverland Ranch
, this
mansion
has a fully functional movie theater, complete with velvet seats.
Michael
didn't own this home; he rented it, fully furnished. The homeowner, no relation to the
Jackson family
, wants to remain anonymous. She and the
auction house
will share profits when the items sell. Wow, when you step outside it is beautiful here.
Mr. JULIEN:
Yeah, and
Michael
always liked private surroundings that were immaculate.
ROSSEN:
And this is immaculate,
Michael
's own private oasis, greenery, his protection from the outside. The pool, the pool house, all part of
Michael
's life in those final months. But even this
mansion
suited for a king couldn't cure this king's pain. In all, 600 items from the
mansion
will go up for auction on
December 17th
in
Los Angeles
. And by the way, the owner has now put the house on the market itself for upwards of $20 million.
Ann
:
CURRY:
All right,
Jeff
,
thank you so much
for your reporting. And by the way, we're going to have some of those items from that
mansion
live in our studio next month before they hit the auction block. Meantime, coming up next, we'll relive the fun of
Matt
's
WHERE IN THE WORLD
adventure and get some of the behind-the-scenes stories that he hasn't yet told. But first, these messages.
