LOS ANGELES, July 5, 2009
Lucky Few Score Jackson Memorial Tickets
Coveted Passes to Pop Icon's Memorial Service Doled Out; Odds of Getting One: 1 in 183
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Play CBS Video Video Jackson's Legacy Ten days after the death of Michael Jackson, there has been still no letup in the worldwide tributes to the 'King of Pop.' Sandra Hughes reports on how people are remembering Jackson's life.
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Copy of portion of email sent to Jackson memorial ticket recipients. (CBS)
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Luis Benguria, of Spain, sits on the shoulder of Pedro Vicente, also of Spain, as he signs a large poster outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles, July 5, 2009. The venue is the location for the late pop star Michael Jackson's memorial service scheduled for Tuesday, July 7. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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Photo Essay Who's that with M.J.? A look at some of the stars with whom he's shared the stage.
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Photo Essay Michael Jackson: 1958-2009 The "King Of Pop" had a life full of number one hits and personal scandals
More than 1.6 million fans registered online for free in the random drawing of only 8,750 names. Each person selected will receive two tickets to Tuesday's memorial. The odds of getting a ticket were about 1 in 183.
Did you get a ticket to Michael Jackson's memorial? CBS wants to talk to you! Just send us an e-mail with your name, phone number, location and any additional contact information.
"I'm in shock that it has happened," said Deka Motanya, 27, of San Francisco. "It's surreal." She received an e-mail message at 4:35 p.m. notifying her, "Congratulations, your application was successful."
She immediately Twittered: "OMG OMG OMG OMG i got tickets to the michael jackson memorial service!!!"
David Gobaud, 25, who studies computer science at Stanford University, said he didn't believe his e-mail was real at first. "It's Michael Jackson, one of the greatest musical stars of all time," he said.
Another winner was Zach Moss, a 21-year-old Chicagoan working for the summer as a DJ in Las Vegas. He said clubgoers have responded strongly to Jackson's music since his death.
"You can play two, three Michael Jackson songs back to back and people are going to have this huge jubilation celebration," he said. "Everyone throws their drinks up and shouts, 'MJ!' It's extremely powerful."
The tickets will admit 11,000 people to the Staples Center plus 6,500 in the Nokia Theater overflow section next door. The streets around Staples Center will be closed to prevent those without tickets from trying to attend, police said Sunday.
The Death Of Michael Jackson, Full Coverage
Within minutes, vouchers for the memorial were already listed for sale on sites like eBay.
Assistant Police Chief Jim McDonnell warned the ticketless to stay away: "You'll be standing in the hot sun on a city street with a lot of other people ... but not within eyeshot of Staples."
The ceremony will not be shown on Staples' giant outdoor TV screen and there will be no funeral procession through the city. No details were available about the actual memorial events.
Jackson's family was planning a private ceremony at the Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills, McDonnell said. He did not provide further details.
At the Wilshire Grand Los Angeles hotel about a half mile from the Staples Center, more than 90 percent of the hotel's 1,000 rooms were booked for Monday and Tuesday night, up from about 60 percent last week.
"There's a lot of demand right now," said spokesman Marc Loge. "We are going to sell out."
Ticket winners said they received a unique code and instructions to pick up their tickets Monday at Dodger Stadium.
When they pick up their tickets, a wristband will be placed on each person's wrist. Organizers will check IDs to make sure those picking up wristbands are the same people who originally applied online, said Staples Center spokesman Michael Roth.
Fans must have both the ticket and the wristband to enter Staples Center on Tuesday. Wristbands that have been ripped, taped or tampered with will be voided.
But winners were permitted to give anyone their second bracelet, so "theoretically, the second wrist band can be sold," Roth said.
Organizers were considering how to distribute any unclaimed seats, but had not immediately decided on a plan, Roth said.
City officials are preparing for huge crowds. McDonnell would not say how many police would be on the job, but alluded to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and the recent championship celebration for the Los Angeles Lakers at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
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.
