The burial service, which was previously scheduled to take place on Aug. 29 or what would have been his 51st birthday at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in Glendale, was rearranged to Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. Michael Jackson's family did not give the reason for the change.
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U.S. pop star Michael Jackson performs "We are the World" during the World Music Awards at Earl's Court in London November 15, 2006 |
The ceremony is supposed to be for family and friends in the expansive cemetery's Great Mausoleum, according to a statement from the family publicist. The pop singer's remains will be placed in a crypt in the Holly Terrace section of the mausoleum, a massive building that is the final resting place for stars from film's golden age, such as Jean Harlow, Carole Lombard and Clark Gable, according to the Times.
The original funeral announcement Tuesday capped two months of rumors that began even before Jackson's gold-plated casket was rolled into Staples Center on July 7 for a televised memorial. That day began with a service at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills but ended without a burial or interment.
One report had his body stored in a crypt owned by Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr., and there was widespread speculation that an elaborate grave -- and, ultimately, a Graceland-style museum --would be constructed at the entertainer's Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County.