Michael Jackson

It could be said that Michael Jackson encapsulated American celebrity — both in good and bad ways.

He grew up in front of the nation, from his first appearance with the Jackson 5 on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1969. And yet, despite the fame and adulation, he seemed sadly alone and strangely disconnected from the world. He re-emerged remade and as an adult in the early 1980s, and he stamped an indelible imprint on the music world with his moonwalk, his flashy costumes, his one white glove and his signature dance moves. And yet he seemed always to challenge his good fortune — dangling his child over the edge of a balcony, transforming his looks through surgeries and acting in strangely childish ways. He survived child-molestation charges with an acquittal in 2005. He was treated for painkiller addictions and, as the years passed, seemed to be growing thinner and more sickly.

In a strange foreboding of his death, he married Lisa Marie Presley, whose iconic father, Elvis, died at age 42. The Associated Press this week quoted Lisa Marie as saying Jackson confided to her once that he worried about facing the same fate.

Americans love their celebrities. Sometimes, they love them to death. Jackson often was described as strange. And yet it's easy to see how a life in the public eye from childhood could lead to strange perceptions and strange behavior.

Jackson leaves with the world holding mixed perceptions of him. But then, humans are a complicated lot, especially when their lives are placed under a microscope. He did much good — from bridging racial divides to inspiring people through music. Like many troubled celebrities who died young, his art is likely to speak much louder than any other part of him over time.