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, celebrity peers, politicians, preachers and even professional athletes taking turns at the microphone, the polished but emotional service was meant both as a farewell and as 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 Mr. Jackson's incandescent 1980s pop success and the 2008 election of President Barack Obama.

"Those young kids," Mr. Sharpton said of Mr. Jackson's 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 Mr. Jackson as "a uniquely American hero," and Motown music veteran Smokey Robinson judged him to be, simply, "the greatest performer of all time."

Mr. Sharpton and several speakers alluded to media persecution of Mr. Jackson, who died June 25 at age 50, but one speaker who had known Mr. 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 Motown Records mogul Berry Gordy, who signed Mr. 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 seen as the public debut of sorts for Mr. Jackson's 11-year-old daughter Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. Protected and, literally, veiled for much of her life, the youngster 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 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 Mr. Jackson's mansion ended with the pair sitting on the floor and feasting on Kentucky Fried Chicken; actress and sometime Jackson companion Brooke Shields, who was an especially moving speaker, told how she used to tease the singer about his most famous fashion choice.

"I'd tease him about the glove," Ms. Shields said, referring to the solitary silver glove that became a Jackson 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 at 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 to the scheduled start-time, but the predicted crush of crowds outside the arena never materialized, which Los Angeles Police Department Chief William J. Bratton credited to "a steady drumbeat of media coverage in recent days" telling non-ticketed fans they wouldn't be permitted near the downtown venue.

The fans who did get in were among 1.6 million who sought entry. The event was produced by Ken Erhlich, longtime producer of the Grammy Awards telecast, and other key figures included Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of AEG, and Chief Bratton, who was a presence just offstage throughout the service. He 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 TV viewers was more chaotic up close. Mr. Erhlich made a number of major decisions on the fly, such as asking Mr. Robinson to open the service by reading letters from singer-actress Diana Ross and former South African President Nelson Mandela. "I think this might work," Mr. Erhlich said, rushing to hand the letters to the surprised singer.

Mr. Erhlich also ended the show by veering off script; he chopped off the closing benediction, opting instead for the climatic performance of "Heal the World," performed by a stage crowded by stars and family. "We can't top that," he told his writer, David Wild.

Mr. Jackson's casket had been transported from Forest Lawn cemetery in a lengthy motorcade on freeways cleared of traffic by police. It then was carried into the Staples Center spotlight by his brothers -- Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Randy -- who each wore solitary sequined gloves. 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 a rendition of "Smile," the bittersweet song of encouragement composed by Charlie Chaplin for his 1936 film "Modern Times." It was Michael Jackson's favorite song, Ms. 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 more than 70 years 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. ..."

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

Some performers sang to the audience, others to the casket. Some of the producers were at first reluctant to have the casket present.

"The family said to us that Michael was going to be there," Mr. 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."

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

The participants of the memorial yesterday offered their argument on how Mr. Jackson should be remembered: essential pop-culture figure, agent of cultural change and humanitarian.

"He was driven by his hunger to learn," Mr. 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."