A famed black-and-red calfskin jacket that Michael Jackson wore in the classic Thriller video was sold at auction for 1.8 million dollars. 

Darren Julien, president and chief executive of Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills, said the jacket was bought by Milton Verret, a commodities trader from Austin, Texas, yesterday.

The jacket is one of two Jackson wore during the filming of the 1983 Thriller video. The singer wears the jacket in a scene with a troupe of zombies who rise from their graves and break into a dance routine.

Mr Verret said the jacket would be sent on tour and used as a fund-raising tool for children's charities.

A portion of the sale price will go to the Shambala Preserve, a big cat sanctuary caring for two tigers Jackson once owned.

Jackson, 50, died of an overdose of sedatives on June 25 2009 as he prepared for a series of comeback concerts in London.

Hundreds of fans marked the two-year anniversary of the singer's death by gathering for a memorial outside the Gary, Indiana, home where Jackson grew up.

The Times of Munster said revellers swayed to Jackson's songs during Saturday night's tribute. Poets, local singers and dancers also entertained the crowd.

Mayor Rudy Clay welcomed visitors to the event and said the city would not stop celebrating Jackson's memory.

Marshall Bingaman, 30, of Kansas City, Missouri, said he made a nine-hour drive to Gary to pay tribute to Jackson's life and events like the memorial helped keep the star's memory alive.