What Really Happened To Marilyn Monroe?
The death of a celebrity is always a notable event. While celebrities already occupy an important place in our society, the loss of a young star often means there’s a good chance they’ll be elevated to the level of icon. One such star is Marilyn Monroe, who passed on at the young age of 36, yet still captures the hearts of fans today.
Who Was Marilyn Monroe?
Even before her tragic end, Marilyn Monroe was an icon. Her sultry looks and comedic acting catapulted her into stardom. The definition of an Old Hollywood sex symbol, Monroe was a household name well before that fateful day in 1962.
Marilyn Or Norma Jean?
Born Norma Jean Mortenson, Monroe got her start in the entertainment industry as a pin-up model. In the mid-1940s, she signed a contract with an acting agency, and in 1946, she chose the stage name “Marilyn Monroe”, taking inspiration from her mother’s maiden name and Broadway star Marilyn Miller.
15 Years Of Film
Between 1947 and 1962, Monroe appeared in 30 films. Early on, her roles were bit parts and cameos, but her star turns in 1953’s Niagara and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes proved her to be a capable dramatic and comedic actor.
Twentieth Century Fox, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
The Burden Of Success
Less than a decade after her star began to rise, Monroe was starting to feel the difficulties of constantly being in the public eye. She began using illicit substances and lost a lot of the spark that had made her so popular with moviegoers throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s.
20th Century Fox, Wikimedia Commons
More Than Just Stardom
While Monroe’s difficulties may have mostly stemmed from her struggles with fame, her chaotic youth also contributed to her mental health issues. Raised in orphanages and foster homes, she was also molested by some of the father figures in her early life.
Teichnor Bros., Wikimedia Commons
Mental Health Struggles
The sad fact is that Marilyn Monroe lived in a time when mental health issues were not paid the same attention that they are now. For a number of years, the star had suffered from depression and anxiety, and had become dependent on illicit substances to treat these problems.
Myron Ehrenberg, Wikimedia Commons
Something’s Got To Give
Ironically, Monroe’s last, unfinished film was titled Something’s Got To Give. Struggling with her health and addictions, Monroe dropped out of the film and was sued for $750,000 by Fox Studios. The studio even circulated rumors that Monroe was mentally unwell.
Eureka Humboldt Standard, Wikimedia Commons
Something Gave
On the night of August 4, 1962, Monroe passed on at her home in Los Angeles. She was 36 years old, struggling with mental and physical health problems, negative press, and substance issues. She left behind an amazing filmography and a troubled personal life that has become legendary. But people still wonder: What really happened on the day Marilyn Monroe died?
Milton H. Greene, Wikimedia Commons
The Day Before
Those around her had been fearful of her state of mind, so Monroe spent the day of August 4 surrounded by support. Her housekeeper, Eunice Murray, was asked to stay the night by Monroe’s psychiatrist, to keep the troubled star company and make sure she felt safe and comfortable.
The Locked Room
Early in the morning of August 5, Murray realized that Monroe had locked herself in her room. Peering through the window, Monroe did not appear responsive. Murray alerted psychiatrist Ralph Greenson, who broke the window, entered the room, and found Monroe lifeless.
Declared Deceased
Later findings determined that Monroe had likely perished sometime between 8:30 pm and 10:30 pm the previous evening. She was declared deceased by her personal physician, Hyman Engelberg, when he arrived at her home at 3:50 am the next day.
Front-Page News
Much like her films and scandal-ridden personal life, Monroe’s demise was front-page news. A shocked world read of her struggles with health and fame. Acclaimed actor Laurence Olivier was quoted as saying she was “the complete victim of ballyhoo and sensation”.
Carl Van Vechten, Wikimedia Commons
Slain By Celebrity
Celebrities being stalked by paparazzo is commonplace nowadays but wasn’t so much in Monroe’s time. French filmmaker Jean Cocteau condemned photographers and reporters who hounded Monroe, labeling them as those “whose chief occupation consists of spying on and tormenting film stars”.
