--- description: Shortly before his death, the King of Pop was photographed rehearsing for his sold-out London shows title: Michael Jackson: The Last Photos image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) # Michael Jackson: The Last Photos by [TIME](/author/time/) Jul 1, 2009 4:00 AM CUT by [TIME](/author/time/) Jul 1, 2009 4:00 AM CUT Shortly before his death, the King of Pop was photographed rehearsing for his sold-out London shows ### This Is It  International pop-music icon Michael Jackson rehearses at Los Angeles' Staples Center on June 23, 2009, two days before his death. Photographer Kevin Mazur was given exclusive access to the sessions. Kevin Mazur / AEG / Getty ### Highlight  More than 800,000 tickets, costing upwards of £1,000 (about $1,650), had been sold for the London shows. Fans have been informed that their money will be refunded. Kevin Mazur / AEG / Getty ### Long Reach  Fans will have a chance to purchase a DVD and album of Jackson's last rehearsals, which is presently being compiled. It is expected to be one of his biggest sellers. This photo was taken on May 6, 2009. John Shearer / AEG / Concerts West / Getty ### Behind the Scenes  Jackson works with choreographer/director Kenny Ortega in a photo taken on May 6, 2009. John Shearer / AEG / Concerts West / Getty ### Smile  Starting this Christmas, Jackson's family will release a series of posthumous albums, including perhaps songs written for Jackson's children and some left over from his last album, Invincible. Kevin Mazur / AEG / WireImage Michael Jackson: The Last Photos - Photo Essays - TIME ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7034579/michael-jackson-the-last-photos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7034579/michael-jackson-the-last-photos/"},"headline":"Michael Jackson: The Last Photos","datePublished":"2009-07-01T04:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T10:44:45.828Z","description":"Shortly before his death, the King of Pop was photographed rehearsing for his sold-out London shows","url":"https://time.com/archive/7034579/michael-jackson-the-last-photos/","keywords":["LightBox"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME","url":"https://time.com/author/time/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7034579/michael-jackson-the-last-photos/","name":"Michael Jackson: The Last Photos"}}]}] ```