We all remember when the beautiful Ola Ray, was dancing and giggling her way through Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” video. The former Playboy model became an overnight star on that fateful day in 1982. At that time, I -like many others- was crushin’ on Ola Ray something SERIOUS…as I also was on ‘Thelma’ from “Good Times,” but I digress. Anyways, it’s been about 40 years since most fans have laid eyes on Ms. Ray and a lot has changed. Although she’s still a beautiful woman at 61 years old, one thing is drastically different from the Ola Ray that we knew back in the day. What is it, you ask? Her complexion.

Lighter Shades Of Ola Ray

In the 1980’s, Ola Ray had the melanin-rich, caramel complexion that she was born with. Fast forward to now and her new complexion is the topic among many. Why? Because it seems that her skin tone has gradually transformed in the same way that Michael Jackson’s did. In other words, her skin is surprisingly more of a melanin-less, flushed tone these days. That has some fans wondering if Ola Ray’s new hue is the result of excessive skin bleaching, or some other cause. Check out her recent pics below…

Not sure what the reason behind her melanin transformation is, but 40 years has brought about a change.

Old School Fun Facts About Ola Ray & MJ

1. Ola Ray was hand picked by Michael Jackson to be his video “girlfriend” and guess where he selected her from? The Playboy Magazine. He pointed to her…while he was looking through the magazine one day and asked his people to find her.

2. Ola Ray said MJ flirted with her a lot and that she was in love with him but never told him.

3. Ola Ray said she wakes up to Michael everyday:
“I have a huge poster of Michael, just of himself and then I have the 25^th Anniversary album,” she said in the ABC News interview. “Then, I have a picture of us walking together in the video … I see Michael every morning when I wake up.”

4. Michael Jackson gave one of his Thriller Awards to Ola Ray. She said after he’d asked her to go to Germany and accept the award on his behalf, this is what happened next:

“He wanted to send someone else to come pick it up [from me], but I told him, ‘No. If you don’t come pick it up yourself, then you’re not going to get it,'” said Ray, who went on to land small roles in Beverly Hills Cop II, Gimme A Break! and Cheers. “He didn’t come get it, so he called and told me it was mine. I could keep it.”

5. Word on the Old School curb is that Ola Ray is now reportedly a stay-at-home mom with a beautiful adult daughter.

The post “Thriller” Model Looks Good Today, But One Thing About Her Is Alarmingly Different appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Remember Ola Ray, the gorgeous video model/actress from Michael Jackson’s 1983, “Thriller” video? Well, we don’t know how we missed this information a few years ago, but somehow we did: Ola Ray came up big time with her “Thriller” royalty profits.

Ola Ray and Michael had a great friendship, but it was his estate, not him, that was causing her to get jacked out of her royalties. She said:

“Michael would always re-release Thriller in different packages so that I would get my royalties. He really did his personal best to help me while he was alive. Unfortunately, the people handling his estate have not been acting according to his wishes since his death,” said Ola Ray.

Ola Ray Got HOW MUCH For Her “Thriller” Video Appearance???

Ms. Ray ultimately sued Jackson’s estate to get her dough and like we said, she came up…all the way up to the tune of $75,000.00!

First of all, she has got to be the highest paid video model/actress I’ve ever seen! I can’t say that I’ve heard of music video models getting paid royalties from videos, but somehow royalties is exactly what Ola Ray got. She played the game cleverly and also must have had an incredible agent.

Many would say that $75K is a lot for simply playing the role of the woman who had to say a few lines , flirt and walk alongside Michael Jackson in one of the most popular music videos in the world. I’m not knocking Ola Ray’s contributions to the “Thriller” video at all, because I think she was the perfect person for it.

On the flip side though, $75K obviously won’t even put a slight dent in MJ’s account, but there are many model/actresses who would have taken a flat rate fee and been happy with that opportunity of a lifetime. Instead, Ola Ray made sure she juiced her Thriller appearance for everything it was worth and we can’t be mad at her for that one.

Overall, I’m glad Ola Ray finally got the money she was owed, because the bottom line is a contract is a contract and it must honored. I still love me some Ola Ray!

Here’s an interesting tidbit of info about Ola Ray:
She was hand picked by Michael Jackson to be his video “girlfriend” and guess where he selected her from? The Playboy Magazine. He pointed to her while he was looking through the magazine one day and asked his people to find her.

The post “Thriller” Model, Ola Ray, Once Got Paid A Crazy Amount Of Money By Jackson’s Estate appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

We all remember the beautiful model/actress, Ola Ray from Michael Jackson’s infamous 1982 “Thriller” video. But what we didn’t know was that she was dating a superstar, Old School athlete back in the day; nor that soon after becoming the then-most popular video models, her life spiraled out of control. Ola Ray discussed what transpired during that era of her life, in a prior interview.

