From prodigy to tragedy, Michael Jackson lived inescapably in the public domain, the quintessential superstar turned staple tabloid fodder, the object of near-religious worldwide devotion and the butt of a million standup jokes.

His shocking death at age 50 sets off a battle of images that may rage longer than his sensational 40-year career. Will he be best remembered as the premier performer of a seminal era in popular music, or as a blanched, gaunt semi-recluse given to bizarre eccen ...

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