"Oliver!" star claims he was Jacko's sperm donor

Paris Jackson, Prince Michael Jackson, and "Blanket" (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, Pool)

Former child star Mark Lester, best known for playing the title role in the Oscar-winning 1968 musical Oliver!, has revealed that he provided sperm to his friend Michael Jackson, and believes he may be Paris Jackson's biological father.

The 51 year old Lester told The News of the World that, "In 1996 Michael asked me if I would give him my sperm and I said yes. It was a gift to him, no money was paid, it was something I was honoured to do. He wanted children so badly...I do feel a definite bonding with Paris and I think there's a definite possibility that she's part of me."

However, Lester currently has no legal rights in regards to his possible in vitro offspring. He said he is willing to take a paternity test to determine if Paris is indeed the fruit of his loins.

"I want to have contact with her, Prince and Blanket regardless of whether any or all of them are mine. I think it's cruel that I've now been excluded from them."

Lester rose to fame as an angelic, baby-faced pre-teen, playing Oliver Twist in the musical version of the Charles Dickens classic. He went on to appear in several more films, including 1971's Melody and 1977's Crossed Swords a/k/a The Prince And The Pauper.  During the making of that film in Budapest, Lester celebrated his 18th birthday with a party where his co-star Oliver Reed jumped onto the table, dumped chocolate mousse over the party guests, and gave Lester a very special present: a Hungarian prostitute.

Retiring from acting after that, Lester spent the next several years blowing his earnings on drink and drugs before cleaning up his act.

Lester and Jackson were longtime friends, no doubt sharing a bond over their experiences with childhood fame.

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