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Remembering Michael Jackson, His Legacy Then and Now; Hard-Line Cleric in Iran Calls on Iranian Government Punish Leaders of Protests; Hopeful Signs in the Stock Market; Farrah Fawcett Loses Her Battle to Cancer
Aired June 26, 2009 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The king of pop dead at the age of 50. Michael Jackson, our top story. Today questions about his death may be answered. But questions about his finances far from cleared up. We'll hear from fans and, of course, the music. It is Friday, June 26th.
Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
He thrilled and baffled the world. His talents, his troubles, and now his sudden death. Today we are remembering Michael Jackson.
CNN's Dan Simon is actually talking with many of the fans today who are in mourning. We're going to be talking with him. We are also going to be talking with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta because he is looking a little bit more into why and how this all could have happened.
And also Don Lemon is on the scene. He's at the medical examiner's office where an autopsy is scheduled for this morning.
Results of that autopsy could be released as soon as this afternoon. But an exact cause of Michael Jackson's death could take weeks. His brother Jermaine` says the king of pop apparently suffered cardiac arrest at his rented home.
Paramedics spent some 40 minutes trying to resuscitate him. Doctors continued those efforts, then, at the hospital.
Jackson had been undergoing a grueling workout schedule with a team of dancers. He was preparing for next month's kickoff of 50 concerts.
We want to begin our coverage this morning with today's scheduled autopsy. CNN's Don Lemon is at the L.A. medical examiner's office.
So, Don, good morning to you. Michael Jackson had been rehearsing, as we've been saying, for these upcoming concerts. Word is, he was in spectacular shape.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, and we have some information on that, Heidi. But I just want to show our viewers because this is really -- the daylight is just coming up and we can sort of show you where we are.
We're on the corner here of Mission and Workman. You can see all the media. We'll just pan around here. The media across the street. You see the police officers there not letting people go into the coroner's office, which is inside of that compound without checking some identification to make sure that they should be there.
And right over my shoulder right -- you can see that is the coroner's office right there and that's where Michael Jackson's body inside of that. And they're expected to get that to start that about 7:00 a.m. local time. Pacific Time here. 10:00 a.m., they say, Eastern Time.
And take you around here, just want to show you just how close we are. I mean we're right here, right next to the freeway. Again, you see more media out here. All the media is camped out really from all over the world here.
But the information I wanted to tell you about. You mentioned Michael Jackson's health. And just a short time ago, we heard from report at the "L.A. Times' and also an "L.A. Times" report that said that Michael Jackson had to be checked out in order to go on this tour.
COLLINS: Sure. Yes.
LEMON: And I'm going to quote here. It says, "In order for promoters to get insurance for the London shows, Jackson underwent a four-hour physical with an independent doctor this spring." Randy Phillips who's a chief executive of AEG Live, which is a promoter of those concerts, said the medical screening uncovered no issues whatsoever.
No issues whatsoever when he underwent that check-up this spring. And then we're also hearing from a close family friend, Dick Gregory. Everyone knows Dick Gregory, the comic and also the author.
He's saying that Michael Jackson was supposed to be rehearsing at the Staples Center when all of this went down and then they told the folks there that Michael Jackson had died and they said people simply fell to their knees.
Now here's what one person, one person who's in charge of that center of where he was, where he was rehearsing said that Michael Jackson, he did look frail, he looked a little bit gone, he was thin, but said once he got up on stage and he was practicing, Heidi, they said -- this was a quote from him. He was triumphant and he was boundless with energy.
Of course, the big question surrounding this thing is, what happened?
COLLINS: Sure.
LEMON: Why did Michael Jackson die at the age of 50? Most people would say he is a young man. So the question is whether or not he may have been abusing some prescription drugs, Heidi.
COLLINS: Well, yes, what about that? Because there are... LEMON: I want you to...
COLLINS: There are reports already that he was being given tons of medication. Have you been able to find anything out about that?
LEMON: Yes, absolutely. You know, Brian Oxman, who is a family spokesperson was just on "AMERICAN MORNING' just before you guys came to me and he -- you know, told "AMERICAN MORNING" that there were some strange things about the prescription medication that he may have been taking too much, that he was hurt.
He had injured himself and so he was taking that medication. He said he had warned Michael Jackson, and warned the family, and he said that there were people around him who were simply enabling him.
