LOS ANGELES — Every day during his five-month molestation trial in 2005, Michael Jackson was comforted during breaks by his mother, Katherine. As a kid, Michael was terrified of his father, Joe, who allegedly hit him and his brothers if they made a mistake during rehearsals.

Michael cried after he and producer Quincy Jones listened to the test pressing of the “Thriller” album. Both of them thought it sounded “terrible.” They spent eight days improving the album and…of course, you know what became of “Thriller.”

These are among the details emerging in the wake of Michael’s sudden death. The gloved one was such a recluse that not many personal details are known about him. Two pieces that both appeared recently in the Los Angeles Times, one written by Harriet Ryan and Joe Mozingo and the other by Quincy himself, provided the most revealing and personal glimpses yet of the man in the mirror.

In the first story, a front-page piece on how Michael’s mother was the rock in his life, the two reporters interviewed the pop superstar’s defense lawyer, an executive behind his comeback concerts, a biographer and a former family friend. “She would tell him that the truth would prevail, and that God would help him. She kept him strong,” lawyer Thomas A. Mesereau Jr. was quoted as saying.

The King of Pop’s biographer, Randy Taraborrelli, recounted, “She had to sit there, this very religious Jehovah’s Witness, and hear the most horrible, lurid testimony about her son day in and day out. It was brutal, embarrassing and humiliating—and, man, she just did it! She is unflappable.”

The piece also disclosed that although Joe and Katherine are still married (for close to six decades now), they have been living separately for at least 10 years. Described as “strong and determined,” the Jackson matriarch is fiercely protective of her brood—especially of Michael. We can imagine that she is grieving and devastated, but she’s carrying on for the sake of Michael’s children and also, so she can attend to the details of the funeral plans that are still being worked out by the family.

In his heartfelt ode, headlined “We made history together,” Quincy Jones offered an intimate glimpse of Michael, the artist and his protégé. The legendary producer praised Michael as “a different kind of entertainer. A man-child in many ways, he was beyond professional and dedicated. Evoking Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis Jr. and James Brown all at once, he’d work for hours, perfecting every kick, gesture and movement.”

Michael was only 12 and a member of the Jackson 5 when Quincy first met him. Quincy recalled how he ended up producing Michael’s landmark albums: “In 1978, Sidney Lumet pulled me kicking and screaming into doing the music for ’The Wiz,’ and in hindsight, I’m so glad he did. As the scarecrow, Michael dove into the filming of ’The Wiz’ with everything that he had, not only learning his lines, but those of everyone in the cast. Prior to filming, Michael and I were working at my home, and he asked if I could help find him a producer to work with him on his first solo album from Epic.”

We’re always told that Michael was actually shy, but how bashful was he? Jones recalls, “He was so shy he’d sit down and sing behind the couch with his back to me, while I sat there with my hands over my eyes with the lights off.”

Noting that while the tawdry details of Michael’s colorful life are being trotted out now, Quincy declared that, eventually, the late entertainer’s music is what will be remembered. Quincy ended his tribute with a nod to the Cebu prison inmates’ version of “Thriller,” which is an Internet sensation: “In every language on the planet, from prison yards in the Philippines to Thrilltheworld.com, his music will be the beautiful, grand legacy of Michael Jackson.”

Ruffa celebrates birthday in LA

In happier news, Monet Lu, top Filipino-American hair and makeup stylist, entrepreneur and event producer, hosted a belated birthday bash for Ruffa Gutierrez last Sunday evening at the CBS Studios lot in LA. The affair, which raised funds for Ruffa’s Roof-A-Child Foundation, featured a fashion show of collections by Alan del Rosario, a finalist in the 2009 “Oscar Designer Challenge,” Mul Toyoba and Nicolette Lacson.

Shirley Gorospe, still very much the epitome of grace and elegance in a gown by Fil-Am designer, Lou Razon, was one of the first to arrive.

Also seen: Frieda Fonda, former “Miss Body Language,” who is now known in the LA Fil-Am community as Frieda Brookshire, a successful cosmetic, reconstructive and implant dentist. Another guest, Bong Dimayacyac Nuguid, still looks as stunning as she did in 1983, when she cinched the Mutya ng Pilipinas and Miss Asia-Pacific Quest titles. She and her husband, Victor Nuguid, cheered on their eldest, Timothy, 20, who made his modeling debut that evening.

Other attendees: singers Antoinette Taus and Stephanie Reese; Ruffa’s proud parents, Annabelle Rama and Eddie Gutierrez; TV news anchor-reporter Cher Calvin; singer-actress Patricia Javier; Mr. Asia USA 2007 Chris Friel; Hollywood actors, Jeff Conaway and Leslie-Anne Huff. Rich Cabael, who’s on a mission to create premium wines and spirits made and packaged in the Philippines, kept everyone in a party mood with his VuQo Premium Vodka and Haliya Light Fruit Wines (from our mango and duhat). Charina Vergara Carrera of 3MCPlus helped Rich introduce the Philippine-made spirits to the guests.

E-mail rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com, and read his blog, “The Nepales Report,” on http://blogs.inquirer.net/nepalesreport.