Michael Jackson’s brother, Jermaine Jackson, told reporters at the hospital that medical personnel made a heroic effort to revive his brother. “His personal physician, who was with him [at the house] at the time, attempted to resuscitate my brother, as did paramedics,” he said. “A team of highly skilled doctors, including emergency physicians and cardiologists, attempted to resuscitate him for a period of more than one hour, but were unsuccessful.”

Elizabeth Taylor, one of Michael Jackson’s closest and most supportive friends for nearly two decades, is grieving her loss in private at this time. “Dame Elizabeth Taylor is too devastated by the passing of her dear friend Michael Jackson to issue a statement at this time,” her rep says. “We will direct her words to you once we receive them.” Taylor first called Jackson the “King of Pop” when she presented him with the Artist of the Decade award in 1989, and she remained one of his most ardent defenders throughout his trial on child-molestation charges in 1995.

Elizabeth Taylor was also a guest of honor when Michael Jackson gave Liza Minelli away when the star wed David Gest. “He was a kind, genuine, and wonderful man,” Minelli tells Entertainment Tonight. “He was also one of the greatest entertainers that ever lived. I loved him very much and I will miss him every remaining day of my life.”

The Queen of Pop Madonna, who escorted Jackson to the 1991 Academy Awards, commented to People magazine about the King of Pop that she “can’t stop crying over the sad news.” She added, “I have always admired Michael Jackson. The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever! My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family. God bless.”

Lisa Marie Presley, whose short marriage to Jackson in the early 1990s was far more notable for its randomness than for the mingling of two of rock’s greatest families, says she is “completely shocked and saddened” by his death. “I am so very sad and confused with every emotion possible. I am heartbroken for his children who I know were everything to him and for his family. This is such a massive loss on so many levels, words fail me,” Presley said.

The Rev Al Sharpton gave a moving speech in front of the Apollo Theater in Harlem teling reporters Jackson was a “trailblazer” and a “historic figure”.

“We went back about 35 years. We’ve marched together, we’ve fought together, I’ve watched him do shows. Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of colour way before Tiger Woods, way before Oprah Winfrey, way before Barack Obama. Michael did with music what they did in sports, in politics, and in television. No controversy will erase the historic impact.”

“He learned how to sing and dance past unfair criticism, he learned how to sing and dance and be creative against his worst critics, he learned how to create even beyond his own shortcomings. He knew he had shortcomings, but he knew how to build his strengths and use his strengths to help people around the world.

“Michael Jackson was a trailblazer, to say an icon would only give these young people in Harlem a fraction of what he was. He was a historic figure that people will measure music and the industry by. He has sold more single products than any other artist and no one could drag him down for that.”

He went on: “Finally, I hope Michael will be given the respect he was due.

“If he had shortcomings, they didn’t equal his strengths. And if he brought days that we all hoped were days that would never come again, they didn’t measure up to the many days, the more days, that he gave us of joy and pleasure.”

Frank DiLeo, Jackson’s manager and friend of 30 years, said he was with Jackson in the hospital. “I got to kiss him and tell him goodbye,” DiLeo said, his voice breaking. “I lost a very dear friend. Someone who I admired, someone who was the greatest talent I ever met or worked with.”