Yesterday morning, here in Los Angeles, CA, thousands of family, friends and fans of Michael Jackson paid tribute and homage to the late King of Pop in a respectful, somber yet mostly celebratory memorial service at the Staples Center in downtown LA (which you may have watched online HERE). David and I were at yesterday’s memorial service and I will share my personal experience from the event a little later on today … but I will say that it was a very beautiful, very fitting tribute to Michael Jackson. Family and friends eulogized him with words and songs as his shining casket, reportedly with his body inside, stood at the front of the venue for those in attendance to pay their respects. Here are a few photos and some info about the event itself:

His was a tumultuous life and a chaotic death, but Michael Jackson’s funeral and memorial Tuesday were orderly and celebratory, moving and bittersweet, as family, friends and fans around the world joined in lamenting the loss of the King of Pop. It was one of the most-watched celebrity sendoffs in history, telecast across multiple channels and streamed across the Internet. But the predicted traffic and crowd-control nightmares did not materialize. Thousands of police officers helped keep the ticketless crowd to a minimum — about 1,000 people vs. the 250,000 feared — and the motorcade with Jackson’s hearse encountered few problems traveling blocked-off freeways to downtown. The goodbye to Jackson started early with a private service for family and close friends at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills. (A crash was heard as drivers slowed to watch the procession leave the cemetery). A star-crowded memorial program followed, at the downtown Staples Center, that was spiritual, smoothly entertaining and jubilantly roof-raising as Jackson was hailed as a superstar and humanitarian. “The King of Pop has gone to meet the King of Kings,” intoned the Rev. Lucious Smith, pastor of the Friendship Baptist Church in Pasadena. It was a day filled with touching moments, perhaps the most poignant when Jackson’s daughter, Paris, 11, took the microphone. “I just want to say ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you can ever imagine. And I just wanted to say I love him so much,” she said, breaking into tears. That followed two hours of farewell tributes from musicians, athletes and friends of Michael Joseph Jackson, who died suddenly June 25 at age 50. The crowd of 20,000 was alternately reverent and boisterous. They watched in solemn silence as the likes of Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie and Mariah Carey sang sweetly, and older brother Jermaine crooned Smile, the theme from Charlie Chaplin’s classic film Modern Times. Usher sang Jackson’s sadly prescient Gone Too Soon as he caressed the golden casket spotlighted in front of the stage and draped in flowers. But when Kobe Bryant walked in, many jumped to their feet and started cheering and taking pictures; some reached over for high-fives. They cheered loud approval for the Rev. Al Sharpton’s fiery eulogy and laughed at a story Magic Johnson told about fried chicken. And they snapped photos with phones and rained shout-outs of “I love you, Michael!” during lulls … Other celebrities in the crowd: Cicely Tyson; P. Diddy; Rick, Kathy and Nicky Hilton; Lil Kim; Chris Brown; and Tatum O’Neal. Diana Ross and Nelson Mandela sent messages. Also absent: Jackson’s longtime pal Elizabeth Taylor, who said in a Twitter post she couldn’t bear to be part of the public hoopla, and Debbie Rowe, Jackson’s ex-wife and mother of Jackson’s two oldest children. Outside the Staples Center, the mood was festive. Vendors hawked T-shirts, buttons, photos and other memorabilia … As the memorial service ended, Jackson’s three children and eight siblings — his brothers were all wearing one beaded white glove in his honor — gathered onstage to say thanks. “We will never understand what he endured … being judged, ridiculed,” said brother Marlon, choking up. “Maybe, now, Michael, they will leave you alone.” The Rev. Smith closed by noting: “All around us are people of different cultures, different religions, different nationalities. And yet the music of Michael Jackson brings us together.” After the memorial, the family went to the Beverly Wilshire Hotel for a private reception. It was unclear whether Jackson’s casket would be returned to Forest Lawn for burial or taken to another final resting place.

