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September 3, 2009
Jackson Burial Set for Tonight
By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD
LOS ANGELES – More than two months after he died — and
following a a steady trickle of gossip over how and where he
would be laid to rest — Michael Jackson
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/j/michael_jackson/index.html?inline=nyt-per>
is to be entombed tonight at a highly guarded mausoleum in a
Los Angeles suburb.
With closed streets, nervous guards and restricted air space
over the grounds, the proceedings were taking on the air of a
presidential visit to Forest Lawn Glendale, where Mr.
Jackson's family and friends were due to gather at 7 p.m.
Pacific time for a private service.
But the authorities said such precautions were necessary to
keep out fans of one of the biggest-selling entertainers of
all time and to control the news media.
A memorial service attended by several thousands fans, family
members and friends was already held for Mr. Jackson, 50, who
died June 25. That memorial, on July 7 at the Staples Center
in downtown Los Angeles, took place in the arena where he had
been rehearsing for a series of London concerts expected to
revive his career.
But the family never announced burial plans, and news station
helicopters lost track of the hearse carrying his gleaming
gold coffin after it left the arena.
Representatives of the family asked officials in Santa
Barbara County about the possibility burying him at Neverland
Ranch where he lived for many years before his trial on child
molestation charges. He was acquitted in 2005 and left the
ranch, and a financial firm eventually took it over, but
getting permission to bury him on private land there would
have entailed months of red tape, state and local officials
said.
It was unclear where Mr. Jackson's body has been kept, but a
couple of weeks ago his family announced he would be entombed
at Forest Lawn Glendale, joining Clark Gable
<http://movies.nytimes.com/person/10097/Clark-Gable?inline=nyt-per>
, Carole Lombard
<http://movies.nytimes.com/person/43021/Carole-Lombard?inline=nyt-per>
, W.C. Fields
<http://movies.nytimes.com/person/23388/W-C-Fields?inline=nyt-per>
and many other famed Hollywood figures.
The cemetery, about eight miles north of downtown, is far
from ordinary.
There is no forest to speak of, but plenty of green lawn on
300 acres, which includes the castle-like Great Mausoleum,
which is to be Mr. Jackson's final resting place. It includes
a noted stained-glass reproduction of the Last Supper as well
as statues and other artwork.
The cemetery is well-known for a high level of security, with
guards shooing away loiterers and restricting mausoleum
visits largely to people authorized by the family of the
deceased.
Mark Masek, who maintains cemeteryguide.com
<http://cemeteryguide.com> , which tracks entertainers'
graves, said that a couple of weeks ago guards stopped him
from taking pictures outside the mausoleum and forced him to
delete the images.
"They are not kidding," he said, predicting fans would have
trouble finding and documenting Mr. Jackson's crypt.
"If they wanted to restrict access and keep people out they
could not have picked a better place," he said.
The Glendale police have said the family will pay for the
costs of security for the event. They asked for and received
a restriction on the air space to safeguard helicopter
patrols, a police spokesman said.
A judge Wednesday approved Mr. Jackson's estate paying the
costs, with the total described in court papers as
"extraordinary," but the actual amount blacked out. A
Glendale police spokesman, Tom Lorenz, said police costs
would be no more than $150,000
The family bought a bloc of 12 spaces in the mausoleum as a
single unit.
"Mrs. Jackson and her family wish to honor her son by a
funeral that seeks to offer solace to his multitude of fans
and by which the family also may be comforted," Bert Levitch,
a lawyer for Mr. Jackson's mother, Katherine, wrote in a
court declaration.
The investigation into Mr. Jackson's death continues. The
coroner has ruled he died from a mix of the anesthetic
propofol and another sedative, injected by somebody.
Mr. Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/conrad_murray/index.html?inline=nyt-per>
, has told investigators he gave Mr. Jackson a mix of drugs,
including propofol, to help him sleep but it is unclear if he
will face criminal charges. Dr. Murray's lawyer has said he
did not cause Mr. Jackson's death.
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Rest in Peace MJ ...
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