by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Marilyn Monroe, the most iconic star in the history of Hollywood, died fifty years ago today in the City of Angels. As I happen to be in that same city on this historic date, I thought briefly about trying to visit Forest Lawn Cemetery and see her grave, but a quick virtual visit over the Internet caused me to drop those plans. Forest Lawn appears to have developed into quite the tourist industry, and Sundays at the cemetery are set aside for a program cleverly called "Sunday in the Cemetery." During those events people may take organized walking tours to see the graves of the rich and famous (comfortable shoes recommended), or ride a trolley through the cemetery.
Hollywood, gotta love it! Where else could you ride a trolley through a cemetery?
The death of Marilyn Monroe was one of those big moments that attached its memory to what I happened to be doing at the time. I was fourteen. My mother, sister, and I had been to the Edgewood Drive-In movie theatre in Neosho, though I don't remember what was playing. When we got home late that night Dad told us that there had been a television report saying Marilyn Monroe had died. So, stir all of that together, and I remember that I went to the drive-in fifty years ago tonight!
Did you know that Marilyn's ex-husband, baseball great Joe DiMaggio, had roses placed on her grave weekly for years and years after she died?
Best Marilyn movie ever? Some Like It Hot.
There is a conspiracy theory industry around the death of Marilyn with some even speculating that she was killed by Bobby or John Kennedy or their henchmen. True, she probably did sleep with each of them, but there was no nefarious murder scheme. She died of the same thing that killed Liza's friend Elsie from Chelsea - too much pills and liquor - at the very young age of thirty-six.
It's been fifty years, but the world still remembers. Continue to rest peacefully, Marilyn.
Citizen Journalist
Marilyn Monroe, the most iconic star in the history of Hollywood, died fifty years ago today in the City of Angels. As I happen to be in that same city on this historic date, I thought briefly about trying to visit Forest Lawn Cemetery and see her grave, but a quick virtual visit over the Internet caused me to drop those plans. Forest Lawn appears to have developed into quite the tourist industry, and Sundays at the cemetery are set aside for a program cleverly called "Sunday in the Cemetery." During those events people may take organized walking tours to see the graves of the rich and famous (comfortable shoes recommended), or ride a trolley through the cemetery.
Hollywood, gotta love it! Where else could you ride a trolley through a cemetery?
The death of Marilyn Monroe was one of those big moments that attached its memory to what I happened to be doing at the time. I was fourteen. My mother, sister, and I had been to the Edgewood Drive-In movie theatre in Neosho, though I don't remember what was playing. When we got home late that night Dad told us that there had been a television report saying Marilyn Monroe had died. So, stir all of that together, and I remember that I went to the drive-in fifty years ago tonight!
Did you know that Marilyn's ex-husband, baseball great Joe DiMaggio, had roses placed on her grave weekly for years and years after she died?
Best Marilyn movie ever? Some Like It Hot.
There is a conspiracy theory industry around the death of Marilyn with some even speculating that she was killed by Bobby or John Kennedy or their henchmen. True, she probably did sleep with each of them, but there was no nefarious murder scheme. She died of the same thing that killed Liza's friend Elsie from Chelsea - too much pills and liquor - at the very young age of thirty-six.
It's been fifty years, but the world still remembers. Continue to rest peacefully, Marilyn.
1 comment:
I've always felt for Marilyn -- the showgirl without family, and without friends. Even in my testosterone-laden teenage years, I saw Marilyn more as a message than as a sex symbol. May she rest in peace
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