Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, dies after heart attack at age 50

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop and the most famous name in modern music history, died Thursday shortly after being rushed to an L.A. hospital after suffering cardiac arrest.

Jackson was 50 years old.

As of Thursday night, his official website just showed a red screen with a photo of Jackson saying simply: King of Pop ... Michael Jackson.

"Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon and paramedics were unable to revive him," the celebrity website TMZ.com first reported shortly before 6 p.m. Eastern time.

The Los Angeles Times originally had reported that the singer was in a coma and family members were gathering. But the paper later confirmed Jackson had dead.

According to the Times, Capt. Steve Ruda of the LA Fire Department said "paramedics responded to a call at Jackson's home around 12:26 p.m. Pacific time. He was not breathing when they arrived. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center."

Jackson was in the midst of preparing a comeback after years of tabloid madness, mostly sparked by his trials (and acquittals) on child molestation charges. He had sold out 50 shows at London's O2 Arena and was beginning to rehearse for those concerts. 

He was the subject of bad health rumors before, but always seemed to recover.

Crowds of fans began gathering around the hospital shortly after the news broke, some not even knowing that Jackson had died, according to TV reports. Aside from his family, who arrived at the hospital shortly after the singer arrived, it's been reported that longtime friend Elizabeth Taylor visited to pay her respects.

"I am absolutely devastated ... I just don't have the words," producer and collaborator Quincy Jones said in a statement today.

The exact cause of death is not known yet, though reports are that Jackson had a heart attack. The Los Angeles Coroner's Office will investigate.

Jackson was a two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- once with the Jacksons and again as a solo artist. His record albums are estimated to exceed 750 million in sales. He won 13 Grammy Awards and had 13 No. 1 hits during his career.

Jackson married twice -- to Lisa Marie Presley and later to Debbie Rowe -- and had three children, Michael Jr., Paris and Prince.

Click here for a photo slideshow of his career.

[AP photo]

Comments

[g.d.smith]

I didn't say James Brown was a paragon of virtue. But at least his best records were good.
I admit it, I do not get the worship of MJ. Basically, he's the patron saint of musical halfwits like Simon Cowell. I grew up in the 1980s MJ got on my nerves then and his music annoys me to this day. Also I think outpourings of public grief for the 50 year old suspected pervert that was MJ is a bit sickening.

[Ellen]

As fans explain something to me. Jurors on the second trial admitted to thinking he was guilty yet found him not guilty due to his celebrity. They let him go because of who he was. Can you explain to me why you still support him when you hear things like that? I heard that and was disgusted. Yet people are on here defending him. Someone told me that "well he donated a lot of money to charity". To me that does not take away from what he did. Can someone please explain to me why they still defend him? Why they let their children listen to his music knowing what he is? To me it is condoning what he did. I am not being sarcastic - I just do not understand.

[Dr. Dim]

Yeah, and James Brown was a paragon of virtue.

[g.d.smith]

Never liked him. Knocked his dance moves off shalamar. The Desneyfication of pop music MJ represented blighted the 1980's. Sure; he sold a lot of records mainly to deluded parents and toddlers. The jury is still-out on the Kiddy-fiddler stuff. But, really, even without it, MJs life was a shocking display of rampant narcissism, mesianic posturing and showbiz tack.  More Liberace than James Brown.

[Ellen]

His family knew he needed help yet no one would do anything. They were all as messed up as he was.

[scoots]

The 1st thing that hit me was that he died.The 2nd thing that hit me was that he was 50 years old.His death really hit me and most people don't think about this until after the fact. I grew up with the Jackson's and Michael,by no means was I a Big fan,but I did have a few Lp's and 45's and watched the cartoon after school.My last cassette I had was Thriller and remember watching the Viedo a thousand times in school. Regardless of what he has or has not done,his life should of not ended the way it did. 4 people inspite of the confidentiality clause has comeout and said he was on drugs/pain killers. What amazes me is the fact the people knew this,his own family knew this,close friends knew this and celeberties knew this.This could of and should of been prevented.Someone,anyone could of said hey what are you doing to yourself?you need help.I think his personal doctor was wothless and has alot of information.I also think that if he had a personal doctor,he should of had a personal counselor as well. He had so much inner turmoil.He did not like his self and it took its toll. I think regaurd less of the out come of what they find in the toxiology report,it will not bring him back. Alot could of and should of been done to prevent this and no one cared. I don't know if it was a power thing or a money thing,but Michael was a person and crying for help.Why didn't any one help him ? It is very sad indeed....

