Hospital expected to confirm Jackson death

The death of pop star Michael Jackson is expected to be officially confirmed at a press conference at UCLA hospital in Los Angeles today.

Several media sources including the Los Angeles Times and celebrity news website TMZ.com have reported that he has died of cardiac arrest. He was 50.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the news.

The person was not authorised to speak publicly and requested anonymity.

The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12.30pm local time (8.30pm Irish time), Capt Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times.

The paramedics tried to resuscitate him and took him to UCLA Medical Centre, Ruda told the newspaper.

Jackson’s death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music’s premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.

He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves, his high-pitched voice punctuated with squeals and titters.

His single sequinned glove and tight, military-style jacket were trademarks second only to his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.