The Doctor, says Jackson was Murdered !!!!

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Pop star Michael Jackson died from a lethal dose of the powerful anesthetic propofol given in a cocktail of drugs, leading authorities to suspect his doctor of manslaughter, court documents showed on Monday.

The "Thriller" singer suffered cardiac arrest and died on June 25 at age 50. Since then, an investigation by state and federal agencies have focused on Conrad Murray, Jackson's personal doctor who was at his bedside the day he died.

The findings, contained in a warrant to search Murray's home and offices, paint a picture of an insomniac pop star who could not sleep without heavy medication. Jackson sought out propofol -- routinely used to sedate patients and anesthetize them before surgeries such as a colonoscopy -- and called it his "milk."

"The Los Angeles Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner, Dr. (Lakshmanan) Sathyavagiswaran, indicated that he had reviewed the preliminary toxicology results and his preliminary assessment of Jackson's cause of death was due to lethal levels of propofol (diprivan)," according to a warrant to search Murray's offices issued by California.

The document was unsealed and released by the Harris County District Clerk in Houston, where Murray has an office. U.S. agents raided the office on July 22.

In an affidavit seeking the warrant, Houston police officer E.G. Chance said U.S. agents had gathered "items constituting evidence of the offense of manslaughter that tend to show that Dr. Conrad Murray committed the said criminal offense."

Murray's attorney, Ed Chernoff, was not available to comment.

In a statement, a representative said Jackson's family has "full confidence in the legal process, and commends the ongoing efforts of the L.A. County Coroner, the L.A. District Attorney and the L.A. Police Department."

Murray, who was with Jackson on June 25 administering drugs to ease the pop star to sleep, gave him a range of medication including a 25-milligram dose of propofol via an intravenous drip at 10:40 a.m. PDT, the state search warrant said.

Jackson was "very familiar" with propofol and referred to it as his "milk" because of its milky appearance, the warrant said. Murray, who had been treating Jackson for about six weeks leading up to his death, was worried that Jackson was addicted to propofol. Murray was trying to wean him off the drug by giving him smaller doses, it said.

Jason Hymes, an assistant clinical professor at the University of Southern California who is not associated with the case, said the drug was a true anesthetic. "You administer it to somebody and then operate on them ... This concept of giving somebody a general anesthetic for sleep disturbance strikes me as just bizarre and astoundingly inappropriate."

In the early hours of June 25, Murray also gave Jackson doses of anti-anxiety medications Valium and Ativan and sedative Versed, the filing said.

Jackson went to sleep after Murray gave him the propofol, and Murray stayed by his side for about 10 minutes, then left "to go to the restroom and relieve himself," the search warrant said.

Murray was out of Jackson's room for about 2 minutes and when he returned, Jackson was no longer breathing, the warrant said.


from http://www.reuters.com/

Jackson portrait auction enters last day

EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. — A New York art gallery is expecting some brisk last-minute bidding on an Andy Warhol portrait of Michael Jackson.

The Vered Gallery in East Hampton, N.Y., is selling the 30-by-26-inch painting. It shows a smiling Jackson in a red jacket from his 1980s "Thriller" days.

The auction, which is being conducted online, by phone and at the gallery, was scheduled to close at 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday. The seller is a private collector.

Gallery co-owner Janet Lehr says many potential buyers have registered for the sale. But, she says, few bids have been received since the painting went on the block last month.

Lehr says she isn't concerned, noting "bidding is very last minute in the art world."


by the associated press

Saying Goodbye to Michael Jackson

They sang his songs among the stars and imagined him dancing across the moon, and for a few hours, during this most public of memorials, all eyes were on Michael Jackson for one last time.

Twenty thousand people gathered inside the Staples Center on Tuesday for a somber, spiritual ceremony, watched by untold millions more around the world as they celebrated a man whose immense talents almost drowned beneath the spectacle of his life and fame.

A star-studded lineup of performers closely linked to Jackson’s life and music reached back for the essence of the man. They remembered Jackson as an unparalleled singer, dancer and humanitarian whose music united people of all backgrounds.

"Don’t focus on the scars, focus on the journey,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, whose fiery eulogy was an emotional high point of the service. "Every time he got knocked down, he got back up,” Sharpton said, and the applauding crowd again jumped to its feet.


Daughter’s message
Sharpton rode the moment, building to a crescendo. "There wasn’t nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with!” he said to Jackson’s three children in the front row, drawing the longest ovation of the service.
Jackson’s daughter, Paris-Michael, later provided the surprise of the service: the first public statement of her 11 years.

"Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father I could imagine,” she said, dissolving into tears and turning into the embrace of her aunt Janet. "I just want to say I love him so much.”

Unlike Jackson’s life, the ceremony was not spectacular, extravagant or bizarre. Outside the arena, however, the celebrity-industrial complex that Jackson helped create flourished.

More than 3,000 police officers massed downtown to keep the ticketless at bay, and helicopters followed the golden casket as it was driven over blocked-off freeways.



by the associated press

Document could settle King of Pop’s estate

LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson’s will gives custody of his children to the singer’s mother and leaves all of his assets in a trust fund, a person with knowledge of the document told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The word came just a day after the family said in court documents it believed the entertainer had died without a valid will.

The will was created in July 2002 and named as executors Jackson’s longtime lawyer John Branca and John McClain, a music executive and a family friend, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the topic.

That designation complicates a petition by Jackson’s mother, Katherine, to become the administrator of his lucrative, but debt-encumbered estate.

In documents filed in Superior Court on Monday, Jackson’s parents say they believe their 50-year-old son died "intestate,” or without a valid will.

Judge Mitchell Beckloff granted Katherine Jackson, 79, temporary guardianship of the children.

He also gave her control over some of her son’s personal property.

Experts said the personal bankruptcy of Jackson’s parents in 1999 could work against Katherine taking control of the estate.

Court documents show Katherine and Joe Jackson filed for Chapter 7 and listed nearly $24 million in debts.


by the associated press

BET Awards celebrates Michael Jackson

LOS ANGELES — The BET Awards became the official Michael Jackson TV celebration on Sunday, with joyous tributes to the King of Pop from a New Edition medley of Jackson 5 songs to host Jamie Foxx’s tender monologue delivered in that classic red leather zipper jacket and white glove.

"No need to be sad. We want to celebrate this black man,” said Foxx, who kicked off the show with a re-enactment of the choreography from Jackson’s iconic "Beat It” video in front of the star-studded crowd, on its feet from the start of the show.

