The Secret Of Michael Jackson's Glove

Michael Jackson's trademark single white glove started as a way to hide his skin condition, it has been revealed.

Friends say it was an early effort to mask a skin condition that he would struggle with for the rest of his life.

Actor and friend Cicely Tyson said Jackson started wearing the glove in the 1980s.

"I was there when he was creating it," she said.

"Michael was beginning to develop the vitiligo, and it started on his hand.

"The glove was to cover the vitiligo; that's how that glove came into being."

The glove mystery was solved as the head of the Los Angeles Police Department said murder had not been ruled out.

Jackson's single white glove was made famous in the music video for Billie Jean.

More than the black fedora, the white socks and loafers, or the red leather jacket, it became his trademark.

A sequined glove he wore during his 1984 Victory tour was expected to fetch more than $60,000 at auction, even before his death.

Dermatologist Dr Arnold Klein said Jackson suffered from vitiligo, a disease that causes blotches of lightening skin, as well as a form of lupus that led to rashes and flaking of skin on his scalp.

"His was bad because he began to get a speckled look over his body - on his face and hands, which is hard to treat," he said.

Dr Klein said he treated Jackson's vitiligo with a cream that eventually bleached Jackson's darker pigmentation to even out his skin colour.

He said it was that treatment - not any desire to be white - that lightened his skin over the years.

"Michael was black," Dr Klein said.

"He was very proud of his black heritage."

At Jackson's memorial service on Tuesday, close friend Brooke Shields remembered the glove in a light moment.

"When he started wearing the glove, I was like, 'What's up with the glove?' I was like, 'If you're going to hold my hand, it better be the non-glove one, because sequins really hurt me'. It would dig in.

"He'd just shake his head and he would just smile."

As the probe into Jackson's death continued, investigators called for any records held by Jackson's multiple doctors, "including radiology and psychiatric records".

LA police chief Bill Bratton said they were looking into Jackson's "prescription drug history - the doctors that he's dealt with over the years".

He didn't rule out an overdose or homicide.

"Are we dealing with homicide? Are we dealing with an accidental overdose? I can tell you, I don't have that information," he said.

The mystery surrounding Jackson's final resting place also deepened, with a memorial service overnight in his hometown of Gary, Indiana.

Rumours were still swirling about where the pop star would be buried, and one report said Jackson's body was in safekeeping and no decision had been made about the burial.