Bubbles the chimp

I saw this on MSNBC today:

La Toya claims Michael consulted surgeon ‘to make Bubbles speak’ In the early 1980s, Michael Jackson rarely made an off-stage public appearance without beloved chimpanzee Bubbles by his side. But according to La Toya Jackson, the late superstar’s sister, he hoped improved communication would one day bring him even closer to his pet pal.
“Michael always wanted to know how to make Bubbles speak and talk,” La Toya revealed in a quote published in The News of the World. “They definitely communicated. One morning Michael called me and said, ‘You got to see this — he mimics everything I do.’ So Michael starts brushing his teeth and Bubbles looks up and gets a toothbrush and starts brushing his teeth too.”
Eventually, the universal language of dental hygiene just wasn’t enough for the King of Pop and his favorite chimp.
“Then (Michael) wanted to give him vocal chords and asked doctors, ‘Can I give him an operation so that I can know what his thoughts are?’ ” La Toya recalled.
In the end, the singing legend decided the risk (and perhaps the impossible nature) of such a surgery just wasn’t worth it.