Joe Jackson, the singer’s father, was on hand to represent the grief-stricken family. "I just wish he could be here to celebrate himself,” he said. "Sadly, he’s not here, so I’m here to celebrate for him.”

Already an affair of major star wattage, the night’s show at the Shrine Auditorium was thrown under a white-hot spotlight in the wake of Michael Jackson’s death Thursday, adding attendees, doubling the number of media requests, adding an extra half-hour to the telecast and even lengthening the red carpet to accommodate all who wanted to take part.

Backstage, Ciara recounted talking on the phone with her idol and her regrets that she never got to meet him. As she talked, she started to cry. "He meant so much to me,” she said through tears.

While Jackson’s incredible influence stretched across genres, races and cultures, he had a very unique place in the world of black entertainment. His influence is arguably most visible in urban music. But that influence went beyond music: Jackson was black America’s biggest star, who broke racial barriers that allowed so many other superstars to follow.

Producers of the awards show revamped it to meet the moment. While Beyonce and T.I. were the leading award nominees, giving out trophies was an afterthought: Honoring Jackson became the show’s main focus.



by the associated press

Doctor did not prescribe drugs

LOS ANGELES — Spiritual teacher and medical doctor Deepak Chopra said Saturday he had been concerned since 2005 that Michael Jackson was abusing prescription painkillers and most recently spoke to the pop star about suspected drug use six months ago.

Chopra said Jackson, a longtime friend, asked him for painkillers in 2005 when the singer was staying with him after his trial on sex abuse allegations.

Chopra said he refused but added the nanny of Jackson’s children repeatedly contacted him with concerns about Jackson’s drug use since then.

He said she told him a number of doctors would visit Jackson’s homes in California, Los Angeles, New York, and Miami, Fla.

Whenever the subject came up, Jackson avoided Chopra’s calls, he said.


Family seeks autopsy
Meanwhile, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said Michael Jackson’s family wants an independent autopsy.
Jesse Jackson said Saturday there were unanswered questions surrounding the King of Pop’s death, including about the role of the personal cardiologist with him.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office performed an autopsy on the singer’s body Friday but deferred a finding on the cause of death pending further tests that could take more than a month.

Janet Jackson arrived at her brother Michael’s Holmby Hills estate, where moving vans arrived earlier in the day.

Most of Michael Jackson’s family members had gathered in their Encino compound, where they were contemplating funeral arrangements.



by the associated press

Collectors swarm to auction to buy Michael Jackson’s work

LAS VEGAS — A crystal-studded shirt worn onstage by Michael Jackson: $52,500. A young Jackson’s painting of Mickey Mouse: $25,000. Owning a piece of a pop icon who died before his time: Priceless. Or, at least, very expensive.

Twenty-one items once owned by Jackson sold at auction Friday for a total of $205,000, dwarfing the auction house’s early conservative estimate of $6,000 for the collection.

The estimate was made before Jackson died unexpectedly Thursday at a Los Angeles hospital. On Friday, the items took on new meaning, and likely new value, as collectors and a few fans gathered at the Planet Hollywood hotel-casino with the hope of walking away with a piece of the late King of Pop.

"I grew up with him,” said Larry Edwards, a 55-year-old Tina Turner impersonator from Las Vegas who came to the auction aiming to buy the primary-colored depiction of an African-American Mickey Mouse, signed by "Mike Jackson.”

"It’s so unique, and it means even more to me that it’s so soon after his passing,” he said.

Edwards said he was prepared to spend $1,000 but was elbowed out at the get-go by an opening bid of $1,500. The painting sold for $20,000.

The items for sale Friday came from a collection owned by David Gest, the producer once married to Liza Minnelli. Jackson introduced the couple and was best man at their wedding. Among the lot were handwritten lyrics of Jackson’s hit song "Bad,” an album cover signed by each member of the Jackson 5, and a handwritten note from Jackson to an unidentified "Greg.”



by the associated press

Fans continue to mourn Michael Jackson

LOS ANGELES — Police investigating Michael Jackson’s death looked into his medical treatment Friday, seeking to interview one of the pop king’s doctors and seizing a car that they said may contain drugs or other evidence in the death.

As medical examiners began an autopsy for Jackson, police towed a BMW from a rented home "because it may contain medications or other evidence that may assist the coroner in determining the cause of death,” police spokeswoman Karen Rayner said.

She said the car belongs to one of Jackson’s doctors whom police wanted to interview. Rayner said she did not know the doctor’s identity and stressed the doctor was not under criminal investigation.

The Associated Press confirmed that Dr. Conrad R. Murray was Jackson’s cardiologist. The Los Angeles Times reported that Murray was at Jackson’s house on Thursday.

In a 911 call released by fire officials, a caller reports Jackson was on a bed and not breathing or responding to CPR. The unidentified caller said Jackson only was with his personal doctor at the time.

The pop star died Thursday afternoon at UCLA Medical Center.

As stores reported they were inundated with orders for Jackson’s music, a chorus of grief for the megastar spread around the world, from statesmen to icons of music to legions of heartbroken fans.

"I can’t stop crying. This is too sudden and shocking,” said Diana Ross, who helped launch Jackson’s career. "I am unable to imagine this.”

The White House also weighed in for the first time, with a spokesman saying President Barack Obama saw Jackson as a spectacular performer and music icon whose life nonetheless had sad and tragic aspects.


by the associated press

Michael Jackson Family wants another autopsy

Michael Jackson's family wants a private autopsy of the pop icon because of unanswered questions about how he died and the doctor who was with him, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said Saturday.
"It's abnormal," he told The Associated Press from Chicago a day after visiting the Jackson family. "We don't know what happened. Was he injected and with what? All reasonable doubt should be addressed.".

People close to Jackson have said since his death that they were concerned about the superstar's use of painkillers. Los Angeles County medical examiners completed an autopsy Friday and said Jackson had taken prescription medication..

Medical officials also said there was no indication of trauma or foul play. An official cause of death could take weeks..

The coroner's office released the body to Jackson's family Friday night. There was no immediate word on whether the second autopsy was being performed right away. Jesse Jackson described the family as grief-stricken..

"They're hurt because they lost a son. But the wound is now being kept open by the mystery and unanswered questions of the cause of death," he said..

Two days after Jackson died at a Los Angeles hospital, his most famous sister, Janet, arrived at the mansion Jackson had been renting. She drove up in a Bentley and left without addressing reporters..

