'This Is It' was to be Michael Jackson's final tour, AEG exec says

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Michael Jackson holds the Millennium Award at a ceremony in May 2000 in Monaco. (Lionel Cironneau / Associated Press)

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Michael Jackson, at age, 11, appeared on the cover of the April 29, 1971, edition of Rolling Stone magazine. (Rolling Stone / Associated Press)

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Michael and sister Janet Jackson take a break during a portrait session in 1978 in Los Angeles. (Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)

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Jackson shared the Dec. 8, 1983, Rolling Stone cover with Paul McCartney. The pair collaborated on several recordings in the 1980s, but their relationship was later strained over Jackson’s purchase of the Beatles song catalog. (Rolling Stone / Associated Press)

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Jackson returned to the Rolling Stone cover on March 15, 1984. (Rolling Stone / Associated Press)

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Michael Jackson bundles up against the New York cold during a break in filming of the music video for his song “Bad,” directed by Martin Scorsese, in 1987. (Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

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Jackson returned to the Rolling Stone cover on Jan. 9, 1992. (Rolling Stone / Associated Press)

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Michael Jackson smiles for cameras at the announcement of nominations for the 1995 MTV Video Awards on July 25. Jackson’s video for “Scream’’ was nominated for 11 awards that year. (Mark Lennihan / Associated Press)

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Michael Jackson performs on the 1995 MTV Video Music awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sept. 8, 1995. (Frank Micelotta / Getty Images)

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Japanese TV personality Masami Hisamoto cheers as Jackson receives a Legend Award at the 2006 MTV Music Awards Japan in Tokyo. (David Guttenfelder / Associated Press)

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Jackson smiles as he poses for a pictures with a group of Japanese children from a Tokyo orphanage who wer invited for an exclusive fan event in Tokyo. Jackson had a loyal fan base in Japan. (Eric Talmadge / Associated Press)

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Jackson looks at a traditional Omani hat during a visit to Muscat, Oman, in 2007. Omani businessman Anis Zadjali, who claimed to be friends with the late King of Pop, said Jackson spent 45 days in Oman in 2007. Zadjali said that Jackson planned to revisit Oman in December 2009. (AFP/Getty Images)

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The cover of a commemorative 64-page issue of Time magazine dedicated to the late Michael Jackson. (Time. Inc. / Associated Press)

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Michael Jackson rehearses for his planned London shows at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The photo was taken two days before Jackson’s sudden death at the age of 50. (Kevin Mazur / AEG via Getty Images)

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Pop star Jackson rehearses at Staples Center shortly before his death. (Kevin Mazur / AEG via Getty Images)

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Jackson 5 was signed in 1972 by Berry Gordy of record label Motown. (Frank Barratt / Getty Images)

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Michael Jackson with Paul McCartney in December 1983. (AFP/Getty Images)

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Jackson, in his signature single glove and embellished military jacket, stands with President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan in 1984 before receiving an award for his contribution to a drunk driving awareness program. (Scott Stewart / Associated Press)

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Michael Jackson, with music conductor Quincy Jones, embraces an armful of Grammys at the 1984 award show. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

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Jackson and actress Brooke Shields arrive at the Shrine Auditorium for the 1984 Grammys. (Bertrand Guay / AFP/Getty Images)

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Jackson appears with his science ficition pet during a scene of the musical space fantasy “Captain EO,” the 3-D film that was shown at Disney theme parks. (AFP/Getty Images)

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Jackson performs with Sammy Davis Jr. on Aug. 14, 1988, in Monaco. (AFP/Getty Images)

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Michael Jackson is awarded in March 1988 an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Fisk University for his service to the United Negro College Fund. (Mark Caldwell / AFP/Getty Images)

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At a United Negro College Fund dinner at a New York hotel, Jackson gathers with, from left, Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli and Whitney Houston. (Mark Caldwell / AFP/Getty Images)

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Michael Jackson sits with orphaned and abandoned Ivory Coast children whom he invited to the Intercontinental Hotel in Abidjan in February 1992. (Issouf Sanogo / AFP/Getty Images)

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Jackson thanks fans after winning three World Music Awards in Monaco in May 1993. (Jacques Soffer / AFP/Getty Images)

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Jackson performs at National Stadium in Bangkok on Aug. 24, 1993, during the opening concert of the Asian leg of his “Dangerous” world tour. (Pongsak Chaiyanuwong / AFP/Getty Images)

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Jackson perfoms at the 1993 Super Bowl XXVII in Pasadena. (Rusty Kennedy / Associated Press)

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In 1993, Jackson keeps 10-month-old Adam Huntsman company as the boy waits to be immunized at the Watts Health Foundation. That same year he was accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

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Jackson with wife Lisa Marie Presley on the balcony of their Euro Disneyland hotel suite. The couple married in 1994, the same year Jackson reached a $23-million settlement with the family of the boy he was accused of abusing. (Remy de la Mauviniere / Associated Press)

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Jackson performs during the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. (Bebeto Matthews / Associated Press)

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Jackson in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, in July 1996 with Nobel Prize winner Nelson Mandela. (AFP/Getty Images)

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A masked Michael Jackson with Debbie Rowe, whom he married in 1996 after divorcing Presley. The couple had two children but never lived together. (Chirs Pizzello / Associated Press)