Take a listen to what he said earlier to CNN. I want you to listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN OXMAN, JACKSON FAMILY SPOKESMAN: Michael has always been in very fine physical condition. The one thing which has bothered me so much is the discussion that one day he was going to be dead and this is in that -- I don't know if this is that day. I can only tell you that this is not something which has been unexpected any time.
There was a report because of the medications in which Michael was under, this family has been trying for months and months and months to take care of Michael Jackson. The people who have surrounded him have been enabling him. If you think that the case of Anna Nicole Smith was an abuse, it is nothing in comparison to what we have seen taking place in Michael Jackson's life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And Heidi, just in that interview, he went on to say -- very quickly he says, you know, when you warn people that this is what's going to happen and then it happens, where there is smoke there is fire. This is a case according to him of abuse of medications.
COLLINS: Yes.
LEMON: And that's a direct quote. So, again, directly over my left shoulder here, 7:00 a.m. local time, 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, the autopsy of Michael Jackson expected to get underway.
COLLINS: All right. Very good. Don Lemon for us out in Los Angeles. Don, thank you.
Well, as you probably remember, Michael Jackson has had many health problems over the years. And until the results of that autopsy come in, many questions will remain about what caused the cardiac arrest.
Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is now joining me from Charleston, South Carolina. So, Sanjay, we know that cardiac arrest is not the same as a heart attack.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. A heart attack can cause a cardiac arrest, but there are a lot of other things that can cause a cardiac arrest as well. Somebody may have a congenital deformity of their heart, may have had abnormal electrical rhythms of their heart in the past, it could be medications in high doses, could be your electrolytes get out of balance.
So there's a long laundry list of things that can cause cardiac arrest. Heart attack is one of them, that's a way to think about it.
COLLINS: Yes. And we should remind people at home that not only are you a neurosurgeon, you are also a certified medical examiner. What will they be looking for now as we go forward with this and the autopsy that is scheduled for today? Will we ever know exactly what caused that cardiac arrest?
GUPTA: That's a great question. And I'll tell you that Don Lemon actually gave us some useful information just now with regard to the exhaustive physical, it sounds like, Michael Jackson had not too long ago.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: Very important because that starts to rule out more chronic conditions. Was there something chronic that had just never been detected that causes problem that he had yesterday? If he had this exhaustive physical, that makes it a lot less likely in the list.
To your point, though, at the end of the autopsy today, they'll be able to rule out big things. So some sort of congenital problem with the heart, was there some blockage of the blood vessels that go to his heart? Was there a blood clot in his lungs, for example, something known as a pulmonary embolism?
Things like that. Did he aspirate? So they'll start to look at those big things, but they may not have an answer at the end of today and an answer may never come. I mean toxicology could take weeks to come back in terms of medications that were in his body. But drawing that cause and effect relationship...
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: ... is very difficult to do if it even can be done.
COLLINS: Yes, and certainly when we're talking about issues like this, these type of health issues, you can't ignore stress, fatigue and then these possible prescription medications, right?
GUPTA: That's right. I mean when you're looking at sudden cardiac arrest, you have a very long list of things that can cause it. Now, you know, I don't want people to think that are watching this that, you know, I take prescription meds, I get fatigued, I'm stressed out, am I at much higher risk of sudden cardiac arrest? The answer is no. It's not going to happen or something just because of those things. But in combination, Heidi, I think to your point with other things sort of maybe weighing in, could that have led to a sudden cardiac arrest? Yes. And the -- I think what surprises a lot of people is the age group of people who get sudden cardiac arrest is right around this age, 45 to 55. So he wasn't necessarily considered young if, in fact, that's what it was.
COLLINS: Yes. All right. Very good. We know that you'll be watching the story as that autopsy comes in, certainly today. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, our chief medical correspondent. Thanks, Sanjay.
The tributes are taking many shapes today as you might imagine. CNN's Dan Simon is joining us now live from the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Good morning to you there, Dan.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. A lot of different sites around the country where people are paying their respects to Michael Jackson. This one will probably be the largest. You can see that the, you know, there's some candles out here, flowers, and there's a guy over here who is drawing a picture of Michael Jackson.
People sort of getting out here very late last night as people moved from the hospital to this area on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It's in a very prominent position outside the Grauman's Chinese Theatre. We've been talking to people who have been gathering here.
