22 NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2009
CELEBRITY
Jackson's memorial service broadcast around the world
BY JESSE WASHINGTON
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — It was not spectacular, extravagant or bizarre. There were songs and tears but little dancing. Instead, Michael Jackson's memorial was a somber, spiritual ceremony that reached back for the essence of the man.
Michael Jackson's daughter Paris Michael Katherine, center, is comforted by family members at a memorial service for her father at the Staples Center in Los Angeles July 7.
Singer, dancer, superstar, humanitarian: That was how the some 20,000 people gathered inside the Staples Center arena on Tuesday, and untold millions watching around the world, remembered Jackson, whose immense talents almost drowned beneath the spectacle of his life and fame.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
If there was a shocking moment, it came in the form of Jackson's daughter, Paris-Michael, who made the first public statement of her 11 years.
tears and turning to lean on her aunt Janet. "And I just wanted to say I love him — so much."
Outside the arena, the celebrity-industrial complex that Jackson helped create ground on. More than 3,000 police officers massed downtown to keep the ticketless at bay. Helicopters followed the golden casket as it was driven over blocked-off freeways from Forest Lawn cemetery to Staples Center. A bazaar of T-shirts, buttons, photos and other memorabilia sprouted in the blocks around the memorial. Movie theaters played the service live and people paused around the world to watch.
"Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine," she said, dissolving into
Inside, however, the atmosphere was churchlike, assisted by the enormous video image of a stained glass window, with red-gold clouds blowing past, that was projected behind the stage.
"Be strong."
A lengthy silence of several minutes followed, punctuated only by a steady twinkle of camera flashes. The thousands of mourners spoke softly to those in neighboring seats or contemplated their private thoughts.
The ceremony began with Smokey Robinson reading statements from Jackson's close friend Diana Ross — "Michael was part of the fabric of my life" — and then Nelson Mandela —
Celebrities made their way to their seats in front of the stage: Kobe Bryant, Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes, Lou Ferrigno, Don King, the Kardashian sisters, Magic Johnson, Brooke Shields, Larry King. While Jackson was among the most famous faces in the world, today's megastars were largely absent. Those present mostly reflected some connection to Jackson's life or work.
Among those conspicuously not in attendance were Elizabeth Taylor, Ross and Debbie Rowe, Jackson's ex-wife and the mother of Jackson's two oldest children.
The pre-ceremony stillness was broken by the organ strains of an African-American spiritual. "Hallelujah, hallelujah, going to see the King," a choir sang. The crowd
at age 50.
cheered and rose to its feet.
The Rev. Lucious W. Smith of the Friendship Baptist Church in Pasadena gave the greeting, standing on the same stage where Jackson had been rehearsing for a comeback concert before his death on June 25
"All around us are people of different cultures, different religions, different nationalities." Rev. Smith said as he closed the service. "And yet the music of Michael Jackson brings us together."
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