[Joe]

Thank God the world has lost another perverted childmolester,I mean who the hell really cares about this douche?!

I was appaled to see that MJ and Farrrah both died and yet this pervert child molester gets a huge front page pic and Farrah gets a small little itty bitty 2"x2" photo of herself on the front page.

I say dig up the body of MJ and do unspeakable things to it to let everyone know what a pice of trash he was.One year ago nobody could stop talking about how trashy he was,now all you same people can do is praise him....get real people!

[Monique]

I do not need Michael Jackson to remember my youth. This hero worship of this pervert is pathetic.

[Ed]

To the poster who stated that if he wasn't weird there wouldn't be this outpouring:

He sold 85 Million dollars worth of tickets in minutes. The 02 arena in the UK holds like 25k and he had it sold out for 50 shows! Who else could do that he was a world wide phenom.

As a 39 year old man, people like MJ, Duran Duran, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Tears for Fears, and The Culture Club were all soundtracks of my youth.

MJ is on the level of Elvis and the chariman (Sinatra) for my generation!

All you Gen Xers out there who remember going to Jr. High and High School when there was a smoking section, and you had the Punkers, the metal heads and kids dressed like the beat it video or wore penny loafers and one glove. When Levi 501 Jeans and Le Tigre shirts were the must haves. Before cell phones and laptops, before the internet when there was nothing but good old fashioned radio, saturday morning cartoons and school house rock!

With his passing has brought back all of those memories. We're so tied up in conference calls and board meetings we've forgotten the good old days.

Remember, people either hated him during that time cause he was everywhere or went nuts when they saw him. But now his music is on adult contemporary stations where we all bob our heads to the beat and think about our teenage years.

[Ed]

Michael Jackson was the greatest entertainer of the last 40 years! 40 years people. He had hit records in just about every decade (except for this one). Look at the longevity!!! Private life..different matter all together.

[Julie]

He was actually alot better looking when he was black.

[Shelley]

Not only did he WANT to be white, I think he wanted to be a white woman!

[Sue]

Not sure about MJ, but I do believe that David Carradine was definitely "spanking his monkey" when he died!!!

[Patty]

I've never seen a man who wanted to be "white" so badly. He was desparately wanting to be a whitey!

[Bob H]

Okay, a little lesson in common sense for the believers in the "Celebrities Die in Threes" myth.

First of all, yes, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson all died in a short period of time. But how many times does a celebrity die and nobody else famous dies for several weeks or months?

Secondly, David Carradine died a couple weeks ago, so that actually makes four.

It is human nature to recognize patterns and if none can be found, we invent them.

There are too many variables to give any credence to the myth that celebrities die in threes. Like what time frame are we talking about? A week, two weeks, a month, two months? Also, define celebrity. It's far too subjective.

Does a sports star "equal" a movie star or a musical star? Worldwide fame versus national or local?

In other words, the notion that celebrities die in threes is a myth, nothing more.

[Sandy]

You sure he wasn't "spanking his monkey" when he died!!!

[Miguel]

MJ was a very weird personality (everybody probably mocked on him for one reason or the other.I did it too),but i gotta tell you i was a little sad yesterday.He was,in his early career a very talented and creative artist."Off the Wall" and "Thriller" are defining albums in the pop genre,and very good albums by the way.He then became increasingly weirder.But it was like a part of our youth lost there.Who from my generation didn`t try to copy MJ`s dance moves while watching the "Billie Jean" or "Thriller" videoclips.RIP

[Dr. Dim]

Ok, let's all settle down.

First of all, we all have a right to be judgmental. We judge people on whether they can be trusted, if we want to be their friend, if we might dislike them. We are judging people all the time. We have to, it's how we function as a social species. And those of you accusing others of being judgmental are yourselves being judgmental. That's MY judgment.