Moving vans also showed up at the Jackson home, leaving about an hour later. There was no indication what they might have taken away..

There was also no word from the Jackson family on funeral plans. Many of Jackson's relatives have gathered at the family's Encino compound, caring there for Jackson's three children..

A person close to the family told The Associated Press they feel upset and angry about a lack of information about those who were around the pop superstar in his final days. The person requested anonymity because of the delicate nature of the situation..

Jackson had been rehearsing for 50 London concerts aimed at restoring his crown as the King of Pop. He died Thursday at age 50 after what his family said appeared to be cardiac arrest..

A 911 call from Jackson's rented home reported that his personal doctor was trying to revive him without success. Police have talked to Dr. Conrad Murray and have said they intend to speak with him again but have stressed he is not a criminal suspect..

Murray has yet to speak publicly since Jackson's death. Police towed his car from Jackson's home hours after Jackson died and said later it could contain medication or other evidence. Coroner's officials also said Jackson was taking prescription medication but declined to elaborate..

A lawyer at a Houston firm, William M. Stradley, confirmed Murray had hired his firm and said one of its partners was meeting with Los Angeles police on Saturday. Stradley said Murray accompanied Michael Jackson to the hospital..

"He was there from the beginning and he's been cooperating with police from the very beginning," Stradley said. "Dr. Murray has never left L.A. since Mr. Jackson's death, and he remains there.".

Murray lives in Las Vegas but apparently left his practice and moved in with Jackson about two weeks ago. No one answered the door Saturday at his Las Vegas home, which property records show Murray bought five years ago for $1.1 million..

The promoter of the series of London concerts that Jackson was to begin next month has said Jackson personally insisted Murray be on the payroll..

Also Saturday, spiritual teacher Dr. Deepak Chopra said he had been concerned since 2005 that Jackson was abusing prescription painkillers and most recently spoke to the pop star about suspected drug use six months ago..

Chopra said Jackson, a longtime friend, asked him for painkillers in 2005 when the singer was staying with him following his trial on sex abuse allegations. Chopra said he refused. He also said the nanny of Jackson's children repeatedly contacted him with concerns about Jackson's drug use over the next four years..

He said she told him a number of doctors would visit Jackson's homes in Santa Barbara County, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. Whenever the subject came up, Jackson would avoid his calls, Chopra said.



by the associated press

Jackson items go up in value

BOSTON (AP) — Deb Elliott is saddened by Michael Jackson's sudden death, but she's also a little wealthier because of it.

The response was underwhelming earlier this month when the Volant, Pa., resident tried to auction a pair of 1980s Jackson dolls for a starting price of $9.95 apiece on eBay Inc. She turned to the e-commerce site after six months of Craigslist postings drew little interest.

"I would have been happy if they sold for $20," said Elliott, a 55-year-old homemaker.

But within minutes of Jackson's death Thursday, eBay bids started coming in. A doll depicting Jackson at the American Music Awards fetched $265 after 21 bids. A Grammy Awards Jackson doll got 36 bids and sold for $227.50 on Friday.

"This was definitely a cause for mixed emotions," Elliott said. "I finally got rid of the dolls, but now Michael is gone, too."

The singer's death triggered a surge in the Jackson collectibles market Friday, including newly minted items such as T-shirts hawked online with "R.I.P." and "June 25, 2009" alongside his image. On Friday afternoon, an Internet search for Jackson items turned up more than 24,000 offerings from auctions on several sites and fixed-price "buy-it-now" sales.

In addition to surging volume, eBay reported the average selling price for Jackson items jumped 31 percent on Thursday from daily averages last week. Among the items up for sale were a signed fedora hat, offered at $9,795.

For anyone selling now, there's some uncertainty: Can you get a better price by waiting? And if you're a buyer, should you delay until the frenzy subsides?

"People are telling me I should've held out, maybe they'd be worth even more in a week, month or year from now," said Elliott, who added that she is "not one that was taking advantage of Michael Jackson's untimely death."

Another question for collectibles marketers is whether the damage Jackson's reputation suffered from his eccentricities and late-career pedophilia allegations will erode the value of memorabilia once the shock of his death passes. Or, like Elvis, who had his share of late-life troubles, will the collectibles hold value because the power of the legend prevails?

"Is he Elvis or Marilyn Monroe, or is he Mike Tyson?" said Jim Lentz, chief operating officer of American Royal Arts, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based memorabilia dealer that holds publishing rights with a firm overseeing commercial use of Presley-related items. "Does the controversy get downplayed, and does his career get played up, or do people continue to hold the strangeness and rumor against him?"

The singer struggled financially following his 2003 arrest on charges that he molested a 13-year-old boy. A jury acquitted him of all charges.

Jackson's problems and death might help the marketing of some, but not all of his memorabilia.

"Notoriety might be great for say, the autograph market," said Martin Brochstein, senior vice president at the New York-based Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association. "He's not signing any more, to put it bluntly.

"But in terms of licensed merchandise bearing his likeness, the notoriety is not necessarily such a good thing."

The rich Jackson collectibles market is the legacy of his huge popularity in the 1970s and '80s, when all sorts of mass merchandise emerged, from Jackson dolls to posters to commemorative coins. That period also produced a trove of signed valuables, from autographed album covers to the signature white sequined gloves he wore on stage.

Jackson "was a guy who toured the world, and signed autographs, and was very public," Lentz said. "There is a fair amount of inventory out there."

There's also a market for Jackson's personal belongings. However, a Beverly Hills auction was canceled in April after Jackson and Julien's Auction House reached a settlement to their dispute over whether 2,000 of his personal items from his Neverland property in Southern California were ever intended for sale.

At a celebrity auction in Las Vegas that coincidentally occurred Friday, 21 pieces of Jackson memorabilia fetched a total of $205,000. A crystal beaded shirt worn by the performer during his 1984 Victory tour was the top-selling item in the collection, at $52,500.

The auction, at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, had been planned for months and also featured Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe items.

Arlan Ettinger, president of Guernsey's, a New York-based auction house, helped conduct a Las Vegas auction in 2007 during which more than 1,200 Jackson items grossed about $1 million. On Friday, he spoke a bit wistfully about that event's timing.

"Things would have been different had they come to auction now," Ettinger said. The items "got infinitely more valuable just a short while ago."

"The world," Ettinger said, "clearly is sort of willing to forget all of what has happened before of a less-than-thrilling nature, and really honored the memory of Michael Jackson, which is as it should be."

