LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Family and friends of Michael Jackson bid a final farewell to the tragic King of Pop here Thursday as the singer is laid to rest in a private ceremony at a star-studded Los Angeles cemetery. More than two months after Jacksons sudden death from a drug overdose on June 25, mourners gathered for a sunset service in a mausoleum at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park a cemetery that is home to a galaxy of celebrity graves. The service in stark contrast to the lavish public memorial held at Los Angeless Staples Centre in July, which was attended by 20,000 fans and beamed live around the world to an estimated audience of 1 billion. Police in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale on Wednesday urged Jackson devotees to stay away from the funeral, warning that the neighbourhood surrounding the cemeterys entrance would be on lockdown. A special request to encourage fans to stay at home, a statement said. Police helicopters and search dogs patrolled the 300-acre (120-hectare) cemetery, on the lookout for any fans trying to sneak into the servic. Jackson was interred inside Forest Lawns Great Mausoleum, an elaborate neo-classical building inspired by Genoas famous Campo Santo. Jacksons gold-plated casket was placed in a private section of the crypt that was also home to the final resting places of famous names from Hollywoods golden age such as Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Carole Lombard. Other entertainment icons buried at Forest Lawn include Humphrey Bogart, Lon Chaney, Nat King Cole, Walt Disney, Errol Flynn and Jimmy Stewart. Although open to the public, the funeral home is renowned for its strict privacy, and unlike many other Hollywood cemeteries does not provide maps. The Great Mausoleum where he is going is like the Holy Grail of grave hunters, Scott Michaels, who runs a sightseeing tour specialising in the macabre side of Hollywood, told The Los Angeles Times. One of Jacksons brothers, Marlon, meanwhile revealed in an interview with a British newspaper that the singers children Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11 and Prince Michael II, 7 left notes in their fathers coffin. Jackson said messages reading Daddy we love you, we miss you, were placed in the casket alongside the singers trademark single white glove. On Wednesday a Los Angeles judge supported a request from Jacksons mother, Katherine, that the cost of the service should be paid for by her sons estate. A lawyer for the two entertainment industry figures who control Jacksons fortune said the costs of the service would be steep.