LOS ANGELES (AFP) - - A judge Monday removed Michael Jackson's mother as administrator of his estate as Los Angeles went into lockdown for a star-studded memorial service to which more than 1.5 million people were denied seats.
The acting mayor of Los Angeles said the pop legend would be buried at the city's well-known Forest Lawn Cemetery on Tuesday just ahead of the public ceremony, which will be broadcast live around the world.
On the eve of the service, lawyers for Jackson's 79-year-old mother Katherine clashed with two of the King of Pop's business associates for control of his estate which includes the Neverland Ranch and rights to Beatles songs.
A judge had named Katherine, who was close to her son throughout his life, as temporary executor of his estate shortly after the pop icon suddenly collapsed and died on June 25.
But in line with Jackson's will, which emerged last week, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff on Monday handed the estate over to attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain.
Lawyers for Katherine Jackson had opposed the motion to appoint the two men, citing a "conflict of interests" and questioning whether Branca had a current relationship with Jackson at the time of his death.
"Mrs Jackson has concerns about handing over the keys of the kingdom just yet. She feels it is too soon," attorney John Schreiber said.
However a lawyer for Branca, a prominent entertainment industry attorney, said his client had recently been rehired by Jackson and was well known to the family. The business partners will control Jackson's estate until a new hearing on August 3.
The Los Angeles Times reported Monday that although the free-spending Jackson died owing more than 400 million dollars, his assets outstripped his debts by at least 200 million dollars.
Those figures also do not include the huge sums likely to be generated by posthumous sales of his music and memorabilia, which have surged and are expected to remain strong for months.
Police are preparing a large-scale operation for Tuesday's service at 10:00 am (1700 GMT), warning fans not to show up at the downtown Staples Center arena unless they were among the lucky few with tickets.
"Stay home -- stay somewhere with a television, with air conditioning, with a friend," Los Angeles Police Department assistant chief Jim McDonnell said.
The appeal came after 1.6 million people entered an online lottery hoping to be among 8,750 registrants to win tickets for the service at the Staples Center and a neighboring arena, where the event will be shown on giant screens.
Noemi Bertoguo, 30, a traffic warden from Turin, flew to Los Angeles immediately after Jackson's death and -- to her surprise and relief -- beat the 183-1 odds to receive tickets.
"I have listened to Michael Jackson since I was a little girl," said Bertoguo, who gave her other ticket to an Italian student she met on a fan site as none of her friends would come with her from Italy. "I can't believe it."
Online classifieds site Craigslist and Web auction house eBay were removing offers of tickets, saying it was inappropriate for a memorial service.
Organizers said music giants Mariah Carey, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder would take part in the tribute the enormously influential Jackson, who sold 750 million albums throughout his career.
Others due to attend include basketball legends Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson along with actress Brooke Shields, who dated Jackson in his heyday.
Acting Los Angeles mayor Jan Perry said Jackson would be buried shortly before the service at Forest Lawn, one of the city's best-known cemeteries which is the final resting spot of screen legends Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable and Jean Harlow.
As preparations for Tuesday's memorial continued, investigators probing the circumstances of Jackson's mysterious death are reportedly looking at the role of five doctors who prescribed drugs to the star.
US media, citing unidentified law enforcement sources, said investigators found the powerful sedative Propofol among a variety of prescription medications at Jackson's home.
Propofol is commonly used in hospitals to induce unconsciousness in patients before major surgery. Healthcare experts say it should never be used at home and should only be administered by trained anesthesiologists.
Amid the flood of tributes, one Republican member of the US Congress, Peter King, lashed out at the media for their coverage of the late King of Pop, saying they should pay more attention to US troops fighting overseas.
"Let's knock out the psychobabble. This guy was a pervert, he was a child molester, he was a pedophile. And to be giving this much coverage to him, day in and day out, what does it say about us as a country?" King said.
Jackson was charged but acquitted in 2005 on allegations of child molestation
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Music stars lined up for Michael Jackson memorial
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Some of the biggest names in pop music, from singers Mariah Carey and Stevie Wonder to Motown records founder Berry Gordy, will take part in Michael Jackson's memorial on Tuesday, the family said.In the first official details of the public memorial in the Staples Center arena in downtown Los Angeles, Jackson's family said singers Usher and Lionel Richie, civil rights leader Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, and basketball stars Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant would also be among the participants.
The statement from the family said the list was preliminary, subject to change and that there would be no further information on the program. It was not clear whether singers like Carey and Wonder would perform at the event, which is expected to last two hours.
Lawyers for Jackson's ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, said she had decided against attending because "her attendance would be an unnecessary distraction." Rowe has not decided whether to challenge the family for custody of Jackson's three children.
Actress Elizabeth Taylor, one of Jackson's closest friends, will also be absent. Taylor said in a Twitter message on Monday that she had been asked to speak but "I cannot be part of the public whoopla. And I cannot guarantee that I would be coherent to say a word. I just don't believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others," she wrote.
While some 18,000 people will attend the memorial, police expect hundreds of thousands of fans to converge on the area. And officials estimate that beefed up public security and cleaning could cost the cash-strapped city up to $2.5 million.
About 1.6 million people registered to be among the 8,750 to receive two free tickets to the event. Successful fans lined up on Monday to collect their tickets, although some tried to auction their vouchers on websites like eBay and Craigslist.
Both websites were swiftly removing the listings, which carried asking prices of up to $10,000.
The "Thriller" singer, who died June 25 of cardiac arrest at age 50, is expected to be buried in a private family service in Los Angeles on Tuesday morning, ahead of the public memorial.
MULTIMILLION DOLLAR ESTATE
As the family and lawyers attempted to sort out Jackson's complex business and personal affairs, a Los Angeles judge on Monday took temporary control of his estate away from the singer's mother, Katherine Jackson, and handed it to two men named as co-executors in the pop star's 2002 will.
Katherine Jackson, 79, had won temporary control of his estate last week before the will surfaced.
But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff said "the law compels" that he now put lawyer John Branca and music industry executive John McClain in charge temporarily.
Beckloff set another court hearing for August 3 and said Branca and McClain must keep Katherine Jackson apprised of their dealings.
In the 2002 will, Jackson left his estate, valued at more than $500 million, to a trust benefiting his three children, his mother and charities.
"We are relatively pleased with Judge Beckloff's ruling this morning. He's taken the unusual step of requiring that Ms. Jackson be kept informed of the administration of his estate in this preliminary phase," said Burt Levitch, an attorney for Katherine Jackson.
A separate hearing over the guardianship of Michael Jackson's children has been postponed until July 13. In the meantime, Katherine Jackson has been named temporary guardian of Prince Michael Jackson Jr. 12, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, 11, and Prince Michael Joseph Jackson, II, 7.
An attorney for Branca and McClain said they would carry out the pop star's wishes and maximize his estate's value.
The value remains an open question. Although the 2002 will valued Michael Jackson's holdings at more than $500 million, the singer was reported to be as much as $500 million in debt when he died unexpectedly.
Jackson owned one-half of Sony-ATV, which controls a music catalog that includes songs from The Beatles and has been valued as high as $1 billion. Jackson also owned a company that controlled the rights to music he recorded during his solo career, and its value is expected to rise over time.
(Editing by Mary Milliken and Sandra Maler)
Huge crowd seen for star-packed Michael Jackson memorial
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Michael Jackson fans will crowd into downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday for a star-packed memorial to the King of Pop, whose sudden death nearly two weeks ago shocked the world.
Pop music singers Mariah Carey, Usher and Jennifer Hudson will mix with R&B veterans Smokey Robinson, Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder while sports stars like Kobe Bryant and other celebrities such as Brooke Shields also are expected to turn out.
Some 18,000 fans and friends will crowd into the Staples Center sports arena and a nearby, overflow theater for the two-hour ceremony memorializing pop star Jackson, who died June 25 after suffering cardiac arrest in his Los Angeles mansion.
Police estimate more than 250,000 people will cram onto the sidewalks outside the arena to pay their final respects to the "Thriller" singer and one-time member of Motown legends the Jackson 5, who was 50 years old when he died.
"This is certainly a momentous occasion that is probably as big, if not bigger than, when Elvis (Presley) passed away," said Steve Howard, a resident of Glendale, California, who won a ticket in an online lottery.