His death is also expected to inspire an array of commemorative gear of potentially dubious value, such as T-shirts.

"I'm honestly expecting to see a Web site pop up by the end of the day selling Michael Jackson commemorative plates," said Allison Southwick, a spokeswoman with the Better Business Bureau.

Elliott, the Pennsylvania woman who sold Jackson dolls on eBay, says she has other collectibles, but they have more personal than market value. Although she made money from selling the dolls, she won't part with other items.

"My kids grew up with him — they're the reason I went to two concerts," she said. "I still have several CDs, 45s and VHS tapes. I even have my son's little 'Beat It' jacket, too — and no, I won't be trying to sell it."


by the associated press

Michael Jackson problem with his Black-Skin ?

Michael Jackson had a complicated relationship with his blackness.

In 40 years in the public eye, Jackson's skin lightened, his hair changed from Afro to bone-straight perm, and his wide nose was surgically whittled down to a point. His music went from R&B to pure pop and beyond. His close friends included Elizabeth Taylor and Nancy Reagan.

By the time his last smash hit, "Black or White," was released in 1991, many people wondered if the song title applied to Jackson himself.

But those who knew him well say he always maintained his black identity. And as a trailblazer for a new breed of global multimedia stars, he helped create an era in which race was a piece, rather than the definition, of a person.

"I think that Michael really, in his career, just transcended race. His work and his life was sort of about undefining race," said Bill Bottrell, who co-produced "Black or White" and worked closely with Jackson from 1986 into the early '90s.

"He obscured the issue, or obscured it at least as far as he was concerned, or just transcended the issue," Bottrell said. "I watched him with his friends, they came from all walks of life. He certainly surrounded himself with lots of African-Americans, also a lot of white people, including me."

Jackson grew up in hardscrabble Gary, Ind., performing with his brothers. The Jackson 5 were weaned on rhythm and blues, a name coined in the 1940s to describe the fusion of several black music styles with a new instrument, the electric bass.

The first Jackson 5 album was released in 1969 on the Motown label, which carved a place in history by making black music "safe" for white people to enjoy. Jackson was an instant child star. In 1975 he moved to Epic Records, a division of CBS, and hit the solo stratosphere in 1979 with his album "Off The Wall," an irresistible combination of funk and pop music.

It sold 9 million copies, the most by any black performer up to that point. On the album cover, Jackson has a puffy Afro, and his skin is slightly darker than the brick wall behind him.

"There really were two phases to the career of Michael Jackson," said the commentator and community activist Earl Ofari Hutchinson.

"There certainly was a relationship with and an identification with African-Americans — music, dance, lifestyle, his performances," he said. "That was essentially black music. That was, quote-unquote, the black Michael Jackson."

His next album was 1982's "Thriller," the biggest record of all time, which has sold 50 million copies worldwide. He was the first black artist to get video play on the fledgling MTV network, and became one of the most famous people on the planet — of any race.

"He was beyond a skin color. It was about the message in his music. That's why people related to him," said DJ Spinna, who produces parties in the United States and internationally showcasing Jackson's music.

Yet the wider Michael Jackson's fame spread, the whiter his appearance became.

Jackson said he had vitiligo, a disease that produces white splotches on the skin. He compensated with treatments and makeup that turned his overall complexion lighter and lighter, to an extent never seen before in a black celebrity. Serial surgeries kept altering his facial features.

Successful blacks — from Sammy Davis to Oprah Winfrey to Barack Obama — have often been accusing of losing touch with their roots. But Jackson also had to contend with historic changes in the music industry: Blacks were finally being marketed to the mainstream, while testosterone-fueled rap music was about to create a new definition of blackness — one that definitely did not include the increasingly pale, androgynous and childlike Jackson.

"The second phase of his career was where it became much murkier," Hutchinson said. "He became much more ambivalent in the minds of many African-Americans. His music, his whole change in appearance, his fan base became much more eclectic. You just didn't see African-Americans identifying with him."

Bottrell was in Jackson's studio daily as an engineer on Jackson's "Bad" album, released in 1987, and again on 1991's "Dangerous."

"His inspirations were from people of all races," he said. "People he really admired, his friends. Dick Gregory was one of his friends, I mean, these were some real African-Americans. He could hang in all kinds of contexts with all kinds of people. He seemed to have all these strains of consciousness running through him."

Teddy Riley, another producer on "Dangerous," said Jackson frequently discussed his cosmetic changes. "I'm quite sure if Michael could have done it all over again, he would not have done that," Riley told Rolling Stone for a 1992 Jackson profile.

Jackson's downward slide began when he was accused of child molestation in 1993, and again in 2000.

Hutchinson's Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable organized a series of meetings about Jackson's case. Several members of Jackson's inner circle attended, he said.

"They brought messages back from Jackson letting us know, look, don't believe what you hear, I still identify with the black community. I'm black and that hasn't changed, and I want your support." They also told Hutchinson's group about large, unpublicized donations to black organizations.

But people at the meetings remained divided, Hutchinson said: "Either you loved him, you identified with him, you saw him as one of your own, as a black performer important to the black community, or you saw him as someone who basically, I don't want to use the term sellout, but ... as a creature and a creation of the white world."

All his contradictions came through in the song "Black or White."

"As long as you're my baby," the chorus goes, "it don't matter if you're black or white."

Jackson usually came to the studio with his lyrics written down, Bottrell said, but this time he improvised on the spot. They recorded it in one take.

"It just sort of emanated from him," Bottrell said. "Clearly he had that theme in his mind when he started singing."

The song went to No. 1 around the world. The classic video shows Jackson dancing on different continents, and the faces of different nationalities morphing into one another.

And in the end, Jackson transforms into a pitch-black panther.


by the associated press

Fan's pay respects to Jackson at Motown studio

DETROIT (AP) — When Motown Records founder Berry Gordy signed The Jackson 5 four decades ago, he gave young Michael and his brothers from Indiana their first big break in the big city of Detroit.

On Friday, the Hitsville USA building in the Motor City — where the record label was born — served as a gathering place for dozens of mourners who cried, snapped photos with their cell phone cameras and danced to the pop icon's tunes.

"I didn't like that type of music, but he made me a fan," Tom MacGruder, 74, said after touring the Hitsville museum a day after Jackson died in Los Angeles at age 50.

