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Michael Sands (media)

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Michael Sands
Birth nameMichael Jay Shapiro
Born(1945-12-14)December 14, 1945
Boston, Massachusetts
DiedApril 6, 2012(2012-04-06) (aged 66)
Los Angeles, California

Michael Sands (December 14, 1945 – April 6, 2012)[1] was an American fashion print model and actor turned media consultant, representing clients such as George Lazenby, Michael Reagan, Gary Devore, Mr. Blackwell, and Kevin Federline.[2][3][4][5][6]

Biography

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Sands acted in various roles, including in the Dennis DeYoung Music Video "Don't Wait for Heroes," and frequently discussed celebrity images in the national media.[7][8][9] Through producing CelebrityDoctor.co in the late 1990s, Sands pioneered the trend for live TV/web screenings of face-lifts, most famously with Arabella Churchill.[10][11]

The book The CIA in Hollywood [12] by Tricia Jenkins reports that Sands supported the CIA in establishing a presence in Hollywood in the mid-1990s and even assisted in the capture of Abu Abbas, the terrorist behind the hijacking of the MS Achille Lauro cruise ship in 1985. Sands arranged for Abbas to be interviewed in Baghdad for a book and movie deal, and then gave the interview and Abbas's contact details to the FBI and CIA.[13] US Special Forces captured Abbas in 2003.[14]

In 2011 Sands was approached by the Utah family of Wassef Ali Hassoun over a $1m book and movie deal about the Marine corporal charged with desertion who allegedly faked his own kidnapping in Iraq.[15][16][17]

Michael has one son, Nicholas Sands

Death

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On March 24, 2012, Sands started choking on free food sample in a Los Angeles deli.[18] He was pronounced dead on the scene for five minutes, then revived and taken to Cedars Sinai hospital. At the hospital, Sands was placed in a medically induced coma to prevent inflammation of the brain. He died thirteen days later on April 6, 2012, at the age of sixty-seven.[19]

References

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  1. ^ Makarechi, Kia (2012-04-13). "Hollywood Publicist Dies After Choking On Deli Meat". HuffPost. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  2. ^ People Magazine, Michael Sands Will Do Anything – Even Take His Clothes Off – To Sell His Cakes and Cookies, 25th June 1984
  3. ^ USA Today, Family remembers Reagan on anniversary, 6th June 2006
  4. ^ St. Petersburg Times (Florida), "Dick Tracy' done with bold strokes, 16th May 1990
  5. ^ Christopher Rocchio, Kristy Swanson arrested for assaulting Fox 'Skating' partner's ex-wife, Reality TV World, 18th June 2007
  6. ^ China Daily, Britney Spears, K-Fed Divorce Settlement, 30th March 2007
  7. ^ Hollywood Life, Image Expert on Tiger Woods's Public Performance
  8. ^ Time Magazine, Lohan's Release: How to Choreograph a Walk of Shame, 1st August 2010
  9. ^ USA Today, Grading the star couples, 4th November 2005
  10. ^ The New York Times Nip, Tuck, Click: Plastic Surgery on the Web Is Hip, 19th September 1999
  11. ^ The New York Times, Now on the Web: Plastic Surgery for Voyeurs 19th September 1999
  12. ^ Jenkins, Tricia. (2012). The CIA in Hollywood : how the agency shapes film and television (1st ed.). Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292728615. OCLC 747947256.
  13. ^ Tricia Jenkins, The CIA in Hollywood Archived 2012-04-26 at the Wayback Machine, University of Texas Press, 2012 p. 95
  14. ^ Jane Sutton, Achille Lauro Hijack Organizer Held by U.S. in Iraq, Reuters
  15. ^ CBS News, Family of AWOL Marine Seeks Book Deal: Marine Corporal Charged with Desertion for Faking His Own Kidnapping; Family Wants to Clear His Name, 8th February 2011
  16. ^ Deseret News, Missing Utah Marine's story could become TV movie, 12th February 2011
  17. ^ McKay, Hollie (2015-03-26). "'The Deserter': Story of U.S Marine Who Faked Kidnapping to Become Hollywood TV Movie". Fox News. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  18. ^ "Michael Sands Obituary". The Telegraph. 2012-05-04. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  19. ^ Swertlow, Frank (2012-04-13). "The Bizarre Death - and Life - of Publicist/CIA Operative Michael Sands (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
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