LOS ANGELES — In the end, they brought Michael Jackson to the one place where his life always made sense — beneath a spotlight and in front of his adoring fans. In a gleaming gold coffin, the superstar was celebrated in a Staples Center memorial service that was beamed around the world and, like the icon himself, strived mightily to be all things to all people.

With family, celebrities, politicians, preachers and even professional athletes taking turns at the microphone, the polished but emotional service was both a farewell and a deeply sympathetic framing of the star's complicated legacy.

The Rev. Al Sharpton brought the crowd of 17,000 to their feet by drawing a direct cultural line between Jackson's incandescent 1980s pop success and the 2008 election of President Obama.

"Those young kids," Sharpton said of Jackson's massive crossover audience, "grew up from being teenage comfortable fans of Michael's to being 40 years old and being comfortable to vote for a president of color to be the president of the United States of America."

Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, praised Jackson as "a uniquely American hero," and music veteran Smokey Robinson judged him to be, simply, "the greatest performer of all time."

Sharpton and several other speakers alluded to media persecution of Jackson, who died June 25 at age 50, but one speaker who had known Jackson for more than four decades suggested that the reality is not that tidy.

"Sure there were some sad times and maybe some questionable decisions on his part, but Michael Jackson accomplished everything he ever dreamed of," said Berry Gordy, the Motown Records mogul who signed Jackson to his first record deal after an audition in the summer of 1968.

There were many memorable images, but in the years to come the signature moment may be the public debut of sorts of Jackson's 11-year-old daughter, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. Protected and, literally, veiled for much of her life, the youngster took the microphone and said through tears:

"I just wanted to say, ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you can imagine. I just wanted to say I love him so much."

THE GLOVED ONE

The ceremony was by turns somber, evangelical, thunderous and hushed. There was humor, as well. Former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson recounted how his nervous first visit to Jackson's mansion ended with the pair sitting on the floor and feasting on Kentucky Fried Chicken; Brooke Shields told movingly of how she used to tease Jackson about his most famous fashion choice.

"I'd tease him about the glove," Shields said, referring to the solitary silver glove that became Jackson's trademark. " 'What's up with the glove?' and 'If you're gonna hold my hand, it better be the non-gloved one because the sequins hurt.' "

Audience members danced along with some musical performances and stifled tears during the many tributes to the singer.

The memorial, a mix of measured grief and show-biz spectacle, was watched across the globe and covered with the intensity of election-night politics and the overkill of a Super Bowl Sunday, with all-day live coverage by television networks both domestic and foreign. Eighty-eight movie theaters in 31 states showed the event live. As a local event, it was a surprisingly smooth affair; there was a half-hour delay in the start time, but the predicted crush of crowds outside the arena never materialized, which Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton credited to "a steady drumbeat of media coverage in recent days" telling nonticketed fans they wouldn't be permitted near the downtown venue.

Those who did get in with tickets were among 1.6 million who applied for entry through a random drawing. The event was produced by Ken Erhlich, the longtime producer of the Grammy Awards telecast, and other key figures included Tim Leiweke, president of AEG, and the police chief, who was a presence just off stage throughout the service. Bratton also worked the press line before the event and personally guarded the gilded casket as it arrived in the arena's underground garage.

The event that seemed so smooth and precise to television viewers was more chaotic up close. Erhlich made a number of major decisions on the fly, such as asking Robinson to open the service by reading letters from Diana Ross and Nelson Mandela. "I think this might work," Erhlich said, rushing to hand the letters to the surprised singer, who then calmly climbed the steps to the stage, looked in the camera and greeted the world. Erhlich also ended the show by veering off script: he chopped off the closing benediction, opting instead for the more climactic "Heal the World" performance by a crowded stage of stars and family. "We can't top that," he told his writer, David Wild.

A BROTHER'S SONG

Jackson's casket had been transported from Forest Lawn cemetery in a lengthy motorcade on freeways cleared of traffic by police. It was carried into the Staples Center stage spotlight by his brothers — Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Randy — who each wore a solitary sequined glove. Janet Jackson, the second-most famous member of the family, left her seat and reached toward the procession, but instead of touching the casket she reached for her living brothers, giving each of them a reassuring grip on the arm.

Janet Jackson did not perform as many expected, but Jermaine Jackson did, with a rendition of "Smile," the bittersweet song of encouragement whose melody was composed by Charlie Chaplin for his 1936 film "Modern Times." It was Michael Jackson's favorite song, Shields told the crowd, and the emotion-choked performance by his older brother added to the poignancy of the lyrics, written by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons in the 1950s, more than half a century ago:

Smile tho' your heart is aching

Smile even tho' it's breaking

When there are clouds in the sky

You'll get by, if you smile

MICHAEL'S PRESENCE

Other performances included Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz singing "I'll Be There," the Jackson 5 classic that was also a hit for Carey in 1992, and Stevie Wonder — a performer who could certainly understand Jackson's struggle to handle a show-biz childhood — giving an emotion-charged rendition of his own 1971 composition "Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer."

Some performers sang to the audience, others to the casket, which was on the stage in front of them. Some of the producers were reluctant at first to have the casket present.

"The family said to us that Michael was going to be there," Erhlich said. "At first, I kind of gulped, but I went back to if this was a Baptist service, the casket would be there. And it made a difference. They were singing right over the casket of Michael Jackson. I know what that did to Mariah. I know what that did to Usher. I know what that did to John Mayer."

Erhlich said the pacing of the service mirrored black church services: uplifting musical numbers followed by fiery, emotional speeches, then brief pauses. "People had time to think about what they had heard before we went on to the next order of business," he said.

SEEKING THE SUBTEXT

The memorial was also inspected for meaning the way scholars of the Soviet Union used to pore over Kremlin photos. Would long- estranged sister LaToya sit with her family? She did. Would the singer's two former wives, Lisa-Marie Presley (daughter of Elvis) and Debbie Rowe (mother of Jackson's two eldest children) attend? They did not.

Two other key figures in Jackson's life saga, actress Elizabeth Taylor and singer Diana Ross, also did not attend. Both released statements saying they were not ready to grieve in public. And Rowe said through a representative that her presence would be "an unnecessary distraction" at the event.

The producers and participants of yesterday's memorial offered their view of how Jackson should be remembered: an essential pop-culture figure, agent of cultural change and beloved humanitarian.

"He was driven by his hunger to learn," Gordy said, "to confidently top himself, to be the best, the consummate student. He studied the greats and became greater. He raised the bar and then broke the bar."