While a local business pumped some of Jackson's greatest hits onto the street via an outdoor speaker, those who came to pay their respects laid flowers, stuffed animals and newspaper clippings on the steps of Hitsville. Several recalled brief encounters with the King of Pop.

"I shook Michael Jackson's hand in 1990, and I never stopped dancing," said Delores Rhodes, 53, who carried a purse emblazoned with the cover art from Jackson's "Thriller" album.

Gene West, 49, security director at the Motown museum, said he had met Jackson while working at a downtown Detroit event.

"Michael looked like a million dollars, like the light was always shining on him," West said. "If you were from the jungle in Madagascar, from out in the boonies, if you were a caveman, you would look at him and say, `Who is that guy?'"

Many spoke of Jackson's role in furthering interracial understanding.

"He built bridges between cultures. He made music universal," said Ashanti Webb, 57, a teacher with Detroit Public Schools.

The Jackson 5 made a positive impact on the public perception of young black men, said Rod Edwards, a Detroit radio commentator who toured Hitsville on Friday with his wife and 10-year-old son.

The museum is home to Studio A, where Jackson laid an initial claim to fame as a member of the group.

"It was a more clean, positive image," Edwards said of The Jackson 5.

Gordy remembered the precocious talent of the group's lead singer.

"When I first heard him sing Smokey (Robinson's) song `Who's Lovin You' at 10 years old, it felt like he had lived the song for 50 years," he said in a statement.

Young and old alike said Jackson's musical legacy brought them together.

"My mom grew up with him. I grew up with him. It was different music, different songs, but the same man," said Danyelle Claxton, 27. "He was a true icon."


by the aassociated press

This is It, was Michael Jackson comeback

LONDON (AP) — It was to be the comeback of the young century: Michael Jackson using the "This is It" tour to retake his throne as King of Pop, lord of the dance and darling of the masses.

What grander stage than London for this late career magic? Jackson's much hyped revival was to be a marathon, 50-gig tour that gave him a shot at redemption — not to mention repairing his tarnished image, lifting him out of debt and making millions for promoters.

Eager fans spent more than $90 million on tickets despite widespread doubts about the pop icon's stamina.

Now the star is dead — and one of the city's biggest arenas has 50 open nights. London, the city that was to be Jackson's launch pad back to glory, has become a symbol of the wreckage of his life.

The calamity has left Los Angeles-based tour promoters AEG Live, which operates the 02 Arena where Jackson was to have performed, with a colossal problem. In addition to the money taken in by ticket sales, which must be refunded, the company had already paid Jackson millions and spent millions more getting ready for the planned July 13 premiere.

There is no question it's a disaster, said Chris Cooke, editor of the British music business bulletin CMU Daily. But no one knows the magnitude of the catastrophe.

"The question is how much they were insured, but they've been very quiet about that," he said. "Will the insurance company take the hit, or will they?"

He said AEG Live had been planning a world tour after the London gigs, and possibly an extended residency for Jackson at a Las Vegas hotel in order to capitalize on his revival after more than a decade away from the concert stage.

The goal was to give Jackson a total career makeover that would once again turn him into a money machine. Instead, the pressure to produce — and in effect, to compete with his younger self — may have contributed to his demise.

AEG Live said in a statement Friday that it would advise ticket holders early next week on how to get refunds, adding that fans should hold onto their ticket vouchers and proofs of purchase.

"At this moment our thoughts are with Michael's children, family and friends. We will announce ticketing information in due course," read a message on a huge screen outside the 02 Arena.

According to Bermuda-based insurer Validus Holdings Ltd., a group of insurers were covering the concert series through the Lloyd's insurance market, including its subsidiary Talbot Holdings Ltd. But Validus said it had less than $3 million at risk.

The tour was to have spanned into March 2010, and there was wide skepticism about Jackson's ability to meet such a demanding schedule — with some London bookmakers even taking bets on how many of the 50 shows the notoriously unreliable Jackson would actually perform.

Industry experts also believed his participation in the spectacle would be limited, with large segments taken up by dancers performing elaborate routines to taped performances of his many hits.

"AEG chose potentially the most ambitious run of dates in the history of the concert business," said Bill Werde, editorial director of Billboard magazine. "Now they're going to have to orchestrate the most ambitious refund program in the history of the concert business."

AEG Live, a unit of billionaire Philip Anschutz's empire, had stood to collect about 5 percent to 10 percent of the gross ticket revenue of $90 million to $100 million, plus as much as $15 million from concession and merchandise sales, Werde said.

Jackson himself would have made the bulk of the money from the ticket sales.

The refund process could be complicated by the fact that tickets were sold to people from a number of countries and because of the sheer volume of tickets sold, Werde said. Some 750,000 tickets, priced between $82 and $124, were sold, though some went for hundreds of dollars on Internet auction sites.

Experts familiar with Jackson's horrendous financial situation said the singer was counting on the tour to help pull him out of a reported $400 million in debt.

Attorney Jerry Reisman, who represented the Hit Factory in New York when Jackson recorded there, said Jackson desperately needed the tour revenues.

"He had substantial debt to creditors throughout the world, and he hoped to use the tour to repay them and create a cash flow for himself," Reisman said. "He had a very high standard of living. He lived like a prince, like royalty, traveling by private jets with a huge entourage. His debt was tremendous, exorbitant."

This financial pressure led Jackson to agree to 50 shows, a demanding schedule even for a younger, more fit performer.

Reisman said the promoters may try to recoup money already paid to Jackson in order to refund money to customers.

Joey Scoleri, a promoter with the North American music division of Live Nation, said Jackson's death had created complex legal and logistical problems for the promoters.

He said not since Elvis Presley had there been a case of an artist of Jackson's magnitude dying just before a major tour.

"The only other artist like this was Elvis, and tours weren't the financial undertaking then as they are today," he said. Presley died in 1977 before several tour dates.

Scoleri said it was likely the AEG concert division would suffer a financial hit, but it's the nature of the business to manage risks. He said promoters surely understood Jackson's health was a factor.

AEG Live spokesman Michael Roth did not immediately comment on the company's insurance coverage.

Insurance market Lloyd's of London said its member corporations had underwritten some insurance taken out for the Jackson concerts, but said AEG is likely to be have had multiple policies with several insurers, who would each have taken on a portion of the risk.

Spokesman Bart Nash said he did not know how much Lloyd's portion of the figure was, or the total cost of the coverage.

"We can confirm that some insurance for Michael Jackson's concerts has been placed in the Lloyd's market, but any losses are not likely to be significant," Nash said.

