~~~PRIVATE MARILYN~~~

Marilyn's death came as a shock to most of the nation as they turned on their radios and televisions sets or read the morning newspapers. Marilyn Monroe was dead at the age of 36.

The media swarmed Marilyn's house.

Every newspaper reporter worth their weight tried to take the ultimate prized photo of a dead Marilyn Monroe. A few got a picture of Marilyn's body being rolled out on a stretcher from her 5th Helena home, discreetly covered in a dark blanket and put into an ambulance. Some got a snapshot through the window in her bedroom.

Most ended up with only a sad image of Marilyn's beloved puppy, Maf-Honey, being lead away from his mistresses house.

But there was one photographer who did get a picture of Marilyn without the sheet. However, it wasn't until 1985 that this photograph came to be published in a now out of print book called GODDESS written by Anthony Summers. Surprisingly this controversial picture was NOT taken by an over-zealous news reporter but by a morgue photographer whose job it was to document every body that passed through the coroners halls. This is a sad photograph of Marilyn, mostly due to the stark coldness of it. It was taken after her autopsy, her face looks distorted due to the fact that her facial muscles were cut for certain procedures required by the coroner and her skin is blemished with what happens naturally after death. Often it is an upsetting photograph for most fans to see, especially those who happen upon it accidentally.

Here is the picture that has angered and upset so many Marilyn fans who have stumbled upon it. (You may click on the picture to make larger if you wish)

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There is another photograph that exists of Marilyn after her death, one rarely seen by fans but one worth showing. It gives a more peaceful feel to Marilyn's untimely passing. There is very little history to this picture; photographer unknown. It was printed once in a tabloid paper and never published again. However, what is known about it is that it was taken before Marilyn's autopsy. Her face is fuller, her hair brighter and the essence of what she once was is more present in the photograph. She appears serene, almost sleeping and therefore we include it to hopefully give Marilyn fans more peace to her passing. (Again, you may click on the picture to make larger)

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I also have two more photos from the scene of Marilyn's death. The photos show an unmoved Marilyn from a police photograph. It is worth noting that these photographs are not commonly seen and appear to be the very first photos taken once the police were at the scene.(Again, you may click on the picture to make clearer)

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Although there will probably always be a mystery to Marilyn Monroe's death, one that may never be answered, we will forever remember that she was an amazing human being. A woman full of grace, dignity and beauty. It is in this light that she will always remain.

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At Marilyn Monroe's funeral Joe DiMaggio invited Marilyn's acting coach and friend Lee Strasburg to speak. Here is Lee's eulogy to Marilyn on August 8th, 1962:

MARILYN MONROE WAS A LEGEND.
In her own lifetime she created a myth of what a poor girl from a deprived background could attain. For the entire world she became a symbol of the eternal feminine
But I have no words to describe the myth and the legend. Nor would she want us to do so. I did not know this Marilyn Monroe, nor did she.
We, gathered here today, knew only Marilyn-a warm human being, impulsive and shy and lonely, sensitive and in fear or rejection, yet ever avid for life and reaching fulfillment. I will not insult the privacy of your memory of her- a privacy she sought and treasured- by trying to describe her whom you know, to you who knew her. In our memories of her, she remains alive, not only a shadow on a screen, or a glamorous personality.
For us, Marilyn was a devoted and loyal friend, a colleague constantly reaching for perfection. We shared her pain and difficulties and some of her joys. She was a member of our family. It is difficult to accept the fact that her zest for life has been ended by this dreadful accident.
Despite the heights and brilliance she had attained on the screen she was planning for the future; she was looking forward to participating in the many exciting things which she planned. In her eyes and in mine, her career was just beginning. The dream of her talent, which she had nurtured as a child, was not a mirage.
When she first came to me, I was amazed at the startling sensitivity which she possessed and which remained fresh and undimmed, struggling to express itself despite the life to which she had been subjected. Others were as physically beautiful as she was, but there was obviously something more in her, something that people saw and recognized in her performances and with which they identified. She had a luminous quality- a combination of wistfulness, radiance, yearning- that set her apart and yet made everyone wish to be a past of it, to share in the childish naivete which was at once so shy and yet so vibrant.
This quality was even more evident when she was on stage. I am truly sorry that you and the public who loved her did not have the opportunity to see her as we did, in many of the roles that foreshadowed what she would have become. Without a doubt, she would have been one of the really great actresses of the stage.
Now it is all at an end. I hope that her death will stir sympathy and understanding for a sensitive artist and woman who brought joy and pleasure to the world.
I cannot say good-bye. Marilyn never like good-byes, but in that peculiar way she had of turning things around so they faced reality- I will say au revoir. For the country to which she has gone, we must all someday visit.

~Rest in Peace Dear Marilyn~

~The world shall always love and remember you~

AU REVOIR

~~~Forever Marilyn~~~

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