Now his life is a real circus

First the Beatles and Elvis, now Michael Jackson.

The acrobatic troupe Cirque du Soleil announced it will put on a live touring show featuring the songs of the King of Pop starting late next year.

That will be followed by a permanent production in Las Vegas in 2012.

The touring show, which will begin in North America before branching out around the world, will be a simulation of a Jackson concert, while the Las Vegas show will be more theatrical and more technologically advanced, Cirque CEO Daniel Lamarre said.

Jackson, who died at age 50 last June after a drug overdose, was described as a “huge fan” of the French Canadian performance group.

“He said he was an acrobat himself,” Lamarre said. “As an artist he had this amazing way of bringing some visual element to his performances.”

Speaking of clowns …

Figure skater Johnny Weir is working on a “collection of wildly entertaining anecdotes and essays about everything from pop culture to skating to fashion to Johnny himself.”

The book is scheduled to come out next January.

Kal goes the wrong way

Actor Kal Penn (“Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle”) was robbed at gunpoint early Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

The Indian-American actor is working in the White House’s Office of Public Liaison on relations with the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities.

The birthday bunch

Actor Lee Majors is 71. Actress Blair Brown is 62. Actress Joyce DeWitt is 61. Director Michael Moore is 56. Actress Judy Davis is 55. Actress Jan Hooks is 53. Actress Valerie Bertinelli is 50. Comedian George Lopez is 49. Actress Melina Kanakaredes (“CSI: NY”) is 43. Actor Kal Penn is 33. Actor Dev Patel (“Slumdog Millionaire”) is 20.