He said the policy would likely cover the death of an artist, costs of canceling the events, including funds spent on sets already built, promotion and publicity, and, possibly, estimated earnings from the concerts.

"The risk would be quite high," for artists in poor health, or with a history of canceling concerts, like Jackson, he said.

Chris Rackliffe, underwriter at insurance firm Beazley, said few insurers would have been prepared to take on the risk of an artist with Jackson's problems.

"His prior history, the fact of his health and the difficulties he has had in his life over the last few years means that, from our point of view, he would have been very high risk," Rackliffe said.

As for fans looking for refunds, those who bought tickets on the secondary market from the company viagogo will be able to easily have their money refunded, said chief executive Eric Baker.

"No forms, no fuss, just refunded," he said.

Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc., the primary ticket seller, did not immediately provide information on refunds.

Officials at eBay said any Michael Jackson tickets purchased in the last 45 days through the PayPal system would be covered by the buyer protection plan.

by the associated press

La Toya Jackson scene removed from `Bruno'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The filmmakers behind "Bruno" have decided to delete a scene involving La Toya Jackson following her brother's death.

Universal Pictures, which is releasing the comedy, said the decision came "out of respect for the Jackson family."

The moment was first cut out of the movie's Los Angeles premiere Thursday night, which took place just hours after the Michael Jackson's death at age 50.

"Bruno," starring British comic Sacha Baron Cohen as a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion correspondent, is set to come out July 10 and is the follow-up to his 2006 smash "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." La Toya Jackson had been featured in an absurd interview with Bruno in which she sits on a Mexican man's back and eats sushi off a second, naked Mexican man.

The moment is classic Baron Cohen, the kind in which he places some unsuspecting person in a weirdly deadpan situation and waits for the humiliation — and the humor — to follow. He also tries to interview Paula Abdul in this setting but she quickly feels uncomfortable and leaves. (The joke's on the audience, too, because we don't know which scenes are real and spontaneous and which feature players who are in on the gag.)

Jackson arrives at a contemporary L.A. home under the guise of being interviewed by Bruno, a character Baron Cohen introduced alongside Borat on his sketch comedy program "Da Ali G Show." Because there's no furniture in the house, Bruno asks Jackson to sit on the back of a Mexican laborer, who's on his hands and knees functioning as a chair. Another man serves as a table with pieces of sushi spread across his naked body.

Jackson hangs out awhile and politely banters with Bruno, who asks whether she will introduce him to her brother, Michael. She tries to deflect his persistent requests but relents when he asks to see her cell phone — then he finds what is supposedly Michael Jackson's number and reads it to his assistant in German.


by the associated press

Jackson's cardiologist, Police want to talk

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The cardiologist who reportedly was in Michael Jackson's Los Angeles mansion when the entertainer collapsed practices medicine in at least three states and is the graduate of a medical school in Nashville.

A woman who answered the phone Friday at Dr. Conrad R. Murray's clinic in Houston confirmed to The Associated Press that Murray was Jackson's cardiologist.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Murray was performing CPR on Jackson when paramedics arrived at his home Thursday, and Murray's car was later towed by police from the home.

Los Angeles police want to interview Murray but stress he is not under criminal investigation.

Murray graduated from Meharry Medical College in 1989. Government records show he holds licenses to practice in California, Nevada and Texas. He was licensed in 2001 in Hawaii, but it wasn't immediately clear if that license is current.

State regulators had no records of any disciplinary actions against him.

Murray's office in Las Vegas, Global Cardiovascular Associates Inc., was locked and dark Friday. Reporters gathered in the hallway outside. He did not immediately return messages left on his office voicemail.

Mary Russell, property manager for the sleek, three-story office building across from Desert Springs Hospital, said she had not seen Murray all week.

A reporter who tried to visit Murray's Las Vegas home was turned away by two armed guards at the entrance to the gated community where it's located.

Records show he has had financial trouble. Murray filed for bankruptcy in California in 1992, when he was listed as living in Loma Linda, where he had done graduate work at Loma Linda University. He had several tax liens filed against him in California and Arizona between 1993 and 2003.


by the associated press

Limits to Jackson acclaim

WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidents named Reagan, Bush and Clinton applauded Michael Jackson in his lifetime. John Roberts, now the nation's chief justice, said there were limits to adulation of a pop star.

As a young lawyer in the Reagan administration, Roberts was dismissive of White House aides who suggested the president send a letter congratulating Jackson on giving underprivileged children free tickets to Washington-area concerts in the 1980s.

"I hate sounding like one of Mr. Jackson's records, constantly repeating the same refrain, but I recommend we not approve this letter," Roberts wrote. "Frankly I find the obsequious attitude of some members of the White House staff toward Mr. Jackson's attendants, and the fawning posture they would have the president of the United States adopt, more than a little embarrassing."

Then, the lawyer's word of caution.

Roberts noted that another star, "a newcomer who goes by the name of Prince," was planning a concert in Washington. "Will he receive a presidential letter? How will we decide which performers do and which do not?"

The writings were released in 2005 when President George W. Bush nominated Roberts to the Supreme Court.


by the associated press

Michael Jackson's death still unclear

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The final act of Michael Jackson's life came into clearer focus Friday, a picture of a fallen superstar working out with TV's "Incredible Hulk" and under the care of his own private cardiologist as he tried to get his 50-year-old body in shape for a grueling bid to reclaim his glory.

While the exact circumstances of his death remained unclear, early clues suggested he may simply have pushed his heart too far.

Police said they had towed the doctor's BMW from Jackson's home because it may include medication or other evidence, and a source familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that a heart attack appeared to have caused the cardiac arrest that led to the pop icon's sudden death.

As grief for the King of Pop poured out from the icons of music to heartbroken fans, and the world came to grips with losing one of the most luminous celebrities of all time, an autopsy showed no sign of trauma or foul play to Jackson, who died Thursday at UCLA Medical Center after paramedics not could not revive him.

The AP source who said Jackson apparently suffered a heart attack was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity. Jackson's brother Jermaine had said the pop singer apparently went into cardiac arrest — which often, but not always, happens because of a heart attack.

Authorities said they spoke with the doctor briefly Thursday and Friday and expected to meet with him again soon. Police stressed that the doctor, identified by the Los Angeles Times as cardiologist Conrad Murray, was not a criminal suspect.

"We do not consider him to be uncooperative at this time," Beck said. "We think that he will assist us in coming to the truth of the facts in this case."

