LOS ANGELES—A glass coffin for the body of Michael Jackson is being considered by the superstar’s family, according to an Inquirer informant.
The source also said that private burial services for the King of Pop would be held Tuesday morning, July 7, at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuaries in Hollywood Hills.
That means Jackson will be interred in the hilly private cemetery that overlooks Universal Studios, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Among the stars buried in the memorial park are John Ritter, David Carradine, Bette Davis, Liberace and Lucille Ball.
The Inquirer informant said that after the burial, the Jackson family would proceed to the Staples Center—the home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers basketball teams—in downtown Los Angeles, where a memorial service would be held.
Thousands of Jackson’s fans are expected to attend the memorial which will celebrate the life and legacy of the tragic pop icon.
No to Neverland
Reports that Jackson was going to be buried in his Neverland Ranch proved to be false. Many fans have already booked hotel rooms in the Santa Barbara area near Neverland Ranch.
Jackson’s family later confirmed that an elaborate public memorial would be held Tuesday at the 20,000-seat Staples Center and that about 11,000 tickets would be given away for free to the fans.
Concert promoter and Jackson backer AEG Live said the service was set for 10 a.m. (1 a.m., Wednesday, Manila time).
The Jackson family was mum on where Jackson would be buried.
The musical clan earlier quashed the idea of a poignant final farewell at Neverland, which posed logistical headaches due to its remote location in the ritzy Santa Barbara wine country.
‘This is his creation’
However, Jackson’s elder brother Jermaine said he would still like the pop legend to be buried at Neverland, a tribute to Jackson’s fascination with childhood that in its heyday had giraffes, tigers and a private amusement park.
“I feel his presence because this is his creation,” Jermaine Jackson told CNN in an interview at the ranch. “I really feel this is where he should be rested because it’s him. It’s serene.”
Jackson spent little time at Neverland after he was acquitted of molesting children there in a sensational trial in 2005.
Custody battle
As funeral plans took shape, legal battlelines were drawn over the fate of Jackson’s offspring with ex-wife Debbie Rowe declaring she planned to seek custody of the star’s eldest two children.
Rowe, who has remained largely silent since Jackson died from an apparent cardiac arrest on June 25 aged 50, told NBC television she would seek custody of Prince Michael, 12, and Paris, 11.
“I want my children,” Rowe was quoted as saying in a 90-minute phone interview with the station. “I am stepping up. I have to.”
Rowe, who was married to Jackson between 1996 and 1999, was omitted from a 2002 will filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday in which Jackson named his 79-year-old mother Katherine Jackson as guardian.
$8.5-M settlement for ex-wife
Rowe filed a petition in 2001 to give up her parental rights but later reversed her decision and secured visitation rights.
Rowe, who met Jackson as a receptionist in the office of his dermatologist, has characterized their relationship as strictly for the purpose of birthing Jackson children. She received $8.5 million in their divorce, according to court records.
Legal experts say that Rowe’s chances of winning custody could hinge on her relationship with the children. Several reports say she has not had any contact with the children for years.
Dancing with gusto
Rowe’s comments came as new footage of Jackson taken two days before his death emerged, showing him rehearsing a vigorous routine which appeared to refute suggestions the star was in ill health during his final days.
Concert promoters AEG Live said the footage was recorded on June 23 at the Staples Center as Jackson prepared for a 50-date set in London starting in July.
Jackson, while thin, is seen dancing with energy in a tightly choreographed sequence with a group of performers. Jackson sings on a headset and at one point pushes back his jacket to reveal his red shirt underneath.
A final cause of death for Jackson has not yet been determined but attention has focused on whether he was taking powerful painkillers.
Crowd-control problem
Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine said he wished there had been more time to work out the logistics for the public memorial.
“If you can imagine 100,000 people show up and you have 20,000 capacity (at the Staples Center), there is not sufficient room. Now you have a crowd-control problem,” he said. He also said he was concerned about the cost of police overtime for the cash-strapped city. With reports from Agence France-Presse, Associated Press
