Lewis was born in Brooklyn , New York . He graduated from Midwood High School in 1989 and then Clark Atlanta University in 1997 . Lewis is a practitioner of taekwondo . Lewis 's height has only changed by 6 inches since his childhood appearances in Webster , making him relatively short , though this is not due to any particular medical condition Lewis had a strong friendship with Michael Jackson for several years . The two first met when Jackson invited Lewis to the set of the '' Thriller '' music video , teaching him dance moves . The friendship was first seen in public in 1984 when Jackson and Lewis attended the 26th Annual Grammy Awards . Subsequently , they spent more time in public together . After being injured in a Pepsi commercial hair fire incident , Jackson moved into Lewis ' house once he was discharged from the hospital . He stayed there for several months until he was feeling better . Jackson even allowed Lewis to appear on stage with him during the Victory Tour and visit the sets of We Are the World , The Way You Make Me Feel , Remember the Time and Captain EO From his role on the television series '' Webster '' , Lewis was nominated for four Young Artist Awards . In 1984 , he was nominated for Best Young Actor in a Comedy Series for '' Webster '' and lost to Rick Schroder of '' Silver Spoons '' . In 1985 , he was nominated for the same award but it went to Billy Jayne of '' It 's Not Easy '' . In 1986 , he was nominated for Best Young Actor Starring in a Television Series which Marc Price ended up winning for his performance in '' Family Ties '' . In 1987 , he was nominated for Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor Starring in a Television Comedy or Drama Series which Kirk Cameron of '' Growing Pains '' won
26th Annual Grammy Awards
26th Annual Grammy Awards
Emmanuel Lewis