In Calif., a private burial for Jackson

GLENDALE, Calif. - Michael Jackson will share eternity with the likes of Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, and W.C. Fields, entombed alongside them in a grand marble mausoleum that will be all but off-limits to adoring fans who might otherwise turn the pop star's grave into a shrine.

A private family ceremony was set for last night inside the massive multistory building at star-studded Forest Lawn Glendale cemetery. The service comes one month after a lavish public memorial that displayed the King of Pop's gleaming golden casket to millions on television.

After the burial, the closest the public will be able to get to Jackson's vault is a portion of the mausoleum that displays "The Last Supper Window," a life-size stained-glass re-creation of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece. Several 10-minute presentations about the window are held regularly 365 days a year, but most of the building is restricted.

Lisa Burks, who blogs about celebrity graves at www.gravehunting.com, said the Jackson family chose well for his final resting place if it was privacy they were after.

"It's impossible to get in there," Burks said. "It was before, and it will be worse now."

By late afternoon yesterday, media tents had cropped up all along the boulevard across from the wrought-iron gates that serve as the main entrance to Forest Lawn. That vantage point offered no view of any mausoleum - just a fountain and a building containing the gift shop.

Glendale police were providing security for the indoor service, which was well inside the sprawling grounds and by invitation only. Family representatives have said the affair was to be private.

No fans were allowed inside the blocked-off media area, nor had anyone gathered on the fringes of the perimeter by late afternoon.

The ceremony ends months of speculation that the singer's body would be buried at Neverland Ranch, in part to make the property a Graceland-style attraction.

Jackson died a drug-induced death June 25 at age 50 as he was about to embark on a comeback attempt. The coroner's office has labeled the death a homicide.