Jackson Public Memorial Concludes -- 3:52 p.m.
By JESSE WASHINGTON AP National Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) -- An emotional public memorial for Michael Jackson has concluded in Los Angeles. The ceremony attended by thousands in the downtown Staples Center and watched by millions around the world had a spiritual tone punctuated by performances and remembrances. Jackson's three children joined his siblings and celebrities on stage for the finale Tuesday. His daughter Paris-Michael Katherine, in the arms of her aunt Janet, tearfully told the audience that she loves her father. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Jackson's Daughter Says "Daddy Was The Best Father You Could Ever Imagine" -- 3:41 p.m.
At the end of the service, Jackson's daughter, Paris, broke down in tears and said, " "I just wanted to say, ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine! I just wanted to say I love him so much."
Jackson Family Gathers For A Group Hug -- 3:39 p.m.
Jermaine and Marlon Jackson Speak -- 3:34 p.m.
"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.
Singers Perform "We Are The World" -- 3:24 p.m.
Jackson's Choreographer Kenny Ortega Speaks -- 3:23 p.m.
British Singer Shaheen Jarargholi Performs -- 3:17 p.m.
Smokey Robinson Speaks -- 3:14 p.m.
"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.
Recording Artist Usher Sings Tribute -- 3:09 p.m.
Family Members Of Martin Luther King Jr. Speak -- 2:55 p.m.
Michael's Brother Jermaine Sings -- 2:48 p.m.
Brooke Shields Speaks About Relationship With Jackson -- 2:39 p.m.
"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.
John Mayer Performs -- 2:34 p.m.
Reverend Al Sharpton Speaks -- 2:27 p.m.
"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.
Jennifer Hudson Sings "Will You Be There" -- 2:19 p.m.
Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson Pay Tribute To Michael Jackson-- 2:04 p.m.
Stevie Wonder Begins Tribute To Michael Jackson -- 2:09 p.m.
"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.
Mariah Carey Sings At Michael Jackson Memorial -- 1:40 p.m.
"We miss you, Michael." -- Mariah Carey, after singing "I'll Be There" at Jackson's memorial service.
Michael Jackson's Golden Casket Arrives On Stage -- 1:31 p.m.
By JESSE WASHINGTON AP National Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Jackson's golden casket has been placed on stage at his public memorial service in downtown Los Angeles. The casket was brought into Staples Center on Tuesday as a choir sang in front of a backdrop of stained-glass windows. The public event followed a private service for family and friends in a cemetery hall in the Hollywood Hills. Jackson's flower-draped casket was brought to Staples Center in a motorcade under law enforcement escort. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Memorial Service Begins With Smokey Robinson -- 1:08 p.m.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Jackson memorial begins with Smokey Robinson reading comments from Jackson friends. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Jackson Memorial Service Begins -- 1:03 p.m.
People inside the Staples Center are asked to take their seats as the memorial is about to begin.
Jackson Casket Arrives At Staples Center For Memorial -- 12:48 p.m.
By JESSE WASHINGTON AP National Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Jackson's body arrived at Staples Center on Tuesday, his hearse part of a motorcade that smoothly whisked his golden casket 10 miles across closed freeways from a private service at a Hollywood Hills cemetery to his public memorial and awaiting fans. The hearse pulled into Staples Center complex and drove into an underground structure as fans began to file into the venue for the start of the service. The traffic snarls and logistical nightmares that had been feared by police and city officials had not materialized. The thousands of fans with tickets began filing in early and encountered few problems. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Jackson Casket On Its Way To Staples Center -- 12:31 p.m.
By JESSE WASHINGTON AP National Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A hearse containing Michael Jackson's golden casket began the short drive to Staples Center on Tuesday following a private service at a Hollywood Hills cemetery.
List Of Guests Invited To Jackson's Memorial -- 12:28 p.m.
By The Associated Press
List of guests invited to public memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles:
Stevie Wonder
Usher
Lionel Richie
Brooke Shields
Mariah Carey
Kobe Bryant
Berry Gordy
Jennifer Hudson
Magic Johnson
John Mayer
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)
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Stage Is Set For Jackson Memorial -- 12:20 p.m.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A stage inside Staples Center in Los Angeles is bathed in blue light. There's a spray of yellow and orange flowers in front of a podium. And the backdrop features a photo of Michael Jackson, and the words, "In Loving Memory." That's the setting for the public memorial service for Jackson. It will be attended by celebrities including Stevie Wonder and Mariah Carey, as well as thousands of fans who were selected in an online lottery. Outside the arena, video billboards are showing a montage of pictures from Jackson's life. They include images from Jackson as a child, and with celebrities including Luciano Pavarotti and Marcel Marceau. And some of the pictures show Jackson with members of his family. Dozens of street vendors are selling T-shirts, photos, buttons and other memorabilia. And fans have been gathered since early morning -- some with the wristbands signifying that they will be attending the service. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Michael Jackson's Casket Taken From Private Service -- 12:02 p.m.
