Michael Jackson Is Buried At Forest Lawn Cemetery
September 4, 2009 By KEVIN AMORIM [email protected]
Photo credit: Getty Images | Glendale police guard the front entrance of the Forest Lawn Memorial Parks & Mortuaries in Glendale, California.
Michael Jackson was late for his own funeral. But that's OK, so was his immediate family.
The details for last night's invite-only ceremony at a well-known suburban Los Angeles cemetery said, "Service will start promptly at 7:00 p.m." The hearse carrying the King of Pop's coffin arrived more than an hour late, about 15 minutes after his family's 31-car motorcade pulled in.
Their late arrival kept Elizabeth Taylor, Barry Bonds, the Rev. AlSharpton, Stevie Wonder, Macaulay Culkin, ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley and many other celebs waiting in 90-degree sunset heat at the Great Mausoleum of Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in Glendale.
Jackson's parents Joe and Katherine and the singer's children, 12-year-old Prince Michael, 10-year-old Paris Michael and 7-year-old Prince MichaelII, known as Blanket, were in the front rows for the service, which began in earnest around 8:30 p.m. Pacific time.
As media outlets from around the world waited outside the memorial park's gates, the local police - already stretched thin due to the nearby wildfires - blocked streets around the 300-acre cemetery that's also the final resting place for such show-biz icons as Walt Disney and ClarkGable.
A large light, the type used in film and TV production, and a boom camera hung over the seating area. The equipment raised the possibility the footage would be used for the Jackson documentary "This Is It," The Associated Press reported.
Little else was known about the planned hourlong ceremony, but several news organizations confirmed that singer Gladys Knight would perform.
The Jackson family had booked an Italian restaurant in Pasadena Thursday night, according to a manager at Villa Sorriso. She gave no details but said the restaurant had been reserved and security would be present.
Newsday.com / MJ-Upbeat.com