The World Mourns "King of Pop" Michael Jackson

"King of Pop" Michael Jackson :

As the world mourns "King of Pop" Michael Jackson, speculation was turning yesterday to what killed the 50-year-old star just weeks before his long-awaited series of comeback concerts. In Tanzania, former President Ali Hassan Mwinyi yesterday sent his condolences to the Jackson family as he joined thousands of fans in paying tribute to the pop legend.

Jackson, who became one of the best-selling pop artistes of all time before descending into a strange and reclusive lifestyle, died Thursday afternoon at a Los Angeles hospital, where he had been rushed in full cardiac arrest after collapsing at his rental home.

Few details are known about the circumstances surrounding his death, but the entertainer was reportedly unconscious and not breathing by the time he arrived at Ucla Medical Centre, and doctors were unable to revive him. Mr Mwinyi, who told the BBC Network Africa Swahili service yesterday he knew Jackson "at a personal level", said he was shocked by the music legend's sudden death. "He was a young man. I thought he would live longer," the former president told BBC, saying he had once hosted Jackson during his African tour in the 90s.
"Michael appeared at rehearsals a couple of times, he was very seriously trying to be able to do those rehearsals," Oxman said of Jackson's preparations for a series of 50 concerts that were scheduled to begin in London in July Those tests will determine if Jackson had any drugs, alcohol or prescription medications in his system. Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery Homicide division searched Jackson's home in the upscale Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. But they called the investigation an "every day" event.

The London concert swing was billed as a comeback for Jackson, who dominated the pop charts during the 1980s with such hits as "Thriller" and "Billie Jean" and was credited with turning music videos into a costly and cinematic art form. "Michael was and will remain one of the greatest entertainers that ever lived," said Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Jackson's first label boss. "He was exceptional, artistic and original. He gave the world his heart and soul through his music." But Jackson's reputation as a singer and dancer was overshadowed in recent years by his increasingly abnormal appearance, and bizarre lifestyle, which included his friendship with a chimp and a preference for the company of children. He named his estate in the central California foothills Neverland Valley Ranch, in tribute to the J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan stories, and filled it with amusement park rides and a petting zoo. Jackson was twice accused of molesting young boys and was charged in 2003 with child sexual abuse.

He became even more reclusive following his 2005 acquittal and vowed that he would never again live at Neverland. Facing a battered reputation and mountain of debts that the Wall Street Journal reported ran to $500 million, Jackson had spent the last two months rehearsing for the London concerts, including Wednesday night. Despite reports of Jackson's ill-health, the promoters of the London shows, AEG Live, said in March that Jackson had passed a 4-1/2 hour physical examination with independent doctors. "I can't stop crying over the sad news," pop star Madonna said in a statement. "I have always admired Michael Jackson. His 1982 album 'Thriller" yielded seven top-10 singles. The album sold 21 million copies in the United States and at least 27 million internationally. LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson's glimmering casket took center stage at the Staples Center, sitting for more than two hours as celebrities memorialized the King of Pop under the watchful eyes of millions. And when the ceremony was over, it was gone. But where Jackson's body will eventually be laid to rest remained a mystery, fed by the same level of rumor and speculation that surrounded much of his life.

Will he be interred at Forest Lawn? Is Neverland Ranch still a possibility? The casket was first seen leaving the mortuary at Forest Lawn, where it got into a hearse for the 10-mile trip to the Staples Center. But before the service even started, the hearse was seen leaving the facility — empty — and wasn't spotted again "This happened so quickly that it's something that has to have an awful lot of thoughtful consideration," said Biggins, who is the owner of Magoun-Biggins Funeral home in Rockland, Mass. "This is bigger than your average burial." Conjecture about Jackson's final resting place has been as fraught as the rumors about where his memorial service would be held in the days before the Staples Center was announced. His 5-page will, signed in 2002, does not include final wishes for his body. The Jackson family seems divided over whether the body should go to Neverland, which would surely turn the Santa Barbara County ranch into a West-coast Graceland.

But Jackson abandoned the 2,500-acre estate after going into seclusion following his acquittal on child molestation charges in 2005, and many of the things that made it unique — the merry-go-round, Ferris wheel and zoo — are gone. Billionaire Thomas Barrack, who owns Neverland in a joint venture with Jackson, has expressed an openness to the idea of having the singer's body buried at the ranch. The family would need to get permission from local land-use officials to bury Jackson on private property, then submit an application and paperwork with the state Cemetery and Funeral Bureau. The state application would then need to be approved by the funeral board, a process that could take anywhere from seven to 30 days. Beyond that, accessibility remains an issue at Neverland. A single two-lane highway leads to the property about 130 miles north of Los Angeles, and infrastructure changes would likely be necessary to accommodate the additional traffic. Another possibility is cremation.

State law requires that the person who has control of the cremated remains obtain written permission of the property owner or governing agency to scatter on the property. Funeral experts said the delay in Jackson's funeral may be due to the fact that such celebrity deaths create logistical, security and legal headaches. Experts said even a two-week delay between death and funeral is not unusual. The body of singer James Brown was kept in a sealed gold casket inside his South Carolina home for more than two months before being interred in 2007 at the home of one of his daughters. "You're probably talking more about an impatient public and an impatient press wanting to know what's going to happen and that impatience needs to be understood," Elvig said. "I think the fact that there's this pause is a wonderful thing because it's being given thoughtful consideration," he said, "to make sure this is done right and this is done in a way that honors his legacy."

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