"The impact he had on American music and world music crossed all boundaries," said Howard, who expects the service to feature performances by Jackson's friends and fellow singers, along with eulogies for the fallen pop star.
Two people who will not be there are Jackson's ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, who said on Monday her attendance might be a distraction, and longtime Jackson friend actress Elizabeth Taylor, who said she was asked to speak but was too overcome by grief.
Media reports have said Jackson is expected to be buried in a private family service in Los Angeles ahead of the memorial, but a family spokesman declined to comment on that.
Questions persist over who will pay for police security and other services such as sanitation required for such a massive gathering. Cost estimates were hard to come by, but Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine estimated as much as $2.5 million.
Like other cities, Los Angeles is strapped for cash in the current recession, and people have complained that public money should not be used for what is, in some ways, a private event.
Still, acting Mayor Jan Perry has said police and other agencies have contingency budgets for events such as this.
About 1.6 million people registered to be among the 8,750 who won two free tickets to the event, and police expect many who did not win tickets to show up outside.
The memorial will be televised live on major U.S. networks, as well as streamed on the Internet.
(Editing by Vicki Allen)
Pop music singers Mariah Carey, Usher and Jennifer Hudson will mix with R&B veterans Smokey Robinson, Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder while sports stars like Kobe Bryant and other celebrities such as Brooke Shields also are expected to turn out.
Some 18,000 fans and friends will crowd into the Staples Center sports arena and a nearby, overflow theater for the two-hour ceremony memorializing pop star Jackson, who died June 25 after suffering cardiac arrest in his Los Angeles mansion.
Police estimate more than 250,000 people will cram onto the sidewalks outside the arena to pay their final respects to the "Thriller" singer and one-time member of Motown legends the Jackson 5, who was 50 years old when he died.
"This is certainly a momentous occasion that is probably as big, if not bigger than, when Elvis (Presley) passed away," said Steve Howard, a resident of Glendale, California, who won a ticket in an online lottery.
"The impact he had on American music and world music crossed all boundaries," said Howard, who expects the service to feature performances by Jackson's friends and fellow singers, along with eulogies for the fallen pop star.
Two people who will not be there are Jackson's ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, who said on Monday her attendance might be a distraction, and longtime Jackson friend actress Elizabeth Taylor, who said she was asked to speak but was too overcome by grief.
Media reports have said Jackson is expected to be buried in a private family service in Los Angeles ahead of the memorial, but a family spokesman declined to comment on that.
Questions persist over who will pay for police security and other services such as sanitation required for such a massive gathering. Cost estimates were hard to come by, but Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine estimated as much as $2.5 million.
Like other cities, Los Angeles is strapped for cash in the current recession, and people have complained that public money should not be used for what is, in some ways, a private event.
Still, acting Mayor Jan Perry has said police and other agencies have contingency budgets for events such as this.
About 1.6 million people registered to be among the 8,750 who won two free tickets to the event, and police expect many who did not win tickets to show up outside.
The memorial will be televised live on major U.S. networks, as well as streamed on the Internet.
(Editing by Vicki Allen)
Jackson memorial performers announced as LA braces
LOS ANGELES – The stage was set Monday for Michael Jackson's final act as the world capital of make-believe braced for what could be the biggest, most spectacular celebrity send-off of all time.
Ecstatic fans who won the lottery for seats at Tuesday's memorial received the tickets and spangly wristbands that will get them into the 20,000-seat Staples Center downtown. The family announced the participants will include Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Usher, Lionel Richie, Kobe Bryant, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer and Martin Luther King III.
As night fell, activity was spotted at the Forest Lawn Cemetery involving the Jackson family. The cemetery is the location where relatives were expected to hold a private funeral.
La Toya Jackson, wearing sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat, was seen leaving the cemetery. KCAL-TV showed helicopter footage of a hearse backing up to the Hall of Liberty — a circular building at the cemetery that contains a 1,200 seat auditorium — to deliver a casket.
A few hours later, the casket was reloaded into the hearse and delivered to another nearby building, this time covered in a blue cloth.
The legal maneuvering that marked Jackson's extraordinary and troubled life also continued on Monday, with his mother losing a bid to control his enormous but tangled estate. And in one of the few reminders of Jackson's darkest hours, a New York congressman branded Jackson a "pervert" undeserving of so much attention.
More than 1.6 million people registered for free tickets to the 10 a.m. memorial, which will be broadcast live worldwide. A total of 8,750 people were chosen to receive two tickets each. The lucky ones picked up their passes Monday at Dodger Stadium amid heavy police presence.
"I got the golden ticket!" one fan screamed out of his car window in a Willy Wonka moment as he drove out of the parking lot.
"My mother loves Elvis. This is my Elvis," said ticket winner Mynor Garcia, 29.
Downtown hotels were quickly filling. Police, trying to avoid a mob scene, warned those without tickets to stay away because they would not be able to get close to the Staples Center.
British Airways reported a surge of bookings as soon as the memorial arrangements were announced. Virgin's trans-Atlantic flights to San Francisco, Las Vegas and Los Angeles were all packed with fans and VIPs, spokesman Paul Charles said.
"I think this is America's version of Princess Diana. People want to be in the vicinity. People from the UK and elsewhere want to share their emotions together," Charles said.
About 50 theaters across the country, from Los Angeles to Topeka, Kan., to Washington, D.C., were planning to broadcast the memorial live, said Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. spokeswoman Suzanne Moore. Admission will be free — first-come, first-served.
Jackson's friend Elizabeth Taylor will be mourning in private. She said on her Twitter feed Monday that she would not attend the memorial.
"I just don't believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others," she tweeted. "How I feel is between us. Not a public event."
In Los Angeles Superior Court, meanwhile, a judge appointed Jackson's longtime attorney and a family friend as administrators of his estate over the objections of his mother, Katherine. Attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain had been designated in Jackson's 2002 will as the people he wanted to oversee his empire.
Mrs. Jackson's attorneys expressed concerns about McClain and Branca's financial leadership.
"Frankly, Mrs. Jackson has concerns about handing over the keys to the kingdom," said one of her attorneys, John E. Schreiber.
Another one of her attorneys, Burt Levitch, told Judge Mitchell Beckloff that Branca had previously been removed from financial positions of authority by Jackson. Branca's attorney said he was rehired by Jackson on June 17, days before Jackson's death.
Branca and McClain will have to post a $1 million bond on the estate, and their authority will expire Aug. 3, when another hearing will be held.
"Mr. Branca and Mr. McClain for the next month are at the helm of the ship," the judge said.
Jackson died at age 50 with hundreds of millions in debts. But a court filing estimates his estate is worth more than $500 million. His assets are destined for a trust, with his three children, his mother and charities as beneficiaries.
On eBay, bids for memorial tickets were reaching as high as $3,000, and prices on Craigslist were in the thousands, although both sites were removing postings attempting to sell memorial tickets.
Debbie Rowe, Jackson's ex-wife and the mother of Jackson's two oldest children, had planned to attend the memorial but backed out Monday.
"The onslaught of media attention has made it clear her attendance would be an unnecessary distraction to an event that should focus exclusively on Michael's legacy," her attorney Marta Almli said in a statement. "Debbie will continue to celebrate Michael's memory privately."
In New York, Republican Rep. Peter King released a YouTube video calling Jackson, who was acquitted of child molestation charges, a "pervert" and a "low-life."
But the memories of Jackson's problems were far from the minds of fans preparing to say goodbye.
"It's the passing of a great soul," said Matt Tyson, 31, of Ojai, Calif. "He brought people together, helped express something that's in us all."
In a symbolic convergence of events, however, the circus will be there.
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey starts a run at Staples Center on Wednesday. In the predawn hours before Jackson's memorial, the elephants will walk from the train station to the arena.
___
Associated Press Writers Anthony McCartney, Danica Kirka and Michelle Rindels contributed to this report
Ecstatic fans who won the lottery for seats at Tuesday's memorial received the tickets and spangly wristbands that will get them into the 20,000-seat Staples Center downtown. The family announced the participants will include Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Usher, Lionel Richie, Kobe Bryant, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer and Martin Luther King III.
