Jackson Memorial Ends at Staples Center; Final Resting Place Unclear
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Updated: 5:56 PM Jul 7, 2009
Jackson Memorial Ends at Staples Center; Final Resting Place Unclear
WTAP News
The final resting place for Michael Jackson is still unclear, following his public memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Posted: 9:29 PM Jul 6, 2009
Reporter: WTAP News
Email Address: news@wtap.com
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Updated 7/7/09 @ 5:45 pm

Los Angeles (AP) --Thousands of people who attended Michael Jackson's public memorial service have left Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Police Department estimates that approximately 750,000 people turned out for the Jackson service, either attending the service at the Staples Center, viewing the remote broadcast at the Nokia Theatre or congregating outside the venues. That was far short of the more than one million that some officials had forecast.

The pop star's casket was brought to the arena for Tuesday's emotional tribute, but his family's plans for where his body would be taken next remained private.

Before the memorial at the Staples Center, a private memorial for Jackson was held at the sprawling Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery in the Hollywood Hills.

An L.A. police officer says Jackson's body will not be returning to the cemetery. The cemetery reopened by late morning after the Jackson family moved on to the public service at the Staples Center.

Forest Lawn is the final resting place for dozens of notables including recently deceased actor David Carradine and "Tonight Show" sidekick Ed McMahon.

According to MSNBC, Jackson’s brother, Jermaine, has expressed a desire to have him buried someday at Jackson’s Neverland estate in Santa Barbara County.

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NBC and WTAP will be carrying LIVE COVERAGE of the Michael Jackson Memorial, starting at 1:00 pm Tuesday.

You can also watch LIVE COVERAGE of the Jackson memorial service on our webchannel, WTAP.com. To watch live coverage on our webchannel, click on the Live Stream Coverage link beneath the "Remembering Pop Icon: Michael Jackson" banner near the top of the home page.

About the memorial:

Los Angeles (AP) -- Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Kobe Bryant and Brooke Shields are slated to be part of the all-star tribute at Michael Jackson's memorial.

The representatives for Jackson's family released a list of participants Monday.

Also on the list are Motown founder Berry Gordy, Lionel Richie, John Mayer, Usher, Jennifer Hudson and Martin Luther King III and his sister Bernice.

An attorney for Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe will not be there, saying her attendance would be "an unnecessary distraction."

(Copyright 2009 by the Associated Press. All rights reserved.)


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