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Michael Jackson, whose brilliance as an entertainer was matched only by his eccentricity, died of cardiac arrest Thursday - as dramatically and mysteriously as he lived.The 50-year-old music icon fell unconscious and stopped breathing at his rented home on Sunset Blvd. in Bel Air, officials said.
"His personal physician, who was with him at the time, attempted to resuscitate my brother," his shaken brother Jermaine Jackson said last night.
Paramedics summoned by a 911 call at 12:26 p.m. local time also tried to resuscitate the faded King of Pop as an ambulance sped him to UCLA Medical Center.
"You've got to save him!" Jackson's aides screamed after he was wheeled into the hospital on a stretcher at 1:14 p.m., the Web site TMZ.com reported.
Emergency room doctors tried to revive him but he was in full cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m.
The cause of death was unknown, but London's Sun reported that Jackson aides told doctors he had received an injection of the painkiller Demerol.
"He started to experience slow, shallow breathing," a source told the paper.
"His breathing gradually got slower and slower until it stopped. His staff started mouth-to-mouth and an ambulance was called, which got there in eight minutes."
Jackson's manager told his brother Marlon that a doctor had visited Jackson the night before because he was feeling ill, CNN reported.
Around 7 last night, Jackson's body, shrouded in a white sheet, was moved to the office of the Los Angeles County coroner for an autopsy today.
Jackson - who had battled addiction to painkillers and among myriad health problems - died in the midst of a comeback bid, with 50 soldout concerts planned for London this summer.
He was training for the gigs with "Incredible Hulk" Lou Ferrigno. Longtime Jackson family lawyer Brian Oxman accused "enablers" of pushing the star too hard physically as he prepared for the tour.
News of his death brought a swift and stunned reaction, with celebrities expressing sadness on Twitter and fans thronging to Times Square.
Ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis' daughter, said she was heartbroken for Jackson's three children and other family members.
"I am so very sad and confused with every emotion possible," she said. "This is such a massive loss on so many levels, words fail me."
Madonna said she "can't stop crying."
The Rev. Al Sharpton flashed a 25-year-old snapshot of Jackson and himself during a press conference outside the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
"We thought we'd see him moonwalk one more time," Sharpton said.
Michael Jackson King of Pop' dies in LA hospital at age 50 Latest Videos