As night fell, activity was spotted at the Forest Lawn Cemetery involving the Jackson family. The cemetery is the location where relatives were expected to hold a private funeral.
La Toya Jackson, wearing sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat, was seen leaving the cemetery. KCAL-TV showed helicopter footage of a hearse backing up to the Hall of Liberty — a circular building at the cemetery that contains a 1,200 seat auditorium — to deliver a casket.
A few hours later, the casket was reloaded into the hearse and delivered to another nearby building, this time covered in a blue cloth.
The legal maneuvering that marked Jackson's extraordinary and troubled life also continued on Monday, with his mother losing a bid to control his enormous but tangled estate. And in one of the few reminders of Jackson's darkest hours, a New York congressman branded Jackson a "pervert" undeserving of so much attention.
More than 1.6 million people registered for free tickets to the 10 a.m. memorial, which will be broadcast live worldwide. A total of 8,750 people were chosen to receive two tickets each. The lucky ones picked up their passes Monday at Dodger Stadium amid heavy police presence.
"I got the golden ticket!" one fan screamed out of his car window in a Willy Wonka moment as he drove out of the parking lot.
"My mother loves Elvis. This is my Elvis," said ticket winner Mynor Garcia, 29.
Downtown hotels were quickly filling. Police, trying to avoid a mob scene, warned those without tickets to stay away because they would not be able to get close to the Staples Center.
British Airways reported a surge of bookings as soon as the memorial arrangements were announced. Virgin's trans-Atlantic flights to San Francisco, Las Vegas and Los Angeles were all packed with fans and VIPs, spokesman Paul Charles said.
"I think this is America's version of Princess Diana. People want to be in the vicinity. People from the UK and elsewhere want to share their emotions together," Charles said.
About 50 theaters across the country, from Los Angeles to Topeka, Kan., to Washington, D.C., were planning to broadcast the memorial live, said Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. spokeswoman Suzanne Moore. Admission will be free — first-come, first-served.
Jackson's friend Elizabeth Taylor will be mourning in private. She said on her Twitter feed Monday that she would not attend the memorial.
"I just don't believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others," she tweeted. "How I feel is between us. Not a public event."
In Los Angeles Superior Court, meanwhile, a judge appointed Jackson's longtime attorney and a family friend as administrators of his estate over the objections of his mother, Katherine. Attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain had been designated in Jackson's 2002 will as the people he wanted to oversee his empire.
Mrs. Jackson's attorneys expressed concerns about McClain and Branca's financial leadership.
"Frankly, Mrs. Jackson has concerns about handing over the keys to the kingdom," said one of her attorneys, John E. Schreiber.
Another one of her attorneys, Burt Levitch, told Judge Mitchell Beckloff that Branca had previously been removed from financial positions of authority by Jackson. Branca's attorney said he was rehired by Jackson on June 17, days before Jackson's death.
Branca and McClain will have to post a $1 million bond on the estate, and their authority will expire Aug. 3, when another hearing will be held.
"Mr. Branca and Mr. McClain for the next month are at the helm of the ship," the judge said.
Jackson died at age 50 with hundreds of millions in debts. But a court filing estimates his estate is worth more than $500 million. His assets are destined for a trust, with his three children, his mother and charities as beneficiaries.
On eBay, bids for memorial tickets were reaching as high as $3,000, and prices on Craigslist were in the thousands, although both sites were removing postings attempting to sell memorial tickets.
Debbie Rowe, Jackson's ex-wife and the mother of Jackson's two oldest children, had planned to attend the memorial but backed out Monday.
"The onslaught of media attention has made it clear her attendance would be an unnecessary distraction to an event that should focus exclusively on Michael's legacy," her attorney Marta Almli said in a statement. "Debbie will continue to celebrate Michael's memory privately."
In New York, Republican Rep. Peter King released a YouTube video calling Jackson, who was acquitted of child molestation charges, a "pervert" and a "low-life."
But the memories of Jackson's problems were far from the minds of fans preparing to say goodbye.
"It's the passing of a great soul," said Matt Tyson, 31, of Ojai, Calif. "He brought people together, helped express something that's in us all."
In a symbolic convergence of events, however, the circus will be there.
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey starts a run at Staples Center on Wednesday. In the predawn hours before Jackson's memorial, the elephants will walk from the train station to the arena.
___
Associated Press Writers Anthony McCartney, Danica Kirka and Michelle Rindels contributed to this report
Michael Jackson Memorial: Blog
12:33 pm: The Jackson family takes the stage and thanks Michael's fans for all their support and love.
12:28 pm: A group of singers, celebrities, and children sing "Heal the World."
12:23 pm: Kenny Ortega, the director or Jackson's planned London concerts, invites the world to join in the singing of "We Are the World." Dozens of children take the stage to join in the singing.
12:18 pm: Shaheen Jafargholi, a 12-year-old contestant from "Britain's Got Talent," sings "Who's Lovin' You."
12:16 pm: Smokey Robinson recalls hearing a young Michael Jackson singing "Gone Too Soon" and being blown away at his feeling and soul.
12:11 pm: R&B star Usher performs "Gone Too Soon," a song that was performed by Jackson and later dedicated to AIDS victim, Ryan White.
12:05 pm: Rep. Jackson-Lee says that she will introduce Resolution 600 in the House of Representatives. The document declares MJ was a world humanitarian and someone who will be honored "forever and forever and forever."
11:58 am: Sheila Jackson-Lee from the U.S. House of Representatives says that we know "people are innocent until proven otherwise," an obvious reference to Jackson's ongoing legal difficulties.
11:51 am: Martin Luther King III calls Michael Jackson "truly the best of what he was." Bernice King hopes that no rumor or fiction will separate Jackson's family from God's love in the coming times.
11:48 am: Jermaine Jackson performs Michael's favorite song, "Smile."
11:43 am: Brooke Shields says that Jackson's favorite song was "Smile" from Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times." Shields: "We need to smile."
11:38 am: Brooke Shields recalls her friendship with Jackson. "When we were together, we were two little kids having fun." Also recalls Michael's failed attempt to teach her the moonwalk.
11:33 am: Singer-songwriter John Mayer performs "Human Nature" as a slide show plays in the background.
11:26 am: The Reverend Al Sharpton credits Jackson with demolishing racial barriers. "Michael taught us to love each other." Sharpton also calls on fans to not focus on the scars, but to focus on the journey. To Jackson's kids: "There wasn't nothing strange about your daddy."
11:23 am: Jennifer Hudson, looking very emotional, sings "Will You Be There." A group of gospel singers backs her up. Quotes from Michael are interspersed throughout the song.
11:17 am: Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers take the stage. Magic remembers having dinner with Michael Jackson, when he first learned that MJ enjoyed Kentucky Fried Chicken. The audience laughs in appreciation.
11:10 am: Stevie Wonder performs "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer," a ballad he recorded in 1971.
11:06 am: A video montage of some of Michael Jackson's greatest hits and most famous moments is aired. The video also touches on Jackson's incredible fame.
10:59 am: Berry Gordy Jr., from Motown Records, recalls seeing Michael and the Jackson 5 perform for the first time. Cameras catch the surviving Jackson brothers dressed in identical suits, yellow ties, and silver gloves. Mr. Gordy calls Jackson "the greatest entertainer that ever lived" to a round of strong applause.
10:52 am: Lionel Richie performs "Jesus Is Love," a song made famous by the Commodores.
10:49 am: Queen Latifah calls Michael Jackson "the biggest star on earth." She then reads a poem, "We Had Him," by Maya Angelou.
10:42 am: Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz sing "I'll Be There." The song was a huge hit for the
Jackson 5 in the 1970s and a song that Ms. Carey recorded in 1992.
10:39 am: Pastor Lucious Smith, a friend of the Jackson family, has taken the stage. On Michael: "As long as we remember him, he will be there forever to comfort us."
10:36 am: Gospel music ("Soon and Very Soon") is being performed inside the Staples Center. Michael Jackson's casket is being carried to the front of the stage.
10:26 am: It is estimated that the memorial will last about 90 minutes. Jackson's family has entered the arena to polite applause.
