[CREWZIN]

In case you live in a cave and haven't heard:

LOS ANGELES -- Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted child star who rose to become the King of Pop and the biggest celebrity in the world only to fall from his throne in a freakish series of scandals, died today.

Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Ed Winter, the assistant chief coroner for Los Angeles County, confirmed his office had been notified of the death and would handle the investigation.

The 50-year-old singer arrived at the hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times.

Jackson was rushed to the hospital after he suffered a heart attack, TMZ reported. Paramedics administered CPR in the ambulance, according to the entertainment news Web site.

TMZ reported that the call to 9-1-1 came in about 12:21 p.m. P.S.T. (3:21 p.m. Eastern) from Jackson's home in Los Angeles.

Capt. Steve Ruda of the Los Angeles Fire Department said Jackson was not breathing when paramedics arrived, the Times reported. Jackson was taken to UCLA Medical Center.

Jackson’s death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music’s premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.

ALSO ......

Farrah Fawcett has died of cancer at age 62, wire services are reporting.

Farrah The glamor superstar who made her name as one of TV's Charlie's Angels spent her final years fighting anal cancer that ultimately took her life. In September 2006, Fawcett learned she had the disease. Our Donna Freydkin reports that the devastating news led to reconciliation with her on-and-off boyfriend, Ryan O’Neal, the father of their son Redmond. O’Neal was by her side as Fawcett went through chemotherapy and radiation treatments and the actress was declared cancer-free in February 2007.

But later that spring, she learned that it was back.