Agence de presse Meurisse, Wikimedia Commons
The Coroner’s Report
As a result of Monroe’s continued physical and mental health problems, the Los Angeles County Coroner declared that she probably took her own life. She was found with numerous empty pill bottles near her body and had lethal levels of several barbiturates in her system.
No Accident
Monroe had been taking some medications for health problems, including gallstones. The coroner’s report ruled out the idea of an accidental OD, mainly due to the elevated levels of various barbiturates that were found in her blood and liver.
The Funeral
Three days later, on August 8, 1962, Marilyn Monroe was laid to rest at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. Her former husband and baseball star Joe DiMaggio was among those who arranged the funeral, and he paid to have roses placed on her crypt twice a week for 20 years after Monroe's demise.
Oleg Alexandrov, Wikimedia Commons
Romance Or Pride?
While DiMaggio's gesture seems incredibly romantic, it may also have been fueled by ego. You see, Monroe had always loved how Old Hollywood star William Powell left roses on starlet Jean Harlow’s grave every week—so DiMaggio upped the ante by sending flowers to his departed lover twice a week. While he never visited Monroe’s grave after her funeral, he did keep this one last promise to her.
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
A Private Affair
Given Monroe’s difficulties in dealing with stardom, it was decided that her funeral should be a small, private service. Around 30 close friends and family were invited to attend, while law enforcement officers kept back the hundreds of fans who lined the streets around the cemetery.
No Resting In Peace
Monroe had become such an icon during her lifetime that battles over her estate and her image continued for decades after her passing. Although Monroe left behind a will that was honored, years after her demise, the rights to her image and pictures were fought over by numerous parties.
Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
But Was It Self-Inflicted
Despite the ruling of the coroner, the circumstances around Monroe’s passing and her personal life have led to numerous conspiracy theories over the years—with some implicating the highest levels of American government.
Modern Screen, Wikimedia Commons
A Communist Plot?
The late ‘50s and early ‘60s were a time of great paranoia toward Communist Russia. Anti-communist activist Frank Capell published a pamphlet in 1964 alleging that Marilyn Monroe’s demise was a hired hit covering up communist sympathizers in the American government.
Studio publicity still, Wikimedia Commons
The Kennedy Connection
Capell’s pamphlet claimed that Monroe had had an affair with US Attorney General Robert Kennedy and that Kennedy was a communist sympathizer. Monroe had threatened to reveal this, which would have been scandalous for Kennedy. In response, Kennedy supposedly had Monroe “silenced”.
Unknown author. Wikimedia Commons
The Other Kennedy Connection
One of Monroe’s more famous moments was singing “Happy Birthday” to President John F Kennedy in a…rather sultry way. The performance was taken as evidence that not only had she had an affair with Robert Kennedy, but also with JFK, from whom she had also heard dangerous state secrets.
Cecil Stoughton, Wikimedia Commons
Unlikely Paranoia
Capell’s claims were widely disputed and debunked. He was later indicted for spreading similar false claims about Senator Thomas Kuchel. No proof of Robert Kennedy’s involvement with Monroe has ever come to light.
U.S. Senate Historical Office, Wikimedia Commons
The Conspiracy Continues…
Just over a decade after the sad day, author Norman Mailer published Marilyn: A Biography. In it, he repeated the claims that Monroe had had an affair with Robert Kennedy, but this time attributed her mysterious end to either the FBI or the CIA.
Gotfryd, Bernard, Wikimedia Commons
Mailer Made It Up
After a great deal of criticism and poor reviews, Mailer admitted that he had made up the allegations in his biography as a way to increase sales of the book. In an interview with 60 Minutes, Mailer recanted and stated that he believed that Monroe had indeed taken her own life.
