By Laurence Arnold, David Wilson and Andy Fixmer

June 26 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Jackson was mourned by fans and friends worldwide today for the infectious pop hits and riveting dance moves that made him one of the most celebrated and emulated entertainers in history.

His career was interrupted by bouts of odd behavior and financial distress then, with his death yesterday at 50, cut short just as he was about to launch what he felt would be a redemptive comeback tour.

Jackson was pronounced dead yesterday afternoon after being rushed to the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. An examination begins today to determine the cause of death, said Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles coroner’s office.

The singer, who was preparing for his first series of concerts in more than a decade, appeared to have suffered a cardiac arrest in his home, UCLA medical center officials said in a statement. His personal physician, who was at the Bel-Air home at the time, tried to resuscitate Jackson, as did paramedics and doctors later at the hospital.

Brian Oxman, a former attorney of Jackson’s and a family friend, said he was concerned about Jackson’s use of prescription painkillers and he warned the singer’s family about possible abuse.

‘Warned Everyone’

“I said one day, we’re going to have this experience. And when Anna Nicole Smith passed away, I said we cannot have this kind of thing with Michael Jackson,” Oxman said today on NBC’s “Today” show. “The result was, I warned everyone, and lo and behold, here we are. I don’t know what caused his death. But I feared this day, and here we are.”

As a singer, songwriter and dancer known as the “King of Pop,” Jackson “transfixed the world like few entertainers before or since,” according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted him in 2001. “He has enjoyed a level of superstardom previously known only to Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Frank Sinatra.”

Jackson, who won 13 Grammy Awards and sold more than 750 million records, rose to stardom by performing with his brothers in the Jackson 5, then moved on to a solo career that peaked with the 1982 release of “Thriller,” the biggest-selling album in history. In his later years, he became tabloid fodder as he altered his appearance through plastic surgery, faced allegations of child sexual abuse and refinanced debt to stave off bankruptcy.

‘This Is It’

In March, Jackson announced he would embark in a 50-concert engagement in London called “This Is It,” promoted by Anschutz Entertainment Group to raise money. In 2006, Jackson gave Sony Corp. an option to buy half of his 50 percent stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC -- whose holdings included songs by the Beatles -- allowing him to refinance about $300 million of loans.

At the time of his death, Jackson was rehearsing for the sold-out shows at London’s 20,000-seat O2 arena, with the first concert set for July.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic news today about Michael Jackson,” Thomas J. Barrack, chairman and chief executive of Colony Capital LLC, the Los Angeles-based company that was financing the comeback, said in a statement yesterday. “We were privileged to help support his return to public life for his family, friends and fans, who meant so much to him.”

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on Aug. 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, the seventh child of a musically gifted family. He was 11 years old when the Jackson 5’s first single, “I Want You Back,” climbed to No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s charts in 1970.

Solo Career

His solo career began in 1971 with the single “Got to Be There.” “Thriller,” his 1982 recording, and especially the 14-minute video made for the title song and released a year later, propelled Jackson into pop stardom’s firmament. It topped the charts for 37 weeks, according to Billboard.

“Billie Jean,” the second single from the “Thriller” album, led the charts for another seven weeks in 1983. It was with that song that Jackson introduced his famous and much- imitated “moonwalk” dance move. His 1987 album, “Bad,” produced seven more hit singles, including the title song.

Jackson’s career gradually was overshadowed by his financial troubles and behavior. He underwent numerous operations to reshape his nose and extend his chin. He befriended a chimpanzee named Bubbles. He was photographed sleeping in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, and attempted to buy the bones of John Merrick, the so-called Elephant Man.

Presley Marriage

Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, in 1994. They divorced within two years. He then married a nurse, Deborah Jeanne Rowe, and they had a son, Michael Jr., and a daughter, Paris. A third child, Prince Michael II, known as Blanket, was born to Jackson and a surrogate mother in 2002.

Jackson and Rowe had met when Jackson received treatment for vitiligo, a rare disorder that discolors the face and body. Jackson disclosed he had the condition in 1993 to answer critics who said he was intentionally bleaching his skin. A Beverly Hills, California, dermatologist, Arnold Klein, came forward to confirm the claim and say he was treating the pop star.

Jackson also had brushes with the law. In 1993, lawyers for a 13-year-old boy accused him of sexual abuse in a civil lawsuit. Jackson denied the accusations and reached an out-of- court settlement, with the terms kept secret.

In June 2005, he was acquitted by a jury in Santa Maria, California, of charges that he sexually molested a 13-year-old boy in 2003 and served alcohol to the youth with the intent to molest him.

Neverland Ranch

Jackson spent many years out of the public eye, behind the walls of Neverland, a 2,600-acre amusement park-like estate in Los Olivos, California, about 125 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Lavish spending on the ranch, which cost him $17 million as well as $35 million in renovations and improvements, contributed to his financial difficulties.

How one of the world’s most successful entertainers managed to run into money problems was another enduring mystery. The New York Times reported in 2006 that he had earned more than $300 million in royalties since the early 1980s from sales of his recordings, and perhaps as much as $400 million more from concerts, music publishing, endorsements and merchandising.

Planes, Antiques

Alvin Malnik, a former financial adviser to Jackson, told the Times that the singer “never had any concept of fiscal responsibility” and spent millions each year chartering planes and buying antiques and paintings. Others blamed poor judgment by a series of financial advisers to Jackson.

An auction of some of Jackson’s possessions in Beverly Hills, California, was called off in April after the singer sued to block the sale of about 2,000 items, including a trademark crystal-covered glove, a 1999 Rolls Royce Silver Seraph and the entry gate to the ranch.

His personal travails often seemed to eclipse his talents as an entertainer. In 2002 he was widely criticized for dangling one of his infant children over a balcony railing outside a hotel. After his trial he left the U.S. for Bahrain, the Persian Gulf island nation, and traveled to Abu Dhabi and Ireland, while he struggled with his financial problems.

Taylor Friendship

He often turned for solace to his longtime friend, actress Elizabeth Taylor, whom he befriended in 1985 while doing AIDS charity work. Taylor, who is credited with dubbing him the “King of Pop,” yesterday said she was too distraught to comment on Jackson’s death.

To fans and associates in the music industry, it was the songs and performances that mattered.

“He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever,” Quincy Jones, Jackson’s longtime producer, said in a statement. “To this day, the music we created together on ‘Off The Wall,’ ‘Thriller’ and ‘Bad’ is played in every corner of the world.”

Jackson’s last series of concerts was the HIStory Tour in 1996-1997 and his last studio album was “Invincible” in 2001. He performed at halftime of Super Bowl XXVII in 1993.

Jackson was a “consummate entertainer,” said rock concert promoter Harvey Goldsmith, who worked with Jackson on the HIStory and Thriller tours as well as the Live Aid concerts of the 1980s.

“When he put his mind to something, which I’m sure he was doing with this upcoming tour, he put his heart and soul in it,” Goldsmith said by phone from Cannes, France. “He lived to be on stage and please people.”

Hundreds of fans gathered along Westwood Plaza, near the hospital, as word of the singer’s death spread. Pop radio stations in Los Angeles and around the country switched to Jackson’s music.

“Everything you hear now and heard growing up probably had some Michael Jackson influence,” said Q. Dixon, 24, a sociology major at UCLA. “He was mostly about energy and love. He was just a wonderful person.”

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