Secondly, I wasn't a big fan of Michael Jackson. I do like several of his songs, but I never bought any of his albums or went to any of his concerts. However, no one can deny the artist's influence on pop music and pop culture, no matter how troubling the alleged actions of the man. And remember - acquittal does not necessarily mean innocent.

Third, what most of us, in my opinion, are really mourning is the loss of part of ourselves. We're all fans of the 80s, whether we all agree on what was our favorite parts or not, and, when such a touchstone figure as Michael Jackson dies, we lose part of that living connection to our youth.

Personally, I feel the loss of Farrah Fawcett much more deeply than that of Michael or Ed McMahon or David Carradine. When I heard that Michael had died, my initial reaction was that he was stealing from Farrah's final moment. But each of their deaths reminds me that I'm mortal and that I'm getting older.

And so are you.

[Elaine]

Hshoopsfan - let me guess. You supported Michael Vick too. You imply that sorry but no needs help and why do they care yet you post nasty comments. Why do you care so much? I was never a MJ fan. His music was too overprocessed and he relied too much on his dancing (Janet does that too) instead of singing. He refused to support his last album which flopped and blamed everyone but himself. I watch the news coverage of the people in tears and I think they are the ones who need help with their hero worship. Just like you.

[Sean]

Who's going to get stuck with all that debt that the Dud left behind....I heard that he was so broke...he couldn't even "pay" attention....LOL.
HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa.

[Jack]

A 50 year old man wanting to sleep with 10-12 year old boys...yuck.....If he hadn't been rich and famous..he would have already been in the pen for life and been Bubba's b.i.t.c.h by now.

[Joyce]

I'm so old, I remember when he was Black!

[Joann]

Good riddance!

[Bill in Nokomis]

Heart attack? More likely the Zoloft-Xanax-Demerol cocktail he was on.

On a brighter note, Michael left the Beatles catalog to Paul McCartney. Personally, I would have left part to Ringo, too.

[Jane]

Awwww no more slumber parties with the kiddies!

[Jane]

Awwww no more slumber parties with the kiddies!

[Joe B.]

Wow, one less perv in the world...ho hum.....Do you know what Michael Jackson and K-Mart had in common, they both have boys jeans half off!!!

[hshoopsfan]

Sorry but no: If you read my response you will clearly see that I stated my own doubts about his behavior. By acknowledging his immense talent is not condoning his behavior. Learn the difference and leaern to read! Parents are children best role models, not athletes or entertainers. But the ability to not be judgemental of other people or things is a gift to pass down. Why do you care!!! Why is your life so wrapped up in someone you've never met. It is one thing to express your suspicions or dislike for his personal actions, another, and more importantly your inability to seperate one facet of a person's life from another. Let me guess, your the type of person who brushes a broad stroke in judging people and you've been told how rigid & inflexible you are; and yet probably does whatever he wants to people with no regard for what YOU do to people. I'm sure you have been told this many times in your life from family members,close associates and a therapist or two!!

[NELLIE PIERCE]

MY HEART IS FULL OF SADNESS. MY PRAYERS ARE WITH THE ENTIRE JACKSON FAMILY,MAY GOD BE WITH YOU AND HELP YOU THROUGH THIS HEARTBREAKING TIME. WE WILL ALL MISS MICHAEL ESPECIALLY MY GRANDSON,HE IS TRUELY A VERY BIG FAN AS WELL AS MYSELF. GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

[Dag F. Nabbit]

Is it unkind to suggest that fitting commemoration for Jackson might be for all the little boys to hang their pants at half mast?

[Annastacia]

I'm sad about Michael's death - he was a big part of my life from roller skating in the 70's to wearing out my cassette of Thriller in the 80's. I'm even sadder about the relentless media coverage about how celebs are reacting. Do I really care that Corey Feldman never patched up his relationship with MJ after they had a falling out? Not so much. Come on media, stop interviewing D-list celebs and talk to real people. And for the haters posting mean things on this blog - this is not the time or place.

[Karen McAllister]

It's odd to have sentimental feelings about MJ, but I'll always associate him with my last moments with my Mom. My mother followed the updates in People as closely as her children's.
She was in the hospital after a stroke, and I was trying to get her to respond to me. I looked up at the TV and said, OhMyGod, Mom, Not Guilty. Not Guilty. They found Michael Jackson not guilty on all sex charges. No response. I knew then it was time to give up.