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Jackson and Saudi Prince Al Waleed bin Talal announce in 1996 the formation of a joint venture called Kingdom Entertainment. (Francois Mori / Associated Press)

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Michael Jackson arrives with Elizabeth Taylor at her 65th birthday party at the Pantages Theatre. (Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)

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Pop artist Michael Jackson takes the stage at Stade Gerland in Lyon, France, in June 1997. (Pascal George / AFP/Getty Images)

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Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch in Santa Ynez, Calif. (Jason Kirk / Getty Images)

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Jackson sings with his brothers in September 2001 during his “30th Anniversary Celebration: The Solo Years” concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden. (Beth A. Keiser / Associated Press)

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Michael Jackson arrives to testify in Santa Maria Superior Court on Nov 13, 2002. He was accused of cancelling concerts appearances and costing a promoter millions of dollars. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

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Jackson, in court in 2002, is accused by German-based promoter Marcel Avram of breach of contract and fraud, alleging that Jackson backed out of two New Year’s Eve shows in 1999. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

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Jackson performs in April 2002 during the taping of “American Bandstand 50th...A Celebration” in Pasadena. (Lee Celano / AFP/Getty Images)

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An unmarked law enforcement vehicle arrives at Neverland, Jackson’s estate in the Santa Ynez Valley. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

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Jackson and sister Janet walk back to the Santa Maria courthouse after a lunch break from a pretrail hearing on Aug. 16, 2004. Jackson’s lawyers had subpoenaed Santa Barbara County Dist. Atty. Thomas Sneddon to testify during a hearing on the probe of Bradley Miller, a private investigator who had ties to Jackson. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

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Jackson leaves the courthouse June 1, 2005, after hearing jury instructions. (Carlo Allegri / Getty Images)

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Jackson walks into Santa Maria Superior Court in May 2005 on the fifth day of his child molestation trail. Jackson was charged in a 10-count indictment with molesting a boy, plying him with liquor and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. He has pleaded innocent. (Carlo Allegri / Getty Images)

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Michael Jackson‘s hair flies in the wind as he departs the Santa Barbara County courthouse on April 29, 2005, after court adjourned for the day in his child molestation trial. (Justin Sullivan / AFP/Getty Images)

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Michael Jackson at a news conference at the O2 arena in London. Jackson pushed back the first four of his comeback concerts in London this year, but organizers had said the decision was not linked to his health. (Carl de Souza / AFP/Getty Images)

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Jackson and crew in May during rehearsal for his London concerts. (Courtesy of Michael Jackson / Associated Press)

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Jackson’s crown, ceremonial scepter and jewel-encrusted glove on display in Beverly Hills were saved from an auction after a legal settlement. (Gabriel Bouys / AFP/Getty Images)

By Jeff Gottlieb

May 31, 2013 2:03 PM PT

This post has been corrected. See below.

The “This Is It” concert series in London — which was to have earned Michael Jackson millions and served as a triumphant comeback — was to be the performer’s final tour, a ranking concert promoter testified Friday.

Paul Gongaware, co-CEO of AEG Live and Concerts West, which was producing and promoting the concerts, said the English capital was chosen for the shows because of Jackson’s enormous popularity there. During a previous tour, Jackson had sold out 10 shows at the 75,000-seat capacity Wembley Stadium, Gongaware testified.

The plan originally was for 10 shows, but it was bumped up to 31 and then 50 because of the enormous ticket demand, the AEG executive testified in a wrongful-death case filed by Jackson’s mother and children.

FULL COVERAGE: AEG wrongful death trial

Gongaware said he would have liked Jackson to have given even more performances at AEG’s O2 Arena.

He said that at one point Jackson decided to do 31 because Prince had performed 21 concerts at O2.

Gongaware’s recollection of events surrounding Jackson’s London news conference announcing his first tour in more than a decade give a different perspective than the worried emails his boss sent at that time.

PHOTOS: Jackson-AEG wrongful death case

Gongaware said he was annoyed but not surprised when Jackson showed up a couple hours late.

“Michael really doesn’t like to do those things,” Gongaware testified. “His schedules don’t always run like clockwork.”

The tour announcement took place at the O2. When Jackson saw Gongaware backstage, “he came up to me and gave me a big hug and said, ‘Make sure the teleprompter has big words. I don’t have my glasses.’”

Gongaware said Jackson did not smell of alcohol or appear drunk.

“He was good,” the AEG executive testified. “I think he was excited.”

But emails from Randy Phillips, AEG Live’s chief executive and president, tell a different version. “MJ is locked in his room drunk and despondent,” Phillips wrote. “I [am] trying to sober him up.

“I screamed at him so loud the walls are shaking,” Phillips told him. “He is an emotionally paralyzed mess riddled with self-loathing and doubt now that it is showtime.”

In a previous interview with The Times, AEG attorney Marvin Putnam said Phillips had exaggerated in his emails and that Jackson’s behavior appeared to be a case of “nerves.”

[For the record, 5:50 p.m., Saturday: The original version of this story mistakenly identified Paul Gongaware as co-CEO of AEG Live and Live Nation. He is co-CEO of AEG and Concerts West.]

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jeff.gottlieb@latimes.com