Deborah Gibson News

(5/28/98) - A man accused of stalking Deborah Gibson was arrested Sunday, May 24th after he showed up at the Broadway musical Beauty And The Beast, in which the Artist Formerly Known As Debbie is starring as Belle.

Michael Falkner, 28, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, was arrested Sunday night at New York City's Palace Theatre and charged with one count of aggravated assault, police spokeswoman Kathy Kelly said.

Police couldn't say how long Falkner has allegedly harassed Gibson, but said he was a member of her fan club and had sent her emails and faxes. Falkner alarmed Gibson when he showed up at the theater, Kelly said.

The New York Post reported yesterday that Falkner told friends he wanted to teach the wholesome songbird a lesson because she dared to take part in a faux striptease show. In a rambling email sent to an acquaintance last week, Falkner allegedly laid out his plans for confronting the object of his affection Sunday night outside the Palace Theatre. "I am, sufficient to say, rather irate that Deborah Gibson has taken part in 'Broadway Bares,'" the longtime "fan" stated in his email message.

"Broadway Bares," an annual event put on by Equity actors to raise money for AIDS charities, features stage performers in cabaret acts, in which they pretend to strip. Gibson was in the May 10th event, but only as one of the emcees.

A friend of the Gibson family said the Gibsons have hired a lawyer to work with the Manhattan assistant district attorney assigned to the case, to make sure Falkner stays behind bars. A spokesman for Manhattan D.A. Robert Morgenthau said aggravated harassment carries a maximum prison sentence of one year.