What made Jacko wacko?

LOS ANGELES: Whether he was dangling his baby over a balcony, sleeping in an oxygen chamber or befriending a chimpanzee - at times Michael Jackson appeared to revel in his nickname of "Wacko Jacko."

The 50-year-old icon became a byword for eccentricity throughout his adult life as his staggering wealth allowed him to enter a lavish fantasy world where he could indulge his every whim, no matter how bizarre.

"He got to the point that he was so rich, so powerful and so famous, that he was allowed to kind of withdraw from any kind of reality," pop culture expert Robert Thompson told AFP.