LOS ANGELES (AFP) - After Elvis Presley, Princess Diana and Egyptian diva Oum Kalsoum, the sudden demise of pop icon Michael Jackson is the latest tragedy to prompt an outpouring of mass mourning.

As Los Angeles prepares for the funeral of Jackson shortly before a gala tribute to the pop icon on Tuesday, here are some of the stars whose deaths gave rise to shows of public grief:

Elvis Presley: On August 18, 1977, the day after Presley died at the age of 42, an estimated 100,000 fans descended on Memphis, Tennessee to pay emotional homage to "The King of Rock N' Roll" before his burial in a white and silver coffin at his home Graceland.

Many said they were convinced that Presley could not be dead. In the crush a car driver ran over and killed two of Presley's fans.

More than 30 years later, an estimated half a million people still visit Graceland every year to salute the King, who remains the highest-earning dead celebrity according to Forbes.

Princess Diana: Diana's funeral on September 6, 1997 saw unprecedented scenes. Hundreds of thousands crowded into London's Hyde Park to watch a broadcast from Westminster Abbey, where mourners included Hillary Clinton, George Michael and Steven Spielberg.

A further one million people were estimated to have lined the streets as the funeral cortege bearing Diana's coffin wound its way from London to her family's ancestral home.

Ray Charles: On June 18, 2004 the US mourned the death at the age of 73 of Ray Charles, the black singer who had fought throughout his life against discrimination.

Only 1,000 people were admitted to the religious ceremony in Los Angeles but on the eve of his funeral procession, which was accompanied by 26 motorcyclists, several thousand people had filed past Charles as he lay in an open coffin wearing a dark suit and black glasses. Millions of people watched the televised funeral around the world.

Oum Kalsoum: The Egyptian diva gave rise to perhaps the biggest outpouring of public grief. On February 5, 1975 a crowd of three million mourners, many weeping, walked behind Kalsoum's coffin in the streets of Cairo.

The whole Arab world went into mourning for the emblematic singer known as the "Star of the East" who died aged 70.

The Egyptian authorities put off the funeral for two days to avoid any trouble.