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MTV Turns 25

Nine months after Michael Jackson's ''Billie Jean'' became the first video by a black artist to get heavy airplay on MTV, the Gloved One topped himself with a 14-minute homage to zombie horror flicks. Directed by filmmaker John Landis (Animal House) and starring Jackson and Ola Ray, ''Thriller'' cost $1.1 million (making it the most expensive video to date). It featured an often-spoofed dance sequence that won the inaugural Video Music Award for Best Choreography. One minor unfortunate footnote: the subsequent fad featuring hideous leather jacket-pants ensembles.