Drug Addiction After “Thriller” And How Then-Boyfriend Jim Brown Tried To Help

In a People Magazine interview, Ola Ray revealed that following the massive success of the “Thriller” video, she plunged into the fast life, which came with dabbling in drugs.

Via People Mag: Ray herself admits, “I got involved in the drug scene.” Following a 1992 bust for cocaine possession, she agreed to spend nine months in a Tarzana, Calif., treatment facility.

After her release from rehab, NFL legend-turned actor, Jim Brown, welcomed her into his home and they became a couple. They’d previously met at the Playboy Mansion, Ola Ray was a former Playboy Playmate model at that time. Unfortunately Jim Brown says he had to move on due to Ola’s then-relapse:

Via PM: “She is a good-hearted person,” says Brown. But Ray, he says, resumed her drug habit, resulting in their breakup a few months later. Ray denies she backslid and says she left Brown because he treated her badly.

Paternity Controversy Over Her Daughter’s Father

Then came the confusion over who Ola Ray believed was the father of her now adult daughter, Iam. Initially, there was one potential candidate, then it turned into more:

Via PM: [Jim] Brown later found himself the defendant in a 1999 paternity suit filed by Ray on behalf of daughter Iam. At the time, Ray was living with an L.A. real estate broker with whom she got involved shortly after leaving Brown. She had at first assumed the new man in her life had impregnated her. But she says she began having doubts when Iam turned 3, “because every time he’d pick her up, she’d scream.”

But the shocker for Ola Ray was that her baby’s dad was not who she would have expected:

Via PM: DNA tests proved that neither he nor Brown was Iam’s father. Ray then asked her longtime friend Terry Clark to be tested. “The baby turned out to be mine,” says Clark, 47, a CBS cameraman. “It was a big shock to me.” He and Ray, off-and-on lovers since 1987, had had a one-night stand around the time she and Brown broke up. Now he is paying more than $1,000 a month in child support. “I totally love my little girl,” he says. “She did a good job bringing the kid up; it’s made Ola a better person.”

She “Freaked Out” And “Hid”

Though the success of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album and video brought massive public appeal to Ola Ray, an aspiring actress at that time, she admits that it scared the hell outta her and she didn’t know how to handle it:

Via PM: “I had no idea it was going to be that big,” she says of the video, which sold a million copies over the next decade and now ranks No. 1 on MTV’s list of the 100 Greatest Videos Ever Made. “Every magazine in the world was calling me. People were knocking at my door. I freaked out. I hid.”

Prior to “Thriller,” Ola ray says she was booked and busy non-stop, but afterwards she claims her refusal to perform sex acts behind the scenes made it difficult to get jobs:

Via PM: A bigger disappointment, she says, “is that after Thriller came along, I stopped working.” One reason, she claims, was her refusal to give “sexual favors” to producers.

However, her daughter’s father, disagrees with Ola Ray’s assessment or why she stopped getting gigs back then:

Via PM: “I’m sure that has a little to do with it,” says Terry Clark, a friend and former lover. “But what got her in trouble was not wanting to give up the party life.”

Since this interview in 2002, Ola Ray has had her share of ups and downs. We’re not sure what the status of her sobriety is now, but we certainly wish her the best. She’ll forever be the girl who millions of fellas had a crush on in the ’80s and whose shoes millions of ladies dreamed of being in as she stood shoulder-to-shoulder MJ in “Thriller.”

The post Ola Ray’s Downward Spiral After “Thriller” And Past Controversy Over Her Child’s Iconic Dad appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

We all remember when the beautiful Ola Ray, was dancing and giggling her way through Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” video. The former Playboy model became an overnight star on that fateful day in 1982. At that time, I -like many others- was crushin’ on Ola Ray something SERIOUS…as I also was on ‘Thelma’ from “Good Times,” but I digress. Anyways, it’s been about 37 years since most fans have laid eyes on Ms. Ray and a lot has changed. Although she’s still a beautiful woman at 60 years old, one thing is drastically different from the Ola Ray that we knew back in the day. What is it, you ask? Her complexion.

Lighter Shades Of Ola Ray

In the 1980’s, Ola Ray had the melanin-rich, caramel complexion that she was born with. Fast forward to now and her new complexion is the topic among many. Why? Because it seems that her skin tone has gradually transformed in the same way that Michael Jackson’s did. In other words, her skin is surprisingly more of a melanin-less, flushed tone these days. That has some fans wondering if Ola Ray’s new hue is the result of excessive skin bleaching, or some other cause. Check out her recent pics below…

Not sure what the reason behind her melanin transformation is, but 38 years has brought about a change.

