Joe Jackson — the patriarch of the Jackson family — has died, TMZ reports.
The elder Jackson died two days after the ninth anniversary of the demise of his megastar son, Michael, who died on June 25, 2009 at the age of 50.
Family sources tell the online celebrity and entertainment news outlet that Joe passed away at 3:30 AM on Wednesday in Los Angeles.
Joe was hospitalised in June with terminal cancer. His family had been flocking to his bedside since. His wife, Katherine, had been at his bedside as were some of Joe’s children and grandchildren, TMZ reported.
“Joe had been battling health problems for some time now. He was hospitalised back in 2016 after coming down with a high fever. But, he bounced back not long after and was seen partying in Vegas.
“His health was also fragile after a stroke and three heart attacks back in 2015. Doctors implanted a pacemaker,” TMZ noted.
Joe may have been the most successful parent managing his children in the history of music. He, with a little help from Diana Ross, engineered the careers of The Jackson 5, and then Michael and Janet Jackson as solo artists.
The elder Jackson took a lot of heat from Michael and his siblings for abusing parenting and management practices, including physical brutality.
Joe agreed to it but, far from apologising, he said his methods made his kids successful and kept them out of jail.
Michael’s dad stood by him during his molestation trial. After Michael’s death, Joe was criticised for trying to make money off his son’s memory.
Joe had 10 kids with Katherine, his wife of more than 60 years. The two did not live together and had a strained relationship for the last years of his life, but they frequently interacted.
Joe was 89.