Craig Harvey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner, said there were no signs of foul play in the autopsy and further tests would be needed to determine cause of death. He said Jackson was taking some unspecified prescription medication but gave few other details.

Meanwhile, a 911 call released by fire officials shed light on the desperate effort at the mansion to save Jackson's life before paramedics arrived Thursday afternoon. Jackson died later at UCLA Medical Center.

In the recording, an unidentified caller pleads with authorities to send help, offering no clues about why Jackson was stricken. He tells a dispatcher that Jackson's doctor is performing CPR.

"He's pumping his chest," the caller says, "but he's not responding to anything."

Asked by the dispatcher whether anyone saw what happened, the caller answers: "No, just the doctor, sir. The doctor has been the only one there."

The president of the company promoting Jackson's shows said Murray was Jackson's personal physician for three years. Jackson insisted Murray accompany him to London, said Randy Phillips, president of AEG Live.

Phillips quoted Jackson as saying: "Look, this whole business revolves around me. I'm a machine, and we have to keep the machine well-oiled." Phillips said Jackson submitted to at least five hours of physicals that insurers had insisted on.

On Friday, the autopsy was completed in a matter of hours, but an official cause of death could take up to six weeks while medical examiners await toxicology tests. No funeral plans had been made public.

Jackson had remained out of the public spotlight during intense rehearsals for the London concerts, but those with access said he was upbeat and seemingly energized by his planned comeback. Ken Ehrlich, executive producer of the Grammys, said he watched Jackson dance energetically as recently as Wednesday.

"There was this one moment, he was moving across the stage and he was doing these trademark Michael moves, and I know I got this big grin on my face, and I started thinking to myself, 'You know, it's been years since I've seen that,'" he said.

Lou Ferrigno, the star of "The Incredible Hulk," said he had been working out with Jackson for the past several months.

Still, Jackson's health had been known to be precarious in recent years, and one family friend said Friday that he had warned the entertainer's family about his use of painkillers.

"I said one day we're going to have this experience. And when Anna Nicole Smith passed away, I said we cannot have this kind of thing with Michael Jackson," Brian Oxman, a former Jackson attorney and family friend, told NBC's "Today" show. "The result was I warned everyone, and lo and behold, here we are. I don't know what caused his death. But I feared this day, and here we are."

Oxman claimed Jackson had prescription drugs at his disposal to help with pain suffered when he broke his leg after he fell off a stage and for broken vertebrae in his back.

The worldwide wave of mourning for Jackson continued unabated for the man who revolutionized pop music and moonwalked his way into entertainment legend.

"My heart, my mind are broken," said Elizabeth Taylor, who was one of Jackson's closest friends and married one of her husbands at a lavish wedding at the pop star's Neverland Ranch in 1991. She said she had heard the news as she was preparing to travel to London for Jackson's comeback show, and added, "I can't imagine life without him."

Hundreds made a pilgrimage to the Jackson family's compound in Los Angeles, leaving flowers and messages of love. They did the same at his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and at the home in Los Angeles' Holmby Hills where Jackson was stricken. Some camped out overnight.

In New York, people stopped at Harlem's Apollo Theater, where Jackson had performed as a child with his brothers in one of rock's first bubblegum supergroups, the Jackson 5.

Scores of celebrities who knew or worked with Jackson — or were simply awed by him — issued statements of mourning. Some came through publicists and others through emotional postings on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, where countless everyday fans were sharing memories as well.

"I truly hope he is memorialized as the '83 moonwalking, MTV owning, mesmerizing, unstoppable, invincible Michael Jackson," said John Mayer. Miley Cyrus called him "my inspiration."

And Diana Ross, the former lead singer of the Supremes who introduced the Jackson 5 at their debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1969, said she could not stop crying. "I am unable to imagine this," she said. "My heart is hurting."

His two ex-wives both said they were devastated. One of them, Lisa Marie Presley, posted a long, emotional statement on her MySpace page in which she said her ex-husband had confided to her 14 years ago that he feared dying young and under tragic circumstances, just as her father, Elvis Presley, had.

"I promptly tried to deter him from the idea, at which point he just shrugged his shoulders and nodded almost matter of fact as if to let me know, he knew what he knew and that was kind of that," Presley said.

Presley's father, the King of Rock 'n' Roll to Jackson's King of Pop, died in 1977 at age 42 of a drug-related death.

At rehearsals for Sunday's Black Entertainment Awards show, stars like Beyonce, Wyclef Jean and Ne-Yo were frantically revamping their performances in an effort to turn the evening into a Michael Jackson tribute.

"There's a direct line from Ne-Yo to Michael Jackson," said executive producer Stephen Hill. "There's a direct line from Beyonce to Michael Jackson. There's a direct line from Jay-Z to Michael Jackson. I think they'll want to pay tribute in their own way."

When he was on trial on child molestation charges in 2005, Jackson appeared gaunt and had recurring back problems that he attributed to stress. His trial was interrupted several times by hospital visits, and Jackson once even appeared late to court dressed in his pajamas after an emergency room visit.

After his acquittal, Jackson's prosecutor argued against returning some items that had been seized from Neverland, the Santa Barbara County estate Jackson had converted into a children's playland. Among the items were syringes, the powerful painkiller Demerol and other prescription drugs.

Demerol carries a long list of warnings to users. The government warns that mixing it with certain other drugs can lead to reactions including slowed or stopped breathing, shock and cardiac arrest.

Within hours of Jackson's death on Thursday, fans were inundating Web sites that sell his music, and physical stores reported they had been cleaned out of Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 CDs. All 10 of the albums on Amazon.com's bestseller list Friday were Jackson's; the 25th anniversary edition of "Thriller," the bestselling album of all time, was at the top.

Meanwhile, fans were snapping up every Jackson recording they could get their hands on.

Bill Carr, Amazon.com Inc.'s vice president for music and video, said the Web site sold out within minutes all CDs by Michael Jackson and by the Jackson 5. Jackson's albums accounted for all 10 of Amazon's "Bestsellers in Music" list Friday, with the 25th anniversary edition of the celebrated "Thriller" album taking the top spot.

Barnes and Noble Inc.'s Web site and retail stores also sold out most Jackson CDs, DVDs and books, and its 10 best-selling CDs were Jackson titles as well.