Old School Fun Facts About Ola Ray & MJ

1. Ola Ray was hand picked by Michael Jackson to be his video “girlfriend” and guess where he selected her from? The Playboy Magazine. He pointed to her…while he was looking through the magazine one day and asked his people to find her.

2. Ola Ray said MJ flirted with her a lot and that she was in love with him but never told him.

3. Ola Ray said she wakes up to Michael everyday:
“I have a huge poster of Michael, just of himself and then I have the 25^th Anniversary album,” she said in the ABC News interview. “Then, I have a picture of us walking together in the video … I see Michael every morning when I wake up.”

4. Michael Jackson gave one of his Thriller Awards to Ola Ray. She said after he’d asked her to go to Germany and accept the award on his behalf, this is what happened next:

“He wanted to send someone else to come pick it up [from me], but I told him, ‘No. If you don’t come pick it up yourself, then you’re not going to get it,'” said Ray, who went on to land small roles in Beverly Hills Cop II, Gimme A Break! and Cheers. “He didn’t come get it, so he called and told me it was mine. I could keep it.”

5. Word on the Old School curb is that Ola Ray is now reportedly a stay-at-home mom with a beautiful 20-something year old daughter.

The post “Thriller” Model Looks Good Today, But One Thing About Her Looks Is Alarmingly Different appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

We all remember the beautiful model/actress, Ola Ray from Michael Jackson’s infamous 1982 “Thriller” video. But what we didn’t know was that she was dating a superstar, Old School athlete back in the day; nor that soon after becoming the then-most popular video models, her life spiraled out of control. Ola Ray discussed what transpired during that era of her life, in a prior interview.

Drug Addiction After “Thriller” And How Then-Boyfriend Jim Brown Tried To Help

In a People Magazine interview, Ola Ray revealed that following the massive success of the “Thriller” video, she plunged into the fast life, which came with dabbling in drugs.

Via People Mag: Ray herself admits, “I got involved in the drug scene.” Following a 1992 bust for cocaine possession, she agreed to spend nine months in a Tarzana, Calif., treatment facility.

After her release from rehab, NFL legend-turned actor, Jim Brown, welcomed her into his home and they became a couple. They’d previously met at the Playboy Mansion, Ola Ray was a former Playboy Playmate model at that time. Unfortunately Jim Brown says he had to move on due to Ola’s then-relapse:

Via PM: “She is a good-hearted person,” says Brown. But Ray, he says, resumed her drug habit, resulting in their breakup a few months later. Ray denies she backslid and says she left Brown because he treated her badly.

Paternity Controversy Over Her Daughter’s Father

Then came the confusion over who Ola Ray believed was the father of her now adult daughter, Iam. Initially, there was one potential candidate, then it turned into more:

Via PM: [Jim] Brown later found himself the defendant in a 1999 paternity suit filed by Ray on behalf of daughter Iam. At the time, Ray was living with an L.A. real estate broker with whom she got involved shortly after leaving Brown. She had at first assumed the new man in her life had impregnated her. But she says she began having doubts when Iam turned 3, “because every time he’d pick her up, she’d scream.”

But the shocker for Ola Ray was that her baby’s dad was not who she would have expected:

Via PM: DNA tests proved that neither he nor Brown was Iam’s father. Ray then asked her longtime friend Terry Clark to be tested. “The baby turned out to be mine,” says Clark, 47, a CBS cameraman. “It was a big shock to me.” He and Ray, off-and-on lovers since 1987, had had a one-night stand around the time she and Brown broke up. Now he is paying more than $1,000 a month in child support. “I totally love my little girl,” he says. “She did a good job bringing the kid up; it’s made Ola a better person.”

She “Freaked Out” And “Hid”

Though the success of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album and video brought massive public appeal to Ola Ray, an aspiring actress at that time, she admits that it scared the hell outta her and she didn’t know how to handle it:

Via PM: “I had no idea it was going to be that big,” she says of the video, which sold a million copies over the next decade and now ranks No. 1 on MTV’s list of the 100 Greatest Videos Ever Made. “Every magazine in the world was calling me. People were knocking at my door. I freaked out. I hid.”

Prior to “Thriller,” Ola ray says she was booked and busy non-stop, but afterwards she claims her refusal to perform sex acts behind the scenes made it difficult to get jobs:

Via PM: A bigger disappointment, she says, “is that after Thriller came along, I stopped working.” One reason, she claims, was her refusal to give “sexual favors” to producers.

