John McClain, Co-Executor of Michael Jackson's Estate, Dies at 71
John McClain, Co-Executor of Michael Jackson's Estate, Dies at 71
Rachel DeSantisWed, May 27, 2026 at 5:57 PM UTC
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John McClain in Los Angeles ca. 1986
Credit: Lester Cohen/Getty
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John McClain, a music executive and Michael Jackson estate executor, died on May 26 at age 71
McClain and co-executor John Branca helped revive Jackson's legacy after his 2009 death
McClain and Branca have been locked in legal battle with Jackson's daughter Paris in recent months
John McClain, a longtime music industry executive who helped rehab Michael Jackson's debt-riddled estate as one of his estate executors, has died. He was 71.
McClain died on Tuesday, May 26 in Los Angeles of complications from a fall, a spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE. TMZ was first to report the news.
John Branca, who has served as a co-executor of Jackson's estate alongside McClain since the pop star's death in 2009, praised McClain in a statement as “one of the great innovators in the world of music and music marketing.”
“When we were named in Michael's will, I knew that he would bring great insight into Michael's music and that his friendship and dedication to Michael would underscore all the great projects that we could bring to the world,” Branca said. “He brought a passion and sense of conviction to all that he did and was the most generous of friends. It is difficult to imagine a world without him.”
Jackson was reportedly over $500 million in debt when he died, and his reputation was tarnished due to sexual assault accusations and a highly publicized child molestation trial in 2005, for which he was acquitted.
John McClain in Los Angeles ca. 1986
Credit: Lester Cohen/Getty
McClain and Branca, who in recent months have clashed in court with Jackson's daughter Paris, were instrumental in helping the “Thriller” singer's legacy bounce back. Thanks to projects like the This Is It documentary, the MJ musical and a catalog sale to Sony worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the King of Pop has earned more than $3 billion since his death, according to Forbes.
Most recently, McClain and Branca — Jackson's longtime attorney — served as producers on the biopic Michael, which has grossed nearly $800 million since its release in April.
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“What John McClain and I really do with the Jackson estate is manage that brand,” Branca, who often assumed a place in the spotlight while McClain stayed behind the scenes, told Hits magazine in 2016. “What we did with This Is It was to try to show the real Michael Jackson, the entertainer and not the tabloid sensation. It was really a rebranding effort.”
Still, the pair have made headlines in recent months for clashing in court with Jackson's daughter Paris, who has accused McClain and Branca of “operat[ing] in the dark” and abusing their role as estate executors to pad their own pockets, which they have denied.
Michael Jackson in New York in 1988.
Credit: Rita Barros/Getty
Most recently, a judge ruled on May 13 that the $625,000 McClain and Branca had paid to third-party law firms would need to be returned to the estate.
Prior to his work with the Jackson estate, McClain, a Los Angeles native, was a music executive for A&M, Interscope and more.
He started his career as a guitarist and composer, and worked as a session musician for artists like Diana Ross, Gladys Knight and Jermaine Jackson.
At A&M, he was heavily involved in Janet Jackson's success, and helped her career take off with Control after leading her to producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. At the time, she'd been all but written off by the label, but thanks to McClain, emerged as a superstar.
“I have a sensitivity for what they are doing because I know how hard it is to actually go in and make a record, the pressure and everything,” he told Hits magazine in 1988.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
