| Posted: 26 Jun 2009 00:31 |
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r.i.p, just a few minutes ago:
LOS ANGELES — Pop superstar Michael Jackson died Thursday after suffering a cardiac arrest, according to reports from TMZ.com.
The popular celebrity website said when paramedics arrived, the 50-year-old King of Pop had no vital signs. Emergency workers were unable to revive the singer, TMZ reported.
Jackson was taken to hospital Thursday afternoon and TMZ reported that Jackson's father, Joe Jackson, said the King of Pop was "not doing well," shortly after he was brought to ULCA Medical Center.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Capt. Steve Ruda told the L.A. Times that Jackson was not breathing when they arrived at his home.
Paramedics were called to a massive home on off Sunset Boulevard at about 12:20 p.m. According to the L.A. Times, Jackson rented the seven-bedroom, 13-bathroom mansion for $100,000 month.
Jackson was planning a comeback tour with a series of 50 sold-out shows at London's O2 Arena, with the first show scheduled to take place on July 13.
The first show was originally scheduled for July 8, but was postponed for five nights. Three other shows that were set for July were reportedly delayed until March 2010.
The comeback tour has been marred in controversy after Jackson's manager previously signed a contract that would bring about a reunion tour of the Jackson 5 that conflicted with the planned London shows.
RollingStone.com had been reporting that bookies had already been increasing the odds against Jackson actually appearing at the concerts, which would have attracted some 750,000 fans.
"While Jackson has been rumoured to be frequently absent from his Los Angeles rehearsals with choreographer and musical director Kenny Ortega, the technical complexity of the shows, as well as Jackson's perfectionism has been cited for the delayed starting dates," Rolling Stone reported. "Jackson is reportedly seeking a children's choir that knows sign language and is "exactly equal" in racial diversity.
After years of bad press regarding his trial and acquittal on child molestation charges, Jackson had been hoping the O2 concerts would signal a comeback.
The Times reported the pop icon was living in a Bel-Air mansion and was in rehearsal for the shows. It said the "King of Pop" was being funded by two billionaires to ensure the success of the shows.
Jackson was in massive debt, and was hoping the shows would restart his career with a world tour, new album and movies.
__________________the kenman
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| Posted: 26 Jun 2009 00:50 Last Edited By: Mattro |
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I was about to post this. Fast reporting. Michael Jackson: king of pop, master of the Moonwalk. May he rest in peace.  In honor of his passing, I putting up links to some of his best music videos:
Thriller
Bille Jean
Beat It
The Way You Make Me Feel.
LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted "King of Pop" who emerged from childhood superstardom to become the entertainment world's most influential singer and dancer before his life and career deteriorated in a freakish series of scandals, died Thursday, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. He was 50.
The person said Jackson died in a Los Angeles hospital. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.
The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m., Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspaper.
Jackson's death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music's premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.
His 1982 album "Thriller" — which included the blockbuster hits "Beat It," "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" — remains the biggest-selling album of all time, with more than 26 million copies.
He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves, his high-pitched voice punctuated with squeals and titters. His single sequined glove and tight, military-style jacket were trademarks second only to his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.
As years went by, he became an increasingly freakish figure. His skin became lighter and his nose narrower. He surrounded himself with children at his Neverland ranch, often wore a germ mask while traveling and kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles as one of his closest companions.
In 2005, he was cleared of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him. The case took a fearsome toll on his career and image, and he fell into serious financial trouble.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital as word of his death spread. The emergency entrance at the UCLA Medical Center, which is near Jackson's rented home, was roped off with police tape.
In New York's Times Square, a low groan went up in the crowd when a screen flashed that Jackson had died, and people began relaying the news to friends by cell phone.
"No joke. King of Pop is no more. Wow," Michael Harris, 36, of New York City, read from a text message a friend sent to his telephone. "It's like when Kennedy was assassinated. I will always remember being in Times Square when Michael Jackson died."
Source: Yahoo News.
__________________"Immortality! Take it! It's yours!" ~ Brad Pitt (Achillies) - Troy
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| Posted: 26 Jun 2009 15:03 |
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I have mixed thoughts on the King of Pop. Loved his music as a kid, but his actions caused me to lose all respect for him. Talking about his legal issues of course.
The news of his death just didn't seem real. Sort of like a part of 80's culture died. Sad really. Very sad all the way around. I have to wonder what he might have done later with his music if he had stayed on the path he made in the 80's. By the 90's he seemed like a completely different person. Like he just started to lose it.
I have to wonder which was the real Michael Jackson the 80's music legend or the one with the weird legal issues.
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| Posted: 26 Jun 2009 21:13 |
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I'll miss his music, not his public life.
I also find it disgutsting that he's on the front page and not Iran's troubles.
__________________"Any man can overcome adversity. If you truly want to test a man's character, give him power."
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| Posted: 26 Jun 2009 23:00 |
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It is a weird world we live in. People love excitement in the kind of soap opera world Jackson lived in. I just think it's a shame Jackson got so far off track in his life. Back in the 80's he was even hanging with the President. He was really popular back then, and he seemed like a half way normal dude.
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| Posted: 28 Jun 2009 14:01 |
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Despite everything, they can never take away 'Thriller' from him.
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| Posted: 28 Jun 2009 19:33 |
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I found out the other day that the Eagles had an greatest hits album that actually outsold Thriller. I just can't figure out when it came out.
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| Posted: 29 Jun 2009 00:37 |
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Yes it did Outsell Thriller, in the U.S. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Their_Greatest_Hits_(1971-1975)
However it is only the 2nd highest selling album in the WORLD. The first is thriller.
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| Posted: 29 Jun 2009 14:39 |
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That must be why you hear it's number one so much.
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