For Some Families, Addiction Comes to Light Only in Death

Aug. 14, 2009— -- Just two months ago, Michael Jackson was poised to make a big comeback, with 50 sold-out performances in London. Doctors even gave him a clean bill of health. For this fallen star, the future looked brighter than it had in years. But what the world and even some members of his own family didn't know was that Jackson may have had a secret: he was reportedly abusing prescription drugs and hiding it at any cost.

"Michael would make his mother, Katherine, wait outside his gate three, four hours, no matter what time of day or night it was," claimed Stacy Brown, author of "Michael Jackson: The Man Behind the Mask." "If he was high on drugs, so he could clean up. He didn't want her or his family to see that," he said.

In an interview with ABC's Chris Connelly, Jackson's father, Joseph Jackson, said he didn't know how bad things were. "I didn't know anything about the drugs. I didn't even know the name of them," he said.

It's a story that's become all too familiar recently. In June, popular TV pitchman, Billy Mays died of heart failure. Weeks later, the autopsy revealed cocaine as a "contributory cause of death." It's a finding his family -- especially brother Randy Mays -- won't accept.

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"First of all, I'd like to just say, I'd like to see that report," he said. "That's not my brother, other than that, no comment. It's not Billy."

Beyond their fame, what Mays and Jackson may have had in common was keeping their addictions hidden from their families.

69-year-old Marilyn White lived a double life for 15 years. By day, she was a mother who worked a variety of jobs to make ends meet, but she also struggled with a secret addiction to alcohol that was quickly spiraling out of control.

"[I would] go to bars where I didn't know people and drink on my own, drink in the car, drink in the bathroom where you work, I had a flask in my briefcase," White recalled to ABC News.

With addiction, where there's a will, there's a way. "You put alcohol in the Listerine bottle - or you drink Listerine if you can't find any alcohol," said White, who also confessed to drinking perfume when she was desperate.