Before they were married — or even knew each other — Vernay and Ryan O’Neal had something in common that would eventually change their lives.
Michael Jackson.
Separately, they collected whatever they could get their hands on.
For Ryan, it was an obsession with The Jackson 5, a musical attraction to him since he was a boy. Ryan loved their music, their dance moves and all the pop culture goodness that came with it.
For Vernay, it was the Michael Jackson known as “The King of Pop,” the “Thriller” Michael Jackson who filled stadiums and sold millions and millions of albums.
When they finally met each other, their mutual affection for all things Michael Jackson would unite them personally, matrimonially and — ultimately — melded a collection of memorabilia that they knew one day could possibly become a business.
And that is exactly what is happening this summer at Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City with The MJJ5 Exhibit, the Michael Jackson/Jackson 5 experience that features hundreds and hundreds of items collected by the duo for most of their lives.
The MJJ5 Exhibit, which can be seen 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily at the Showboat through Aug. 31, brings their worlds and passion together and celebrates the unparalleled contributions of Michael Jackson to music, dance, and popular culture and covers the career of Michael Jackson from his early start with The Jackson 5 to his posthumous releases.
A mutual affection
It seemed like destiny when Vernay and Ryan met each other at an exhibit at a school that Ryan was coerced into doing.
“Ryan was doing an exhibit in Delaware, in my hometown, and I came to see his collection,” Vernay said. “It was bigger than mine, and if you can’t beat him, join him!”
Vernay, who didn’t have an exhibit of her own, eventually fell in love with him for more than just Michael Jackson, of course, but a major attraction was their mutual love for all things Michael.
“I’m so thankful now that I did that exhibit because I was able to help out the school and meet the love of my life,” Ryan said.
Collecting separately
Ryan’s obsession for Michael and his talented siblings started when he was just a kid
“I started off collecting Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 memorabilia at the age of 5,” he said. “I always just admired their talent, their creativity, and I just started collecting items … just one item after the next. And before I knew it, I had a massive collection. I kept adding stuff. And everywhere I would go when I traveled, I would just look for mom-and-pop record stores and collectors, and I would just purchase any item I could find, whatever I found.”
Ryan gives a lot of the credit to his aunt Dawn Coleman, who introduced him to The Jackson 5.
“She gave me the album, ‘Diana Ross Presents The Jackson Five,’ and when I saw those five little guys up on there, and they were stepping and playing instruments and singing, I was like, ‘Man, that is remarkable!,’ And then from there, it just became infectious. It’s been a big love of my life: Collect the Jackson 5, listen to the Jackson 5 and watch all their videos.”
For Vernay, her love of Michael Jackson also started when she was just a kid.
“I’ve always been a Michael Jackson fanatic since I was 7,” she said. “So, I started buying things. And then I just started holding on to them and preserving them and taking care of them. Next thing I know, I’ve had this massive, awesome collection. And we’re just very honored that we finally get to share it with a large group of people.”
An exhibit is born
After meeting in 2017, the couple married in 2020, but they didn’t seriously consider doing an exhibit as a business until this year.
“We have been trying to do this for a while,” Vernay explained. “We have been reaching out to various hotels and trying to figure out if there was a spot for us to do this. And then we kind of just kind of gave up on the idea. We weren’t really getting any responses. And then one day I just said, ‘Let’s just try to send a few more messages out there.’ And we took a chance, and Showboat responded right away, and they were very excited.”
It was Showboat Director of Sales and Marketing Grant Tapper who saw the potential. Knowing the power of Michael Jackson combined with the connections to Atlantic City, Tapper saw an opportunity and wanted to help the couple.
Ryan believes Michael Jackson performed with The Jackson 5 as part of a variety show at The Steel Pier, but Michael Jackson never performed in Atlantic City as an adult. The Jacksons — minus Michael — performed in Atlantic City multiple times, including in 2024 at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City and as part of the much-publicized “Unity Tour” in July 2013 at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa.
But there have been countless tribute shows that continue to come through Atlantic City paying tribute to Michael Jackson, including Legends in Concert, which routinely had a Michael Jackson impersonator as part of its repertoire.
“Grant, who is the one who got us in here, was so excited, and he hyped us up to do it,” Vernay said. “And we are just so excited that we have this opportunity. Showboat was the only one willing to give us a chance.”
The exhibit features everything from magazines from the 1970s to Jackson 5 board games and fan club posters to “Thriller” View Masters, L.A. Gear Michael Jackson limited-edition sneakers and even lifelike mannequins with Jackson costumes.
“The resemblance is so lifelike that you would really think you’re standing next to Michael Jackson,” Ryan said. “One of my items that I’m really excited for people to see is a guitar of Tito Jackson’s that’s signed by the brothers. For The Jackson 5 fan, they’re going to see a part of their history with the Saturday morning cartoons. We have items from the cereal you had when you were a kid … to the vast collection of merchandise and advertising that the Jacksons put out from the time of The Jackson 5 up until Michael Jackson’s career with Pepsi.”
If you decide to come see the hundreds and hundreds of items in The MJJ5 Exhibit, some will be accompanied by descriptions that are being added every day, but you will likely get a personal tour by Vernay to show you around the space and answer any questions.
“I’ve been walking through with people and explaining to them how we came upon things and why certain things are important to us and why things are important to my husband and how he came upon things,” she said. “So right now, they have the live narrator. When people come in, they’re very excited about what they’re seeing. Even some of the biggest fans are saying, ‘You know, I have some of this stuff, but there’s items in here that I didn’t even know existed.’ We love that. We love to surprise people that love Michael and show them something that they haven’t seen before.”
At the time of the interview, Vernay was cataloguing items and was up to No. 428 with plenty of more to log.
“And there’s more back home,” she added. “We just didn’t have enough space to show everything. We picked what we thought people would like the most.”
The O’Neals are working on getting some of the collection authenticated, but in the meantime Ryan believes the most valuable items certainly belong in Atlantic City.
“Slot machines,” he said with a laugh about the Michael Jackson slot machines they possess. “We also have some one-of-a-kind figures that we bought from an artist and some limited-edition, 18-inch Michael Jackson figure dolls that are really beautiful to look at. I mean, it’s just a really beautiful collection.”
The O’Neals are not sure if they will take this collection on the road and continue to make this a business, but they are happy they are in Atlantic City this summer showing off the passion they share that brought them together for a lifetime.
“Michael Jackson is an icon, right?” Vernay said. “And when you come in here, that’s what you’re going to be reminded of. You’re going to see all aspects of his career and just remember the things that he stood for. He wasn’t just about music. He was about healing the world, saving the planet, bringing all kinds of people together.”
The MJJ5 Exhibit is located right off the Boardwalk on the main level of the Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City. It is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Admission is $10 for kids and $15 for adults with no charge for babies. Go to ShowboatHotelAC.com
Scott Cronick is an award-winning journalist who has written about entertainment, food, news and more in South Jersey for nearly three decades. He hosts a daily radio show – “Off The Press with Scott Cronick” – 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays on Newstalk WOND 1400-AM, 92.3-FM, and WONDRadio.com. He can be reached at scronick@comcast.net.
