Obsessed Fans Celebrate Michael Jackson's Deathday

Today marks the first anniversary of the pop icon Michael Jackson’s death (from sustained drug abuse and an eventual “accidental” overdose). Fans from around the world began marking the first anniversary of the music icon’s death.

In Tokyo, 50 diehard fans paid more than 1,000 dollars each to attend a sleepover inside an exhibition space showcasing some of the singer’s belongings. That’s not anywhere in the ballpark for the definition of “money well spent” but when people get obsessed over a celebrity, they’ll do almost anything for them. The collection of Katy Perry discarded objects in her dumpster memorabilia we have is certainly growing.

In Los Angeles, fans began gathering early at the picturesque Forest Lawn Memorial Park, a star-studded cemetery where the singer’s golden casket was entombed last September. Park authorities have indicated they plan to keep a tight grip on the proceedings, saying visitors will only be allowed to walk past the elaborate neo-classical mausoleum that houses Jackson’s final resting place. Some die hard death celebrators were up at 2am, just so that they could get a spot at the cemetery at daybreak. But wait, there’s more …creepy stuff. Accord to AP:

In Hollywood, a wax likeness of Jackson has been placed on display in front of Madame Tussauds on Hollywood Boulevard, a short distance from Jackson’s star on the Walk of Fame.

In the only official memorial event planned Friday, family matriarch Katherine Jackson, 80, is slated to unveil a monument at the home where she raised her famous son and eight other children in Gary, Indiana.

The two-bedroom, one-story home has become a magnet for tourists from all over the world since Jackson’s death.

Meanwhile a Jackson tribute event — “Forever Michael” — will be held at a Beverly Hills hotel on Saturday, with tickets priced at between 150 and 500 dollars. Members of Jackson’s family are expected to attend the event.

Billboard magazine reported Jackson’s estate has generated more than one billion dollars since MJ’s death.  … with all of the deathday partying, the Jackson estate revenue skyrocketing, his kids being enrolled in “normal people” school… you can’t help but wonder if maybe it was a good thing that Dr. Conrad Murray somehow helped a gallon of morphine enter the King of Pop’s system?