10:13 am: The memorial service is underway with an address from Smokey Robinson. Mr. Robinson is reading letters of condolence from Diana Ross and Nelson Mandela.
10:01 am: NBC's Brian Williams reports that it has been estimated that the memorial will be viewed "in part or in all" by between 750 million to one billion people around the world.
9:50 am: Michael Jackson's golden casket has arrived at Staples Center.
9:43 am: The memorial service has been delayed 30-45 minutes. Expect the service to begin around 10:30 or 10:45 am.
9:38 am: Michael Jackson's motorcade is on its way to the Staples Center. Fans are entering the arena and preparing for the service.
The stage is set for Michael Jackson's final act in what could be the biggest celebrity send-off of all time.
If you weren't one of the lucky 8,750 fans to score a pair of tickets to Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, have no fear. You can watch it live on yahoo.com starting at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT or read our up-to-the-minute blog of events.
Police estimate more than 250,000 people will cram onto the sidewalks outside the arena to pay their final respects to the "Thriller" singer and one-time member of Motown legends the Jackson 5, who was 50 years old when he died.
The memorial will be televised live on all major networks and in 85 threatres across the U.S. Yahoo! News will have reporters on the scene as well; you can view their tweets.
Some of the biggest names in pop music are expected to take part in the memorial service, including Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Mariah Carey, Usher, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Hudson and John Mayer. Civil rights leader Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, and basketball stars Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant are also expected to attend.
The Jackson family attended a private service at Forest Lawn Cemetery this morning.
12:28 pm: A group of singers, celebrities, and children sing "Heal the World."
12:23 pm: Kenny Ortega, the director or Jackson's planned London concerts, invites the world to join in the singing of "We Are the World." Dozens of children take the stage to join in the singing.
12:18 pm: Shaheen Jafargholi, a 12-year-old contestant from "Britain's Got Talent," sings "Who's Lovin' You."
12:16 pm: Smokey Robinson recalls hearing a young Michael Jackson singing "Gone Too Soon" and being blown away at his feeling and soul.
12:11 pm: R&B star Usher performs "Gone Too Soon," a song that was performed by Jackson and later dedicated to AIDS victim, Ryan White.
12:05 pm: Rep. Jackson-Lee says that she will introduce Resolution 600 in the House of Representatives. The document declares MJ was a world humanitarian and someone who will be honored "forever and forever and forever."
11:58 am: Sheila Jackson-Lee from the U.S. House of Representatives says that we know "people are innocent until proven otherwise," an obvious reference to Jackson's ongoing legal difficulties.
11:51 am: Martin Luther King III calls Michael Jackson "truly the best of what he was." Bernice King hopes that no rumor or fiction will separate Jackson's family from God's love in the coming times.
11:48 am: Jermaine Jackson performs Michael's favorite song, "Smile."
11:43 am: Brooke Shields says that Jackson's favorite song was "Smile" from Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times." Shields: "We need to smile."
11:38 am: Brooke Shields recalls her friendship with Jackson. "When we were together, we were two little kids having fun." Also recalls Michael's failed attempt to teach her the moonwalk.
11:33 am: Singer-songwriter John Mayer performs "Human Nature" as a slide show plays in the background.
11:26 am: The Reverend Al Sharpton credits Jackson with demolishing racial barriers. "Michael taught us to love each other." Sharpton also calls on fans to not focus on the scars, but to focus on the journey. To Jackson's kids: "There wasn't nothing strange about your daddy."
11:23 am: Jennifer Hudson, looking very emotional, sings "Will You Be There." A group of gospel singers backs her up. Quotes from Michael are interspersed throughout the song.
11:17 am: Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers take the stage. Magic remembers having dinner with Michael Jackson, when he first learned that MJ enjoyed Kentucky Fried Chicken. The audience laughs in appreciation.
11:10 am: Stevie Wonder performs "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer," a ballad he recorded in 1971.
11:06 am: A video montage of some of Michael Jackson's greatest hits and most famous moments is aired. The video also touches on Jackson's incredible fame.
10:59 am: Berry Gordy Jr., from Motown Records, recalls seeing Michael and the Jackson 5 perform for the first time. Cameras catch the surviving Jackson brothers dressed in identical suits, yellow ties, and silver gloves. Mr. Gordy calls Jackson "the greatest entertainer that ever lived" to a round of strong applause.
10:52 am: Lionel Richie performs "Jesus Is Love," a song made famous by the Commodores.
10:49 am: Queen Latifah calls Michael Jackson "the biggest star on earth." She then reads a poem, "We Had Him," by Maya Angelou.
10:42 am: Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz sing "I'll Be There." The song was a huge hit for the
Jackson 5 in the 1970s and a song that Ms. Carey recorded in 1992.
10:39 am: Pastor Lucious Smith, a friend of the Jackson family, has taken the stage. On Michael: "As long as we remember him, he will be there forever to comfort us."
10:36 am: Gospel music ("Soon and Very Soon") is being performed inside the Staples Center. Michael Jackson's casket is being carried to the front of the stage.
10:26 am: It is estimated that the memorial will last about 90 minutes. Jackson's family has entered the arena to polite applause.
10:13 am: The memorial service is underway with an address from Smokey Robinson. Mr. Robinson is reading letters of condolence from Diana Ross and Nelson Mandela.
10:01 am: NBC's Brian Williams reports that it has been estimated that the memorial will be viewed "in part or in all" by between 750 million to one billion people around the world.
9:50 am: Michael Jackson's golden casket has arrived at Staples Center.
9:43 am: The memorial service has been delayed 30-45 minutes. Expect the service to begin around 10:30 or 10:45 am.
9:38 am: Michael Jackson's motorcade is on its way to the Staples Center. Fans are entering the arena and preparing for the service.
The stage is set for Michael Jackson's final act in what could be the biggest celebrity send-off of all time.
If you weren't one of the lucky 8,750 fans to score a pair of tickets to Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, have no fear. You can watch it live on yahoo.com starting at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT or read our up-to-the-minute blog of events.
Police estimate more than 250,000 people will cram onto the sidewalks outside the arena to pay their final respects to the "Thriller" singer and one-time member of Motown legends the Jackson 5, who was 50 years old when he died.
The memorial will be televised live on all major networks and in 85 threatres across the U.S. Yahoo! News will have reporters on the scene as well; you can view their tweets.
Some of the biggest names in pop music are expected to take part in the memorial service, including Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Mariah Carey, Usher, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Hudson and John Mayer. Civil rights leader Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, and basketball stars Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant are also expected to attend.
The Jackson family attended a private service at Forest Lawn Cemetery this morning.
Will the Michael Jackson Memorial Cost Taxpayers?
Leslie Gornstein Leslie Gornstein – Tue Jul 7, 1:36 pm ETLos Angeles (E! Online) – How much is the Michael Jackson memorial event going to cost people in taxes?
—Michaela, Sylmar
Most of the obedient serfs close to the memorial aren't saying how much it will cost citizens—and that includes public safety folks who, I could have sworn, work for us.
However, a city official tells me we're looking at this costing Los Angeles $3.5 million. And rising. For a city that is operating on a deep deficit.
Still, to dedicated fans, that cost may sound reasonable; as Al Sharpton is so keen on reminding us, we're dealing with an icon who apparently needs his own postage stamp and national holiday.
However, you may be chapped to learn exactly how much the Jackson family and promoter AEG will be benefiting from this outlay of public funds...
We already know that 11,000 fans will pack the Staples Center tomorrow. But less well known is that the Jackson family reportedly commandeered an additional 9,000 seats for its own private guests. So, much of the security surrounding Jackson's "public" memorial tomorrow is actually, in essence, security for a private party for the Jacksons and their friends.
Oh, I'm sorry, did I say party? I meant respectful, dignified memorial costarring a runner-up from Britain's Got Talent.
Before you pile on to cluck at my lack of respect, I'm not alone. I have backup.
"We have city employees getting pink slips because the city dollars are not there," points out L.A. City Councilman Dennis Zine. But even though city officials have asked AEG to pick up some of the public costs, the company has declined, Zine tells me. AEG did not respond to my requests for comment.
"You would think AEG would say, 'We're the ones who did this, we could have had a private ceremony and not a major public memorial.' AEG is a big entertainment company. They're going to get international coverage and tons of publicity from this."