One of them is Dolores. You were quite emotional when I spoke to you earlier. Has it set in yet?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it's going to. It's going to take a while. If ever. Because he was an innovator and he was -- he's basically an icon in his own time. So -- and legendary. So it's going to take years, I think, if ever -- if I ever basically settle down about realizing he's gone. He's always with me.
SIMON: Given that everything that's happened with him in the last several years, are you surprised by what happened?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was a little -- I was shocked at first to be honest when I heard that he had a cardiac arrest. But at the same time, I knew he was under a lot of pressure from news media, the info that I've been reading. So I'm just trying to assess it all right now. I'm still mourning and at the same time missing him. It's a little bit much to bear.
SIMON: I appreciate. Yes, understood, I appreciate your time.
Heidi, that gives you an idea in terms of the kinds of things people are saying out here. One interesting thing to note, Michael Jackson's star was actually blocked all day yesterday because there was a red carpet premiere going on, actually, for the movie "Bruno." You can see the poster behind me. Interestingly there is a scene in that movie that makes reference to Michael Jackson and out of respect for what happened, they actually edited out that scene of the movie.
COLLINS: Oh, they've decided on that. OK.
SIMON: At least they did for the premiere. We don't know what's going to happen when it releases nationwide. At least yesterday for the premiere, they edited out that scene.
COLLINS: Yes, something that involved Janet Jackson. All right. Dan Simon for us this morning. Sure do appreciate that. From the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Well, people are also reacting to Michael Jackson's death online, sending Tweets, blogging, posting iReports. In fact, here's one iReporter in disbelief at the news of Jackson's death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJIIM GROSS, CNN IREPORTER: Michael Jackson was one of my heroes. And Michael Jackson will be missed. Michael Jackson has influenced many, many musical artists. It's just hard to believe and hard to accept.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Share your thoughts on Michael Jackson on our blog. Just go to CNN.com/newsroom and click on my picture.
We'll punish them strongly and with cruelty. A leading Iranian cleric speaks out about the election protest leaders. We're covering the latest developments at our Iran desk.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: South Carolina governor Mark Sanford returns to work today amid calls for his resignation. Sanford said yesterday he would reimburse the state for a part of a trade mission trip last year when he visited an Argentine woman.
Well, Sanford has admitted having an extramarital affair with her and seeing her again last week when his staff said he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail. A fellow South Carolina Republican and a Spartanburg newspaper are now calling for Sanford to step down.
But the man who would replace Sanford, should he resign? The lieutenant government tells Associated Press he thinks Sanford should stay on.
Turning now to Iran where a hard-line cleric is calling on the government to harshly punish the leaders of the post-election protests.
CNN's Ivan Watson has been watching this story very carefully. He's now at our Iran desk covering all of these developments. So Ivan, what is the very latest now this morning?
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, I'm going to take you to that cleric. But first I really want to show you some video that we've recently gotten. It shows Iranian security forces beating demonstrators. We got this over YouTube.
And it's posted. It says it is a video in Tehran on Wednesday. And we got this late last night. And this is white-shirted security forces, Basij, pulling demonstrators out of a bus and clubbing them.
Very powerful stuff, following up a number of eyewitness accounts that we got, very vivid eyewitness accounts of just this type of thing taking place on Wednesday in the same exact area. And we've run it past some of our Iran exports, our sources on the ground in Tehran, and they say this is exactly the street where one of our sources or eyewitnesses said the people were beaten like animals.
So I really wanted people to take a look at that. I think it's pretty important to take a look at. Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes, no question, we're still getting this video in, obviously and trying to see a little bit more about what's happening there. Because, again, just a reminder, foreign media not allowed to be covering any of this.
What is the government saying at this point? Anything?
WATSON: Absolutely. There were Friday prayers. It's a weekly tradition where at Tehran University, where supporters of the government, they gather hard-line supporters and we had a cleric there, Ahmed Khatami, powerful cleric, supporters were chanting death to America, death to Israel, and he was demanding that judges in Iran punish the leaders of these protest demonstrations.
Coolly and strongly. That's what he's demanding. He's also claiming that the protesters themselves killed that woman, the 26- year-old woman named Neda Agha Soltan, who the whole world saw shot in the chest on Saturday caught on cell phone video. Those images going around the world, terrifying images. Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes. So what is the international community is saying then? Because obviously...
