#flo anthony

Patty Austin: His energy, is Eveready, bunny, hummingbird, never stop energy. He was always on fire, always a perfectionist, always tremendously professional. Very silly, in private moments. Yes, very silly. Had a very silly sophomoric sense of humor. Loved to jump out from behind doors and scare me.

He loved me because I scare very easily. And he would whenever I would heading for the studio and he knew I was coming in the door, he`d always be behind the door a little bit further down the hall and he`d jump out literally and do, you know, like boo. And I would always jump and it just made his day.

Joy Behar: Yes, he was a practical joker, kind of, right?

Patty Austin: Very much so, absolutely.

Joy Behar: And Flo, you met him at Disney World?

Flo Anthony: Yes, in the late `70s. It was actually Mike, Latoya, Janet and Randy and their bodyguard, Bill Bray.

Joy Behar: And what was he like away from the spotlight? Did you ever meet "Bubbles" the chimp?

Flo Anthony: No. But I know wild stories about Bubbles. He wasn`t always a nice little chimp when he first got there. He threw dishes and things from the chandeliers and everything. And so they called in someone and they told Michael, this is almost animal abuse. You have to feed him banana chips, not McDonald`s and put him in a diaper? So I never met Bubbles.

But you know, Patti is right. You know, Michael was a prankster, infectious smile, sweet wonderful personality all the time.

Joy Behar: Patti, what was his relationship with his family like?

Patty Austin: Well, when I knew Michael, the relationship was not great. He got along great with his sisters but did not speak fondly of the guys in the family.

Joy Behar: Really?