And just what kind of city effort are we talking here?
• At least 1,400 police officers to keep the peace • Workers from the Department of Transportation to arrange and enforce street closures • Still more workers from the Department of Public Works to keep the area clean and operating • Fire and rescue specialists, just in case too many rabid fans moonwalk into one another out in the streets If you're wondering if the city might decide to stand up for itself eventually, you're not alone. Zine says the city attorney's office is looking into the public outlay of funds and may take unspecified action. (Also, the city is now asking for tax-deductible donations to help cover the cost.)
And just in case you still think it's disrespectful to the dead to be discussing money like this, a note: According to Zine—who got this information from an official at the Los Angeles Coliseum—the Jacksons briefly mulled doing their memorial there. And they also were considering charging for the tickets.
(Originally published July 6, 2009, at 2:57 p.m. PT)
Follow me on Twitter @answerbitch
Messages from Mandela, Diana Ross open Jackson memorial
Tue Jul 7, 1:49 pm ET LOS ANGELES (AFP) – A memorial for Michael Jackson started Tuesday with messages of condolences from former South African president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, and singer Diana Ross.
Jackson, who died on June 25 aged 50, had met with Mandela on several occasions on trips to Africa, and was very close to Ross, even naming her as a back-up guardian for his children.
"Michael was a giant and a legend in the music industry. And we mourn with the millions of fans worldwide," said Mandela's message, read out by singer Smokey Robinson as millions tuned in around the world to watch the star-studded tribute.
"We had great admiration for his talent and that he was able to triumph over tragedy on so many occasions in his life," Mandela added, saying Jackson had become like a member of the Mandela family.
"My wife and I, our family, our friends, send you our condolences during this time of mourning. Be strong, Nelson Mandela."
Diana Ross confirmed in her message that she would not be attending the memorial at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, saying she had "decided to pause and be silent."
"This feels right for me. Michael was a personal love of mine, a treasured part of my world, part of the fabric of my life," she said in her message.
"Michael wanted me to be there for his children, and I will be there if they ever need me. I hope today brings closure for all those who loved him."
Michael Jackson disc sales boost Dutch pension fund
Tue Jul 7, 2:08 pm ET THE HAGUE (AFP) – Broadcasts of Michael Jackson hits and skyrocketing sales of the late pop icon's discs after his death have given a boost to Dutch pension fund ABP, which in 2008 bought the rights to several of his songs.
"The rights are being honoured for all types of use: on radio and television broadcasts, downloads, CD and DVD sales, etc.," Andre Raaff, executive of Imagem Music Group which manages ABP's property rights stock, told AFP.
ABP, the world's third largest pension fund, last year bought a music catalogue from Universal Music Group (UMG) for 120 million euros that includes 14 songs by the US singer, including "Remember the time", "You are not alone" and "In the closet".
"We only invest in hits that will bring in money every year," said Raaff but would not give a figure.
He added however, "We aim for a minimum return of eight percent a year."
After recently buying Boosey & Hawkes and Rodgers & Hammerstein music catalogues, Imagem has laid its hands on some 250,000 works of music from pop to classical music to musicals, worth 500 million euros, said Raaff.
Jackson died in Los Angeles on June 25, as he prepared for a series of comeback concerts in London. A star-studded tribute was organised for the late singer at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Family honors Jackson in memorial service program
By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch, Ap Special Correspondent – Tue Jul 7, 2:20 pm ET LOS ANGELES – Mourners at the Michael Jackson memorial service were handed full-color, glossy programs filled with triumphant photos and emotional tributes to the King of Pop.
The metallic gold program is filled with pictures of Jackson with his brothers and sisters, celebrities and world leaders. The program features testimonials from Jackson family members and opened with a full page by La Toya Jackson recalling a day in 1980 when Jackson watched the Grammy ceremony and was crying because he only won one Grammy.
He promised her that on his next album, he would win more Grammys than anyone in music history.
"I will be the biggest and the greatest entertainer of all time," she quoted him as saying.
She added, "You've lived your dream, you've proven to us all that if you believe, you will achieve; you believed, and oh my, did you achieve!"
The program also includes statements from Thomas Mesereau Jr., the lawyer who defended him on child molestation charges, and Grace Rwaramba, the longtime nanny to Jackson's children.
The statements include a common theme that Jackson would live forever in the hearts of those who loved him and many felt they would see him in heaven.
The final picture on the back cover is of Jackson rehearsing for his "This is It" comeback show on June 23. An acknowledgment says: "Without the love and devotion of Michael's beloved mother, Mrs. Katherine Jackson, this program would not have been possible."
Bill Clinton on Haiti trip praises Michael Jackson
Tue Jul 7, 2:56 pm ET GONAIVES, Haiti – Bill Clinton paused during an aid mission to Haiti on Tuesday to honor Michael Jackson for helping the Democratic Party raise cash at a crucial time.
The former U.S. president, now a special U.N. envoy to Haiti, recalled Jackson's performance at a 2002 fundraiser at New York's Apollo theater.
"He basically helped save my party from terrible financial distress, so he was very kind to me personally," Clinton said during a stop on his tour of a still-struggling northern Haiti, where floods killed several hundred people last year.
Clinton, his face bright red under a scorching summertime Caribbean sun, spoke fondly of Jackson, recalling that the singer performed at his first inauguration in 1993. He also said Jackson had struggled with the burden of early fame.
"He was an immensely gifted man and I think he basically meant well," Clinton told The Associated Press. "I know about all the trouble he had in his life and I hope he will be remembered for his contribution as an artist. I hope his children turn out well. That would be the greatest
Worldwide farewell to Jackson
Tue Jul 7, 4:14 pm ETPARIS (AFP) – Millions of Michael Jackson fans staged their own worldwide farewell to their idol Tuesday, organising ceremonies to mark his funeral and gathering before giant screens to watch the Los Angeles tribute to the King of Pop.
With many still refusing to believe that 50-year-old Jackson has died, the grief has taken Jackson-mania to new heights with the singer on top of album charts around the world.
In the Asia-Pacific region, an army of Jackson fans stayed up all night to watch the concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles where tributes from friends and associates were punctuated by performances from Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder and Jennifer Hudson.
Television channels in nearly every major country showed the event live because of its importance.
US President Barack Obama even weighed in during an official trip in Russia, saying Jackson was "one of the greatest entertainers of our generation."
"I think like Elvis, like (Frank) Sinatra, like the Beatles, he became a core part of our culture," Obama told CNN, acknowledging the "tragedy" that was a part of the singer's life.
"His extraordinary talent and his music was matched with a big dose of tragedy, and difficulty in his private life," Obama said. "I don't think we can ignore that, but it's important for us to affirm what was best in him."
Some of Jackson's closest friends including Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor and Quincy Jones, skipped the public memorial in Los Angeles.
Ross, who was named in Jackson's will as an alternative guardian for his children should his mother die or be unable to care for them, sent a message, saying she had "decided to pause and be silent. This feels right for me."
Former South African president Nelson Mandela said in a message, "Michael was a giant and a legend in the music industry.
"And we mourn with the millions of fans worldwide," said Mandela's message, read out by singer Smokey Robinson.
"We had great admiration for his talent and that he was able to triumph over tragedy on so many occasions in his life," Mandela added, saying Jackson had become like a member of the Mandela family.
Even before Jackson's shimmering gold casket made it to downtown Los Angeles, millions of fans worldwide were watching and mourning online.
Messages in an array of languages were being fired off to Jackson memorial forums at Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and online haunts where video or news of the event were being shared in an unprecedented global farewell.
Facebook said that its users were at times firing off 6,000 comments per minute.
Nearly half a million Jackson memories were posted at an official Sony Music website in tribute to the King of Pop before the briefly delayed concert got underway.
"Rest in peace now Michael... I'm glad you went out a record breaker, a hero, and a fantastic performer the world will never be the same without," said a message signed with the name James Cleave.
Criticism of Jackson or the attention being given his death were quickly shot down with scoldings such as "If you have nothing good to say, stay off the website."
Jackson's birthplace of Gary, Indiana mourned their favorite son with tributes, tears and gatherings large and small.
