Pop star Michael Jackson died Thursday following a cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles. He was 50. 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 concert comeback in London next month he had dubbed "the final curtain."Michael Jackson's death has been greeted with a mixture of shock, sadness and disbelief, as fans expressed their grief.
Jackson had appeared increasingly frail and financially-challenged in recent years. Despite earning hundreds of millions of dollars he was reported to be $500 million in debt thanks largely to his extravagant lifestyle. Jackson's rented home was roped off after paramedics arrived to transport the King of Pop to the hospital.
Jackson lived as a virtual recluse following his 2005 acquittal on charges including child molestation and plotting to kidnap his young accuser.Despite his acquittal, the trial was a body blow from which the pop music superstar, who named his ranch for Peter Pan's "Neverland" of perpetual childhood
