Black Celebrity Men

What you see above are images of Michael Jackson at his last full dress rehearsal, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, as he prepared for his 'This Is It' tour which was scheduled to kick-off in just a few weeks. Today CNN provided exclusive video footage from that rehearsal. Unfortunately what no one knew is that just a few short hours after Michael wrapped that rehearsal, he would later be found dead in his home at the age of 50. Over 100 hours of rehearsal footage has been captured on tape and according to some reports, there are plans to release it on DVD. Let's cross our fingers. Check out a clip below.

Watching the video emoted bittersweet feelings for me. Michael looked like his regular self; although several media reports claimed he was too frail to rehearse even after being given a clean bill of health back in March. It didn't look that way to me. All I see when I look at this video is a man who was determined to give his fans what they wanted. A chance to see him live in concert performing his past hits for one last time. He even took it a step further by reverting back to his hairstyle from his Smooth Criminal days. Bless his heart! LOL!

He will be thoroughly missed.

In related news, the Staples Center will also be the site of Jackson's memorial service, which is scheduled for Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the 20,000-seat Los Angeles coliseum, according to a person briefed by a family representative. Still no word on where Michael's final resting place will be.