LOS ANGELES — Paramedics found Michael Jackson in cardiac arrest when they arrived at his home shortly before 12:30 p.m. PDT Thursday, three minutes and 17 seconds after receiving a 911 call.
His personal physician already was in the house performing CPR. Jackson was not breathing, and it appears he never regained consciousness. Paramedics treated Jackson at the house for 42 minutes, and he was declared dead at 2:26 p.m. at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center.
Los Angeles police said they do not think Jackson was the victim of foul play but will conduct an investigation — standard after the death of a person with this level of fame. Among the factors investigators said they would examine is any medication Jackson might have been taking; an autopsy will be performed today.
Jackson’s death was confirmed at the hospital by one of his brothers, Jermaine.
Jackson had taken up residence in a seven-bedroom estate near Bel Air, which he rented for $100,000 a month. He had come to town to rehearse for 50 sold-out concerts in London, a run of shows scheduled to kick off July 13 that had been dubbed “This Is It.” The concerts were to have been the start of an ambitious career resuscitation designed to begin wiping out Jackson’s staggering debt of at least $400 million and return the singer to cultural relevancy.
Those close to Jackson have said he had been working diligently to get in shape for his comeback. A year ago, he was gaunt and used a wheelchair, but recently he had been exercising with a trainer in addition to day-long rehearsals with dancers half his age. “He’s in great shape,” his manager, Frank DiLeo, said last month.
In order for promoters to get insurance for the London shows, Jackson underwent a four-hour physical with an independent doctor this spring. Rand Phillips, chief executive of concert promoter AEG Live, said that the medical screening uncovered “no issues whatsoever.”
As word of his death spread, MTV switched its programming to videos from Jackson’s heyday. Radio stations played marathons of his hits. Hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital. In New York’s Times Square, a low groan went up in the crowd when a screen flashed that Jackson had died.
“No joke. King of Pop is no more. Wow,” Michael Harris, 36, of New York, read from a text message from a friend. “It’s like when Kennedy was assassinated. I will always remember being in Times Square when Michael Jackson died.”
In Hollywood, fans hoping to visit Jackson’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame found they would have to wait. Event crews were prepping for Thursday night’s Hollywood premiere of “Bruno” at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, right next to Jackson’s star.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce planned to have a memorial up today.
The Associated Press added to this report.