Also Sunday, a judge signed search warrants connected to the investigation of Jackson's death, Los Angeles County Superior Court spokesman Allan Parachini said. The warrants were sealed and Parachini would not discuss any details.
Authorities are investigating allegations that Jackson had been consuming painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants. The powerful sedative Diprivan, which is usually administered by anesthesiologists in hospitals, was found in his home. It was not known what drugs, if any, Jackson obtained from doctors.
More than a week after his death, tributes and accolades keep coming. Madonna had a Jackson impersonator dance to "Wanna Be Starting Something" at her concert Saturday in the same London arena where he was to stage his comeback.
The Rev. Al Sharpton called for nationwide "love vigils" for Jackson, asking people to gather in schools, community centers and churches to watch the memorial service and talk about the pop star's "message" instead of the "mess" surrounding his death.
The memorial service will be broadcast live on five television networks.
Meanwhile, Jackson's planned summer concerts in London were just the beginning of a wholesale comeback, reports CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy.
Frank Dileo managed Jackson in his 80's heyday when the thriller and bad albums conquered the charts.
"He said, 'Frank this is our time again,'" Dileo recalls Jackson telling him.
Dileo says Jackson was ready to reassert himself in pop music.
"If London would have gone well, we talked about doing 40 stadium dates in Europe," Dileo told Tracy.
They also discussed a new studio album and in the months before his death, the "King of Pop" had been reassembling his court, reports Tracy.
In addition to Dileo, Jackson rehired John Branca, his former attorney who negotiated some of his most lucrative deals.
"He was trying to go back to the good ole times," said CBS News consultant J. Randy Taraborelli, a Jackson biographer. "He was hoping to reclaim his throne with these two guys masterminding his career."
© MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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and again the Media is distracting the Masses with the B.S.what does this have to do with the rape of America by the elitists. Way to go CBS you are doing a great job for the ministry of propaganda.
by erasmus111 July 5, 2009
Michael Jackson was not found guilty.
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So was OJ Simpson
Yes, but there was a lot of evidence that wasn't seen. That case was botched from the beginning.
The stupid ones were the PARENTS, for allowing their children to stay there. Why would they put their child in that position?
These days most childcare facilities protect themselves by use of cameras and simple rules such as not permitting children to be supervised by fewer than 2 adults at any given time. Michael Jackson could have easily done the same at Neverland Ranch and it's surprising he didn't do so.
Sure hope there never comes a time when you or your husband are accused of something you never did. Can you imagine what a nightmare that would be?
If they were sleeping in the same bed as your children you wouldn't wait for a trial you would lynch them yourself. Unless they had a song you really liked.
Actually, I'm not an idiot. I would never put my children in that position to begin with. Even if I thought the person could be trusted.
My husband and I just don't get it. This love-fest for a pedophile...the worst scum of the earth. We can appreciate his immense talent and his impact on pop culture but c'mon. Have we forgotten the children he victimized?
Personally, I think it is you and your husband that are scum. Michael Jackson was not found guilty. There is no proof that any child was victimized. The boy who was supposedly molested, and is now grown, has said that Michael Jackson did NOT molest him. He greatly admired Michael Jackson. His mother, at the time, couldn't even keep her story straight! I can assure you that with all the children that have been around Michael Jackson, if he was a pedophile, there would be many more that would have come forward by now.
Sure hope there never comes a time when you or your husband are accused of something you never did. Can you imagine what a nightmare that would be?
Most of us despised him during the last couple of years of his life because we all thought of him as a pedophile. Let the man be at piece and stop feeding the media.
****, he's only been on every news channel continuiously since he died and most of us are sick to death of seeing it on TV.
Based on what we know about people, approximately 50% of 'his fans' would either scalp these tickets, or hold them as a collectors item and then sell them. Isn't love grand? Maybe 3.2% of the population adored 'the king'.
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