Apollo Plans Star-Studded Tributes for Jackson
40 years after his $1,000 gig
Saturday, Jun 27, 2009 | Updated 4:00 PM EST
AP
Tshaka Lafayette, of New York, left, takes a picture of the marquee at the Apollo theater as people gather to remember Michael Jackson in the Harlem neighborhood of New York, Thursday June 25, 2009. "I'm trying to capture a piece of American history" said Lafayette. Jackson died Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 50. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
The Harlem theater that helped launch Michael Jackson's career plans star-studded tributes to him this summer.
On Tuesday at 2 p.m. the Apollo Theater will stage a public memorial. Eulogies will be delivered under the marquee by its president and others.
Inside, DJs will spin Jackson's music accompanied by video homages.
Fans will be invited to record their thoughts about Jackson's life and sudden death outside on a wall on 125th Street.
And on Wednesday night, Apollo's weekly Amateur Night will be dedicated to the "King of Pop,'' who won Amateur Night with the Jackson 5 in 1969. Audience members will be encouraged to "moonwalk'' during the "soul train'' dance line.
Later in July, a star-filled memorial tribute is planned -- at a date still to be set.
