Joe Jackson, Jackson family patriarch, 89
Joseph Jackson, the fearsome stage dad of Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and their talented siblings, who took his family from poverty and launched a musical dynasty, has died. He was 89.
Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg told The Associated Press that Mr. Jackson died at 2:55 a.m. yesterday at Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas.
Fudenberg said he did not have full details and a determination was not immediately made about whether his office would handle the case.
“We are reviewing the circumstances surrounding the death, but there is no reason to believe it’s anything other than a natural death,” the coroner said.
Mr. Jackson was a guitarist who put his own musical ambitions aside to work in the steel mills to support his wife and nine children in Gary,
Ind. But he far surpassed his own dreams through his children, particularly his exceptionally gifted seventh child, Michael. Fronted by the then-pint-sized wonder and brothers Jermaine, Marlon, Tito and Jackie, the Jackson
5 was an instant sensation in 1969 and became the first phase of superstardom for the Jackson family. Over the following decades, millions would listen to both group and solo recordings by the Jackson 5 (who later became known as The Jacksons) and Michael would become one of the most popular entertainers in history.
Michael Jackson’s estate released a statement mourning the death.
“We are deeply saddened by Mr. Jackson’s passing and extend our heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Katherine Jackson and the family. Joe was a strong man who acknowledged his own imperfections and heroically delivered his sons and daughters from the steel mills of Gary, Indiana, to worldwide pop superstardom,” said John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of the estate.
Joe Jackson is survived by his wife, his children and more than two dozen grandchildren.