The Red Diary
Two more books published in the 1970s added fuel to the fire. In 1976, Who Killed Marilyn Monroe? added the assertion that Monroe kept a hidden red diary filled with secrets she gleaned from the various political figures with whom she had had affairs. The book also claimed that Monroe’s house was wiretapped.
Frank Powolny, Wikimedia Commons
And Yet More Conspiracies…
20 years later, Milo Speriglio published Marilyn Monroe: Murder Cover-Up. This work claimed that Monroe had been slain by controversial union leader, Jimmy Hoffa, and mob boss Sam Giancana. Speriglio claimed that parts of Monroe’s autopsy were changed to make the event look like she took her own life.
Another Investigation
Speriglio’s claims were so persuasive that, after the book’s publication, the author demanded a reopening of the investigation. The Los Angeles District Attorney agreed, but after looking into claims of autopsy falsification and wiretapping, no evidence could be found to support the conspiracy claims.
Dell Publications, Wikimedia Commons
Goddess: The Secret Lives Of Marilyn Monroe
British tabloid reporter Anthony Summers published Goddess in 1985, and it quickly became one of the most successful Monroe biographies. Unfortunately, it is filled with misinformation and misrepresentation, including Monroe dying in an ambulance and being returned to her home before Murray “discovered” her.
Columbia Pictures, Wikimedia Commons
Into The 1990s
30 years after Monroe’s untimely demise, books disputing the facts of her passing were still being written and published. Most of these books appeared to rely on previous works, giving new life to conspiracy theories that had, for the most part, been proven false.
20th Century Fox, Niagara (1953)
The Doctors Did It!
While not disputing the causes, the 1993 biography by Donald Spoto alleges that Monroe’s passing was set up to look like a suicide by her doctors. Worried that they would be blamed for over-prescribing dangerous medications to Monroe, doctors Engelberg and Greenson spread the story of her taking her own life.
20th Century Studios, River of No Return (1954)
The John Miner Tapes
LA prosecutor John Miner was part of the Monroe investigation at the time. In the early 2000s, Miner claimed to have heard tapes of Marilyn Monroe in which she spoke about plans for the future. He used these supposed tapes as evidence that she would not have taken her own life.
Associated Press, Wikimedia Commons
Dubious Evidence
Although Miner’s transcript of the tapes brought renewed interest to the conspiracy theories around Monroe’s passing, he was never able to produce the tapes themselves. To date, John Miner is the only person to have heard the supposed tapes.
And The Conspiracy Rolls On…
John Miner’s transcripts were taken up by author Matthew Smith, who used them as part of his book Victim: The Secret Tapes of Marilyn Monroe. The book was widely criticized for being mostly conjecture, especially given that Miner’s transcript of the tapes was supposedly made decades after he first “heard” them.
The Family Speaks
50 years after Marilyn Monroe’s passing, her niece, Mona Rae Miracle, spoke out against the conspiracy theories. Miracle claimed that a reconciliation with Joe DiMaggio was on Monroe’s mind. Miracle also claimed that Monroe’s passing was an accident.
Why The Conspiracies?
Not every celebrity passing is attributed to wide-ranging conspiracies, so why did Marilyn Monroe’s passing spark such controversy? Likely, it’s because Monroe became—and continues to be—such a huge part of American pop culture.
A True Icon
As a performer, Monroe embodied the allure and celebrity of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Yet the questions about the circumstances of her passing have kept her in the public consciousness for decades, and her dazzling image has appeared in hundreds of advertising campaigns.
Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Wikimedia Commons
The Troubled Celebrity
More nuanced approaches to Monroe’s life and legacy look at the difficult balance she had to strike in her career and the struggles she would have faced as a woman in the ‘50s and ‘60s, trying to make it big in male-dominated Hollywood.
USMC Archives, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
A Place In History
Marilyn Monroe and her tragic death continue to exert an influence on the American pop culture landscape. In acknowledgment of her iconic status, the LA City Council declared Monroe’s home, the place where she lived and died, as a Historic Cultural Monument in 2024.
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