By JESSE WASHINGTON AP National Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Jackson's golden casket has been carried from a private service in the Hollywood Hills and placed in a hearse in advance of a public memorial in downtown Los Angeles. Family and friends spent about a half hour in the service Tuesday morning after a motorcade of Rolls-Royces, Cadillacs and Range Rovers from Jackson's parents' house in the San Fernando Valley. Police say Jackson's body will be brought to the downtown Staples Center for a star-studded public memorial service. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
LA Sets Up Web site For Jackson Memorial Donations -- 11:55 a.m.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The city of Los Angeles has set up a Web site to allow Michael Jackson fans to help the city pay for his Staples Center memorial service. Mayor's office spokesman Matt Szabo says the site launched Tuesday morning is linked to a PayPal account where donors can help defray the ceremony's cost with tax deductible credit-card contributions. Szabo estimates the service will cost $1.5 million to $4 million. The Web page reads: "Help the City of Angels provide the extraordinary public safety resources required to give Michael the safe, orderly and respectful memorial he deserves." (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Jackson Family Motorcade Reaches Memorial Park -- 11:20 a.m.
By JESSE WASHINGTON AP National Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A motorcade that began at the home of Michael Jackson's parents reached a cemetery in the Hollywood Hills early Tuesday for a private service in advance of a star-studded memorial in downtown Los Angeles. Numerous vehicles under California Highway Patrol escort headed out from the parents' home shortly before 8 a.m. Tuesday and reached Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills about 15 minutes later. Authorities shut down sections of freeways during the height of Los Angeles' morning rush hour to allow the motorcade to pass. Jackson's family members and dozens of friends, led by his parents, Joe and Katherine, were seen walking into a hall at the cemetery where a small viewing was apparently held the night before. After the private ceremony, Jackson's body will be taken to the singer's public memorial. Among the celebrities expected to attend the memorial are Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Usher, Lionel Richie, Kobe Bryant, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer and Martin Luther King III. Police have blocked off roads and warned those without tickets to stay away because they would not be able to get near to the downtown venue. Some fans were allowed past street barriers into the immediate area around the Staples Center early Tuesday. Dozens of street vendors lined up selling T-shirts, photos, buttons and other Jackson memorabilia. More than 1.6 million people registered for free tickets to Jackson's memorial, but only 8,750 people were chosen to receive two tickets each. Los Angeles was the epicenter of Jackson-mania, but the outpouring of emotion was worldwide. Belgium's two national public broadcasters were to broadcast the memorial live later Tuesday and several hundred Jackson fans gathered at a Hong Kong mall late Tuesday. Holding white candles, Hong Kong singer William Chan and Taiwanese pop star Judy Chou led the audience in observing a 30-second silence. Many of the fans clutched red roses and wore black; some donned Jackson's trademark fedora hats. In America, about 50 movie theaters across the country, from Los Angeles to Topeka, Kan., to Washington, D.C., were planning to broadcast the memorial live, for free. Jackson died at age 50 on June 25. "There are certain people in our popular culture that just capture people's imaginations. And in death, they become even larger," President Barack Obama told CBS while in Moscow. "Now, I have to admit that it's also fed by a 24/7 media that is insatiable." ------ AP Entertainment writer Sandy Cohen, AP Music writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody, Associated Press writers Amy Taxin, Andrew Dalton, Anthony McCartney, Danica Kirka and Michelle Rindels contributed to this report. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Michael Jackson's Casket To Be Taken To Memorial -- 10:24 a.m.
