LOS ANGELES - Pop icon Michael Jackson died Thursday after suffering a cardiac arrest, multiple US media outlets reported, sending shockwaves around the entertainment world.
The Los Angeles Times and TMZ.com celebrity news website reported Jackson, 50, died after suffering an arrest just after 12:00 pm (1900 GMT) local time and paramedics were unable to revive him.
The Times cited multiple city and law enforcement officials as confirming the pop icon's death.
Jackson's manager Tohme E. Tohme was not immediately available for comment when contacted by AFP. Officials at UCLA Medical Center where Jackson was treated also could not be reached for comment.
National and local television networks showed hundreds of media gathered at UCLA Medical Center for what appeared to be a briefing. CNN was unable to confirm the death, stating that Jackson was in a coma.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Devin Gales did not confirm Jackson's identity but said paramedics went to an address corresponding to the star's home at 12:21 pm (1921 GMT) and the person was taken to UCLA Medical Center.
An unidentified family member earlier told TMZ -- the first outlet to report that Jackson had suffered a cardiac arrest -- that the star was in "really bad shape."
Michael's father Joe Jackson told E! Online he was aware of the emergency but did not know further details.
"I am in Las Vegas, but yes, people in Los Angeles called me and are with Michael and tell me he was taken to the hospital," he said. "I am not sure what's wrong. I am waiting to hear back from them."
The reports came as Jackson prepared to make a keenly anticipated concert comeback in London, his first series of shows in more than a decade and the first since his 2005 acquittal on child molestation charges.
However those concerts -- billed as the "final curtain" -- had been thrown into doubt after Jackson pushed back the opening dates last month.
Organizers of the concerts at the time stressed the delay was not linked to Jackson's health.
In a press conference from the United States broadcast over the Internet, AEG Live president Randy Phillips was asked about Jackson's health and said: "I would trade my body for his tomorrow. He's in fantastic shape."
While Jackson reigned as the "King of Pop" in the 1980s, his once-stellar career had been overshadowed by his colorful public behavior, his startling physical transformation and multiple allegations of child abuse.
Jackson lived as a virtual recluse following his 2005 acquittal on charges including child molestation and plotting to kidnap his young accuser.
Despite his acquittal, the trial was a body blow from which the pop music superstar struggled to recover.
Four years later, Jackson is still worshipped by fans for revolutionizing music, dance and music videos at the peak of his success.
The attention however paid to him in recent years has been less flattering, focusing on apparent cosmetic surgery -- which he denies -- his baby dangling antics and a decade of swirling child abuse allegations.
Born on August 29, 1958, Jackson made his show business debut with four of his older brothers in the Jackson Five pop group, and went on to lead the stage clan with a piping soprano and dazzling dance moves.
By 1969, the group had signed a contract with Motown Records, becoming one of the last great acts to emerge from the legendary label.
The Jacksons produced seven platinum singles for Motown, selling over a million, and three multi-platinum albums, selling more than two million. They moved to CBS's Epic Records in 1976.
Despite the early success, Jackson was to recall those years as unhappy and lonely ones. Eventually the family act broke up, as Jackson went solo.
In 1979, Quincy Jones produced Jackson's first solo album for Epic, "Off the Wall," a huge disco-oriented success that sold 10 million copies.
They teamed up again in 1982 for what would be Jackson's breakthrough album as a composer and co-producer, "Thriller," which became the top-selling album of all time, with sales exceeding 41 million.
- AFP /ls
Taken back in 2002 and sorry, there wasn't any audio. I was using my first digital camera Casio Xlim 2.0 mega-pixels *lol*
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We caught this movie last night at the Mall Cineplex and it was a crowd pleaser but definitely not A+ material (Transformers, Dark Knight, The Matrix). Wolverine still has what it takes after the X-Men Trilogy and it was better than the last installment of X-Men: The Last Stand.
The movie depicts the origin of Wolverine, the days before he was recruited into the X-Men. From the first X-Men movie, Hugh Jackman pulled off a great job playing the role of Logan/Wolverine but man, this guy is full of angst in most parts of the movie. It was nice to see other X-Men characters before their prime and the introduction of Gambit was one of the coolest scenes.
I thought the plot lacked some bite despite the "wow" action sequences. I wasn't as driven as Maximus from Gladiator whom gave me goosebumps on every fight scenes because on how his character was developed. The same goes to Neo of The Matrix. But despite the minor flaws, Wolverine can still pack a punch. Catch Wolverine in your nearest cinema. Verdict: B-
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This is one movie that I can't wait to catch. Yes, it will be showing today but no, I won't be catchin' it today. Instead Superfriends and I will be catching it on Thursday and so far the reviews from Rotten Tomatoes (5 reviews at present time) have given all thumbs up for Wolverine. This is very rare coming from Rotten Tomatoes (movie critics) and the movie has been very much hyped since last year.
And soon, we will be able to witness what the hype is all about. For those who watched the rendered version of Wolverine won't expect any surprises in the finished product. Perhaps it was just testing your patience. Expect a great crowd in the cinemas this weekend. It's about time to make the cinema more happening and plus it's payday period too.
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I find it weird to have a movie title as "Coming Soon" and I think the weight of the producers of Shutter and 4BIA is enough to convince us that this will be a commendable horror movie. I have been disappointed with current movies as of late with Dragonball being worst of the lot. Mall Cop was a saviour and as for Coming Soon, I rate this higher than the Malaysian sequel "Jangan Tegur" because this movie not only have its scary moments but the build up was not bad at all.
However, the twist wasn't as great as Shutter. But mind you, Shutter is still the benchmark of Asian horror movies. Coming Soon is still a great effort nonetheless. Godmother of the Superfriends thought that I was the scariest part of the movie because I scared the crap out of her during the movie *lol* Anyway, I recommend you to catch this horror flick if Jangan Tegur didn't do you justice. Verdict: B-
