Al Sharpton / Biography

He is the basis for the character "Reverend Bacon" in the novel and film The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990).
Introduced Michael Jackson at James Brown's funeral, telling the crowd: "I don't care what the media says tonight, James Brown wanted Michael Jackson with him here today. He said ... 'I love Michael.' He said, 'Tell him don't worry about coming home. They always scandalize those that have the talent." (30 December 2006).
His ancestors were owned by relatives of the late Senator Strom Thurmond.
Son of Rev. Alfred Charles Sharpton, Sr. (born in Florida, circa 1926, living in Orlando, Florida, in 2004) and wife Ada (born 1925).