Jackson's Private Funeral Plans Set
Before being celebrated by thousands of select fans in a highly touted memorial Tuesday, Michael Jackson will be remembered by family and close friends in a private funeral ceremony.
The iconic entertainer is set to be buried at Forest Lawn Cemeter, about 13 miles from the public memorial at the Staples Center, reports "Early Show" weather anchor and features reporter Dave Price.
A flatbed truck carrying a black and gold coffin entered the cemetery Monday morning, followed closely by Los Angeles police and a private security detail.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles city councilwoman Jan Perry said city is prepared for the throng of Jackson fans at the public memorial, but encouraged people without tickets to stay home.
Perry, who is acting mayor while Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is in South Africa, also said that the cash-strapped city would "love it" if the Jacksons helped defray some of the city's expected costs associated with Tuesday's memorial, but that officials hadn't heard from the family.
Meanwhile, Michael Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe will attend the pop superstar's public memorial service.
Former Jackson business associate Marc Schaffel said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that Rowe was confirmed for VIP seats. Rowe is the mother of Jackson's two oldest children.
The event will be held at the 20,000 seat venue normally home to the L.A. Lakers and star-studded events. But on Tuesday, friends and family, along with thousands of Jackson fans, will flood the area for the memorial service for the King of Pop.
And in this city, no stranger to massive public events, officials say they're prepared for anything -- from street closures to barricades to manpower, police are mounting a major security effort.
Event organizers, who say they received more than 1.5 million online requests, will hand out 17,500 passes at Dodger Stadium later on Monday after notifying recipients by e-mail Sunday night.
Some 11,000 of those tickets will allow entry to the Staples Center, while the remaining 6,500 ticket holders will watch a simulcast of the ceremony in the neighboring Nokia Theater.
City officials are also preparing for upwards of half-a-million fans without tickets, who may converge on the area despite repeated pleas that they watch on TV from home.
"You'll be standing in the hot sun on a city street. Watch this in the manner that it should be watched with friends at home or somewhere else where you have access to a TV," suggested LAPD Chief of Staff Jim McDonald.
Meanwhile, lucky fans celebrated when they got an e-mail saying they had scored the hottest ticket in town. "Congratulations, your application was successful," said the message sent to Deka Motanya, 27, of San Francisco.
She immediately Twittered: "OMG OMG OMG OMG i got tickets to the michael jackson memorial service!!!"
It was a real-life version of Willy Wonka's golden tickets. Each selected person gets a pair of free tickets, with the odds of being chosen about 1 in 183.
Jackson died at age 50 on June 25 after going into cardiac arrest in the bedroom of his rented mansion. The cause of Jackson's death has not been determined. Autopsy results are not expected for several weeks.
And amid the buzz surrounding the memorial, legal wrangling over the pop star's will continued Monday.
The family is currently seeking a delay to settle the issue of who will control of the estate and to see if another will exists.