London - AFP
Michael Jackson's three children are to sink their father's shoes and famous sequined glove into the cement outside a storied Hollywood cinema and tourist site, organizers said Thursday. In a rare public appearance, Prince, Paris and Blanket will make their late father's mark in the cement outside the Grauman's Chinese Theatre on January 26. The entrance to the historic cinema on Hollywood Boulevard is a major tourist attraction, with hand and footprints of movie stars and filmmakers from over the decades. The vast majority of those with prints at the Grauman's -- including icons like Fred Astaire, Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Sidney Poitier and Clark Gable -- are from the movie world. The Jackson Estate, which manages the late star's affairs, pointed out that the King of Pop was responsible for such ground-breaking short films as "Billie Jean," "Beat It," and the classic "Thriller." "The Grauman's Chinese Theatre forecourt is one of the most photographed tourist sites in the world, annually attracting as many visitors as the Taj Mahal in India and the Prado Museum in Madrid," said a statement. The Grauman's hands and footprints ceremony "is rich in tradition and provides the four million plus people a year who visit the site an up close look at the hand and footprints of Hollywood's most notable talents," it added. The ceremony will include a presentation by the cast of the "Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour," a Cirque du Soleil show performing at the Staples Center in Los Angeles January 27-29. Jackson died on June 25, 2009 from an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol. His doctor Conrad Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in November and jailed for the maximum of four years.