I have to tell you that I was touched by the service more than I thought I would be. As I’ve tried to make clear, I’m not the biggest Michael Jackson fan in the world (there are plenty of uberfans all around the globe who are more fitting of that title than I) but I really wanted to pay respects to such an icon of pop culture. I didn’t count in being as affected by the memorial service as I was. Mariah Carey‘s performance brought the first tears to my eyes … Brooke Shields‘s eulogy brought them back. When Paris Michael Katherine, MJ‘s 11 year old only daughter, spoke at the end of the service I absolutely burst out crying. There wasn’t a dry eye anywhere in our vicinity. Paris‘s comments were so heartfelt, so honest … so raw. I’m sure it was difficult for most to keep from crying as she declared her love for her daddy. She said, “I just want to say… ever since I was born…. daddy has been the best father you can imagine. And I just want to say I love him so much.” In case you missed it, you can watch Paris‘s short speech after the jump …

As I mentioned earlier, the LA Coroner’s office is conducting the autopsy of Michael Jackson today (according to the morning news, it is underway right now) but there are so many questions as to what caused his sudden death … until the official results of his autopsy are released, speculation is sure to run rampant as to what happened to cause his death. Just Wednesday night, MJ did a semi-full dress rehearsal for his upcoming This Is It Tour which was scheduled to kick off at London’s O2 Arena on July 13 and, by pretty much all accounts, he looked healthy and very happy during rehearsals. TMZ posted a few photos from MJ‘s final rehearsal at the Staples Center just Wednesday night:

We’ve learned Michael Jackson showed no unusual signs of distress — he was rehearsing his upcoming concert at the Staples Center in L.A. But, we’re told, like other nights of rehearsal, Jackson was both hours late and lethargic. We’re told rehearsal went late into the evening. Jackson was singing and dancing with the backup dancers and the band. Someone who was there says Jackson was supposed to show at 7 PM but didn’t arrive until 10 and he was “listless.” But that was normal, according to people at rehearsal.

So, barring any natural cause, what could’ve happened between a night of rehearsal to an incident of cardiac arrest? It turns out that MJ had a personal doctor on hand at his home and it is being alleged that that doctor gave him an injection of Demerol right before he went into cardiac arrest and that may have been the cause of his death. I understand the shot of this strong prescription drug was administered at around 11:30AM yesterday … the 911 call was made at around 12:20PM … he was pronounced dead at 2:26PM PT. MJ‘s doctor, who cannot be found right now, is being sought for questioning:

We’ve learned law enforcement is looking for a doctor who lived at Michael Jackson’s home — and the doctor is nowhere to be found. Law enforcement sources tell us a BMW belonging to the doctor was towed from Jackson’s home last night. Cops are looking to interview the doc. A law enforcement source says the doctor gave Jackson an injection before he died. Jackson reportedly may have OD’d on Demerol. As we first reported, family members were concerned that Jackson was taking too much morphine.

It would make sense that something as strong as Demerol might be the cause of death but until the full toxicology report on Michael Jackson‘s body comes back (those reports take some time to be processed) we prolly won’t know the official cause of death. Brian Oxman, a family lawyer for the Jackson‘s, tells Life & Style magazine that police have seized prescription drugs from MJ‘s home to determine what, if anything, he was taking that might’ve lead to his death:

Investigators have seized bags of prescription drugs from Michael Jackson’s home, family lawyer Brian Oxman has confirmed to Life & Style. Police searched Michael’s rented Beverly Hills home and took away “bags of material,” including vials of prescription drugs. Oxman also said he was prepared to name names of doctors who prescribed drugs to Michael. He told Life & Style, “Police seized bags of material from his house. They were looking for drug vials and syringes. I don’t know if they found syringes, but there would have been a lot of drug vials.” Oxman said he would help the police investigation into Michael’s death, adding, “I did warn him about the drugs, but I am sorry I didn’t warn him enough.” “I am going to wait until I get the toxicology report, and if his death has something to do with drugs, I am prepared to name names of doctors who prescribed them.” He added that the Jackson family was totally devastated by Michael’s death: “They couldn’t even talk to one another in the hospital. It was total silence, and they were just holding one another’s hands.”

To be honest, there has been much speculation on Jackson‘s health in recent months. I, too, heard the rumors of skin cancer, etc. — after all, we saw photos of MJ doing to visit his doctor in Beverly Hills, CA almost every day in the past few months. Whatever the cause of death, IMHO, it came too soon ;( The duty of delivering the Jackson family’s official statement on Michael‘s death fell to his older brother Jermaine Jackson. If you are so inclined, you can watch video of Jermaine delivering his official statement at the UCLA Medical Center moments after his brother’s passing …