The world held its breath

15 years ago, “King of Pop” Michael Jackson died

Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009.

(Bild: PHOTO PRESS SERVICE Vienna)

The world held its breath: an emergency call from Michael Jackson's villa in the upscale residential area of Holmby Hills, located between Bel Air and Beverly Hills. By ambulance to the hospital. It was June 25, 2009, late in the evening in Austria, when "TMZ" raised the alarm. A little later came the shock: US media reported that the "King of Pop" had died.

He was officially declared dead at 11.26 pm (CEST, 2.26 pm local time). Jackson, one of the most dazzling stars of all, died of an overdose of the anesthetic Propofol just a few days before a planned concert comeback. He was 50 years old. Mourning broke out worldwide.

Paris remembered Jackson
Daughter Paris Jackson (26) recently remembered the pop star on American Father's Day (third Sunday in June). The singer posted old family photos in an Instagram story. Jackson had two children with Debbie Rowe (65): Daughter Paris and son Prince Jackson (27).

Paris Jackson seeks the limelight. Her brothers Prince and Bigi prefer to live in seclusion.

(Bild: www.PPS.at)

Son Bigi Jackson (22), formerly known as Blanket, was carried by a surrogate mother in 2002. The singer left his children and his mother Katherine (94) a fortune worth millions.

Jackson dead "top earner"
In a rare joint appearance, the three siblings attended the premiere of the musical "MJ: The Musical" in London at the end of March. The major stage production "MJ", which sheds light on Jackson's life shortly before the start of his "Dangerous" world tour in 1992, opened on Broadway in New York in 2022. From December, "MJ - The Michael Jackson Musical" will be performed at Hamburg's Stage Theater an der Elbe.

Even long after his death, Jackson's music is still making a lot of money. He frequently tops the annual list of the US business magazine "Forbes" as the "highest earner" among deceased stars. Last October, "Forbes" estimated the annual income for Jackson's heirs at around 115 million dollars, thanks to the hit musical in New York and another show about Jackson in Las Vegas.

The biopic "Michael" should soon bring in even more money. The film about the singer's life, directed by Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day"), is due to be released in cinemas in April 2025. The lead actor is Jackson's nephew Jaafar Jackson (27), son of musician Jermaine Jackson, who bears a striking resemblance to his uncle.

Jafaar Jackson plays his uncle Michael Jackson in the biopic "Michael".

(Bild: twitter.com/Lionsgate)

The memoirs of Elvis' daughter Lisa Marie Presley, who died in 2023, are due to be published this October. It will also feature her brief marriage to Michael Jackson (1994 to 1996).

'King of Pop' with a tarnished image
The singer once gave himself the title "King of Pop". His moonwalk dance moves, hits such as "Billie Jean", "Beat It" and "Thriller", sensational music videos and stage spectacles turned the pop world upside down in the 1980s. He was a child idol who turned the whole family into stars, becoming the lead singer of the Jackson Five (also known as the Jackson 5) at a young age.

Jackson's eccentric lifestyle and allegations of abuse later tarnished his image. Accusations by a teenager of sexual assault led to a "trial of the century" in 2005, which ended with a triumphant acquittal for Jackson on all charges. In the documentary "Leaving Neverland" (2019), allegations of abuse of underage boys against Jackson were revisited.

Despite all the accusations, Jackson remains the greatest music star of all time for his fans. Every year, fans make a pilgrimage to his grave in California. Ten weeks after his death, he was buried in a mausoleum at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale near Los Angeles.