There were times when he may not have been the most loved person in the world, but he certainly was one of the most controversial, has died at the age of 50, having collapsed at his home in Los Angeles. Michael Jackson was taken to hospital in a coma, he was announced dead.

It is thought Jackson’s death could possibly be related to a large injection of Demerol, given to the singer for pain, after a rehearsal for 50 comeback concerts. It was believed that Jackson had managed to kick a morphine and Demerol addiction, but has experienced health concerns since the early 1990’s.

Dr Conrad Robert Murray, cardiologist from Houston, Texas, was reportedly with  Jackson when he lost consciousness. Murray had been living with Jackson in his rented mansion, in the role of a personal physician. Police are now searching for Murray, who has disappeared, leaving his car outside Jackson’s house.

Entertainer extraordinaire, businessman and recording artist, the seventh of nine children of the Jackson family, whose sensational singing gift was discovered when he was just 6 years old. He was later referred to as the ‘King of Pop’, just as Elvis Presley has been dubbed the ‘King of Rock and Roll’.  Some likened his unique dancing style to Fred Astaire and in particular Jackson’s ‘Moon Walk’. Jackson’s entertaining life spanned almost four decades.

Jackson revolutionized the music world, being the first to make music visual through videos, rather than merely audio. Jackson was also the first African-American entertainer to successfully break the black and white barriers on MTV, an American music cable television network, based in New York. His very distinctive high tenor vocal style heavily influenced hip hop, pop, as well as many contemporary artists. Jackson sold 61 million albums in the US alone.

Jackson supported 39 charities, as well as donating and raising millions of dollars for benefits and his own charity. Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Jackson in 1993 became the most-viewed non-sport program in the history of the United States.

Changing his appearance to a lighter skin, narrower nose, as well as controversial and at times bizarre behavior in his private life, drastically damaged his public image. Jackson made an out of court settlement when accused of molesting a child in 1993.  Reports of the the singer suffering financial difficulties surfaced in 2006, after the child sex abuse trials of 2005.  It is believed the musical icon died around $400 million dollars in debt.

Twice married, having fathered three children, another cause for controversy, Jackson’s closest companion was a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles. Elizabeth Taylor has always been a high profile friend of Jackson.

Jackson is one of the few artists to be twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Jackson also appears several times in the Guiness World Book of Records, including an entry as the ‘Most Successful Entertainer Of All Time’ and the biggest selling album of all time.

From July 13, 2009 – March 6 2010, Jackson was to perform concerts to over one million people, at London’s O2arena. Sales for the tickets to the concerts broke several records. The first ten concerts alone would have earned the iconic singer around $100 million. The concerts were organized by entrepreneurs who recently bundled Jackson’s debt into one place. Reports say that Jackson’s finances were getting back in order, but the concert promoter, AEG Live, is facing the task of refunding $85 million in ticket sales, for the sold-out concerts.

The question is what will happen to Jackson’s three children - Prince Michael Jackson aged 12, Paris Michael Katherine aged 11 and Prince Michael Jackson11 aged 7? Children who never went to school, living a nomadic life with their famous father. Michael Jackson was the only parent the children knew.

This ticket was posted on Thursday, June 25th, 2009 at 8:41 pm and is filed under general. You can follow any responses to this ticket through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “The Two Faces Of Michael Jackson”

1. dropjack.com Says:
   June 25th, 2009 at 10:24 pm

   The Two Faces Of Michael Jackson…

   Dead at 50, Michael Jackson showed the world two very distinct faces over his four decade career….

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