However, her daughter’s father, disagrees with Ola Ray’s assessment or why she stopped getting gigs back then:

Via PM: “I’m sure that has a little to do with it,” says Terry Clark, a friend and former lover. “But what got her in trouble was not wanting to give up the party life.”

Since this interview in 2002, Ola Ray has had her share of ups and downs. We’re not sure what the status of her sobriety is now, but we certainly wish her the best. She’ll forever be the girl who millions of fellas had a crush on in the ’80s and whose shoes millions of ladies dreamed of being in as she stood shoulder-to-shoulder MJ in “Thriller.”

The post Ola Ray’s Downward Spiral After “Thriller” Video And Past Controversy Over Her Child’s Dad appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Remember Ola Ray, the gorgeous video model/actress from Michael Jackson’s 1983, “Thriller” video? Well, we don’t know how we missed this information a few years ago, but somehow we did: Ola Ray came up big time with her “Thriller” royalty profits.

Ola Ray and Michael had a great friendship, but it was his estate, not him, that was causing her to get jacked out of her royalties. She said:

“Michael would always re-release Thriller in different packages so that I would get my royalties. He really did his personal best to help me while he was alive. Unfortunately, the people handling his estate have not been acting according to his wishes since his death,” said Ola Ray.

Ola Ray Got HOW MUCH For Her “Thriller” Video Appearance???

Ms. Ray ultimately sued Jackson’s estate to get her dough and like we said, she came up…all the way up to the tune of $75,000.00!

First of all, she has got to be the highest paid video model/actress I’ve ever seen! I can’t say that I’ve heard of music video models getting paid royalties from videos, but somehow royalties is exactly what Ola Ray got. She played the game cleverly and also must have had an incredible agent.

Many would say that $75K is a lot for simply playing the role of the woman who had to say a few lines , flirt and walk alongside Michael Jackson in one of the most popular music videos in the world. I’m not knocking Ola Ray’s contributions to the “Thriller” video at all, because I think she was the perfect person for it.

On the flip side though, $75K obviously won’t even put a slight dent in MJ’s account, but there are many model/actresses who would have taken a flat rate fee and been happy with that opportunity of a lifetime. Instead, Ola Ray made sure she juiced her Thriller appearance for everything it was worth and we can’t be mad at her for that one.

Overall, I’m glad Ola Ray finally got the money she was owed, because the bottom line is a contract is a contract and it must honored. I still love me some Ola Ray!

Here’s an interesting tidbit of info about Ola Ray:
She was hand picked by Michael Jackson to be his video “girlfriend” and guess where he selected her from? The Playboy Magazine. He pointed to her while he was looking through the magazine one day and asked his people to find her.

The post “Thriller” Model Ola Ray Got Paid A Crazy Amount Of Money By Jackson’s Estate appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

We all remember when the beautiful Ola Ray, was dancing and giggling her way through Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” video. The former Playboy model became an overnight star on that fateful day in 1982. At that time, I -like many others- was crushin’ on Ola Ray something SERIOUS…as I also was on ‘Thelma’ from “Good Times,” but I digress. Anyways, it’s been about 37 years since most fans have laid eyes on Ms. Ray and a lot has changed. Although she’s still a beautiful woman at 60 years old, one thing is drastically different from the Ola Ray that we knew back in the day. What is it, you ask? Her complexion.

Lighter Shades Of Ola Ray

In the 1980’s, Ola Ray had the melanin-rich, caramel complexion that she was born with. Fast forward to now and her new complexion is the topic among many. Why? Because it seems that her skin tone has gradually transformed in the same way that Michael Jackson’s did. In other words, her skin is surprisingly more of a melanin-less, flushed tone these days. That has some fans wondering if Ola Ray’s new hue is the result of excessive skin bleaching, or some other cause. Check out her recent pics below…

Not sure what the reason behind her melanin transformation is, but 37 years has brought about a change.

Old School Fun Facts About Ola Ray & MJ

1. Ola Ray was hand picked by Michael Jackson to be his video “girlfriend” and guess where he selected her from? The Playboy Magazine. He pointed to her…while he was looking through the magazine one day and asked his people to find her.

2. Ola Ray said MJ flirted with her a lot and that she was in love with him but never told him.

3. Ola Ray said she wakes up to Michael everyday:
“I have a huge poster of Michael, just of himself and then I have the 25^th Anniversary album,” she said in the ABC News interview. “Then, I have a picture of us walking together in the video … I see Michael every morning when I wake up.”