WATSON: Heidi?
COLLINS: ... this is starting to ratchet up just a bit. Can you hear me, Ivan?
WATSON: I'm sorry, I lost you there a little bit, Heidi. But I have to point you finally to a G8 meeting of foreign ministers from the group of eight most powerful countries, wealthy countries. Let's take a listen to David Miliband, the foreign secretary for England. This group of ministers, they deplored Iran's crackdown on the demonstrators.
Let's take a listen to what he had to say, Heidi. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID MILIBAND, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: There's a crisis of credibility, not between Iran and the west, but between the Iranian counting of the votes and the Iranian people. The idea that the protesters on the streets of Iran are motivated or mobilized or organized by foreign powers is completely without foundation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: And Heidi, these G8 ministers, they urged Iran to respect human rights and freedom of expression, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. All right. Well, Ivan, we will come back to you a little bit later on in the show, really watching closely everything that's happening in Iran, of course, once again today.
Ivan Watson, thanks so much.
Michael Jackson, more than just an entertainer. We'll talk to an industry exec about how the changed the music business and the legacy he leaves behind.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Michael Jackson was not only a singer and an entertainer, he was also a businessman. Here to talk more about that is Bruno Del Granado. He was working in the marketing department of Epic Records when Jackson made his "Bad" and "Dangerous" albums.
We sure do appreciate you coming and talking with us today, Bruno.
BRUNO DEL GRANADO, FORMER MANAGER, EPIC RECORDS, "BAD" ALBUM: Thank you, Heidi.
COLLINS: As we said, you were working on the marketing of those two albums. Can you give us some insight into what he was like to work with?
DEL GRANADO: Well, I have to tell you, Michael Jackson's business acumen was as good as his musical talent. And in the music business, we know "Thriller" or we know Michael Jackson's career as the "before 'Thriller' after 'Thriller'" moment.
COLLINS: Yes.
DEL GRANADO: Because before "Thriller," the music industry was not what it was afterwards. It exploded because of Michael Jackson. The video art form, radio, record sales, everything went haywire after "Thriller" came out.
COLLINS: What do you think it was about him that made him that way?
DEL GRANADO: It was a combination of, obviously, his talent, one of the greatest entertainers of all time. Vocally he was unsurpassed by anybody. Dancing wise, I mean, everybody compared him to Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly.
COLLINS: Sure.
DEL GRANADO: And the fact that he combined all that with his keen sense of business dealing with a record company.
COLLINS: Where do you think that came from? Do you think it had anything to do with his childhood and his father and the Jackson 5 and this very early exposure to the business of music?
DEL GRANADO: You know, in the few dealings we had directly with Michael, you could sense that he had this laser vision and he was driven to perfection. He always believed in the "bigger is better" concept. So that's what drove him.
I think he had this fire inside of him that kept driving and driving to surpass anything he had previously done. And I remember when we sat around marketing or putting the marketing plans...
COLLINS: Yes.
DEL GRANADO: ... for "Dangerous" and the word was this album better debut at number one and the singles better debut at number one and we better sell a lot of records. And sure enough we did, but the pressure was certainly on us because he was putting pressure on himself, as well.
COLLINS: Yes. Did you find him to be a perfectionist?
DEL GRANADO: Beyond perfection but that's the reason why we're talking about Michael Jackson 25 years later. When we talk about "Thriller," "Off the Wall," and "Bad," these are perfectly done records.
COLLINS: Wow. When you talk about his legacy, though, both in the music business and then also in the marketing of his products, what do you think he has to leave behind? And maybe even more importantly for other stars who are trying to make it. What can they learn from him?
DEL GRANADO: Well, Michael Jackson was the first artist of the current rock or music era to renegotiate a humongous record contract back in Sony back in 1991.
COLLINS: Yes.
DEL GRANADO: (INAUDIBLE) movies, music, of course, publishing and books. After that Madonna, Mariah Carey and everybody else wanted those similar deals. When it came to music videos, Michael Jackson was the first artist to spend over $1 million on a music video, "Thriller" back then.
To this day he holds the record for the most expensive video, "Scream." He also holds a record -- when he taped and broadcast a concert on HBO, I think it was from Romania back in '91, on the "Dangerous" tour, HBO paid him $20 million for that. They haven't paid that kind of money to anybody ever since.
