LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson, the “King of Pop” who reigned over the music world like no one else, died Thursday as he prepared for a comeback bid.
Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center after being stricken at his rented home in Holmby Hills. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him at his home for nearly three-quarters of an hour, then rushed him to the hospital, where doctors continued to work on him.
“It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home. However, the cause of his death is unknown until results of the autopsy are known,” said his brother Jermaine.
Later Thursday, the medical center released a statement also pointing to cardiac arrest but refusing to indicate a cause until after the autopsy.
“His personal physician, who was with him at the time, attempted to resuscitate Jackson, as did paramedics who transported him to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center,” the statement said. “Upon arriving at the hospital at approximately 1:14 p.m., a team of doctors, including emergency physicians and cardiologists, attempted to resuscitate him for a period of more than one hour but were unsuccessful.”
Police said they were investigating, standard procedure in high-profile cases.
Jackson’s death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s.
At the time of his death, Jackson was rehearsing hard for what was to be his greatest comeback: He was scheduled for an unprecedented 50 shows at a London arena, with the first set for July 13.
As word of his death spread, MTV switched its programming to play videos from Jackson’s heyday. Radio stations began playing 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, and people began relaying the news to friends by cellphone.
“No joke. King of Pop is no more. Wow,” Michael Harris, 36, of New York City, read from a text message a friend had sent him. “It’s like when Kennedy was assassinated. I will always remember being in Times Square when Michael Jackson died.”
In Hollywood, fans hoping to pay respects to Jackson by visiting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame found they would have to wait. As news of Jackson’s death spread, event crews in Hollywood were prepping for Thursday night’s Hollywood premiere of “Bruno” at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, right next to Jackson’s star.
Fans who tried to get a glimpse Thursday were turned back as they approached the theater.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce planned to place the customary flowers at the star by 9 a.m. today.
In Gary, Ind., hundreds of fans crowded the street outside Jackson’s modest childhood home. Bernetta Galloway, 50, of Gary said residents are proud of Jackson because he was “somebody from Gary who did something with their life.”
Jackson was 11 when the family moved out of Gary after the Jackson 5 recorded their first album in 1969. Jackson’s last trip to Gary was in June 2003.
The Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.
