Capt. Steve Ruda said paramedics responded to a call at Jackson’s home around 12:26 p.m. He was not breathing when they arrived. The parademics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told The Times. He died at 2:06PM – June 25, 2009
No matter what your views may be of Michael Jackson’s private/public life, can we all agree that his contribution to the world of entertainment has been enormous? My take on this question is YES! His breakthrough music, his single-handed making of MTV, and the revolution he created with music videos was the stuff that influenced the world of entertainment forever. Today’s news was a real shocker for the world of entertainment – not just with the death of Michael Jackson, but also the death of Farah Fossett. Plus, Ed McMann dieing earlier this week was hopefully the end of “things come in threes”. This is what we know.
Paramedics were called to a home on the 100 block of Carolwood Drive off Sunset Boulevard. Jackson rented the Bel Air home for $100,000 a month. It was described as a French chateau estate built in 2002 with seven bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, 12 fireplaces and a theater. The news comes as Jackson, 50, was attempting a comeback after years of tabloid headlines, most notably his trial and acquittal on child molestation charges. In May, The Times reported that Jackson had rented the Bel Air residence and was rehearsing for a series of 50 sold-out shows in London’s O2 Arena. Jackson had won the backing of two billionaires to get the so-called “King of Pop” back on stage. –Andrew Blankstein and Phil Willon
Pop & Hiss
The L.A. Times music blog
Reports: Michael Jackson Is Dead
By The New York Times
This post is written by Brooks Barnes in Los Angeles and Ben Sisario and Brian Stelter in New York.
“A lot will be said about Michael Jackson as we learn more about this story,” Brian Williams said on the “NBC Nightly News.” “He was incredibly talented, a child star who was an adult with deep troubles and physical and mental health issues.” The reports of Mr. Jackson’s death ricocheted around the world with remarkable speed. The news led Friday morning newscasts in Japan.
Early reports indicated cardiac arrest, but a hospital spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment. Mr. Jackson, 50, has been renting a mansion in the Bel Air neighborhood, a short distance from the hospital, and rehearsing for a series of 50 sold-out shows in London.
Joe Jackson told to E! News, an entertainment Web site and cable channel, that the singer’s family was scrambling to determine his condition. “I am in Las Vegas, but yes, people in Los Angeles called me and are with Michael and tell me he was taken to the hospital,” Mr. Jackson told E! News. “His mother is on her way to the hospital now to check in on him.”
Mr. Jackson is scheduled to perform in a series concerts in at the O2 arena London, beginning next month and continuing into 2010. The shows have been widely seen in the music industry as an important potential comeback for him, with the potential to earn him up to $50 million, according to some reports. But there has also been worry and speculation that Mr. Jackson, who is 50, was not physically ready for such an arduous run of concerts, and Mr. Jackson’s postponement of the first of those shows from July 8 to July 12 fueled new rounds of gossip about his health.
A member of the pop group the Jackson 5 as a child, Mr. Jackson was a pint-size musical dynamo. He spent years in talent shows and performing in seedy Midwestern clubs under the aegis of Joe Jackson, his dictatorial and ambitious father. Joe Jackson and Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records, were the singer’s twin mentors during the early career.
Mr. Jackson eventually broke with his father and the Jackson 5, a move toward creative and financial independence marked by his collaborations with Quincy Jones on a trio of albums. The most memorable of those is 1982’s “Thriller,” which eventually racked up sales of 51 million copies globally, according to the Guinness World Records, making it the best-selling album in history.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department told CNN said rescuers were called to Mr. Jackson’s home at 12:21 p.m. Pacific. “When paramedics went on the scene, they treated the patient, then they immediately transported the patient to UCLA,” the spokesman told CNN. Mr. Jackson’s home is located only a few minutes from the hospital center.
Cable news channels almost immediately started showing paparazzi shots from TMZ, X17Online.com and Hollywood.TV of Mr. Jackson’s entourage arriving at the hospital. By mid-afternoon, television news helicopters were hovering above the medical center.
There have been concerns about Jackson’s health in recent years but the promoters of the London shows, AEG Live, said in March that Jackson had passed a four-and-a-half hour physical examination with independent doctors. For the reaction to Michael Jackson’s death from Australia, check out what is being reported on the Marquette Turner website. This is a sad moment in the world of entertainment no matter what your opinions are about Michael Jackson. His impact on the world of music will last forever. I welcome your thoughts about how Michael Jackson impacted your view of music.
