Michael Jackson 'Thriller' jacket fetches $1.8M

Hundreds of Michael Jackson fans have marked the two-year anniversary of the singer's death by gathering for a memorial outside the Gary home where Jackson grew up.

The Times of Munster reports that revelers swayed to Jackson's songs during Saturday night's tribute. Poets, local singers and dancers also entertained the crowd. Mayor Rudy Clay welcomed visitors to the event and proclaimed the city will not stop celebrating Jackson's memory.

During the weekend, fans from around the world marked the anniversary of the singer's death.

Jackson died on June 25, 2009, of an overdose of sedatives at the age of 50, just before he was to begin a comeback tour.

Thirty-year-old Marshall Bingaman of Kansas City, Mo., says he made a nine-hour drive to Gary to pay tribute to Jackson's life. Bingaman says events like Saturday's memorial help keep Jackson's memory alive.

On Sunday, the famed black-and-red calfskin jacket that Jackson wore in the classic "Thriller" video has sold at auction for $1.8 million.

Darren Julien, president and CEO of Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills, says the jacket was purchased by Milton Verret, a commodities trader from Austin, Texas.

The jacket is one of two Jackson wore during the filming of the 1983 "Thriller" video. Jackson wears the jacket in a scene with a troupe of zombies who rise from their graves and break into a dance routine.

Verret says the jacket will be sent on tour and used as a fundraising tool for children's charities.

A portion of the sale price will go to the Shambala Preserve, a big cat sanctuary caring for two tigers Jackson one owned.