NEW YORK -- "The King of Pop is dead."

The shocking phrase could be heard over and over again on the lips of New Yorkers on the streets of Manhattan yesterday upon hearing unconfirmed reports that Michael Jackson had died. As news began to spread around 6 p.m., thousands gathered in Times Square, eyes glued to the big screen.

Unlike the death of John Lennon in December 1980, however, there weren't any tears last night.

While surprised, people didn't seem bowled over with emotion.

In Greenwich Village, two men in shirts and ties stood wordlessly as they watched coverage of the story on an iPhone.

"Michael Jackson is dead."

"What?" people passing by exclaimed as a large SUV rolled by with Jackson's music escaping through the vehicle's open windows. All of a sudden, the words to his hit song Beat It took on a whole new meaning.

In the subway, it was more of the same surprise as people passed along the news as if playing a giant game of "Telephone".

Among the shocked group of subway users was a group of tourists visiting the city from London who were planning to see Jackson perform in a planned 50-concert series this summer.

"This morning Farrah Fawcett and now Michael ... who's next?" said one passenger, referring to the death of the actress earlier yesterday following a battle with cancer.

In Times Square, the scene was eerie: 3,000 people, heads turned towards the screens wearing shocked expressions, cameras and phones at their sides. Broadway was completely closed to traffic and people sat on lawn chairs as the story unfolded.

One man amongst the crowd looked particularly upset.

His name was Jay Coleman, 59, and he was Jackson's marketing representative in the 1980s. He was the one behind the singer's famous Pepsi campaign in 1984.

"A friend of Michael's called me," he said. "I'm in shock."

But Coleman wasn't necessarily surprised.

"He wasn't in very good shape and the huge stress of performing this summer and the expectations of his fans must have weighed heavily on him," he said. Coleman remembered a man who was a perfectionist and always very conscious of his image.

"He never wanted his face filmed for more than three seconds," he said. "He didn't want to be too exposed, so we had to find alternatives like filming his glove."

Coleman said he once visited Jackson's home, years ago.

"He was 25 years old then and he lived surrounded by stuffed animals and his monkey, Bubbles," he recalled. "He really was very eccentric."

Coleman says he'll always remember the filming of the famous Pepsi ad in 1984 when Jackson's hair caught fire.

"It really was very serious, but he came back on set a few weeks later," Coleman said. "He took off his hat despite his injuries and joked about his condition, he wanted to show that he was okay."

The next time Coleman saw Jackson was in 2001 during a lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

"It was obvious he had changed a lot physically," he said. "He had become a more mature man, but just as shy."