Overview
- McClain died Tuesday at age 71 after complications from a fall that left him hospitalized, the Michael Jackson estate said.
- He and lawyer John Branca were named co‑executors in 2009 and together turned the debt‑ridden estate into a multibillion‑dollar enterprise through projects such as This Is It, Cirque du Soleil’s Michael show, MJ: The Musical and the Michael biopic.
- A veteran A&R executive and producer, McClain was credited with artist development work including pairing Janet Jackson with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and he primarily handled the estate’s creative and curatorial decisions while Branca focused on legal and transactions.
- McClain’s death comes during active litigation from Michael’s daughter Paris Jackson over executor payments, and a recent Los Angeles court order required $625,000 in bonus payments be returned to the estate.
- John Branca is expected to remain the estate’s active executor for now, and observers say the next steps to watch for are any court motions to appoint a replacement, filings that change oversight or accounting practices, and shifts in creative control of posthumous projects.