LOS ANGELES -- Michael Jackson was memorialized Tuesday at a crowded, choreographed and star-studded service broadcast around the world.  The nearly three-hour service at the Staples Center downtown capped almost two weeks of tributes since the performer's unexpected death at age 50 on June 25, as he prepared for a series of concerts.  The speakers and performers spanned Mr. Jackson's professional and personal lives, from Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr., who first met Mr. Jackson 40 years ago, to Kenny Ortega, who had been choreographing the singer's planned London concerts this month. Several revealed a side of the performer the public never saw.  Pallbearers carring Mr. Jackson's casket wore gold neckties.  "Both of us needed to be adults very early," said actress Brooke Shields, who first met Mr. Jackson when she was 13, "but when we were together, we were two little kids having fun."  Toward the end of the service, Mr. Jackson's 11-year-old daughter, Paris Katherine Jackson, said: "Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine, and I just wanted to say I love him so much."  The memorial service required negotiations between the Jackson family, the concert promoter AEG Live and the Los Angeles Police Department, which cordoned off a large swath of downtown Los Angeles for the occasion.  The day began with a private memorial service in Forest Lawn cemetery. The family and close associates then traveled in a convoy of black cars under police escort to the arena, where tens of thousands of fans had been clustered since early in the morning.  The estimated cost for the city of such a massive event was about $4 million. On Tuesday afternoon, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa urged fans to make donations to help defray the cost. However, the influx also provided a boost to local business.  Karen LuKanic, who runs a coffee shop across from the arena, said, "It's kind of like a hockey game and a concert at the same time." She said she had 40 people on staff, twice the usual amount, and opened an hour and a half early.  Outside the arena, the atmosphere resembled a rock concert more than it did a memorial service. Teresa Espinosa and two friends came dressed in Michael Jackson outfits after scoring a trio of tickets on the Web site Craigslist for $50 each.  Patricia Basler flew in from New York because she smelled opportunity. She was selling hand-painted animated frames from the 1970s-era Jackson 5 animated television show that she had acquired from her father-in-law, an animator for the show. She was selling a cel with the original background with all five Jacksons for $300.  Thierry Marceau, a Michael Jackson impersonator performing outside the arena, said his own career had taken off suddenly after the singer's death. When he began dressing and acting like the pop singer two years ago, interest in his act was tepid. Back then, he said, "Michael Jackson was kind of ended."  But on Tuesday morning, Mr. Marceau, who flew to Los Angeles from Montreal last week to visit Neverland and other Jackson-related sites, was mobbed by fans almost as intensely as if he was the real thing.  Inside, the list of speakers offered a testament to the breadth of the singer's influence. The children of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about how kind Mr. Jackson had been to their late mother after she suffered a debilitating stroke.  Basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson said: "I want to thank Michael for opening up so many doors for African-Americans."  There were a few oblique references to the troubles that dogged Mr. Jackson during his later years, such as his criminal trial for child molestation that ended in acquittal, and his frequent recourse to plastic surgery.  His brother Marlon Jackson, at the close of the service, said: "Maybe now, Michael, they will leave you alone."  Write to Sabrina Shankman at Sabrina.Shankman@wsj.com
Michael Jackson was eulogized in words and song Tuesday by an all-star list of musicians, athletes and other celebrities during a mournful ceremony.