Playing chess with his eldest son

Michael Jackson’s kids miss him desperately
by Samia Sehgal – June 20, 2010

The ‘King of Pop’ always tried to shelter his kids from the glitz of show business. Now that he is now more, cable channel TLC is set out to prove that Michael Jackson was a very devoted father

Michael Jackson might have been a powerful celebrity to the world, but to his children he was just a loving father.

Jackson’s mother Katherine says that his kids — Prince, 13, Paris, 12, and Blanket, 8 – loved their father a lot and they miss him desperately.

…Just days ahead of his first death anniversary (June 25), the network is releasing an unauthorized TV special, featuring intimate moments of Michael Jackson with his kids.

The show, called ‘Hidden Lives of Michael Jackson’s Children’, will be aired at 9 p.m., on Father’s Day.

“I think people are always going to say that [Jackson was strange],” said executive producer Wendy Douglas. “But I feel that if they . . . see some of the things he did with his kids, I hope they think a little less of that.”

Jackson was a hands-on fatherCalling Jackson a “very hands-on father,” Douglas said, “Footage of Michael and his kids was always protected. He never liked to release it.”

The video shows Michael Jackson doing small things for his children just like an average father. It features behind-the-scenes footage if Jackson helping Prince recite his ‘ABCs’ and playing chess with his eldest son.

“We were shocked we had this intimate footage, and I love it because it shows how much of a great father he is,” said Douglas, adding, “You’ll actually see how hands-on he was and how close he was to his children.”

Here is the full article.