The Los Angeles Times confirms the report, saying that Jackson was pronounced dead this afternoon after arriving at the hospital in a coma.

The troubled star had appeared frail and unhealthy in his infrequent public appearances in the past couple of years. Though he was trying to stage a comeback of sorts, having just recently announced some British tour dates. His mother and sister LaToya are said to have been with Jackson at the time of the incident.

Jackson came from a musical family of Jehovah's Witnesses in Gary, Indiana. Under his strict father's watchful eye, Michael Jackson and four of his brothers formed the groundbreaking Jackson 5, releasing a string of major hits in the 1970s.

Jackson later launched a solo career, starting with Off the Wall in 1979 and, three years later, Thriller, which became the best-selling album of all time. In addition to its success as a record, Thriller helped advance music videos as promotional tool and brought Jackson a level of mainstream recognition black artists had not previously received. Its top hits "Billie Jean," "Beat It" and "Thriller" became hallmarks of the 1980s.

Jackson would go on to release other influential, best-selling albums, most notably Bad and Dangerous, but Thriller had marked the dizzying apex of his career. Over time, his personal life, rapidly changing physical appearance and bizarre personality quirks would overshadow talk about his music. Through his career, the singer underwent round upon round of plastic surgery, drastically altering the appearance of his face, most notably his nose, chin and cheekbones.

He also lightened his skin; amid rumors he was bleaching his flesh, Jackson eventually disclosed the lighter tone arose from his vitiligo, which made his skin sensitive to light and caused splotches he had to even out with pancake makeup.

If Jackson's striking appearance made him seem odd, his idiosyncratic behavior only accentuated the effect. He was often seen with a chimp named Bubbles and in regal, glittering outfits. It was falsely rumored he had acquired the Elephant Man's skeleton.

Then there was Jackson's home, Neverland Ranch, whose Ferris wheels, movie theater and menagerie only underlined Jackson's flamboyance. The singer invited children to the compound and faced repeated charges of child molestation; he settled a 1993 case brought by the family of a 12-year-old boy for a reported $20 million. More devastating were charges from a 15-year-old who appeared with Jackson in the British docmentary "Living with Michael Jackson," in which he discussed the practice of sharing a bed with children.

Image of Jackson via Getty

After appearing in commercials and as a guest star on various television shows, Farrah rose to fame after posing in a red bathing suit for a poster that went on to sell millions of copies. Later, as a star of the popular Charlie's Angels, she became a bona fide American star. Fawcett went on to star in many theatrical productions and TV movies, most notably playing a battered wife in The Burning Bed, a role which earned her the first of three Emmy nominations she received. In 1995, at the age of 50, Fawcett made headlines when she posed nude for a pictorial in Playboy magazine.

Fawcett was married to actor Lee Majors from 1973-1982. Since 1982, she's been in a relationship with actor Ryan O'Neal. Together they had a son, Redmond. Fawcett and O'Neal were set to marry, though we've no word on whether they were able to go through with the ceremony before she passed.

In 1997 Fawcett made a bizarre appearance on David Letterman's show to promote another Playboy spread that she'd done, an appearance she later claimed was an act intended to engage the audience. Act or not, it will likely remain one of the most memorable moments of her time in the public eye.

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Vid via YouTube

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Charlie's Angels opening credits

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Fawcett in one of her more dramatic roles, the unfortunate Extremities

Carradine was in Bangkok shooting a film. According to this Thai newspaper, a maid found him hanging in the closet of his hotel room yesterday after he failed to show up for dinner with the film's crew.

His agent confirmed the death to WABC in New York, but says Carradine died of natural causes.

One of his most recent roles was in an as-yet-unreleased film called My Suicide.

Update: A Time Out spokesperson has retracted their original report that Richards had already succcumbed to her injuries. Their web site is currently downThe site's back up, but the link is still not loading. According to their P.R., they are amending their post to report that Richardson is, and this is a direct quote, "brain dead and not expected to survive." TMZ and new site IrishCentral.com, which first reported the news of Richardson's ski accident, are reporting that Richardson is being moved by jet to a New York City hospital.

More Update: The new post on Time Out, posted at 1:58, read: "The following post appeared earlier this afternoon with the headline "RIP Natasha Richardson 1963-2009." Since that time, TONY's sources have clarified the situation: Richardson is brain dead but has not passed away. Sources close to the family indicate that they are treating it as a death. We will update you on this sad story as circumstances warrant. We apologize to the family and our readers."

Citing "sources close to Richardson's family and friends," Time Out said those close to the actress are being notified of the sad news.

Richardson was taking a skiing lesson at Mont Tremblant in Quebec and took a spill. According to Bloomberg, she had seemed fine initially after the fall, laughing and joking with her instructors, but a few hours later complained of headaches and was rushed the hospital. The Cabaret star, who is the wife of actor Liam Neeson, was listed in critical condition when admitted to a Montreal hospital last night.

Time Out's site is apparently overloaded at the moment. Here is Adam Feldman's original post:

EXCLUSIVE: Time Out New York learns of actress's untimely death. She will be greatly missed.

Last night it was reported that the actor Natasha Richardson had critically injured her head in a skiing accident at the Mont Tremblant resort outside of Montreal, Canada. Although public reports have not yet confirmed it, sources close to Richardson's family and friends say they have already been told the awful news: She did not survived the accident.

This precipitate loss is a terrible one. Richardson was only 45 and had two adolescent sons; our thoughts go to them and to her husband, the actor Liam Neeson. The theater world, too, is bereft by her departure. Richardson has been the most verdant new branch of one of the great English theatrical family trees: the child of Vanessa Redgrave and the late Tony Richardson, the niece of Lynn Redgrave and Corin Redgrave, granddaughter of Michael Redgrave. She has pursued the family business with uncommon class and distinction. On Broadway-in Anna Christie, Closer, A Streetcar Named Desire and especially in her Tony-winning turn as Sally Bowles in Cabaret-her work has been elegant, smart and forceful. She will be missed.

Shakespeare's words from Cymbeline cascade to mind:

Fear no more the heat o' the sun
Nor the furious winter's rages;
Thou thy worldly task hast done
Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages;
Golden lads and girls all must
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

And in case you didn't know, Estelle had a workout video for senior citizens.

Also Oscar-nominated for his screenplay adaptations of The Talented Mr. Ripley and Cold Mountain, Minghella recently wrapped his Bostwana-based production The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. He also had a segment in the works for the forthcoming anthology New York, I Love You and shares producer credits on no fewer than four projects in development, including the Weinstein Company's Oscar-season hopeful The Reader. Representatives for TWC were unavailable this morning when contacted for comment .

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As you might expect following the passing of any beloved head of state, there is no shortage of obituaries celebrating Grant's legacy, but we've found no post-mortem tribute more touching than this video elegy an obviously grief-stricken mourner offered up to the internets today. Once the Star Wars-inspired crawl fades and the music-accompanied montage of some of those memorable Walk of Fame moments kicks in, you will be moved.

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