By JESSE WASHINGTON AP National Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Jackson's body will be taken to the singer's star-studded memorial in downtown Los Angeles, adding to the spectacle that promises to be among the biggest celebrity sendoffs of all time. "Mr. Jackson's remains will be going to the Staples Center. We're not giving any details," Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton said Tuesday. Police have blocked off roads and warned those without tickets to stay away because they would not be able to get near to the downtown venue. Some fans were allowed past street barriers into the immediate area around the Staples Center early Tuesday. More than 1.6 million people registered for free tickets to Jackson's memorial. A total of 8,750 people were chosen to receive two tickets each. Among the memorial participants will be Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Usher, Lionel Richie, Kobe Bryant, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer and Martin Luther King III. About 50 theaters across the country, from Los Angeles to Topeka, Kan., to Washington, D.C., were planning to broadcast the memorial live, for free. Jackson died at age 50 on June 25. "There are certain people in our popular culture that just capture people's imaginations. And in death, they become even larger," President Barack Obama told CBS while in Moscow. "Now, I have to admit that it's also fed by a 24/7 media that is insatiable." All those involved say the heart of Los Angeles will become a circus. In one way, that characterization became literal early Tuesday. Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey starts a run at Staples Center on Wednesday, a booking long planned in advance. In the pre-dawn hours before Jackson's memorial, the elephants walked from the train station to the arena, arriving some five hours before the memorial. Early Tuesday, roads were closed and media massed at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles. The night before, activity had been spotted there involving the Jackson family. La Toya Jackson, wearing sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat, was seen being driven away from 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. Los Angeles was the epicenter of Jackson-mania, but the outpouring of emotion was worldwide. Belgium's two national public broadcasters were to broadcast the memorial live later Tuesday and several hundred Jackson fans gathered at a Hong Kong mall late Tuesday. Holding white candles, Hong Kong singer William Chan and Taiwanese pop star Judy Chou led the audience in observing a 30-second silence. Many of the fans clutched red roses and wore black; some donned Jackson's trademark fedora hats. Debbie Rowe, Jackson's ex-wife and the mother of Jackson's two oldest children, had planned to attend Tuesday's memorial but backed out Monday. "The onslaught of media attention has made it clear her attendance would be an unnecessary distraction," her attorney Marta Almli said in a statement. ABC News on Tuesday aired portions of a 2003 interview with Rowe that was largely unaired in which she called Jackson's children "the ultimate love children." "If it hadn't been for how much I love him, I would have never had children," she said. "People make remarks, `I can't believe she left her children.' Left them? I left my children? I did not leave my children. My children are with their father, where they're supposed to be." She said Jackson was upset when his marriage to Lisa Marie Presley broke up because he wanted to be a father, so she told him "let me do this." Rowe said Jackson was not a pedophile. "He would not do anything inappropriate with a child, ever," she said. "It's not in him. I believe there are people who should be parents, and he's one of them. Always. From the day I met him. I could do something for him, and this is what I wanted to do." ------ Associated Press Writers Amy Taxin, Andrew Dalton, Anthony McCartney, Danica Kirka and Michelle Rindels contributed to this report. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Thousands Prepare To Say Goodbye To The "King of Pop" -- 9:35 a.m.
At 1 p.m. on Tuesday, WCPO will stream Michael Jackson's public memorial service, which may go down as the biggest celebrity farewell in history. Jackson's Los Angeles tribute has already become a spectacle matching his highly publicized, eccentric life -- not only has his death on June 25 been surrounded by legal battles, outrageous fans and his ever-present star power, but an unrelated circus scheduled for later this week brought a parade of elephants to the Staples Center early Tuesday morning. The tribute follows a private, family funeral for the pop star, which appears to have taken place at the Forest Lawn Cemetery late Monday. It has been reported that Michael Jackson's casket, however, will be at the Staples Center for the memorial service. After more than 1.6 million people registered for free tickets to Jackson's service, 8,750 of those people were chosen to receive two tickets each. The Staples Center itself will admit 11,000 ticketholders, and 6,500 will be in the Nokia Theater overflow section next door. The Jackson family has reserved 9,000 of the Staples Center's 20,000 seats for their private guests. Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton told CBS' "The Early Show" on Tuesday that the police department would have more officers on the streets of downtown for Jackson's memorial service than it had for the Lakers' victory parade last month. It has been reported that the cost for police service for the event is estimated at $3.5 million. If anticipated crowds do not materialize, though, some officers may be sent home to lower the cost of armed forces. Bratton said police officers "really just do not know how many people will actually show up," and that they are prepared for anything. Several streets surrounding the Staples Center are closed, and police officers are stationed at more than 30 intersections near the service. The Jackson family announced that celebrities in attendance will include Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Usher, Lionel Richie, Kobe Bryant, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer and Martin Luther King III. Family spokesperson Ken Sunshine told ABC that Queen Latifah will also be performing. Jackson's ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, and his close friend Elizabeth Taylor have said they will not be attending. Rowe, the mother of Jackson's two older children, had planned to attend but backed out Monday, fearing media attention to her presence would be a distraction to the event's purpose of memorializing Jackson. ABC News will broadcast live coverage of the memorial service. Charles Gibson will anchor "Remembering Michael Jackson" from New York, and he will be joined by "Nightline" anchor Martin Bashir, who spent eight months interviewing Jackson in 2003 for the revealing documentary "Living with Michael Jackson." Robin Roberts of "Good Morning America," "Nightline" anchor Cynthia McFadden and Senior Law and Justice Correspondent Jim Avila will report from the Staples Center. Brian Rooney, Lisa Fletcher, Mike von Fremd and Ryan Owens will also contribute to the special coverage. At 9 p.m. Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters will co-anchor a special edition of "20/20," in which Sawyer, from ABC News in New York, and Walters, from the Staples Center, will report on highlights from the service and other news of the day. "Primetime: Family Secrets" will air at 10 p.m. on ABC and will report on Michael Jackson's children, the custody battle with Debbie Rowe and will feature a rarely seen interview with Rowe from 2003. Diane Sawyer and Elizabeth Vargas will co-anchor the program while Jim Avila reports from Los Angeles. In-depth reporting will continue on "World News," and at 11:35 p.m. Cynthia McFadden will anchor "Nightline" from the Staples Center, with John Donvan contributing.
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