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Bubbles the Chimp

In a Daily Beast exclusive, Ben Montgomery meets Michael Jackson’s beloved chimpanzee, Bubbles, who is now retired and living the good life in Florida with other celebrity apes. Among the revelations: Bubbles didn't commit suicide, he wasn't cryogenically frozen, and he has not been told of Michael’s death.

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Bride Lane Library, Popperfoto / Getty Images
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Michael Jackson poses with 14-year-old fan Donna Ashlock and Bubbles at the Neverland Ranch in 1986.

Bride Lane Library, Popperfoto / Getty Images
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Four-year-old Bubbles holds up a photo of himself and Michael Jackson while a Bubbles doll rests beside him in Tokyo, 1987.

Hulton Archive / Getty Images
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Bubbles and his trainer Bob Dunn, with whom Bubbles lived after Michael Jackson.

Jim Smeal, WireImage / Getty Images
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Michael with Bubbles and a pet llama named Louie.

GAB Archive, Redferns / Getty Images
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Michael Jackson, Bubbles, and La Toya Jackson meet a fan in the Philippines in 1987.

Sipa Press
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At the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Florida, residents are often shown films they have performed in when they were younger. Bubbles has not been shown any footage of himself with Michael Jackson.

Globe Photos / Newscom
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Among the 1,300 items from Neverland that were to be offered at auction was this portrait of Michael Jackson and Bubbles.

Mark Ralston, AFP / Getty Images
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A life-size sculpture of Michael Jackson and Bubbles by Jeff Koons is part of the collection of billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad.

The Broad Art Foundation / AP Photo
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Twenty-six-year-old Bubbles at the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Florida, where he has lived since 2005.

Courtesy Center for Great Apes
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Years after he moonwalked, Bubbles, at the Center for Great Apes, lives with more than 40 other apes, some of whom have also been in show business.

Courtesy Center for Great Apes
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Michael may be gone, but Bubbles is still in the hearts and minds of his fans.

Courtesy Center for Great Apes