Several carloads of people, Michael Jackson’s sister La Toya among them, came and went from a heavily secured Los Angeles cemetery after sunset Monday, but it was not immediately clear whether they were there for a private viewing.

Shortly before the cars began arriving, a hearse drove up to the Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn cemetery with at least five police cars.

The hearse pulled partly in through the door of the Hall of Liberty — a 1,200-seat auditorium on the grounds — so that any casket unloaded and loaded would not be visible to the media helicopters overhead.

The main Michael Jackson memorial service at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday will be a star-studded affair, with singers Mariah Carey, Usher and Stevie Wonder among the participants, according to an announcement released Monday on behalf of the Jackson family.

Also participating in the event will be basketball stars Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson, and singers Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer and Smokey Robinson, the family said.

The Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III will be among others taking part.

Meanwhile, the Jackson family would not comment on the after-hours gathering that took place Monday evening. Cemetery officials, likewise, have been tight-lipped about plans to bury the singer.

CNN learned that relatives will hold a private gathering at the cemetery at 8 a.m. Tuesday (11 a.m. ET) — two hours before the massive memorial service at the Staples Center.

The California Highway Patrol will escort members of the family from the Encino, California, home of Jackson’s parents to the cemetery.

Afterward, police will escort the family to the Staples Center, sources close to the planning said.

Jackson lawyer Burt Levitch said Monday that the singer’s funeral will be Tuesday, but did not say what time or place.

On Sunday, Los Angeles Assistant Police Chief Jim McDonnell told reporters that Forest Lawn officials were working with the Jackson family on their plans, which were part of “a package” of events Tuesday.

“It’s a package, basically,” McDonnell said. “Forest Lawn has their staff that are also working on their needs relative to the cemetery with them.”

Though there are five Forest Lawn cemeteries in the Los Angeles area, a long line of media trucks and crews have been parked at the gate of the Hollywood Hills facility for several days in anticipation of Jackson’s possible interment there.

Ken Ehrlich, known for producing the Grammy Awards, is producing the public memorial show, his company said. Kenny Ortega, who was to have co-directed Jackson’s series of concerts in London, England, this summer, will direct it.

Mayer posted on Twitter on Monday afternoon saying “I’m going not to ‘perform’ but to contribute.”

“I’m honored to have been asked to play at MJ’s memorial service. I will be representing all of us who can’t be there,” Mayer tweeted. “Going to say goodbye from all us kids.”

One notable who won’t be attending: longtime Jackson friend Elizabeth Taylor, who put out a message on Twitter that she “cannot be part of the public whoopla.”

“I just don’t believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others,” Taylor tweeted. “How I feel is between us. Not a public event.”

“I love him too much,” she added, “and I cannot guarantee that I would be coherent to say a word.”

Debbie Rowe, Jackson’s former wife and the mother of his two oldest children, will not attend the memorial service, her lawyer Marta Almli said Monday.

“Although Debbie had originally planned to attend [Tuesday's] Staples Center memorial service, we have concluded with Debbie that she will not be attending,” a statement from Almli said. “The onslaught of media attention has made it clear her attendance would be an unnecessary distraction to an event that should focus exclusively on Michael’s legacy. Debbie will continue to celebrate Michael’s memory privately.”

Fans claim tickets

Fans without tickets to the memorial are being asked to stay away from downtown Los Angeles and watch the service on television.

The family decided to provide a free live video feed to networks so it would be televised everywhere.

“Everything about the memorial has to do with accommodating as many fans as possible,” Ken Sunshine, the Jackson family spokesman, said.

On Monday, fans chosen by random lottery for Jackson’s memorial began arriving at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles to pick up their tickets. Full story

Los Angeles Police Capt. Bill Murphy said the distribution process was going smoothly.

Each winner gets two tickets, bringing the number awarded in the lottery to 17,500.

Just 11,000 of those are for seats inside the Staples Center. The other 6,500 would be for viewing the memorial telecast at the adjacent Nokia Theater. AEG Live, the promoter of Michael Jackson’s London shows, owns and operates both venues.

Executors control Jackson’s assets

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge granted control of Jackson’s assets to the executors of his will Monday.

The executors — John Branca, Jackson’s longtime personal attorney, and John McClain, a music industry executive and longtime friend — had sought immediate control of the entertainer’s assets at a hearing before Judge Mitchell Beckloff.

The judge appointed the men as special administrators until another hearing August 3. He said they will be responsible for protecting the state from immediate losses.

The men can enter into new ventures only with court approval, Beckloff said.

Jackson died June 25. Since the next day, his mother, Katherine, has been administering the assets.
(CNN)