THE KING OF POP IS GONE

Friday, June 26, 2009

No one will really know what caused the sudden death of Michael Jackson until an autopsy is performed, but he at least seemed on the way toward being declared fit and ready to tour.

A source close to the production tells E! News that the 50-year-old singer passed a medical exam that was required earlier this year in order for promoter AEG Live to obtain the proper insurance from Lloyd's of London for Jackson's 50-show engagement at O2 Arena, which was supposed to kick off in July.

"He passed the physical and everything was a go," the source said. Jackson had been scheduled to undergo another exam prior to his departure.

UCLA Medical Center staff confirmed earlier today that the singer's personal physician was with Jackson at his rented home in the Holmby Hills when paramedics were called sometime after noon.

Sources tell E! that Jackson had been making regular visits to a medical center in Beverly Hills in recent weeks, but it's unclear why.

MORE MICHAEL

Nothing official cause of death will be announced until after an autopsy is performed, but doctors have indicated that Michael Jackson indeed died after suffering cardiac arrest this afternoon.

"My brother, the legendary king of pop, Michael Jackson, passed away on Thursday, June 25, at 2:26 p.m." brother Jermaine Jackson told the media gathered outside Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center shortly before 6:30 p.m.

"It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home. However, the cause of his death is unknown until the results of the autopsy are known."

Jermaine continued: "The personal physician who was with him at the time attempted to resuscitate my brother. As did paramedics who transported him" to the hospital.

"Upon arriving at the hospital at approximately 1:14 p.m., a team of doctors, including emergency phsyicians and cardiologists, attempted to resuscitate him for a period of one hour and they were unsuccessful.

CAN'T SPEAK

 Elizabeth Taylor, one of Michael Jackson's closest and most supportive friends for nearly two decades, is grieving her loss in private at this time.

"Dame Elizabeth Taylor is too devastated by the passing of her dear friend Michael Jackson to issue a statement at this timem" her rep says. "We will direct her words to you once we receive them."

Taylor first called Jackson the "King of Pop" when she presented him with the Artist of the Decade award in 1989 and she remained one of his most ardent defenders throughout his trial on child-molestation charges in 1995.

But the outpouring of love from the women who spent quality time with Jackson didn't end there.

Brooke Shields also walked many a red carpet with Jackson over the years, and tonight she is mourning the loss of her longtime friend and reported Blue Lagoon-era love interest.

HE'S NOT DEAD

But as the world was busy reacting to news of Michael Jackson's sudden passing, someone in the blogosphere thought it would be a good idea to feed the beast and say that Jeff Goldblum had died.

Various websites cited an erroneous report coming out of New Zealand that the 56-year-old actor had plunged to his death in a fall on the set of his next movie.

"Reports that Jeff Goldblum has passed away are completely untrue. He is fine and in Los Angeles," publicist Lisa Kasteler said.

New Zealand police are saying that there appears to be false information circulating. In fact, they haven't even heard anything about Goldblum shooting a film in their country.

So, Goldblum is doing well, and we're glad—and not only because Law & Order: Criminal Intent is better than ever these days!

SO SAD

"I can't stop crying over the sad news. I have always admired Michael Jackson. The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever! My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family. God bless."

- Madonna

I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news. For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words.

QUINCY SPEAKS

Divinity brought our souls together on The Wiz and allowed us to do what we were able to throughout the 80's.

To this day, the music we created together on "Off The Wall," "Thriller" and "Bad" is played in every corner of the world and the reason for that is because he had it all…talent, grace, professionalism and dedication.

He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever."

ONLINE SLOWDOWN

In the moments following Michael Jackson's death -- so many people rushed to the Internet, that it practically stopped the entire WWW in its tracks.

Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, AIM -- just a few of the scores of major web sites bombed by a tidal wave of traffic. Most of the sites still worked, but the epically high traffic numbers caused them all to move at a snail's pace.

The last time the 'net had this kind of traffic -- Obama's inauguration.

NOT A SHOCK

Michael Jackson's former publicist, Michael Levine, just released the following statement, claiming he saw today's tragic events coming for years.

As someone who served as Michael Jackson's publicist during the 1st child molestation incident, I must confess I am not surprised by today's tragic news.

Michael has been on an impossibly difficult and often self-destructive journey for years. His talent was unquestionable but so too was his discomfort with the norms of the world.

A human simply can not withstand this level of prolonged stress.''

FARRAH'S STORY

Ryan O'Neal could barely contain himself. Confronted by cameramen outside a Santa Monica hospital this morning, the actor was pepppered with questions about Farrah Fawcett's condition.

"How's Farrah?" someone asks.

"Farrah's gone," he says.

The heartwrenching scene played out just 90 minutes after Fawcett died. After composing himself a few hours later, O'Neal saluted his companion:

"After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away," he said. "Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world."

It was the first of many similar statements from family, friends and fellow Angels...