Photo: Participants took lessons on how
to do the Thriller dance, got a zombie mini-makeover and took
a photo with Madame Tussauds’ Michael Jackson wax figure.
Photo: Amanda Spurlock
(enlarge
photo)
In addition to promoting the wax museum
tourist attraction, the record breaking was timed to coincide
with the 25th anniversary of the Thriller album's release.
When the video premiered in 1983, Jackson effectively
transformed the role of music videos in an artist’s career.
After the 14-minute video premiered in December, MTV began
running it twice per hour due to the high demand from viewers.
More of a short film than a traditional music
video, the storyline, complex dance routine and special effects
secured “Thriller” the honor of being arguably the most famous
and recognizable music videos of all time.
While Michael Jackson, now 50, will not appear
at the anniversary celebration in New York, he told People
magazine that his fans had his stamp of approval for their
Halloween eve event.
“I always thought Halloween and ‘Thriller’ fit
each other like a glove,” Jackson said.