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Posted: Friday, 03 July 2009 5:37AM

Jackson Memorial Set for Tuesday in L.A.



Los Angeles (CBS\AP)  -- A memorial service for Michael Jackson will be held Tuesday at Los Angeles' Staples Center, CBS News has learned.

The news came following a day of discussions between L.A. police and officials and the Jackson family. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Nokia Theater were also considered.

It wasn't immediately clear if a funeral or a public memorial was being discussed for the entertainer - or both. No further details about the timing of the event or how members of the public might attend have been announced.

Jermaine Jackson confirmed the service would be at the Staples Center at 10 a.m. Tuesday, one in a series of events that would commemorate Michael Jackson.

"We hoping everybody will be safe and things locked down," Jackson said to CNN's Larry King, referring to pulling together the Staples Center event in such a short time.

Jermaine Jackson hopes that his brother can be buried at the Neverland Ranch, near the train station on the 2,500-acre property near Santa Barbara, Calif. He seemed confident that legal measures that prevent burial at Neverland could be overcome.

"There is no place big enough," Jermaine Jackson said regarding the funeral service. "The Washington Monument, [the Los Angeles] coliseum. We want the world to take part in this event. At the same time we are in mourning. This is the most incredible being there will ever be."

A statement released by Ken Sunshine, a family spokesperson, said that 11,000 tickets would be made available to the public, but specifics on how those tickets are to be distributed will be released Friday.

Before his death Michael Jackson had been rehearsing at the Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers, for 50 sold-out shows he was planning to put on in London. Today, the promoters released footage of Jackson's final rehearsal and in it he looks ready to make a comeback, reports CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy.

Watch video

AEG, the company that runs the Staples Center, was also producing Jackson's London concerts, reports Tracy. They offered the venue to the Jackson family for a memorial.

Today the director of those planned summer shows says Michael Jackson's final rehearsal was worthy of the "King of Pop," reports Tracy.

"It was just an incredible night," said Kenny Ortega. "He was electric, he was happy, he was invested. It was inspirational to be in this space."

The memorial discussions were held as the federal Drug Enforcement Administration joining the investigation into Jackson's death, and Jermaine Jackson said he would be "hurt" if toxicology reports showed his younger brother abused prescription drugs.

"In this business, the pressures and things that you go through, you never know what one turns to," Jermaine Jackson said in an interview on NBC's "Today" show.

The circumstances surrounding Jackson's death last week have become a federal issue, with the DEA asked to help police take a look at the pop star's doctors and possible drug use. Allegations have emerged that the 50-year-old entertainer had been consuming painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants.

Asked if he would be shocked or surprised if Michael's drug use was proven, Jermaine Jackson said, "I would be hurt." He said he had heard about prescription drug use in the 1980s when his brother was hurt in an accident filming a commercial but did not know if drug use was a possibility more recently.

"I don't know about these things, because I hate anything with drugs," he said, adding that it hurts the family for people to say things about drug use "because we don't know."

Psychic entertainer Uri Geller, a former Jackson confidant, said he tried to keep Jackson from abusing painkillers and other prescription drugs, but others in the singer's circle kept him supplied.

"When Michael asked for something, he got it. This was the great tragedy," Geller said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press from his suburban London home.

Jermaine Jackson said in the "Today" interview that he wishes he had died instead of his younger brother, and that Michael was "a gift from Allah."

The Los Angeles Police Department asked the DEA to help in the probe, a law enforcement official in Washington told the AP on condition of anonymity because of the investigation's sensitivity.

While the investigation into the singer's death deepened, passionate Michael Jackson fans spent another day in an uneasy limbo, awaiting word from the King of Pop's camp about where and when a memorial service might be held for their hero - and if they're even invited.

Speculation about the potential location of a memorial has ricocheted from the Staples Center to the Los Angeles Coliseum to the Nokia Theater. Jackson family spokesman Ken Sunshine said a public memorial was in the works but that it wouldn't be at Neverland.

The elimination of the proposed Neverland memorial came as a blow to many Jackson fans who had already descended on the estate in the rolling hills near Santa Barbara with the hope of attending a public viewing.

"We're terribly disappointed," said Ida Barron, 44, who arrived with her husband Paul Barron, 56, intending to spend several days in a tent.

On the legal front, Jackson's 7-year-old will was filed Wednesday in a Los Angeles court, giving his entire estate to a family trust and naming his 79-year-old mother Katherine and his three children as beneficiaries. The will also estimates the value of his estate at more than $500 million.

Katherine Jackson was appointed the children's guardian, with entertainer Diana Ross, a longtime friend of Michael Jackson, named successor guardian if something happens to his mother. A court will ultimately decide who the children's legal guardian will be.

Jermaine Jackson told Larry King he wasn't surprised that he or his siblings or father weren't mentioned in the will.

"It doesn't bother me because my mother is mentioned....We are a family. We don't let that get in the way."

He also said he would not want anyone to contest the will.

"If Michael makes a will no one should contest. It's what his wishes were," Jermaine Jackson said.

Jermaine Jackson told Larry King that it was interesting that Diana Ross was chosen as a guardian in case something happened to his mother.

"I think she's great," Jackson said.

Jackson's lawyer John Branca and family friend John McClain, a music executive, were named in the will as co-executors of his estate. In a statement, they said the most important element of the will was Jackson's steadfast desire that his mother become the legal guardian for his children.

The will doesn't name father Joe Jackson to any position of authority in administering the estate. Also shut out is ex-wife Debbie Rowe, the mother of his two oldest children.

Rowe, the mother of Jackson's two oldest children, plans to fight for custody of the children, according to a report from KNBC in Los Angeles.

Jermaine Jackson told King that leaving Rowe completely out of the will was "what Michael wanted."

The will, dated July 7, 2002, gives the entire estate to the Michael Jackson Family Trust. Details of the trust will not be made public.

Jackson owns a 50 percent stake in the massive Sony-ATV Music Publishing Catalog, which includes music by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Lady Gaga and the Jonas Brothers.

Jackson, who died June 25, left behind three children: son Michael Joseph Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11; and son Prince Michael II, 7.


© MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. of Michael Jackson rehearsing at the Staples Center two days before he died.

 
 
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