COLLINS: Yes. Wow.
DEL GRANADO: His tours grossed hundreds of millions of dollars. Before the Rolling Stone, U2 and Madonna used to gross those kind of numbers, as well.
COLLINS: Yes. It's crazy. Hey, just wondering, personally. I don't know how much time you've got to spend with him outside of the marketing aspect, just as a human being. Was he ever able to turn it off?
DEL GRANADO: The one time I saw him -- the last time I actually saw Michael Jackson was at the MTV Awards, I think it was 2002 when he gave Britney Spears the award. But before that at the hotel, the Plaza Hotel. I actually met with him because he wanted to really restart his international career more so than anything else. And he was very...
COLLINS: Yes, he was very, very big internationally.
DEL GRANADO: Humongous internationally. Humongous internationally. Very kind. His family was with him and he was just a very kind, gentle soul. That's the one thing I will always remember. He was very, very kind and very nice to everybody around him. Very humble.
COLLINS: All right. Well, we certainly do appreciate your unique perspective in all of this.
Bruno Del Granado, thank you so much.
DEL GRANADO: Thank you, Heidi.
COLLINS: And we do remember another pop icon, Farrah Fawcett. Sex symbol, successful actress, and a woman who displayed extraordinary courage as she faced his own mortality.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: On Wall Street, the Dow surged more than 170 points yesterday. It's the biggest jump in three weeks.
And for a look at whether the rally will continue because that's always the question, we go to Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange now.
Good morning to you, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
Well, stock futures turned higher after a reading on personal income and spending was released. The sentiment quickly faded. Incomes jumped nearly 1.5 percent last month because of the government's stimulus plan. That boosted spending, but not by much. Instead, we're saving our money.
The personal savings rate surged to nearly 7 percent. That marks the biggest savings rate in more than 15 years. And with the opening bell rings, we're awaiting a reading on consumer sentiment. That comes at the top of the hour. We expect it to be unchanged.
The state of Michigan, meanwhile, getting a much-needed boost. GM expected to announce next hour that it will build its next generation subcompact car at a plant in Orion County, just outside of Detroit. The plant was scheduled to be idled, the move will save 1,200 jobs, a formal announcement expected next hour.
What we're seeing at the open a little bit of weakness after that nice rally, the best in three weeks. You're seeing the Dow and the NASDAQ each down about 1/5 of a percent.
Sony shares that trade here in New York right now are down half a percent. That is the record company, Sony BMG, behind Michael Jackson's "Thriller," "Off the Wall," "Bad" and many more. Nine of the top 10 music videos, Heidi, on iTunes right now are from Michael Jackson.
COLLINS: Yes.
LISOVICZ: No surprise.
COLLINS: Well, yes.
LISOVICZ: We're going to see a surge there. They've had a long relationship with that artist and a long and fruitful relationship, I suspect.
COLLINS: Boy, no question about that. All right. Susan Lisovicz, we will check in with you later on. Thank you.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
COLLINS: As she was just saying, Susan Lisovicz, Michael Jackson earned millions of dollars during his career, but he often spent more than he earned. So what is left of his estate?
And if you'd like to share your thoughts, we have gotten a whole lot of them. We put our question up on our blog last night, in fact, just asking people to share their thoughts and memories of Michael Jackson.
You can do that on our blog here. Just make sure you go to CNN.com/newsroom and then click on my picture.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: You know, it's hard because he's no longer with us, but so much of his music was so happy. It really has been bringing a lot of smiles to people's faces in all of this, too. In fact, Michael Jackson earned hundreds of millions of dollars in his career but had been plagued by years of debt. As baffling as it may seem, he often spent more than he earned.
CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis is in New York now with a closer look at all of this.
Hi there, Gerri, good morning.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Yes, hi there, Heidi.
That's right. You know, you interestingly say there's such a contrast between his music and the reality that he lived. And that's what you see. When you look at his financial life, his money life, he sold 750 million albums worldwide. And it is a small club of artists who have done more than that. The Beatles, Elvis, very few people, indeed.
But at his death now, he has an estimated $400 million in debt so, you know, positives, negatives, this is a man with lots of contradictions, lots of ups and downs. Let's talk about a couple of investments he made that were stellar. For example, he owned the copyrights to John Lennon and Paul McCarteny music...
