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Method to the madness of MTV Video Music Awards

Pop culture • Deck...here...with...period.

FILE - In this Sept. 14, 1984 file photo, Madonna poses at the MTV Video Music Awards where she was nominated "Best New Artist" in video, at Radio City Music Hall, in New York. Before there was Miley, there was Madonna. “She'd like to say she put the 'M' in MTV,” VanToffler, executive producer of the MTV Video Music Awards noted, with a sly smile, adding that in her first telecast in 1984 - hosted by Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler - Madonna set the show's standard. (AP Photo, File)

There really is a method to the madness that is the MTV Video Music Awards.

"I like to say, 'Let's put the crazy in the room,' and we throw the match in the middle of the audience and artists, and we see what happens," said Van Toffler, who has been associated with the show for most of its three decades.

Toffler, a 55-year-old New Yorker, left his post as MTV Networks president this spring to start his own production company, but is acting as executive producer for the VMAs one last time.

In a recent interview, he reflected on the most memorable moments and legacy of the show, which airs live Sunday from the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles.

In the beginning

Before there was Miley, there was Madonna.

"She'd like to say she put the M in MTV," Toffler said with a sly smile.

He said she set the standard for wild behavior in the inaugural awards in 1984, hosted by Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler: "Her rolling around in the wedding dress was quite memorable."

Madonna and producers agreed she would perform a new song, "Like a Virgin," as she emerged from a wedding cake, wearing a wedding dress, bustier and a belt buckle sporting the words "BOY TOY."

One of Madonna's white stilettos slipped off as she descended from the cake, and thinking quickly, she dove to the floor and rolled around. While she reached for the shoe, the dress went up, putting her undies on full display, and the VMAs were on the map.

Madonna makes out

Some 20 years later, there was Madonna again — this time making out with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.

"It wasn't necessarily Madonna, Britney and Christina," Toffler recalled. "J. Lo was in the mix for a little while, but then dropped out, and I thought the whole thing was going to disappear."

Toffler was on vacation when he got a call from the show's director.

"And she said, 'Van, you're not going to believe this. They're rehearsing now. They're all together. And Madonna actually kissed Britney on the lips.' And I said, 'Please do me a favor. Don't tell any other human on the planet that this is happening.' "

Kanye the crasher

In the 2009 show, as Taylor Swift accepted the award for best female video, Kanye West walked onstage, grabbed Swift's microphone and ranted about how Beyoncé was more deserving.

"So, we have an artist who was disrupted from her speech. We had Beyoncé, who looked like a deer in the headlights. And we had Kanye, who was a little bit opinionated and let's say a little bit lit," Toffler said.

Worse yet, a tearful Swift was slated to perform live just 3 minutes later, after a commercial break.

Producers dealt with West, who left the venue. They persuaded Beyoncé to stick around and later escorted Swift back out onstage to conclude her speech. And Toffler helped Swift pull herself together and get through her performance.

"I think being a nurturing father, not just to my own children, comes in handy," he said.

Toffler credits Beyoncé's father and Swift's mother for helping put out the fire, but said Beyoncé was the night's MVP: "She was the best influence at the time."

Miley's moment

Perhaps the biggest backlash to a VMAs moment came after Miley Cyrus, host of this year's show, gyrated around Robin Thicke as he performed "Blurred Lines" on the 2013 telecast.

"Cyrus danced provocatively, but everybody knew her as Hannah Montana," Toffler said. "She chose that moment to say, 'I'm an adult. Look at me.' "

"I believe the next day on the 'Today' show, one of the hosts called for me to be fired. … And I'm like, 'Really?' " he recalled. "For Miley dancing with Robin Thicke that way?"

Let's get serious

For all of the fun and frivolity, the VMAs have no problem getting serious — providing Toffler with what he said were some of his proudest moments as producer.

In 2000, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich skewered file-sharing site Napster in a skit. The show has included moving tributes to Michael Jackson, Princess Diana and Aaliyah. And who could forget Bruce Springsteen opening the 2002 show by performing his Sept. 11-inspired "The Rising" outside the American Museum of Natural History in New York City — punctuated by a mist of rain?

Pharrell to perform, Kanye to get special honor

Pharrell and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis will perform at Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards, where Kanye West will receive a special award.

West will earn the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles for his memorable music videos and live performances.

The Weeknd, Demi Lovato, A$AP Rocky, Tori Kelly and Twenty One Pilots also will perform during the two-hour show.

Miley Cyrus will host the event, which airs live at 6 p.m. MDT on MTV, MTV2, Logo, Comedy Central and VH-1.

Taylor Swift is the top contender with 10 nominations. Ed Sheeran, Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar and Mark Ronson also are up for multiple awards.

FILE - This Sept. 14, 1984 file photo shows, Dan Aykroyd, left, and Bette Midler, hosts of the MTV Video Music Awards, held at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Before there was Miley, there was Madonna. “She'd like to say she put the 'M' in MTV,” Van Toffler, MTV executive producer noted, with a sly smile, adding that in her first telecast in 1984 - hosted by Aykroyd and Midler - Madonna set the show's standard. (AP Photo/G. Paul Burnett, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 28, 2003 file photo, Britney Spears, left, and Madonna kiss during the opening performance of the MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall, in New York. Van Toffler, an executive at MTV was on vacation when he got a call from the show's director. “And she said, 'Van, you're not going to believe this. They're rehearsing now. They're all together. And Madonna actually kissed Britney on the lips.'" (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2002 file photo, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band perform "The Rising" off his new album of the same name at the MTV Video Music Awards at the American Museum of Natural History, in New York. Springsteen opened the show by performing his Sept. 11-inspired song outside the museum - punctuated by a mist of rain. (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2009 file photo, singer Kanye West takes the microphone from singer Taylor Swift as she accepts the "Best Female Video" award during the MTV Video Music Awards in New York. West ranted about how Beyonce was more deserving of the award. Producers dealt with West, who left the venue, and convinced Beyonce to stick around and later escort Swift back out onstage to conclude her speech. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2009 file photo, Beyonce, left, holds her "Video of the Year" award while Taylor Swift addresses the crowd at the MTV Music Video Awards, in New York. During the show, as Swift accepted the award for best female video, Kanye West walked onstage, grabbed Swift's microphone and ranted about how Beyonce was more deserving. MTV Executive Producer Van Toffler credits Beyonce's father and Swift's mother for helping put out the fire, but noted Beyonce was the night's MVP. “She was the best influence at the time.” (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 25, 2013 file photo, Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus perform "Blurred Lines" at the MTV Video Music Awards at the Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York. If any moment created the biggest backlash, it was Cyrus wearing a giant foam finger while gyrating around Thicke, some 15 years her senior. “Cyrus danced provocatively, but everybody knew her as Hannah Montana,” MTV Executive Producer, Van Toffler said. “She chose that moment to say, 'I'm an adult. Look at me.'” (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

In this Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015 photo, Van Toffler poses for a portrait at the MTV office in Santa Monica, Calif. There really is a method to the madness that is the MTV Video Music Awards. “I like to say, 'Let's put the crazy in the room, and we throw the match in the middle of the audience and artists, and we see what happens,” said Toffler, who has been associated with the show for most of its 30-plus years. The 2015 MTV Video Music Awards is set for Sunday, Aug. 30 at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles. (Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP)