Far from a cheap thrill

A “Thriller”-era silk-screened portrait of Michael Jackson created by Andy Warhol has sold for $812,500 to an anonymous collector.

The Christie’s auction house had estimated that the work would sell for $500,000 to $700,000.

The 1984 portrait depicts a smiling Jackson in a jacket with squiggles of red and yellow in his hair.

The seller was an anonymous private collector based in New York who bought the image from the Andy Warhol Foundation in the 1990s.

Another Warhol painting, “200 One Dollar Bills,” sold in a Sotheby’s auction for $43.8 million – more than three times its highest presale estimate of $12 million.

Upping the ante

Donald Trump is partnering with the TV One cable network on a reality dating series starring Omarosa.

Having proven herself as a fiery contender on Trump’s “The Apprentice,” she now will be the one choosing from contenders who compete to marry her on “Omarosa’s Ultimate Merger.”

The series is scheduled to premiere in the spring on TV One, which targets black viewers.

It really made his day

American screen icon Clint Eastwood was made a commander in France’s prestigious Legion of Honor on Friday by President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Eastwood, 79, was honored as a knight of the Legion of Honor two years ago.

Friday’s decoration was a step up to grade three on the legion’s five-grade scale.

The birthday bunch

Jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis is 75. Writer P.J. O’Rourke is 62. Singer-accordionist Buckwheat Zydeco is 62. Singer Stephen Bishop is 58. Pianist Yanni is 55. Actor D.B. Sweeney is 48. Actress Laura San Giacomo is 48. Rapper Reverend Run (Run-DMC) is 45. Actor Patrick Warburton is 45. Actor Josh Duhamel is 37. Drummer Travis Barker (Blink-182) is 34.