More than two months after his death from a drug overdose, Michael Jackson will be laid to rest Thursday in a private funeral for family and friends at a star-studded Los Angeles cemetery.
Jackson, who died aged 50 on June 25, will be entombed in an ornate mausoleum at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, where Hollywood icons such as Humphrey Bogart, James Stewart, Spencer Tracy and Walt Disney are buried.
No details of the 45-minute service have been released although one report Thursday said soul diva Aretha Franklin could sing at the service as mourners said a poignant final farewell to the "King of Pop."
Jackson's children -- Prince Michael, 12, 11-year-old Paris and Prince Michael II, 7 -- would leave notes in their father's coffin, reports said.
Messages reading "Daddy we love you, we miss you," would be placed in Jackson's gold-plated casket alongside his trademark single white glove.
Thursday's service will be in stark contrast to the lavish public memorial held at Los Angeles's Staples Center in July, which was attended by 20,000 fans and beamed live around the world to an estimated audience of 1 billion.
Police in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale urged Jackson devotees to stay away from the funeral, saying the neighborhood surrounding the cemetery's entrance would be cordoned off on Thursday.
"A special request would be to encourage fans to stay at home," a statement said. "The closure of the streets for the day will not afford anyone the opportunity to get anywhere near the gates."
Police helicopters, sniffer dogs and plain-clothes officers would patrol the 300-acre (120-hectare) cemetery, on the lookout for any fans trying to sneak into the service, which is due to take place at 7:00 pm (0200 GMT Friday).
Jackson is to be interred at Forest Lawn's Great Mausoleum, an elaborate neo-classical building inspired by Genoa's Campo Santo.
Forest Lawn, which opened in 1906, is also home to replicas of some of Michelangelo's greatest works, including "David," "La Pieta" and "Moses."
The cemetery also features a stunning recreation of Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" in stained glass.
Jackson's casket will be placed in a private area of the crypt that also houses Hollywood legends Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Carole Lombard. Other icons buried at the cemetery include Lon Chaney, Nat King Cole and Errol Flynn.
Although open to the public, Forest Lawn is renowned for its privacy, and unlike other cemeteries in the Los Angeles area does not provide maps of celebrity graves.
On Wednesday, a Los Angeles judge supported a request from Jackson's mother, Katherine, that the cost of the service be paid for by her son's estate.
A lawyer for the two entertainment industry figures who control Jackson's fortune said the costs of the service would be steep.
"The expenses will be extraordinary, but Michael Jackson was extraordinary," Jeryll Cohen said, without specifying the anticipated bill.
Jackson's delayed funeral comes after months of speculation about the exact cause of his death and reports of divisions within the singer's family about where he should be buried.
Jackson's elder brother Jermaine had said he wanted the star to be interred at his Neverland Ranch estate north of Los Angeles. Jackson fled the property in 2005 following his acquittal on child molestation charges.
Los Angeles coroners said last week that Jackson's death was being treated as a homicide and revealed that the star had six drugs in his body when he died, including propofol, a powerful anesthetic.
Propofol is used to induce unconsciousness in patients undergoing major surgery in hospital. Medical professionals say it should never be used by private individuals at home.
The coroner's announcement fueled speculation that authorities may charge Jackson's personal physician, Conrad Murray, in connection with the death. Cardiologist Murray was the last person to see Jackson alive.
Jackson, one of the most influential figures in pop music history whose four-decade career included the highest-selling album of all-time -- "Thriller" -- had been preparing for a July concert comeback at the time of his death.
(AP September 4, 2009)