COLLINS: Yes.
WILLIS: ... which at the time was valued at $48 million...
COLLINS: That was huge.
WILLIS: Heidi, $48 million.
COLLINS: Crazy.
WILLIS: And he also had Neverland ranch that he bought for $15 million. But it was assessed for tax purposes. This isn't what it would sell for, but for tax purposes, at $96 million. So that was a fantastic investment. But you see that over his life, he spent a lot of money on his lifestyle. He had a fairly lavish lifestyle, legal fees, he had many, many legal problems as we've been saying all day on this network.
So the things often did not balance out. As you know, he was prepared to do a comeback tour. Some 50 concerts in London. There was a hope they could make some $115 million. They sold 85 million tickets for this very quickly. The concerts literally sold out...
COLLINS: Yes.
WILLIS: Very, very fast. Of course, that's not going to happen now and we're waiting to see, you know, will consumers get their money back? What will happen? Clearly there was insurance involved here, but we're really waiting for details of that autopsy to find out how that will be resolved and will consumers who bought those tickets be made whole? It's a sad story. Interesting, though, that, you know, somebody who was so successful as an artist during his life and times. You know, just such a star in the firmament, unable to really carry that home in so many ways.
COLLINS: Yes.
WILLIS: You know, dying with so much debt.
COLLINS: Yes. No question. All right. Our personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, this morning. Gerri, thank you.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
COLLINS: And we are asking you to share your thoughts on Michael Jackson our blog this morning. We've been getting a whole lot of them in beginning last night, actually. Want to read just a few of them to you know. Let's take a look at this one coming in from Derek Jackson.
Derek says, "This news is incredibly shocking and disturbingly sad. Michael Jackson is now Elvis. It is sad for America."
And also, another one coming in from Susan Harris. "So sorry to see that he passed away. I loved his 1982 "Thriller" album. I still have it. He will be missed."
We'll bring up more of those for you in just a little while right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Also, courage, strength, and heart. We are hearing those words over and over about actress Farrah Fawcett. She died yesterday at the age of 62. Her long time companion Ryan O'Neal at her side.
Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer three years ago. And she went public with her struggle in the documentary just last month. Her message, don't give up. Her "Charlie's Angels" co-star Kate Jackson said this. "When you think of Farrah, remember her smiling because that is exactly how she wanted to be remembered, smiling."
Want to get you over to the weather center now. Storms, in fact, are pounding parts of Michigan. Happened last night. Tens of thousands of people still without power. And more storms on the horizon. Along with all of that stifling heat.
Rob Marciano coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Rob Marciano standing by now in the Severe Weather Center because we need to talk more about this heat. I think it's been, what? Four days or so we've been talking about this really, really high temperatures across the country.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's a pretty good number. All week long, made this map on Monday, Heidi.
COLLINS: Really?
MARCIANO: And these highlighted counties update automatically when a warning or an advisory is given and I haven't moved it at all. So give you an idea of how toasty it's been for the entire week.
COLLINS: Ouch.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Well, it doesn't seem cool but I'll give you it is cooler on the number, anyway, right?
MARCIANO: Yes.
COLLINS: All right, Rob. We'll check back later. Thank you.
MARCIANO: See you later.
COLLINS: It was supposed to be a gift for his fans. The "This Is It" tour. Fifty shows in one London arena. Fans snatched up the tickets at a blistering pace, but now they are left with nothing but souvenirs of what might have been.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Michael Jackson was just three weeks away from making his return to the stage with 50 shows already sold out in London. He said it was supposed to be a farewell to his fans.
CNN's Atika Shubert is joining us now live from the O2 Arena in London, the site of those planned shows.
So, Atika, it was 50 shows, thousands of tickets. What happens now?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the big question. It was actually more than 750,000 tickets sold. That's an estimated $80 million worth. Now ticket sales like Ticketmaster and Seat Wave have said that they will fully refund fans that have tickets.
The O2 Arena which is owned by AEG Live, which is the concert promoter, has just put up a statement saying that their thoughts are with the family and there will be more information on tickets soon.
In the meantime, some fans have been gathering here at the O2 Arena to lay flowers in memory of Michael Jackson. So that's where it stands now, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. So obviously we don't have a lot of answers yet. I keep looking at this video of this young lady who had finally gotten a ticket that she was very excited about. And just kind of thinking about those fans and what they're going through today.