A restaurant across the street from the baseball stadium where city leaders will host their own memorial Friday invited residents to watch coverage of the official service some 2,000 miles away in Los Angeles.
"Michael Jackson is number one, because he broke all the barriers for music," said Ebony Hodge, 23, a waitress at Bennigan's restaurant.
About 500 people gathered to watch the Los Angeles tribute on the big screen outside London's O2 Arena, where Jackson was due to perform 50 sell-out shows starting next week, a spokeswoman for the venue said.
The 17,000 capacity O2 Arena in the German capital, Berlin, was also opened up to allow the public to watch the memorial service.
In Tokyo, hundreds of fans flocked to Tower Records in the Shibuya shopping district to watch free viewings of Jackson's videos while in Hong Kong, thousands of fans gathered at a shopping mall to say goodbye.
In the Australian city of Melbourne fans braved icy pre-dawn temperatures to watch the Jackson memorial on a giant television screen set up in Federation Square.
In the Chilean capital Santiago the presidential guard changed its usual military tunes during the Changing the Guard ceremony to Jackson's 1985 hit for the children of Africa "We are the world."
Jackson's French fan clubs urged followers across the country to light a candle for Jackson when the funeral is held.
Tributes to Jackson have been written by music fans outside many music stores around the globe. Jackson's "Thriller" album is the biggest selling disc of all time and his music has again become wildly popular because of his death.
"Thriller", "Off The Wall" and Jackson's greatest hits albums occupy five of the top 10 spots in the BBC British album charts. Jackson also tops the Billboard album charts in the United States and top selling lists in countries around the world.
Seen and heard at Jackson's memorial service
By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen, Ap Entertainment Writer – Tue Jul 7, 4:25 pm ET
LOS ANGELES – The unprecedented public memorial for Michael Jackson drew fans, stars, onlookers, street vendors and countless police officers. A glimpse into the scene outside and inside Staples Center:
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As fans slowly file into Staples Center, the jumbo screens overhead show an image of a smiling Michael Jackson and read, "In loving memory of Michael Jackson King of Pop, 1958-2009."
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Holders of VIP tickets slipped through a side door to access their premier seats. The usher working the VIP door says, "Have your tickets out please, unless you're Janet Jackson."
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Smokey Robinson just arrived, followed by Verne Troyer in a tiny wheelchair.
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The Rev. Jesse Jackson was welcomed by a smattering of applause. When Kobe Bryant walked into the arena, the crowd erupted in cheers.
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When a voice over the loudspeaker says the service is about to start, the entire stadium hushes to a whisper.
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Audience members stand and sing along with Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz, reprising their cover of "I'll Be There." Many are shooting it with handheld cameras.
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Fans continue to file in, more than 45 minutes after the service began.
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Coroner Ed Winter, who's investigating Jackson's death, just took a seat inside Staples.
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A sign-language interpreter translates the service for a small group of fans.
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Don King just came in — an hour late!
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Stevie Wonder gets his own standing ovation.
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All of Staples is clapping along with Jennifer Hudson as she sings "Will You Be There." Small groups of fans are swaying together.
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Nearly every speaker and performance is punctuated by a standing ovation. During quiet breaks, fans yell out, "We love you, Michael!" and break into spontaneous chants of "Michael! Michael!"
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No standing O for John Mayer, though, after his instrumental version of "Human Nature" on the guitar.
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Fans who were dancing just moments earlier are now crying during Brooke Shields' teary remembrances of her old friend.
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The Staples Center lobby is empty except for a few police officers watching the service on a television monitor.
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Someone in the crowd just shouted, "Long live the king!" and drew applause.
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Lots of people are watching the service through their cameras and cell phones.
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Many fans are crying as Jackson's 11-year-old daughter, Paris Michael Katherine, tells the audience she loves her father.
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Very slow getting out of Staples Center, navigating the crowds and barricades.
LOS ANGELES – The unprecedented public memorial for Michael Jackson drew fans, stars, onlookers, street vendors and countless police officers. A glimpse into the scene outside and inside Staples Center:
___
As fans slowly file into Staples Center, the jumbo screens overhead show an image of a smiling Michael Jackson and read, "In loving memory of Michael Jackson King of Pop, 1958-2009."
___
Holders of VIP tickets slipped through a side door to access their premier seats. The usher working the VIP door says, "Have your tickets out please, unless you're Janet Jackson."
___
Smokey Robinson just arrived, followed by Verne Troyer in a tiny wheelchair.
___
The Rev. Jesse Jackson was welcomed by a smattering of applause. When Kobe Bryant walked into the arena, the crowd erupted in cheers.
___
When a voice over the loudspeaker says the service is about to start, the entire stadium hushes to a whisper.
___
Audience members stand and sing along with Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz, reprising their cover of "I'll Be There." Many are shooting it with handheld cameras.
___
Fans continue to file in, more than 45 minutes after the service began.
___
Coroner Ed Winter, who's investigating Jackson's death, just took a seat inside Staples.
___
A sign-language interpreter translates the service for a small group of fans.
___
Don King just came in — an hour late!
___
Stevie Wonder gets his own standing ovation.
___
All of Staples is clapping along with Jennifer Hudson as she sings "Will You Be There." Small groups of fans are swaying together.
___
Nearly every speaker and performance is punctuated by a standing ovation. During quiet breaks, fans yell out, "We love you, Michael!" and break into spontaneous chants of "Michael! Michael!"
___
No standing O for John Mayer, though, after his instrumental version of "Human Nature" on the guitar.
___
Fans who were dancing just moments earlier are now crying during Brooke Shields' teary remembrances of her old friend.
___
The Staples Center lobby is empty except for a few police officers watching the service on a television monitor.
___
Someone in the crowd just shouted, "Long live the king!" and drew applause.
___
Lots of people are watching the service through their cameras and cell phones.
___
Many fans are crying as Jackson's 11-year-old daughter, Paris Michael Katherine, tells the audience she loves her father.
___
Very slow getting out of Staples Center, navigating the crowds and barricades.
From a celebrity's death, a very American memorial
By TED ANTHONY, AP National Writer Ted Anthony, Ap National Writer – Tue Jul 7, 4:28 pm ET "I just don't believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others," one of Michael Jackson's closest friends said on Twitter this week. "I cannot be part of the public whoopla."
But on Tuesday, a very curious day in the republic of epic productions, Elizabeth Taylor — hardly a stranger to living the public life — seemed just about the only one.
He was a celebrity spectacle like no other, so it seemed natural that Michael Jackson's end unfolded the same way. The staging of his final show Tuesday commandeered the heart of the city of fame, turning millions of his fans into lottery players who chased unlikely dreams of front-row goodbyes.
The result: an unparalleled, though strikingly sedate, public memorial that offered, like his jumbled life, a little something for everyone who went looking.
Sharing grief with millions of others — on TV, in mass spectacles and across the gossamer human connection known as the Internet — has become as American as, say, churning out fresh disposable idols on reality TV.
This was eulogy as performance art, public outpouring as premium content — and, not accidentally, funeral as variety show. To call it a last performance is barely metaphorical. The service alone was a guided tour of American show business — a little gospel telethon, a little Grammy ceremony, a little "Soul Train," a little "Weekly Top 40," even a little "Circus of the Stars."
The public mourning of prematurely departed celebrities isn't new in America. More than 100,000 people, many of them weeping, turned out in 1926 for the New York funeral of Rudolph Valentino. It has only accelerated in recent decades: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Princess Diana. And of course there was Jackson's former father-in-law and brother in stratospheric fame, Elvis.
But contained communal lament is one thing. What unfolded on Tuesday and in the days leading up to it felt like something else — something magnified beyond even the usual American embrace of the epic.
"In life, he was rejected by so many different groups of people. But, in death, everyone seems to want to claim him," said Jennifer James McCollum, 41, of Oklahoma City, who writes about generational issues in her blog, JenX67.
This absurdly talented, weird, tragic man who contained so many of the things that perplex and consume modern America — from race and sex to obsession with appearance and attachment to childhood — seems to have touched most every chord at once.
"There are many Michaels for many souls," said CNN contributor Bryan Monroe, who interviewed Jackson at length in 2007 when he was editorial director of Ebony magazine.
