Did Michael Jackson model face after Egyptian bust

http://www.suntimes.com/news/sneed/1701262,CST-NWS-sneed05.article

Did Michael Jackson model face after Egyptian bust?
August 5, 2009
BY MICHAEL SNEED Sun-Times Columnist

It's eerie, and it's creepy: An ancient limestone Egyptian bust in the Field Museum is a dead bang look-a-like of singer Michael Jackson.

The big question: Did Jackson, who went under the plastic surgeon's knife numerous times, pattern his ultimate appearance after the statue carving?

Answer: "I have no idea whether Jackson ever visited the museum, but the similarity between the limestone statue of a woman -- which is about 3,000 years old -- and Jackson is astounding," said a museum spokesman.

A history note: The limestone bust, which went on public display in 1988, was carved during the New Kingdom Period (1550 B.C. to 1050 B.C.); the same time period as Ramesses and King Tut.

The shocker: In 1993, Jackson, whose face was then virtually identical to the statue, cut a video titled "Remember The Time," which he sets in ancient Egypt -- during the time of the Pharaoh Ramses. (In the video, actor Eddie Murphy plays Ramesses. It also features Magic Johnson and Iman.)

The curiosity: The nose of the ancient Egyptian statue, which has been in the museum's private collection since 1899, is disintegrating. At the end of his life, Jackson's nose appeared to be disintegrating.

Nasal notes: Famed plastic surgeon Dr. Steven Hoefflin, who claims he began performing nose surgery on Jackson in his teens-- told Jackson he was going to limit him to two surgeries. "If only he'd stopped there," Dr. Hoefflin told Entertainment Tonight.

Backshot: The statue, which was not on view at the museum for almost 100 years, now resides near the exit of the "Inside Ancient Egypt" exhibit -- and has been bantered about on the blogs recently.

Funshot: It just made a blogger's list of the "Top Ten Things You Didn't Know about Michael Jackson!"