U.S. pop star Michael Jackson dies at 50 in Los Angeles

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LOS ANGELES, June 25 (Xinhua) -- American pop icon Michael Jackson was announced dead here Thursday at a hospital after suffering a heart arrest at his rented home in a wealthy Los Angeles suburb.

The 50-year-old former "King of Pop," whose musical achievements were overshadowed later in life by his often-eccentric behavior and accusations of lewd behavior with young boys, died when he was preparing for a series of London concerts. Tickets to those concerts are already sold out.

When he announced the 50 concerts in London earlier this year, Jackson said they would be his final on-stage appearances.

Jackson was pronounced dead at UCLA Medical Center at 2:26 p.m. local time, according to Craig Harvey of the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

Harvey said an autopsy could be performed as early as Friday, but the exact cause of Jackson's death may not be determined for six to eight weeks, depending on what type of tests are ordered.

Jackson, who became known as the "King of Pop" with the success of albums such as "Thriller," "Bad" and "Dangerous," first rose to fame as a child singer with his four brothers, as part of the Jackson 5.

It was Michael who became a sensation, most notably with the 1979 release of the album "Off the Wall." His status as a musical superstar was cemented in 1982 after the release of the album " Thriller," which generated seven top-10 hits.

Over the course of his career, Jackson's personal life came under more and more scrutiny, most notably an obvious change in his skin tone. He told television hostess Oprah Winfrey in 1993 that the change was caused by a skin disease.