[JB]

What a sad, sad week. R.I.P David, Ed, Farrah, and Michael. You will all be missed!!

[Steve S.]

Jacko was in town to work with famed Danny Ortega (High School Muisical) for his latest show which was to take place next month in England.

The question is how does someone who is 50 who appears healthy die with a personal medical doctor next to him? There is going to be some not so good news coming out over the next couple of weeks. Someone close to him said that it was a mirical he made it to 50. So very sad.

[sorry but no]

hshoopsfan - your statement is ridiculous and typical of someone who simply does not care. Using your logic no one can even be on a jury because they cannot judge because they may have done something in their past (yes I know if you have a connection to a case or did something close you may be excused). Let me make it simple - I HAVE NEVER MOLESTED A CHILD!!! I will judge him. I will never buy MJ's music and support him. This sick little lovefest shows how shallow some of you really are. But again you probably ignore what sports stars do too as long as you can get to the championship of your favorite sport.

[Kazabud1]

One less pervert,cya.

[hshoopsfan]

Sorry but no: You can seperate someone's personal life from contributions people make to society. Like a lot of people, I have some serious doubts about incidents in his life. However, he left an immense legacy to the world through his art. People like you always feel a need to judge, right now he is answering to the only person who really matters. You on the other hand have no right to judge anyone!!! You know....he who cast the first stone....

[Jermo]

The '80s dies tonight.

I'm more of a Moz fan, but I realize that Michael is more important for the generation.

Tonite, I simply feel old & sad.

RIP/

The world will never be the same.

[special K stuck in Kentucky wanting to go back to Germany]

While Michael Jackson of the last few years hasn't made him very popular with many and lost him fans, there is no denying that he is a true icon of music. He is such a huge part of my childhoold from the Jackson 5 in the 70s to the Moonwalk, sparkly glove, and Thriller in the 80s, it is sad to see to him pass.

[Sorry but no]

By giving him glowing testimonials you are saying you do not care what he did in his personal life. That is the same as people not caring what sports stars do in their personal life as long as they get you to the championship game. Sorry to dose your little lovefest with reality but some of us are not starstruck and see reality.

[Jermo]

I was never a big MJ fan. That said, he was the '80s. RIP.

Farrah, I will miss. I still have my Logans Run t-shirt for the '70s. I had THE poster. She was the sexiest woman ever to grace TV.

[Jen]

Actually, we are up to 4. Remember the Kung Fu dude? That was the first.

[Dragix]

This is front-page news. There is a typo:

"The Los Angeles Times originally had reported that the singer was in a coma and family members were gathering. But the paper later confirmed Jackson had dead."

[Swordy in Australia]

Hey guys, I agree with Spearsy. Lay off the heavy stuff. We all know his past in relation to that part of his life and I'm sure every single person agrees.

This is a music site that Spearsy puts a lot into. Don't ruin it. If you have no comment to make about his music, dont leave anything. Ease off the stuff that is over the top. It's not necessary.

I for one am not a particular fan but I do recognise and respect the change it made to our lives in the 80's.

[slim]

now, all of gods children are a little safer. idolized a perv and molester?? get real. bet he can't buy his way outta his makers court!

[MJ Fan]

MJ Fan is Looking At The Man in The Mirror. He tells himself, "You are Not Alone." It is only Human Nature to be sad when you lose such a Smooth Criminal. I bet both Billy Jean and Dirty Diana will weep tonight. It doesnt matter if you're Black or White, we lost a Thriller today. I guess I will just Remember the Time and realize it is not that Bad. RIP King Of Pop......

[Jeff]

One less freak for the trash mags and paparazzi to promote. Jackson was a talent but also a sicko that bought his way out of a life behind bars. Children are safer due to his passing.

[Deena Blue]

One freaky thing to me. When I found out Michael had died, I was listening to Crowded House's Don't Dream It's Over...

[Stork]

Despite what anyone says, you all have to admit that the man was a musical god

[Deena Blue]

I remember where I was the day Elvis died. I also know where I was when John Lennon was shot to death. And now another pop icon of my youth is dead. Regardless of his problems, MJ made good music. Let those without sin cast the first stone.