LAS VEGAS ? Michael Jackson's body will be laid to rest on August 29, the day the King of Pop would have turned 51, his father told AFP.

Joe Jackson, 80, said the birthday burial at Los Angeles' Forest Lawn Cemetery would be a private event, although he could not say which family members would be present.

The singing star's interment is to be held more than two months after his June 25 death from heart failure.

Authorities are investigating whether prescription drugs played a role in death the death of Jackson, 50, and have focused on the role played by his personal physician Conrad Murray.

Murray was present at the time Jackson died and reportedly has admitted prescribing powerful anesthetics to his world-famous client.

Joe Jackson, who spoke to AFP in Las Vegas, said he plans to return to the city immediately after the burial service to attend a charity fundraiser in the famed Palms Casino Resort.

The event, "Las Vegas Celebrates The Music of Michael Jackson," is to showcase Las Vegas Strip entertainers singing hits made famous by the pop icon.

Later that day, the Jackson family patriarch is to receive a celebrity star in his late son's honor from the Brenden Theatres, a cinema at the Palms frequented by Jackson and his children.

The theater also has planned a charity screening of the 1988 film "Moonwalker," a feature film of Jackson concert footage and music video clips, with proceeds going to public school music education programs in Las Vegas.