There are also, suddenly, many more ways to connect, lament, magnify, share. The emerging mythology — that the communications explosion that followed Jackson's death almost "broke the Internet" — suggests both the emergence of new communities and the hunger for some kind of mass public square of sentiment.
"People want to be a part of something. And this is something really memorable. Why did everybody go to Woodstock?" asked Rosemary Hornak, a psychology professor at Meredith College in North Carolina who studies how people remember.
Now they can. No longer, as in Sunday morning services, do you just turn to your pewmate and shake hands. This is the age of the global funeral, the interactive death, with mourners always on hand to prolong the experience — either with a big-time celebrity lament or a simple online guest book for a beloved great-aunt.
"The Internet was originally an exchange of ideas. It's almost as if, with Web 2.0, it's about exchanging emotions," said Paul Soper, 25, who works in retail in Columbus, Ohio.
That's not the only change, though. The usual suspects — a 24-hour news cycle, the digitization of music and imagery, the fragmentation of society, the democratization of the arts — helped set the stage for Tuesday's service and its runup.
In fact, some of the precise pathways that Michael Jackson so pivotally carved, such as pioneering the music video and mixing black and white traditions, helped create the cultural place for an event like this.
"It's pop art. But just walking down the street in America today is pop art," said John Tebeau, a New York artist who uses cartoon art to interpret popular culture in his paintings.
Beyond the closed roads, the costly security and the funerary hyperbole ("simply the greatest entertainer that ever lived," Motown founder Berry Gordy said), one notion seemed to reign. The man who built a reputation as one of the most reclusive entertainers of our era was, to hear almost everyone tell it, a universal and personal inspiration to millions.
"You believed in Michael and he believed in you. He made you believe in yourself," Queen Latifah told mourners. And in the context of our continuously refracted society, she nailed it.
In the end, Jackson was indeed the man in the mirror — our mirror. No matter that sometimes it was a fun-house mirror. No matter that, behind the music, we didn't always like the reflection that peered back at us. No matter that, finally, the mirror was cracked beyond any hope of repair. The big goodbye was what mattered, and it was the show of a lifetime.
"Death," Jim Morrison once said, "is only going to happen to you once. I don't want to miss it." Today his grave at Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris is overrun by people wanting to touch a piece of him, even if only a hunk of granite.
It was the same way with Michael Jackson. On Tuesday, people who never actually saw him in real life — those who adored him, those who danced to him, even those who thought he was a freak — amassed to say they just wanted to see him one last time.
And in their expressions, one thing seemed clear: In death, as in life, Michael Jackson remains a product — bought, sold and looked upon, scorned and glorified and admired. And still, forever, coveted.
The endless gaze, the endless desire for more. What's a bigger part of the modern American experience than that?
___
EDITOR'S NOTE — Ted Anthony covers American culture for The Associated Press.
List of guests invited to Jackson's memorial
By The Associated Press The Associated Press – Tue Jul 7, 4:47 pm ETList of guests invited to public memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles:
Larry King
Dionne Warwick
LeVar Burton
Mariah Carey
Spike Lee
Wesley Snipes
Lou Ferrigno
Stevie Wonder
Usher
Lionel Richie
Brooke Shields
Kobe Bryant
Berry Gordy
Jennifer Hudson
Magic Johnson
John Mayer
Chris Brown
The Rev. Jesse Jackson
The Rev. Al Sharpton
Smokey Robinson
Queen Latifah
Martin Luther King III
Bernice A. King
Shaheen Jafargholi (finalist on "Britain's Got Talent")
Pastor Lucious Smith (family friend)
Ron Boyd (family friend)
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds
Mickey Rooney and wife, Jan Chamberlin
Mario Lopez
Corey Feldman
Earth, Wind & Fire
U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas)
Louis Farrakhan
Kenny Ortega
Cicely Tyson
Forest Lawn final resting place for many stars
By SOLVEJ SCHOU, Associated Press Writer Solvej Schou, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jul 7, 5:41 pm ETLOS ANGELES – A cemetery that is the burial place for many celebrities was slowly returning to normal Tuesday after its latest service — a private memorial for Michael Jackson.
Sprawling Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills reopened by late morning after the Jackson family moved on to a public service in downtown Los Angeles.
"The cemetery wants to get back to normal," said Los Angeles police Officer April Harding as she tried to disperse the media throng gathered at the cemetery's massive gates. She said Jackson's body would not be returning to the cemetery, but didn't say where it would be taken.
One family had to wait briefly to gain entrance to Forest Lawn because surrounding streets were closed to allow Jackson's funeral motorcade to pass. Peter and Alexandra Wintersteller and their 5-year-old daughter biked from their nearby Los Feliz home to visit the grave of a child friend of the family buried there a week before.
"We could see the commotion," Wintersteller said. "I think the hoopla is warranted for Michael Jackson. We don't have royalty here. We have presidents and pop idols."
Forest Lawn is the final resting place for dozens of actors, musicians and other notables, including Liberace, Gene Autry, Bette Davis and Andy Gibb. Recently deceased actor David Carradine and "Tonight Show" sidekick Ed McMahon also are buried there.
Jackson's maternal grandmother, Martha Bridges, is buried at Forest Lawn, beneath a dark, flat headstone decorated with etched roses and bearing the inscription, "Beloved Mother and Grandmother, 1907-1990."
The cemetery lawn has sweeping views of the San Fernando Valley and is close to the Warner Bros. and Walt Disney studios. Scenes from the 1915 D.W. Griffith epic "The Birth of a Nation" were filmed in the area.
Earlier Tuesday, a half-dozen fans waited hours to get into the area. Jobana Soto, 25, flew from her home in Peru to Los Angeles last Friday to honor Jackson. She spent $800 on the round-trip ticket and spent $63 for a cab from the airport to the cemetery.
"I was a big fan of Michael Jackson. I've been listening to him since I was born," said Soto, who was sunburned from her wait. "None of my family was crazy enough to come."
David Calvo, 28, traveled from Hawaii to Los Angeles last Saturday. His twin sister, Paola, came from Germany to meet him in Los Angeles. They spent more than $3,000 on the trip.
They arrived at a police blockade down the street from the park at 6:30 a.m. (1330 GMT).
"When you follow Michael Jackson, you just feel it," he said. He did not see the motorcade come into the park but did not seem disappointed.
"We don't want to follow the car. We just want to show respect," he said. "No screaming. No yelling."
Quotes about Jackson on day of memorial service
By The Associated Press The Associated Press – Tue Jul 7, 6:36 pm ETComments on Michael Jackson on the day of his memorial service:
"Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. And I just wanted to say I love him — so much." — Jackson's daughter, Paris-Michael, who broke down in tears.
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"Michael, when you left us, a part of me went with you. ... I will treasure the good times, singing, dancing, laughing. ... We will never understand what he endured ... being judged, ridiculed. How much pain can one take? Maybe, now, Michael, they will leave you alone." — Marlon Jackson.
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"Michael always knew he could count on me to support him or be his date. ... We had a bond and maybe it was because we both understood what it was like to be in the spotlight from a very, very young age. I used to tease him and say, `I started when I was 11 months old. You're a slacker. You were like 5?' Both of us needed to be adults very early, but when we were together, we were two little kids having fun. ... M.J.'s laugh was the sweetest and purest of anyone I've known." — Brooke Shields.
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"He created a comfort level, where people that felt they were separate became interconnected with his music. ... Those young kids grew up from being teenage, comfortable fans of Michael's to being 40 years old and being comfortable to vote for a person of color to be the president of the United States of America. Michael did that. Michael made us love each other. Michael taught us to stand with each other." — The Rev. Al Sharpton.
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"I'm here representing millions of fans around the world who grew up listening to Michael, being inspired and loving Michael from a distance. ... Somehow when Michael Jackson sang and when he danced ... we felt he was right there. ... He made you believe in yourself." — Queen Latifah.
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"When he did his iconic moonwalk, I was shocked. It was magic. Michael Jackson went into orbit and never came down. Though it ended way too soon, Michael's life was beautiful." — Motown Records founder Berry Gordy.
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"This is a moment that I wish that I didn't live to see come. But as much as I can say that and mean it, I do know that God is good and I do know that as much as we may feel — and we do — that we need Michael here with us, God must have needed him far more." — Stevie Wonder.