Insurance -- will that cover any of the funds already invested in this show? I mean it's not even just the ticket holders, it's how much it was going to cost to put this thing up. SHUBERT: Well, that's just it. AEG Live has already invested tens of millions of dollars into the production. It was a huge lavish production with Swarovski crystal costumes, acrobatics, all kinds of things and estimated they put in as much as $20 million already into the production.
And it's not clear what kind of insurance they have. We do know it was very difficult early in March for them to actually get the insurance for the show. So for AEG Live, this could be a very heavy loss, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. All right. Hate to even be talking about all of that right now. Not even a day after learning of his death. But certainly a lot of questions surrounding that concert tour that was really going to be something.
Atika Shubert, reporting to us live this morning outside the O2 Arena. Thank you, Atika.
Memories of Michael Jackson from fans around the world.
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COLLINS: Michael Jackson's popularity spanned generations and crisscrossed the world. Today, some of those fans are talking about the loss of an American icon.
Here is a sample now from Detroit.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For me, he meant an opportunity. He helped bring joy to the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It still hasn't set in yet, you know. It really hasn't sunk in yet. The way it came, it came by bits and pieces and nobody really knew for sure until I watched CNN and I got (INAUDIBLE). It really hasn't set in yet. It's an awesome moment. You know he's an icon when it comes to music.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Despite what the media says about him or what he does, his fans, performance wise, he is the king of pop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: iReports from our viewers are still pouring in to CNN. And many people expressing sadness and remembering the influence of his music.
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JIMMY DEOL, CNN IREPORTER: This was (INAUDIBLE) my experience was -- the -- when I was a kid, he captured my imagination.
Michael, peace be with you. You will live. You will always live (INAUDIBLE). God bless. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: From child star and international recording artist, to reclusive billionaire and father, no question Michael Jackson was one of the best known people on the planet ever.
CNN's Anderson Cooper looks at how he died, how he is being remembered and how he lived.
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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): This is how Michael Jackson first burst on to the music seen, an adorable child, a precocious pop prodigy set to become a big star.
He was born Michael Joe Jackson in 1958 in Gary, Indiana. The seventh of nine children. His father, Joe, was a retired steel worker who turned his sons into the original boy band, the Jackson 5 with 5- year-old Michael taking the lead.
PETER CASTRO, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: He was a symbol for the consummate entertainer. You know, not since Sammy Davis Jr. had someone come along with such a diverse range of talents.
COOPER: He was just 11 when the group's first single "I Want You Back" made it to number one on the Billboard charts. Two more hits would quickly follow. "ABC" and "The Love You Saved."
It was clear from the start that Michael would outshine his singing siblings. The young boy being groomed for life as a superstar.
RANDY TARABORRELLI, BIOGRAPHER: From the time that most kids were building tree houses, Michael Jackson was building an image and Michael was happy to play along with that because he understood at a very early age that image making and public relations was very important.
COOPER: But even then, there were rumors that behind the happy family facade stood a secret, stories of violence, of a father driven, riding his children hard, pushing them to succeed.
TARABORRELLI: When Michael discusses these beatings today, he gets very emotional. It's clear that he hasn't come to terms with any of that yet.
COOPER: Michael still made music with his brothers throughout the 1970s but managed to move ahead on his own at the same time. He released his first solo album, "Got To Be There" in 1972. His first solo number one hit was a romantic ballad about a rat named "Ben."
Five years later, the album "Off the Wall" put Jackson's solo career over the top. It sold seven million copies and produced four top 10 singles. That would be nothing compare with what was to come in 1982 and the release of "Thriller." It was this album which sold 26 million copies and sat at number one on the charts for 37 weeks that transformed the child singing sensation into a superstar.
TOURE, ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Michael was not a phenomenon with "Thriller." He was beyond a phenomenon. I mean the record flew out of stores. It could not be stopped.
COOPER: And with his skyrocketing stardom, his trademark clutches, now so much a part of his persona.
JOHN NORRIS, FORMER MTV REPORTER: From the iconic look to the moonwalk to the glove. The red jacket and with the zippers and glasses. And the white socks.
COOPER: But there were also the first signs that something wasn't right.
In 1984, Jackson carried home a cartload of Grammys, seven in all. He arrived at the ceremony with two dates, Brooke Shields and Emmanuel Lewis. It was also the start of his obsession with cosmetic surgery, an obsession that would change his face forever.
