About
Dancer and actor best known for his portrayal of Michael Jackson in the 1992 miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream. He passed away in 1993 after having been diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.
Before Fame
He played football in high school. When he was ten, his older brother would host parties at a local skating rink, and Draper would dance like Jackson. He took some acting classes at Pittsburgh's Point Park College and worked as a lead dancer at Disney World.
Trivia
He was discovered by casting director Jaki Brown, who later caste the movies Stand and Deliver and Boyz n the Hood. A fellow casting director in Pittsburgh knew Draper and recommended him to Jacksons director Karen Arthur. Brown then tracked down Draper, who was performing in a musical revue on a Norwegian cruise ship near San Pedro, California.
Family Life
He was born Wylie Hughes Draper Jr. in West Virginia.
Associated With
Draper's costars in The Jacksons included future stars Angela Bassett and Terrence Howard, as well as Holly Robinson Peete, Vanessa Williams, and Billy Dee Williams. In addition to playing Jackson in The Jacksons, Draper danced in Jackson's 1992 "Remember the Time" video, which also starred Eddie Murphy, Iman Abdulmajid, Magic Johnson, and The Pharcyde, and was directed by John Singleton.
