Jackson Burial Will Precede Memorial Service

All weekend, friends and family of Michael Jackson have been busy putting the finishing touches on Michael Jackson’s memorial service set for next Tuesday.

Ken Ehrlich, who produces the Grammy Awards, is in charge, guaranteeing that the show will be a classy event. He’s been working with Randy Phillips of AEG Live. The latter is the company that was producing Jackson’s London shows and also owns Ehrlich’s production company.

Ehrlich, by the way, was negotiating to produce a Halloween TV special for NBC with Jackson the night before he died.

Sources say Rev. Al Sharpton will speak at the service, and Jesse Jackson may as well. It’s still undecided who the musical acts will be on the bill. I wouldn’t be surprised if Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and none other than Little Richard are asked to participate. There’s also a chance that the 3T’s’Michael’s nephews, sons of Tito Jackson, who were included in Michael’s will’would do something as well. Jackson was their mentor.

But Michael’s body will not be at the Staples Center, after all. Insiders tell me that the Jackson family will have a burial service at 8 a.m., two hours before the memorial. The private internment will be at Forest Lawn, the celebrity cemetery in Hollywood. Hopefully, Michael will rest peacefully there with the many dozens of stars including, most recently, David Carradine.