TOURE: Every few months you would see him and you go, whoa, you're looking weird, dude. But I think it was about '85, '86, I was like, wow, he's not going to be able to get any weirder than this. And then two years later, I was like, I was wrong.
COOPER: A 1986 photo showed Michael asleep in an anti-aging chamber. In 1987, he reportedly tried to buy the bones of elephant man, John Merrick. Then, of course, there was Bubbles the chimp and an odd array of disguises.
If life seemed strange, at least the music still mattered. Jackson's album "Bad" hit the shelves in 1987 and sold eight million copies. And in 1988, he bought a 2700-acre ranch for $28 million and he called it Neverland.
NORRIS: There's a reason it's called Neverland Valley, you know? His fixation on the "I won't grow up. I'm a lost boy. I'm Peter Pan."
COOPER: With the ranch, came the rumors.
TARABORRELLI: Michael began to sort of surround himself with young boys and much to, I remember, the chagrin of people who were working for him.
COOPER: 1991 brought another album "Dangerous," another number one single, "Black or White," and more speculation about Michael's mental state. His skin seemed to be getting lighter. Jackson said it was caused by a congenital skin condition.
CASTRO: A lot of people think that he has bleached his skin. With Michael Jackson, you never know what the truth is. COOPER: He became more reclusive and in 1993 faced his first allegation of child molestation. Jackson denied the charges but settled the case for $20 million. Less than a year later, he married rock 'n roll royalty, Lisa Marie Presley.
TOURE: It was quite obvious to all of us from the beginning, it was a sham, that it was a publicity stunt, and it was just kind of disgusting and silly.
COOPER: And it lasted just two years, but Jackson would marry again later the same year. This time, the bride was Debbie Rowe, nurse to his dermatologist. She gave him children of his own, Prince Michael, born in 1997, and Paris Michael Katherine, born in 1998. They divorced in 1999 and Jackson got full custody of their kids.
But a third child from a surrogate mother would put Jackson back in the headlines when he dangled the newborn from the balcony of a Berlin hotel.
TOURE: It's sort of like the anti-King Midas, like everything he wants to do just gets screwed up.
COOPER: And the tabloid tales were starting to take a toll on the music. Michael's 2001 album, "Invincible," sold a mere 2.1 million copies. His troubles quite clearly were far from over.
In 2002 he fought publicly with Sony chairman Tommy Motolla calling him a racist. A 2003 "Vanity Fair" article said he was financially strapped and stated that he bought the silence of other potential molestation victims.
In January 2004 Michael Jackson stood before a judge and pleaded not guilty to child molestation charges. And even his friends can only guess at what brought the self-proclaimed king of pop to this moment.
URI GELLER, MICHAEL JACKSON'S FRIEND: No one knows Michael Jackson really but Michael Jackson himself. I once asked Michael here in this house. I looked into his eyes and I said to him, Michael, are you lonely? And he looked up at me. It was like a ten-second stare. And then, he said, "Uri Geller, I'm a very lonely man."
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COLLINS: And here are some of the other stories we are watching right now.
Prosecutors are hoping to keep billionaire Allen Stanford from getting out of jail today. Stanford pleaded not guilty to fraud charges. He is accused of swindling investors out of $7 billion. The judge set bond at half a million dollars. But prosecutors are planning to appeal that decision today, saying Stanford is a flight risk.
The five remaining defendants in the racially charged Jena 6 case are expected to enter pleas in a Louisiana courtroom today. They are all facing lesser charges than the original attempted murder charge.
The case of six African-American teens being arrested for beating a white classmate gained national attention and prompted massive demonstration in a small town of Jena, Louisiana.
Two young children are back with their parents this morning after spending a night lost in the woods. The 6-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl were found in the mountains along the North Carolina-Tennessee border about a mile from where they disappeared. The parents say they lost sight of the children while they were hiking.
Pop superstar, Michael Jackson, who captivated the world with his talent, his troubles and now his sudden death.
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JERMAINE JACKSON, MICHAEL'S BROTHER: Upon arriving at hospital at approximately 1:14 p.m., a team of doctors, including emergency physician and cardiologist, attempted to resuscitate him for a period of more than one hour. And they were unsuccessful.
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