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"Michael was a personal love of mine. A treasured part of my world ... " — Smokey Robinson, reading a note from longtime Jackson friend Diana Ross at Tuesday's memorial service in Los Angeles.
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"You don't think you'll live to see them gone. ... He is going to live forever and ever and ever and ever." — Smokey Robinson.
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"We miss you, Michael." — Mariah Carey, after singing "I'll Be There" at Jackson's memorial service.
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"There are certain people in our popular culture that just capture people's imaginations. And in death, they become even larger. Now, I have to admit that it's also fed by a 24/7 media that is insatiable." — President Barack Obama, who was asked about the outpouring of emotion related to Michael Jackson's death during an interview with CBS while he was in Moscow.
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"They're holding up well in part because they're a strong family ... a big family, religiously devout family. Therefore, they have a sense of insulation of their faith." — The Rev. Jesse Jackson, on how Michael Jackson's family is coping.
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"He was a true gift and there are very few that have come to the magnitude of influence that he had on the world." — Neil Portnow, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Michael Jackson — In the culture wars
By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer Hillel Italie, Ap National Writer – Tue Jul 7, 6:38 pm ETNEW YORK – Michael Jackson was once so safe that presidents from both parties welcomed him to the White House. In death, after a scandal-filled decline, he is the latest target in the cultural war.
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., denounced him this week in a YouTube video as a "pervert" and a "child molester." Rush Limbaugh said Jackson "defined individuality" and "flourished" during the conservative Reagan years. New York Times columnist Bob Herbert raised the Reagan connection to attack Jackson as a symbol of impossible promises and "grotesque irresponsibility."
Others upheld a different image. Liberal columnist John Nichols believed "the singer projected to the world the sense and the promise of a multicultural and tolerant United States." Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., called King's comments "scandalous and outlandish" and praised Jackson as an exemplar of "hard work, discipline, perseverance and self-determination."
"Musical savant though he was," columnist Patricia Williams wrote recently in the liberal magazine The Nation, "Jackson was, almost from the beginning, a tragic figure ... forever reflecting what others wanted him to be."
Cited by the Rev. Al Sharpton at Tuesday's memorial as helping Obama to become the first black president, Jackson himself was as cautious in his politics as he was daring in his music. He advocated self-improvement over organized action and favored uncontroversial causes such as education and anti-poverty programs. His riskiest stance may have been calling Sony Music chairman Tommy Mottola a racist, in 2002, and accusing the record industry of ripping off black artists.
"He wasn't interested in electoral politics, but he was interested in causes in the black community. He contributed to a lot of charities and was close to the Rev. (Jesse) Jackson and to Rev. Sharpton," says poet and essayist Ishmael Reed, who wrote about Jackson in "Mixing It Up," an essay collection.
Musicians have often served as irresistible, and frustrating candidates, for political branding. Elvis Presley was a counterculture pioneer who later requested, and received, an audience with President Nixon to offer his help in the government's war on drugs. Bob Dylan taunted his admirers by implying that he was for the Vietnam War. Louis Armstrong, accused by fellow blacks of being a grinning Uncle Tom, shocked the world when he called President Eisenhower "two-faced" on civil rights and said "the government can go to hell."
Politicians, in turn, have a history of celebrity fascination/revulsion — from the Washington legislators who condemned Ingrid Bergman as an adulteress to Jimmy Carter quoting Dylan's lyrics as he campaigned for president in 1976. The star-crossed syndrome was captured whole in the 1950s when, according to Arthur Miller, he was offered a loophole on being charged for contempt of Congress for refusing to name suspected Communists. All Miller had to do was agree to one legislator's request — permit a photo with the playwright's wife, Marilyn Monroe.
The request was denied.
The request was denied.
Before Jackson's 2003 arrest on child molestation charges (he was found not guilty), Republicans felt safe to stand in his company. In 1984, President Reagan invited Jackson to the White House to thank him for supporting a campaign against drunk driving. "He is totally opposed to Drugs & Alcohol & is using his popularity to influence young people against them," Reagan wrote in his diary at the time.
The first President Bush also complimented Jackson, appearing with him in the Rose Garden in 1990 and noting that Jackson had received a humanitarian award from the Capital Children's Museum. "He does good work, what we call the 'Points of Light' concept," said Bush, referring to his national volunteer program. "Glad you're here, sir. Very pleased you're here."
Jackson sang "Heal the World" at President Clinton's first inaugural gala, in 1993. Nine years later, even after allegations had emerged of inappropriate behavior with children (child sexual abuse charges had been settled out of court in 1994), Jackson appeared at a New York fundraising concert for the Democratic National Committee.
Affection remains among leading Democrats. Clinton recalled Tuesday that the singer had saved the party from "terrible financial distress." President Obama mentioned his "sad personal life," but emphasized "the great joy that he brought to a lot of people through his extraordinary gifts as an entertainer."
"He was a universal African-American, probably the first post-race superstar," Reed said. "It's weird to see people attack him now because in some ways he reminds you of Obama — looking for compromise between different groups, for ways we could all get along."
Jackson fans watch memorial outside Neverland
By JACOB ADELMAN, Associated Press Writer Jacob Adelman, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jul 7, 6:43 pm ETLOS OLIVOS, Calif. – The skies were brilliant blue, the breezes gentle and the television reception excellent, which was good news for dozens of fans outside Neverland Ranch who huddled around a wide-screen TV on Tuesday to watch Michael Jackson's memorial service.
The Neverland fans clapped and cried along with mourners far away at the memorial in downtown Los Angeles.
Stephanie Cook and her boyfriend flew in from Georgia, hoping to be part of a memorial if it had been held at Jackson's ranch in Santa Barbara County's wine country.
The couple did some sightseeing in Los Angeles on Monday, visiting several Jackson landmarks, then headed the 130 miles northwest back to Neverland to be with fellow fans during the public memorial.
Cook said she was happy and thankful she didn't have to watch the service on her cell phone.
"It was emotional, very emotional, especially when Paris got up to speak, that was toughest for me," Cook said, referring to brief remarks by Jackson's 11-year-old daughter.
Throughout the service, Cook used her sequin-gloved hand to snap photos of the 60-inch television screen.
After the service ended, the TV truck lowered its satellite antenna and sheriff's deputies asked all the T-shirt vendors to pack up their tents and move on.
In the days since Jackson's June 25 death, thousands have come by the ranch, but it was down to dozens Tuesday afternoon, the stage left to a handful of die-hard fans reluctant to leave the place Jackson called home during his heyday.
They stood by what was left — piles of balloons, flowers, candles, stuffed animals, notes, photos and one primitive painting of Jackson wearing nothing but a loincloth and angel wings.
The huge gates to Neverland had mammoth, matching red rose wreaths. One side had a banner saying "Neverland," the other read, "Once upon a time."
And then there was the music drifting from the other side of the gates. Michael Jackson music.
By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer David Bauder, Ap Television Writer – Tue Jul 7, 7:15 pm ET
NEW YORK (MediaWeek) – The King of Pop is more popular than the leader of the free world, at least on Facebook.
During Tuesday's memorial service for fallen music icon Michael Jackson, when numerous news, music and entertainment events streamed the event live, Facebook users were averaging 6,000 status updates per minute. That's roughly 2,000 more updates per minute than occurred during the inauguration ceremony for President Obama last January.
Just like the inauguration, Facebook users could comment during the Jackson funeral while streaming it live on CNN.com. Perhaps given Jackson's global appeal, along the 10-day plus news crescendo following his death, Facebook/CNN.com users turned up in droves to view and share their thoughts on the memorial ceremony. According to Facebook officials as of 1:30 EST on Tuesday (July 7) -- just a half hour into the ceremony -- users had already posted 500,000 status updates. Over 300,000 users were logged in at that time.
Whether the total Web audience for the Jackson funeral tops the inauguration remains to be seen. But Jackson already has over a million more friends than Obama (close to 7 million). Meanwhile, a virtual Michael Jackson glove has become the most popular gift in the site's history, as over 800,000 gloves have been exchanged by Facebook friends.
(Editing by DeanGoodman at Reuters)
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