Marilyn Monroe's passing was one of the biggest news stories of the time, not only because of the actress's demise but also because of what followed.
Marilyn Monroe was one of the biggest stars of her time, known for her beauty and iconic red lips. She rose to fame for playing the comic "Blonde Bombshell" characters and was often regarded as the sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s. She was the top-billed actress of the decade, and her films easily grossed USD 200 million back in the day.
Marilyn Monroe was the face of some of the biggest projects of the era, including As Young as You Feel, Don't Bother to Knock, How to Marry a Millionaire and Niagara. However, with fame came exploitation, and unfortunately for the star, it went far beyond her life on earth.
Marilyn Monroe passed away at her home on August 5, 1962. She was found naked in her bed with her telephone still in her hand. According to the reports, she had died from an apparent overdose. However, as soon as the news broke, paparazzi surrounded her home, and several pictures of her dead body in her bedroom by the police were later released. Nonetheless, the biggest shock came when the bottles of prescription drugs on her bedside cabinet were pointed out by someone posing in the infamous photograph beside her corpse. The exploitation was so bad that there are reports claiming that the funeral home had to stuff her corpse into a broom closet away from prying eyes.
According to an article by the Daily Mail in 2015, the funeral home Marilyn was sent to, Abbott and Hast, made some awful comments on her appearance, following her death. The funeral service was the one used by the rich and famous and had also handled the bodies of Natalie Wood and Clark Gable. The report further shared that Allan Abbott described Marilyn as "looking like a very average, ageing woman who had not been taking very good care of herself". He even goes on to comment on the condition of her manicure, her hair colour and the fact that she had not shaved her legs in "at least a week".
Allan Abbott didn't just make his comments about Marilyn's body public, but also discussed them in his book, Pardon My Hearse. The book mentioned how Whitey Snyder came to do Marilyn's makeup and even fit her with a wig the actress used in one of her movies. The duo even discussed Marilyn's breasts and commented on how they had begun to sag. One of the workers exclaimed, "What happened to her boobs?" when they first saw her after the autopsy, as the incision in her chest area and rib cutting had caused them to change shape.
Later, an employee stuffed her bra with cotton wool in the coffin and stated, "Now that looks like Marilyn Monroe!" What is even more shocking is the fact that instead of stopping this from happening, Abbott auctioned off the "falsie" breasts brought to the funeral home by her executrix, and some of her hair that was removed by the embalmer.
Prior to Marilyn being transported to the funeral home at Westwood Village Mortuary for preparation, her body was brought in for autopsy, which was performed by Dr Thomas Noguchi, the deputy chief examiner. Her death was ruled a probable suicide from barbiturates, most notably Nembutal and Chloral Hydrate. However, at the morgue, once again she had to face exploitation after a Life magazine photographer bribed a mortuary attendant with a bottle of whiskey to take a photo of Marilyn's unembalmed, freshly autopsied body.
There have also been allegations that the Hollywood Museum of Death stored and displayed some of the post-autopsy images of her. For someone as popular as Marilyn, the way her body was treated after her death is truly heartbreaking. What's even more unfortunate is the fact that Marilyn or her loved ones had no control over the photos being taken of her body. Just as she had no control over their subsequent distribution and display in the years that followed.
What are your thoughts on the exploitation of Marilyn Monroe following her death?
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