Jamie Masada, owner of the Laugh Factory in Hollywood, played down his role in bringing Jackson together with Gavin, and said only that he made a number of phone calls to people including music producer Quincy Jones to try to fulfill the sick boy's wish to meet Jackson.
"I don't know if the message got to him or the fact that he called the next day was by the will of God," said Masada.
Masada said that during a hospital visit the boy was excited and told Masada that Jackson had called.
"He was very cheered up by it," the witness said.
But most of Masada's testimony offered jurors a heartrending account of the boy's illness, his parents' efforts to bring the boy and his siblings to the club and his own heroism in convincing comedians to go to the hospital and perform for the child.
"I believe laughter heals," Masada said.
Masada said during cross-examination that he had never met Jackson before.
"This is the first time I've seen him," Masada said, turning to Jackson and asking, "How are you?"
The defendant waved to him.
In a ruling Tuesday concerning an upcoming prosecution witness, Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville said that Stan J. Katz, a psychologist who interviewed the boy, cannot testify about the credibility of the accuser or his brother and cannot testify about whether he believes the molestation occurred.
Masada's account included telephone calls from the boy's mother, who said she and her children were being held against their will at Neverland and his decision to introduce her to an attorney.
Masada said that after the TV documentary aired the boy was subjected to name-calling by other children, and Masada and the lawyer wanted to stop the makers of the documentary from replaying the program on TV.
His questioning by Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen ended with him telling jurors that the mother of the boy once turned down an offer of large amounts of money.
"I told (her) a particular person offered to give her a check for as much as you and the children want, whatever amount of money you need," Masada said.
"What did she say?" asked Zonen.
"She said, 'No. Tell him all I need are friends. I don't need money. I need prayer,'" Masada said.
Masada did not identify the potential benefactor.
He also insisted the only member of the family who solicited money was the father, although he acknowledged that a boyfriend of the mother also asked him for money at one point to pay for judo and karate classes for the boy so he could defend himself against taunts.
During cross-examination, Masada displayed anger at defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. when the lawyer confronted him with statements he made to sheriff's investigators. The statements showed Masada made reference to the boy's parents asking for money, but he insisted he meant the father.
"Don't put words in my mouth," Masada snapped. "Let me tell the truth."
Masada also described an incident in which the boy's family allegedly tried to con comedian George Lopez by leaving the boy's wallet at Lopez's house and then claiming $300 was missing.
Masada said he wrote the boy's father a check for $350 but later learned from Lopez that only $50 had been in the wallet when Lopez found it. Masada said he questioned the father about the disparity at a fund-raiser for the boy and the father threw money that had been raised at him.
Masada said the father called on his son to corroborate his story about the wallet and the boy would not.
Source: AP/MJJForum/eMJey