FACTBOX: Key facts about Michael Jackson

(Reuters) - Michael Jackson movie "This Is It", compiled of rehearsal footage for a planned series of comeback concerts, opened in Los Angeles on Tuesday four months after his sudden death. Following are some key facts about Jackson's life and career and death.

CAREER:

* Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, the seventh of nine children. Five Jackson boys -- Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael -- first performed together at a talent show when Michael was 6.

* Their group later became The Jackson 5. Jackson made his first solo album in 1972.

* Jackson released "Thriller" in 1982, which went on to become the biggest-selling album of all time with an estimated 50 million copies sold worldwide.

* The next year, he unveiled his signature "moonwalk" dance on a 1983 Motown anniversary TV special.

* Jackson won 13 Grammy Awards and was twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His lifetime sales tally is believed to be about 750 million records.

DEATH;

* Jackson died in Los Angeles on June 25, three weeks before he was to begin a sold-out series of 50 comeback concerts in London.

* In August, coroners ruled his death a homicide caused by an overdose of sedatives and the powerful anesthetic propofol. Police have investigated Jackson's personal physician but no charges have been filed to date against anyone.

* Jackson was given a televised public memorial in Los Angeles in July and was buried at a private funeral on Sept 3.

* "This Is It" and an album of the same name are based on 80 hours of rehearsal video intended for Jackson's personal use. Sony's Columbia Pictures studio bought the film rights for $60 million.

CONTROVERSY:

* In 1993, Jackson was accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy. He later reached a reported $23 million out of court settlement with the family of his accuser.

* Jackson went on trial in 2005 on charges of molesting another 13-year-old boy in 2003. He was acquitted of all charges.

* Jackson announced in 1993 he had become addicted to painkillers and abruptly canceled a world tour.

FAMILY:

* In 1994, Jackson married Elvis Presley's only child, Lisa Marie Presley, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1996. Jackson married Debbie Rowe the same year and had two children, before splitting in 1999.

* Jackson had two children with Debbie Rowe -- Prince Michael I (12) and Paris Michael (11). He later had a third child Prince Michael II, 7, also known as Blanket, with an unidentified woman.

* Custody of Jackson's children was awarded to his mother Katherine after the singer's death.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)