"They love him," said Bill Carr, Amazon's vice president for music and video. "He's a legend, and they're anxious to make sure they have his music in their collections."



by the associated press

Death of Michael Jackson

NEW YORK (AP) — When Michael Jackson anointed himself "King of Pop" over two decades ago, there was considerable rumbling about his hubris: Yes, he may have become a world sensation with record-setting sales of "Thriller," and yes, he may have had a string of No. 1 hits with smashes like "Billie Jean" and "Beat It," but the KING OF ALL POP MUSIC?

Surely, in a modern music history that has given us Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Stevie Wonder and so many musical greats, that title was a more than a bit inflated.

But in actuality, Jackson understated his significance.

While his elaborate, stop-on-a-dime dance moves and sensual soprano may have influenced generations of musicians, Michael Jackson stood for much more than the pop greatness — or tabloid weirdness. One of entertainment's greatest icons, he was a ridiculously gifted, equally troubled genius who kept us captivated — at his most dazzling, and at his most appalling.

At the height of his fame, he was among the world's most beloved figures. Heads of state clamored to meet him, screen legends like Elizabeth Taylor were his close friends, and worldwide, simply the mention of his name could make people do the moonwalk, from Los Angeles to Laos (The New York Times once accurately described him as one of the six most famous people on the planet).

His whispery, high-pitched speaking voice was constantly imitated, his fedora hat on his lean frame instantly recognizable, his childlike image endearing.

He influenced artists ranging from Justin Timberlake to Madonna, from rock to pop to R&B to even rap, across genres and groups that no other artist was able to unite. He changed music videos with "Thriller" in 1983, still considered by most to be the greatest music video ever made. Stars like Beyonce still mimic his moves. His one glove, white socks and glittery jackets made him a fashion trendsetter, making androgyny seem sexy and even safe.

Almost everyone wanted that Michael Jackson connection (and those who didn't were afraid to say so out loud). His celebrity and adoration was staggering.

So when his image began to crumble, becoming twisted and disturbed, that aspect, too, was larger than life. His multiple plastic surgeries and his vitiligo illness, which saw him transform from a masculine looking black man to a wispy, pale-faced, almost noseless figure, was held up as the standard for bad plastic surgery, a freakish-looking character.

His eccentric behavior left people confused, and when allegations (and later criminal charges) that accused him of sexually molesting two separate boys surfaced on two separate occasions, people were repelled by his alleged behavior and the man that their former idol had become.

And yet, it was hard to look away.

In the early days, no one wanted to. Jackson came into our public consciousness as an impossibly cute preteen wonder in 1969, an unbelievably precocious singer of his family band, The Jackson 5. The soon-to-be Motown legend channeled songs like "I Want You Back," and "I'll Be There" with a passion and soulfulness that belied his young years. Even then, his dance moves, copped from the likes of James Brown and Jackie Wilson, were exquisite, and his onstage presence outshined season veterans.

The spotlight began to dim when he entered his late teens, however, and while he still had R&B hits with the Jacksons, it seemed as if he would never recapture the pop success that he burst onto the scene with as a child.

But then he met Quincy Jones, and the musical landscape changed. With the legendary producer, Jackson crafted what for most artists would be a career-defining album, from the string-enhanced disco classic "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough," a party staple which he wrote, to the bitter ballad "She's Out of My Life." The best-selling CD showed the world a grown-up Michael Jackson with grown-up artistry, showcasing his breathy alto-soprano voice and providing a springboard to his early videos, which gave a glimpse of the dance wizardry to come.

At the time, it was Jackson's music that was front and center. A 21-year-old who spoke in a breathy, high voice, still lived at home, had his first, barely noticeable nose job and was a self-claimed virgin in an industry known for its hedonism, he was certainly an odd figure, but his personal life had yet to become intertwined with his public image.

That began to change during "Thriller" — the album that would become his greatest success and his career-defining achievement. Also produced by Quincy Jones, it featured even more of Jackson's songwriting talents; Selling more than 50 million albums worldwide to become the globe's best-selling disc, it spawned seven Billboard top 10 hits, including two No. 1s with "Billie Jean" and "Beat It," won an then-unprecedented eight Grammy awards, and numerous other awards.

It was an impact measured much more than in stats.

He broke the MTV's color barrier, becoming the first black artist played on the young, rock-oriented channel when the success of "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" became so overwhelming it could not be ignored. He also established the benchmark for the way videos would be made, with stunning cinematography, precision choreography that recalled great movie musicals. Jackson's amazing talents as a dancer were also displayed to the world during his Emmy-nominated performance for Motown's 25th anniversary. It is still considered one of TV's most thrilling moments, from his moonwalk strut to his pulsating pelvic movements.

But as Jackson's fame grew, his eccentricities, from his strange affinity for children and all things childlike, to his at times asexual image to his fascination with plastic surgery, began to dull the shine off of his sparkling image. As the years went by, those "eccentricities" would become more bizarre, and completely tarnish it.

His skin, once a dark brown, became the color of paste, a transition he blamed on the skin disease vitiligo, though some believed he simply bleached his skin in order to appear more Caucasian. That belief was rooted in his frequent plastic surgeries, which whittled his nose from a broad frame to an almost impossibly narrowed bridge. His image was a tough one to look at, much less embrace.

If his plastic surgery made him disturbingly unwatchable, soon, allegations of child abuse would make him reviled among many. He was first accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy in 1993; no charges were ever filed, a civil lawsuit was settled out of court and he always maintained his innocence. Although he had a chart-topping album with "HIStory" in 1995 and was still a superstar, he was a damaged one — and would never fully recover from the allegation.

A criminal charge of molestation of another young boy in 2004, which resulted in his acquittal in 2005, further stripped his marketability and his legacy; after the trial ended, he went into seclusion, and while top hitmakers from Ne-Yo to Akon courted him to make new music, no new CD was ever released. He was overwhelmed with legal and financial troubles, with what seemed like weekly lawsuits against him seeking money owed.

A comeback seemed to be most unlikely. His reputation was considered irreparably damaged, his image mocked and his name an automatic punchline. But when he announced he'd be doing a series of comeback concerts at London's famed O2 Arena in London, not only did the initial dates sell out immediately, the demand was so insatiable he was signed on for an unprecedented 50 shows, and was expected to embark on a worldwide tour sometime after the concert series was complete in March.

Of course, there will be no comeback now, no Jackson 5 reunion, no new music to share with millions of fans. But the legacy he leaves behind is so rich, so deep, that no scandal can torpedo it. The "Thriller" may be gone, but the thrill will always remain.



by the associated press