Jackson, Presley Are Wed, Says Publicist : Celebrities: The entertainer and the daughter of the late rock ‘n’ roller were married in May, the statement says. ‘Frankly, I’m surprised that the rumors were true,’ one industry insider says.

In an unprecedented merging of pop dynasties, Elvis Presley’s daughter confirmed Monday through a publicist that she and Michael Jackson were married about 10 weeks ago in a private ceremony outside the United States.

Lisa Marie Presley, 26, announced her wedding to Jackson, 35, in a statement released through Jackson’s publicist in Los Angeles.

“I am very much in love with Michael,” she stated. “I dedicate my life to being his wife. I understand and support him. We both look forward to raising a family and living a happy, healthy life together. We hope friends and fans will understand and respect our privacy.”

There was no comment directly from the pop star groom or from Presley. But Bob Jones, his publicist, said Jackson is “very happy . . . like any newlywed.”

On Monday, the couple were staying in an apartment at Trump Tower on 5th Avenue in New York City, owner Donald Trump told reporters. A large crowd waited outside the building for a glimpse of the pair after a statement by Trump that the newlyweds appeared happy.

The pop world was startled by confirmation of the marriage.

“Frankly, I’m surprised that the rumors were true, and most everybody I talked to in the business has felt the same way,” said Jeffrey Pollack, chairman of Pollack Media Group, a prominent international consulting firm for radio and film.

The ceremony apparently occurred May 26 in the Dominican Republic--just as a Dominican judge, Hugo Francisco Alvarez, had been saying for weeks.

The marriage comes at a critical time in the singer’s career--just months after he spent an estimated $15 million to $24 million to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of a 13-year-old Beverly Hills boy who said the pop star sexually molested him in 1993. The entertainer said the negative publicity surrounding the accusations caused him to become addicted to painkillers and forced the cancellation of his world tour.

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Jackson has vehemently denied the allegations but remains the subject of a criminal investigation in Los Angeles. His lawyers demanded on July 6 that Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti either charge the pop star or exonerate him now that a grand jury investigating the matter has been disbanded. So far, Jackson has not been charged, nor has the investigation been dropped.

Jim Casale, program director at news-talk radio station WMC in Presley’s home town of Memphis, said listeners jammed telephone lines with calls about the marriage during Janis Fullilove’s popular drive-hour show.

“It was like, ‘This just can’t be real,’ ” Casale said of listeners’ responses. “Elvis would be turning over in his grave if he heard the news.”

Although the wedding was reported aggressively by tabloid newspapers, other media backed off the story after the reports at first were heatedly denied by Jackson’s representatives, including Jones.

Contending that the denials hurt his reputation, the Dominican judge offered last month to take a lie detector test and fly to the United States with copies of wedding documents.

In her statement Monday, Elvis Presley’s daughter, who plans to use the name Presley-Jackson, said the public confirmation was delayed for “several reasons, foremost being we are both very private people living in the glare of the public media. We both wanted a private marriage ceremony without the distraction of a media circus.”

The couple has been in New York since the wedding, sources said. Jackson has been working there on final details of an album that is scheduled to be released in early November. Titled “History: His Story,” the collection is to include five new songs, as well as 20 of Jackson’s biggest hits.

“As far as his career goes, I don’t think it will matter one way or the other,” Pollack said. “If the songs on his new album are good, Michael will be a hit. Michael is still widely respected by radio programmers everywhere. Whether he’s married or has had difficulties, it doesn’t matter. All that counts is the music.”

Priscilla Presley, mother of the bride and former wife of the late rock star, issued a statement Monday that she was “totally supportive” of the wedding.

As for Jackson’s family, a representative of the singer’s parents said: “They are not saying a word.”

Sources close to Jackson said he and Presley have known each other for about two years. They have been seen in public frequently, including earlier this year in Las Vegas. In April, Presley announced that she was ending her 5 1/2-year marriage to rock guitarist Danny Keough, 30.

“Danny and I will always love each other,” Presley said in a statement at the time. “However, friendship was more suitable for us than marriage. We have two wonderful children (Danielle, 5, and Benjamin, 18 months), and we plan to have joint custody of them.”

Like Jackson, Presley has been an extremely private person. Jerry Schilling, a longtime friend of her father’s and a veteran Los Angeles pop manager, said that he helped her explore a singing career a few years ago but that she gave up that pursuit when she became pregnant with her second child.

“Lisa Marie is very smart and very strong-willed,” Schilling said. “When she says something, she looks you in the eye and means it. She’s not someone to do things on a whim or to be easily manipulated. She wouldn’t do this unless she believed in it.”

Elvis Presley, the most celebrated figure in modern pop history, died on Aug. 16, 1977. He named Lisa Marie, his only child, as his only heir. The estate was put in trust for her until she turned 25 on Feb. 1, 1993.

The net value of the trust is believed to be nearly $150 million.

Times staff writer John Goldman in New York contributed to this story.