Remember the actor who played Michael Jackson in the 1992 mini-series, The Jacksons: An American Dream? He was handpicked by MJ himself to play that role; and although most of us never knew his name, many of us remember his face from what became the only role that he was predominately known for in his acting career.

The thing that is news to a lot of us is that just like Michael Jackson, this brotha — whose name is Wylie Draper — is no longer here with us either. He sadly passed away at a very young age, soon after the Jacksons’ mini-series aired on television. He had no clue that his days were numbered at the time that he was filming the ’92 movie…but we now know that sadly,  he soon learned that they were.

Wylie Hughes Draper Jr. was born May 5, 1969 in West Virginia. Word on the Old School curb is that as early as age ten, Wylie had already proven himself to be a superstar in the making, oftentimes dancing like MJ at his brother, Desmond’s skating rink parties, and grabbing all of the attention.

As a high school teen, Wylie dabbled in artistic expression, and as a football player for Northside High School in his hometown. While attending Pointe Park College to hone his skills as a performer, Wylie worked as the lead dancer at Disney World, and also as the lead entertainer on a Norwegian cruise line. This was around the same time that he auditioned for the role of portraying Michael Jackson in The Jacksons: An American Dream, and landed the gig.

Sadly he passed away one year later, succumbing to a rare form of leukemia on December 20, 1993. Wylie passed away without much “fanfare,” but many of us did enjoy one of the first movies depicting Micheal Jackson. So we thank and salute Wylie Draper for blessing us with his talents. Continue to rest well king.

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The post R.I.P. To The Guy Who Played Michael Jackson, We Didn’t Know He Died Suddenly appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Many of you probably recognize former kid actor, Brandon Quintin Adams. He’s 38 years old now, but we Old Schoolers, probably best remember him as the kid who played the mini Michael Jackson in MJ’s “Moonwalk” musical/movie back in the day. We also may remember him for his various roles in TV shows, like “A Different World,” “Moesha,” “Sister, Sister,” “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and others. Unfortunately he and his best friend were shot, resulting in the death of his friend.

This tragedy struck Adams and his friend in 2002 and it over something so senseless and stupid.

BRANDON QUINTIN ADAMS & “STEVE HARVEY” SHOW ACTOR, MERLIN SANTANA WERE AMBUSHED BY KILLERS

Brandon Quintin Adams (above left) and Merlin Santana (pictured on the right; known for his roles in “Moesha,” “The Steve Harvey” and “Cosby Show” sitcoms) had met a female named Monique “Mercedes” King and her friend at a Chinese restaurant one night in 2002. That same night, “Mercedes” and Santana had a consensual one night stand. The next day, “Mercedes” became angry at Santana because he wasn’t interested in pursuing a relationship with her after their one night stand, so she lied on Santana and told two of her male friends, Damien Gates and Brandon Bynes, that Santana raped her. BUT WHAT THEY DID NEXT WAS UNTHINKABLE.

The following night, Gates and Bynes waited for Santana and Adams to leave a house party. As soon as Adams and Santana got in their car, they spotted a gun’s red laser shining through the back window, they look back to see what it was, but they had zero time to run. Gates and Bynes quickly ambushed them in a hail of gunfire using 12 gauge shotguns.

After they were shot, Adams managed to speed off and park in a safe place, that’s when he noticed Santana was slumped over in his seat, so he called 911 and they were rushed to the hospital where Santana unfortunately succumbed to his fatal gunshot wounds at 26 years old.

THE FEMALE WHO SET UP MERLIN SANTANA & BRANDON ADAMS RECEIVED SHORT SENTENCE

Above is a screenshot photo of is Monique “Mercedes” King, in court shortly after Merlin Santana was killed in 2002 and her story was covered on TV One’s “Celebrity Crime Files.” She only received a sentencing of 10 YEARS in juvenile hall for her participation in the crime! So I’m assuming “Mercedes” is already out of prison…what the???

Why didn’t she get as much time as her killer counterparts combined?One of the shooters, Gates, received three consecutive life sentences, plus 70 years in prison; the other shooter, Bynes, received 23 years for assault with a deadly weapon and voluntary manslaughter.’

It was also discovered that “Mercedes” had lied to Santana and told him she was of legal age, but the truth is she was really 15…SMH. SEE WHAT BRANDON QUINTIN ADAMS SAID ABOUT THE LOSS OF HIS FRIEND, MERLIN SANTANA…

BRANDON QUINTIN ADAMS: “I WAS DEVASTATED…FOR A LONG TIME”

It took Brandon years to learn to cope with the death of his best friend, Merlin Santana, after watching him die right there in front of him. Brandon doesn’t speak publicly too much about that horrific night, but he revealed this to Jet Magazine:

“It was devastating. It took me a long time to recover from that. (Merlin) was my best friend, and (the murder) was a senseless thing.[…] Brandon said he was the one friend of his who “could’ve had anything that I had.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmdczP3hSBw/

Our condolences go out to Merlin Santana’s family. May he continue to rest in peace and we’re grateful for the beautiful legacy he left us with.

The post This Kid Actor Is Grown Now, But He Was Shot & His Famous Friend Was Sadly Killed appeared first on I Love Old School Music.