Michael Jackson was finally laid to rest on Thursday, Sept. 3, more than two months after his unexpected death. He was buried within the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif.
Jackson’s choreographer Kenny Ortega tweeted after the burial: “We were atop a hill over looking a Valley. The moon was red, the sky purple. It was beautiful. Flowers, music, family, friends, L.O.V.E.”
Many celebrities and close friends showed up to say goodbye to the singer, including Elizabeth Taylor, Lisa Marie Presley, Berry Gordy, Reverend Al Sharpton, Gladys Knight, Macaulay Culkin, and Mila Kunis.
Guests sat in the rows of white chairs set up on the lawn right outside the mausoleum. Jackson’s children, Prince Michael, Paris, and Blanket, parents Joe and Katherine, sisters Janet, LaToya, and Rebbie, and his five brothers were in the front facing a portrait of Jackson. Jermaine, Tito, Marlon, Randy, and Jackie each wore a sparkly white glove in tribute to their brother.
Jackson’s children placed a crown on their father’s coffin, signifying the final resting place of the King of Pop. Pastor Lucius Smith delivered the opening prayer while Gladys Knight sang the gospel hymn “His Eye Is On the Sparrow” and songwriter Clifton Davis sang “Never Can Say Goodbye,” a tune he wrote for the Jackson 5. The brothers carried Michael’s casket into the Great Mausoleum.
The ceremony lasted about 90 minutes and a private reception at a restaurant in Pasadena was planned for after the burial.
According to the New York Times, the family released a statement after the service saying, “Michael Jackson reached his final resting place tonight at 9:43 pm PST in The Great Mausoleum at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park.”
Although it was a private ceremony, fans of Jackson gathered on the streets around the cemetery, some holding signs reading “Gone Too Soon” and other messages, E! Online reported.
Michael Jackson joins a number of entertainers buried at the highly guarded cemetery. Walt Disney, W.C. Fields, Clark Gable, and other Hollywood figures are also entombed at Forest Lawn.
The Jackson family originally planned the funeral for August 29, which would have been the King of Pop’s 51st birthday. There was also hope to have the burial take place at Neverland Ranch, but the proposal would have taken months to finalize.
Michael Jackson died on June 25 from a mix of the anesthetic propofol and another sedative, injected by someone yet unknown. Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, gave the mix of drugs to the star but it is unclear whether the doctor will face criminal charges.
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