Jackson and mother had unbreakable bond

updated 2:47 p.m. ET July 6, 2009

LOS ANGELES - When a TV network wanted to make a miniseries about the Jackson family's life in 1992, Michael Jackson had one major requirement before he would give his blessing: Someone beautiful had to play his mother.

The superstar adored Katherine Jackson, who ended up being portrayed by Angela Bassett in the miniseries. Not only does Jackson's will designate her as the guardian of his three children, but she is the only person other than his kids to inherit a share of his estate.

Katherine Jackson had sought to retain control of Jackson's assets, but a judge ruled Monday that attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain had been designated in Jackson's 2002 will as the people he wanted to administer his estate.

Jackson died June 25, deeply in debt. But a court filing estimates his estate will be worth more than $500 million.

Jackson had a fractious relationship at times with various family members and other confidants, but friends say Jackson saw his mother as the one flawless, angelic constant in his life.

A Jehovah's Witness, Katherine Jackson, 79, is universally described as a gentle, loving matriarch who has doted on her family and fought to keep them united through tough times.

Parents haven’t lived together in years
Born Katherine Scruse, she was reared in Chicago and overcame polio as a child (she still walks with a slight limp). She married Joe Jackson at age 19, and they had 10 children (Marlon Jackson had a twin who died shortly after birth) in nearby Gary, Indiana.

Katherine and Joe Jackson are still married and recently marked their 60th anniversary. But their relationship has long been difficult and they have not lived together for years, according to a close friend of the singer who did not want to be identified because the person was not authorized to discuss the family.

Though it was Joe Jackson who managed Michael Jackson and his brothers to early stardom, Michael credited his mother with giving him his vocal gifts. He described her as a pianist and singer in her own right who was the first to identify and encourage her children's musical talents.

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"Every child thinks their mother is the greatest mother in the world, but we Jacksons never lost that feeling," Jackson wrote in "Moonwalk," his 1988 autobiography. "Because of Katherine's gentleness, warmth and attention, I can't imagine what it's like to grow up without a mother's love."

Michael Jackson's three children have not had their biological mothers in their lives. But people close to the Jacksons say Katherine Jackson has an incredibly close relationship with her grandchildren, perhaps more than anyone else in her late son's life.

"She was never out of favor (with Michael), so she was able to spend a lot more time with the kids than anybody else," said J. Randy Taraborrelli, a friend of Jackson and author of the biography "The Magic and the Madness."

Katherine Jackson was by her son's side through some of his greatest triumphs and tragedies, from his stunning "Thriller" success to his 2005 acquittal of child molestation charges.

Supported her son without reservation
"They just loved each other unconditionally," said Taraborrelli. "Even when he was illogical in some of his decisions ... she didn't care, she just defended him and supported him without reservation his entire life."

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Michael Jackson lived with his mother, along with sisters Janet and LaToya, at the family's Encino, Calif., compound until he was almost 30. After he moved to his vast Neverland estate, his mother remained part of his inner circle.

Family attorney L. Londell McMillan said Jackson trusted his mother completely and wanted to make sure she was always well provided.

"Michael would often say to those of us in his life, 'Please make sure you help me to protect and take care of my children and my mother Katherine,'" McMillan said.

Rob Goldstone, a former Jackson publicist who spent time on the road with him during his 1989 "Bad" tour, described him as "a momma's boy. He loved his mom."

"The one thing that was very apparent that everywhere we went, he would want to go shopping and buy something, and his mom was the one he wanted to buy something special for," he recalled.

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