By CARLA HALL AND CHRIS LEE IN GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA
IN A tree-lined clearing of Forest Lawn Memorial Park about 200 of Michael Jackson's family and friends gathered for the final leg of the pop singer's odyssey from death to interment on a hot Californian evening exactly 10 weeks after he was found dead.
The service, scheduled for sunset, became a nighttime gathering as guests awaited the late arrival of Jackson's family. They were ferried through the park's towering gates in a fleet of luxury cars and took their places in the front rows of white folding chairs. The Jackson brothers, in black suits and red ties, filed past a portrait of Michael, a confident smile on his face. His children made their way to their seats.
Among the mourners were many of the touchstones of his life: Elizabeth Taylor; former child star Macaulay Culkin; lawyer Thomas Mesereau jnr, who successfully defended Jackson against child molestation charges; and choreographer-director Kenny Ortega, who was directing Jackson's planned London concerts. The reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, baseball player Barry Bonds, Marlon Brando's son, Miko, and comedian Chris Tucker also attended.
The Glendale police established a security cordon, blocking off streets around the 300-hectare cemetery and relegating the sprinkling of fans who showed up to positions behind barricades a couple of blocks away.
Jackson was to be interred in a crypt in the Holly Terrace, one of 11 halls in the Great Mausoleum, Forest Lawn's vast granite- and marble-filled palazzo that serves as the star-studded resting place of Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and other screen legends. The Holly Terrace is dominated at one end by an expansive stained-glass window.
The outdoor service was expected to move into the Holly Terrace for a finale beside the crypt. The Jackson estate footed the bill for the service, which was called ''extraordinary'' by an estate lawyer, but worth paying. At least $150,000 covered the Glendale Police Department's and the city of Glendale's expenses - a fraction of the cost associated with the service.
Jackson fans who believe they can find Jackson's above-ground crypt in the expanses of the Great Mausoleum should rethink that, according to Forest Lawn officials.
''The Great Mausoleum itself is primarily restricted to family members,'' said William Martin, communications manager for Forest Lawn. ''So when you come in, you're asked who you are coming to visit.''
Los Angeles Times
© 2007 The Sydney Morning Herald