4. Michael Jackson gave one of his Thriller Awards to Ola Ray. She said after he’d asked her to go to Germany and accept the award on his behalf, this is what happened next:

“He wanted to send someone else to come pick it up [from me], but I told him, ‘No. If you don’t come pick it up yourself, then you’re not going to get it,'” said Ray, who went on to land small roles in Beverly Hills Cop II, Gimme A Break! and Cheers. “He didn’t come get it, so he called and told me it was mine. I could keep it.”

5. Word on the Old School curb is that Ola Ray is now reportedly a stay-at-home mom with a beautiful 20-something year old daughter.

The post “Thriller” Model Looks Great Today, But One Thing About Her Looks Is Alarmingly Different appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

We all remember when the beautiful Ola Ray, was dancing and giggling her way through Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” video. The former Playboy model became an overnight star on that fateful day in 1982. At that time, I -like many others- was crushin’ on Ola Ray something SERIOUS…as I also was on ‘Thelma’ from “Good Times,” but I digress. Anyways, it’s been about 36 years since most fans have laid eyes on Ms. Ray and a lot has changed. Although she’s still a beautiful woman at 57 years old, one thing is drastically different from the Ola Ray that we knew back in the day. What is it, you ask? Her complexion.

Lighter Shades Of Ola Ray

In the 1980’s, Ola Ray had the melanin-rich, caramel complexion that she was born with. Fast forward to now and her new complexion is the topic among many. Why? Because it seems that her skin tone has gradually transformed in the same way that Michael Jackson’s did. In other words, her skin is surprisingly more of a melanin-less, flushed tone these days. That has some fans wondering if Ola Ray’s new hue is the result of excessive skin bleaching, or some other cause. Check out her recent pics below…

Not sure what the reason behind her melanin transformation is, but 36 years has brought about a change.

Old School Fun Facts About Ola Ray & MJ

1. Ola Ray was hand picked by Michael Jackson to be his video “girlfriend” and guess where he selected her from? The Playboy Magazine. He pointed to her…while he was looking through the magazine one day and asked his people to find her.

2. Ola Ray said MJ flirted with her a lot and that she was in love with him but never told him.

3. Ola Ray said she wakes up to Michael everyday:
“I have a huge poster of Michael, just of himself and then I have the 25^th Anniversary album,” she said in the ABC News interview. “Then, I have a picture of us walking together in the video … I see Michael every morning when I wake up.”

4. Michael Jackson gave one of his Thriller Awards to Ola Ray. She said after he’d asked her to go to Germany and accept the award on his behalf, this is what happened next:

“He wanted to send someone else to come pick it up [from me], but I told him, ‘No. If you don’t come pick it up yourself, then you’re not going to get it,'” said Ray, who went on to land small roles in Beverly Hills Cop II, Gimme A Break! and Cheers. “He didn’t come get it, so he called and told me it was mine. I could keep it.”

5. Word on the Old School curb is that Ola Ray is now a stay-at-home mom with a beautiful 20-something year old daughter.

The post “Thriller” Model Looks Great Now, But One Thing About Her Looks Is Alarmingly Different appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Via Billboard: That means Thriller…has earned 33 million equivalent album units in the U.S. That sum blends traditional album sales (one album sale equals one unit), tracks sold from an album (10 tracks sold equals one unit) and on-demand audio and/or video streams (1,500 streams equals one unit).

A plaque commemorating the milestone was presented at the home of Epic Records chairman Antonio “L.A.” Reid over Grammy weekend, where Sony Music CEO Doug Morris, Columbia Records chairman and incoming Sony Music CEO Rob Stringer, Sony president, commercial group Richard Story, attorneys Karen Langford and John Branca toasted the certification.

Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Extends Reign as Highest Certified Album in U.S. History https://t.co/fgsjwlebri via @billboard

— LA Reid (@LA_Reid) February 16, 2017

In case you’re wondering how the legendary L.A. Reid got thrown into the plaque ceremony shindig, it’s because he’s currently chairman and CEO of Epic Records, a division of Sony Music.

Anywho, we’re giving a big hand clap and an Old School fist bump to the spirit of Michael Jackson for this one! Greatness never dies…

The post Michael Jackson STILL BREAKING RECORDS w/Thriller, Sony Makes BIG Announcement appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

When we say this video surfaced, we mean it SURFACED! We didn’t go dig it up, it found us. Kind of like how Malcolm X once stated, “We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on us.” LOL.
Now I personally loved Ola Ray in “Thriller,” but when it comes to her music video I am compelled to take the profound advice my Momma always gave to me and that is: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say nothing at all.”

With that said, we want to make it clear that we still have nothing but love for our girl, Ola Ray, now tap that ‘next’ button and prepare to be entertained…

The post LAWWWD! What Was Ola Ray Thinking With This New Music Video? appeared first on I Love Old School Music.