Sleep-deprived Michael Jackson needed teleprompter to sing classics

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Michael Jackson fans from left, Karlene Taylor, Yvonne Francis, Latrenda White and Jamie Lee, speak out against AEG Live. A jury found Wednesday that AEG Live was not liable in the death of the pop superstar. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Jury foreman Gregg Barden, center, listens to a reporter’s question about their verdict in the civil trial over the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Katherine Jackson and three grandchildren against AEG Live in the death of singer Michael Jackson. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yvette M. Palazuelos gathers the verdict documents moments before they were publicly disclosed. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Attorneys for Katherine Jackson, Deborah Chang, left and Kevin Boyle listen as jurors are polled following the verdict in the civil trial that lasted for five months. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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AEG attorney Marvin Putnam smiles during verdict polling at the conclusion of the Katherine Jackson v. AEG Live civil trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The jury found AEG not liable in Michael Jackson’s death. AEG attorney Jessica Stebbins Bina is at left. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Brian Panish, left, attorney for the Michael Jackson family, speaks with Kathryn Cahan and Marvin Putnam, attorneys with AEG Live LLC ,in Los Angeles County Superior Court in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death trial Thursday in downtown Los Angeles. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Bailiffs are sworn in to protect the jury as Brian Panish, attorney for the Michael Jackson family, waits during the trial in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday. The singer’s family has sued the entertainment firm AEG Live LLC, saying the company negligently hired and supervised Conrad Murray, the doctor who administered the dose of propofol that killed the singer. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Brian Panish, an attorney for the Michael Jackson family, delivers his closing argument to jurors in a packed courtroom in downtown Los Angeles on Sept. 24. The promoters of Michael Jackson’s last tour were “so excited” about making huge profits that they hired an unfit doctor to care for the star, his family’s lawyer said. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Marvin Putnam, lead attorney for AEG Live LLC and co-counsel Jessica Stebbins-Bina, listen to closing arguments by Michael Jackson family’s attorney, Brian Panish, in a packed courtroom Sept. 24. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Brian Panish, attorney for the Michael Jackson family, delivers his closing argument to jurors in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live LLC on Sept. 24. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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AEG attorney Marvin Putnam gives closing arguments in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death case on Sept. 25. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yvette M. Palazuelos listens to a rebuttal argument in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death case on Sept. 26. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Debbie Rowe, Michael Jackson’s former wife and mother of two of his children, leaves Los Angeles County Superior Court after testifying at the trial in the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, against AEG Live. (Nick Ut / Associated Press)

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Television crews report live outside Los Angeles County Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles on the first day of the trial in the wrongful-death lawsuit. (Joe Klamar / AFP/Getty Images)

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In this file photo dated Sept. 27, 2011, Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine Jackson arrives outside Los Angeles County Superior Court to hear opening statement in the involuntary manslaughter trial of pop superstar Michael Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray. Murray was convicted and sentenced to prison. (Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images)

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Singer Janet Jackson, left, Paris Katherine Jackson, Prince Michael Jackson II and LaToya Jackson are seen on stage during the memorial service for Michael Jackson at Staples Center in Los Angeles on July 7, 2009. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

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Entertainer Michael Jackson announces on March 5, 2009, that he will play a series of comeback concerts at the London O2 Arena in July. Jackson died before the concerts could be held. (Joel Ryan / Associated Press)

By Jeff Gottlieb

June 21, 2013 1:55 PM PT

A Harvard sleep expert testified in the Michael Jackson wrongful death case Friday that the singer suffered from almost total sleep deprivation that resulted from his use of the anesthetic propofol.

Dr. Charles Czeisler, who has both an MD and a PhD, testified that propofol brings on “a drug-induced coma” that is far different from sleep. Not only does it not satisfy the body’s need for sleep, it dissipates the sleep drive, “leading to a massive sleep deficiency.”

“That is what I believe happened in the case of Mr. Jackson,” Czeisler testified.

He said that the symptoms Jackson exhibited, laid out in emails and testimony from people watching him during rehearsals for the 50 concerts scheduled for London were “consistent with what you might expect to see in someone suffering from total sleep deprivation over a chronic period of time.”

He said the emails provided more detail than those kept by scientists during their observations.

“The meticulous detail of his deterioration was both profound and sad,” Czeisler said.

Those symptoms included loss of weight, paranoia, anxiety, difficulty with balance, difficulty regulating his body temperature and asking for a teleprompter for lyrics to songs he had been singing for years.

The doctor said the fact Jackson asked for the teleprompter “was shocking and indicated to me the profound impact this sleep deprivation was having on his memory.”

Asked by Michael Koskoff, an attorney for the Jacksons, what had caused the problems, Czeisler replied, “No. I believe Mr. Jackson had a sleep disorder and it was a chronic sleep disorder.”

Jackson died June 25, 2009, of an overdose of propofol that Dr. Conrad Murray administered at the singer’s rented Holmby Hills mansion to treat his insomnia. Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and is serving time in jail.

Czeisler testified that in April, May and June 2009, Murray ordered more than four gallons of propofol.

“It’s a stupendous amount,” he said.

The sleep expert testified that according to the toxicology report, the amount of propofol in Jackson’s system was what you would expect of a patient undergoing major abdominal surgery.

Czeisler said that Jackson’s insomnia was not disabling most times, but was exacerbated when he was on tour or preparing for one.

“The key issue in this case is that his insomnia, his sleep disorder was greatly exacerbated when he was on tour,” he said. “It was rather mild when he was not in tour mode or tour preparation mode. It was disabling to him when he was on tour or preparing to tour.”

He said that Murray, an internist and cardiologist, “was clearly not competent to diagnose or treat Mr. Jackson’s sleep disorder.”

The suit against AEG Live and two of its executives was brought by Jackson’s mother and three children. They say AEG, which was promoting and producing the concerts, negligently hired and supervised Murray. The entertainment giant says that Murray worked for Jackson and that any money it was supposed to pay the doctor was an advance to the singer.

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Twitter: @gottliebjeff