Jun 26, 2009 7:14 pm US/Eastern
New Yorkers Remember The King Of Pop
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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CBS 2 HD was outside the Apollo Theater in Harlem Thursday night as crowds gathered in the streets to mourn the loss of Michael Jackson, a true Apollo legend.
CBS
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A fan of pop star Michael Jackson sits vigil at Michael Jackson's Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, mourning his death on June 25, 2009, in Los Angeles, Calif. Jackson
Charley Gallay/Getty Images
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Michael Jackson announces plans for Summer residency at the O2 Arena at a press conference held at the O2 Arena on March 5, 2009 in London.
Tim Whitby/Getty Images
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In this handout image provided by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, Michael Jackson is shown in a mug shot after he was booked on multiple counts for allegedly molesting a child Nov. 20, 2003, in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office
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Michael Jackson sports a white glove during his first concert in eleven years at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sept. 7, 2001.
Beth A. Keiser/AFP/Getty Images
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Michael Jackson was born in Indiana, but his appearance at the Apollo Theater more than 40 years ago made him a New Yorker for life.
Twenty-four hours after his death, tributes continue not only at the Harlem landmark, but all over town.
During Jackson's four decades in the spotlight, something happened – he went from being an entertainer who performed for millions, to someone people felt spoke directly to them.
"The greatest entertainer that ever lived!" one fan said.
Jackson's fans aren't shy about sharing their love, or their sorrow.
"I couldn't breathe," fan Katie Alvarez said. "I felt like a part of my childhood was gone."
"There will be no man like him," Travis Hinton said. "Last night, I cried more than ten times."
Outside the Apollo Theater in Harlem, where Jackson reached early fame, fans created a shrine – signing cards and anything else they could.
"The greatest entertainer of all time," Shanequa Donovan said of Jackson. "The King of Pop."
Rachelle Friedman knew Jackson personally. She remembers a man who was shy – but, under that shyness, very shrewd.
"He was very smart, very astute. He went into a whole explanation why he bought all the Beatles songs," Friedman, president of J&R Records, said. "He was really a genius, knew the value of things, and was very astute and drove a hard bargain."
She said the controversy that darkened his spotlight in later years was undeserved.
"He was like a beloved uncle to them, he didn't do anything inappropriate," Friedman said. "In fact, they were picking out DVDs and some of them were violent. He said, 'No, these aren't the kind of DVDs I want you bringing home.'"
But the fans remember the songs he drove with his voice and his dancing.
"Just the heart that he sang with," fan Esther Grondahl said. "It was sad to watch what happened, the difficult things he went through."
And despite the troubles he had with the law, they say his talents amount to much more than his faults.
"I don't think it overshadows his legacy – I think he was just a troubled individual," Alvarez said. "In more ways than one, his legacy has built us all up, and it has really touched the heart of millions. He will be deeply missed."
The fans are just trying to remember the music that they say spoke to them.
"It meant joy, sadness, love, hope," Donovan said. "It meant everything."
CBS 2's Josh Landis contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
2009 Celebrity Deaths
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