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Ecstatic fans, who won the lottery for seats at Tuesday's memorial,
received the tickets and spangly wristbands that will get them into
the 20,000-seat Staples Center downtown. The Jackson family
announced the participants would include Stevie Wonder, Mariah
Carey, Usher, Lionel Richie, Kobe Bryant, Jennifer Hudson, John
Mayer and Martin Luther King III.
As
night fell, activity was spotted at the Forest Lawn Cemetery
involving the Jackson family. The cemetery is the location where
relatives were expected to hold a private funeral.
La
Toya Jackson, wearing sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat, was seen
leaving the cemetery. KCAL-TV showed helicopter footage of a hearse
backing up to a building inside the grounds.
A
small handful of cars were shown coming and going from the Hall of
Liberty, a circular building at the cemetery that contains a 1,200
seat auditorium. Representatives for the Jackson family reached
Monday night did not comment.
The
legal maneuvering that marked Jackson's extraordinary and troubled
life also continued on Monday, with his mother losing a bid to
control his enormous but tangled estate. And in one of the few
reminders of Jackson's darkest hours, a New York congressman branded
Jackson a
"pervert'' undeserving of so much attention.
More than 1.6 million people had registered for free tickets to the
10 am (1700 GMT) memorial, which would be broadcast live worldwide.
A total of 8,750 people were chosen to receive two tickets each. The
"lucky ones" picked up their passes Monday at Dodger Stadium amid
heavy police presence.
"I
got the golden ticket!'' one fan screamed out of his car window in a
Willy Wonka moment as he drove out of the parking lot.
"My mother loves Elvis. This is my Elvis,'' said ticket winner Mynor Garcia, 29.
Downtown hotels were quickly filling. Police, trying to avoid a mob
scene, warned those without tickets to stay away because they would
not be able to get close to the Staples Center.
British Airways reported a surge of bookings as soon as the memorial
arrangements were announced. Virgin's trans-Atlantic flights to San
Francisco, Las Vegas and Los Angeles were all packed with fans and
VIPs, spokesman Paul Charles said.
"I
think this is America's version of Princess Diana. People want to be
in the vicinity. People from the UK and elsewhere want to share
their emotions together,'' Charles said.
About 50 theaters across the country, from Los Angeles to Topeka,
Kan., to Washington, D.C., were planning to broadcast the memorial
live, said Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. spokeswoman Suzanne Moore.
Admission will be free _ first-come, first-served.
Jackson's friend Elizabeth Taylor will be mourning in private. She
said on her Twitter feed Monday that she would not attend the
memorial.
"I just don't believe that Michael would want me to share
my grief with millions of others,'' she tweeted.
"How I feel is
between us. Not a public event.''
In
Los Angeles Superior Court, meanwhile, a judge appointed Jackson's
longtime attorney and a family friend as administrators of his
estate over the objections of his mother, Katherine. Attorney John
Branca and music executive John McClain had been designated in
Jackson's 2002 will as the people he wanted to oversee his empire.
Mrs
Jackson's attorneys expressed concerns about McClain and Branca's
financial leadership.
"Frankly, Mrs. Jackson has concerns about
handing over the keys to the kingdom,'' said one of her attorneys,
John E. Schreiber.
Another one of her attorneys, Burt Levitch, told Judge Mitchell
Beckloff that Branca had previously been removed from financial
positions of authority by Jackson. Branca's attorney said he was
rehired by Jackson on June 17, days before Jackson's death.
Branca and McClain will have to post a $1 million bond on the
estate, and their authority will expire Aug. 3, when another hearing
will be held.
"Mr Branca and Mr McClain for the next month are at the helm of the
ship,'' the judge said.
Jackson died at age 50 with hundreds of millions in debts. But a
court filing estimates his estate is worth more than $500 million.
His assets are destined for a trust, with his three children, his
mother and charities as beneficiaries.
On
eBay, bids for memorial tickets were reaching as high as $3,000, and
prices on Craigslist were in the thousands, although both sites were
removing postings attempting to sell memorial tickets.
Debbie Rowe, Jackson's ex-wife and the mother of Jackson's two
oldest children, had planned to attend the memorial but backed out
on Monday.
"The
onslaught of media attention has made it clear her attendance would
be an unnecessary distraction to an event that should focus
exclusively on Michael's legacy,'' her attorney Marta Almli said in
a statement.
"Debbie
will continue to celebrate Michael's memory privately.''
In
New York, Republican Rep. Peter King released a YouTube video
calling Jackson, who was acquitted of child molestation charges, a
"pervert''
and a "low-life.''
But
the memories of Jackson's problems were far from the minds of fans
preparing to say goodbye.
"It's
the passing of a great soul,'' said Matt Tyson, 31, of Ojai, Calif.
"He
brought people together, helped express something that's in us
all.''
In
a symbolic convergence of events, however, the circus will be there.
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey starts a run at Staples Center
on Wednesday. In the predawn hours before Jackson's memorial, the
elephants will walk from the train station to the arena.
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Public Memorial for
Jackson today amid tight security: 
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