Marilyn’s
Death Conspiracy Theories
Picture
“an actress with a cap of platinum-blonde curls, her deep-set eyes accentuated
with bat-wing eyeliner and high-arched brows, her pink lips parted in a smile
that revealed a row of perfect white teeth. It was the look of Marilyn Monroe,
who at the time was riding the wave of her comic, bombshell popularity” (Mead).
Monroe had such a bright future ahead of her. Marilyn’s unexpected death created
many conspiracy theories that still question her death. One of them is if the
government was trying to silence her, second is did she commit suicide, third
is over dose. Let’s explore the theories wondered by many people and the
possible solutions of Marilyn’s death.
When we hear Marilyn Monroe, or should we say Norma Jeane
Monroe’s real name before starting off her career, a beautiful icon of history
pops in our head! But, who was Marilyn Monroe? Besides her outstanding beauty
she carried a badge of emotional disorder that affected her until her last
day.
Marilyn
was the perfect example of beauty, natural brunette yet her golden curls gave
inspiration to a hairstyle trend in the 80’s. Followed by her not perfect but
shameless figure, Monroe weighed 118 pounds’ average; she also hardly reached
5’ ½ inches (“How Much Did Marilyn Monroe Weigh?”). Her face held beautiful
hazel eyes and a mark of beauty, her northern mole around her remarkable red
lips later labeled and worn by many fans. Monroe struggled to become a famous
actress, which she achieved and became a top paid actress in Hollywood. Monroe’s childhood was like a Dickenson story
involving a dozen or so foster homes, the drudgery of washing and cleaning
dishes in an orphanage, and sexual molestation (Rollyson). Despite her awful
childhood experience, Marilyn was a tough, independent woman. Along with the
fame came good friends, good company, good times and influences, but not
everything was sweet dreams. The nightmare held chaos, drama and envy.
Many
biographies, documentaries, articles and newspapers have been published about
her, but who can tell the story better than people who had the privilege to
meet her. Actress and dancer Mitzi Gaynor performed with Monroe in the 1954
movie musical. “There's No Business Like Show Business”: "I never saw
anybody work so hard," noted Gaynor (King). But, it was not an easy ride.
"She did such a good job and personally, I think she stole the whole damn
show. I just think she was thrown into a nest of vipers.” (1). People who got
to know her on the job described her as a devoted, if troubled, actress
internally. "She was also someone who could be exasperating to work with —
unprofessional with deep insecurities” (1). Who could of imagined Marilyn
insecure? No way!
Monroe
never failed to surprise her public. "She was trying to prove she was a
serious actress and not just a movie star playing bimbo parts,"(King).
"She was trying to prove she was an actress of substance, and in my
opinion she certainly did." (1).
Marilyn was with no doubt an outstanding woman. Monroe’s combination of
ambition, beauty, skill and fear turns up in other accounts, as well (1).
Bad
habits plague everyone, and Marilyn was no exception, and she had various
internal conflicts. Murray recalled, "The joke was she could not make two
sentences meet” (King). This was created
when Marilyn had a hard time remembering lines, which was something she
struggled with throughout her career. Timing was not her best quality, and
constantly running late for work, Murray said, “That was very strange, that
lack of discipline," . . . “She was a very experienced film actress, but
she could forget so many of the mechanical techniques. She would constantly
miss her marks so she would be out of focus or out of the light or in a shadow.
I think it was a lack of confidence. For somebody who the camera loved, she was
still terrified of going before the camera and broke out in a rash all over her
body." (1). Monroe suffered from
mental illness, and her past and emotional damage from her childhood made her a
difficult woman (“They Knew the Real Marilyn Monroe”).
Accomplished
skills, beauty, fortune, sassiness, fame and love surrounded Marilyn Monroe,
but what external conflict surrounded this beautiful icon? She knew the light
spot was on her at all times, media followed every step she took and questioned
her every move. Judgement from the public and media pressured Marilyn and
damaged her more than we could have imagined. Family breakage drowned her in
depression, after her multiple marriage failures.
Torment,
insecurity, depression, and emptiness filled Monroe’s body. Did all of this
guide her to her death? Since her childhood, she felt unwanted. Monroe’s mother
gave her up and she never had a stable home or father figure (Rollyson).
Marilyn was abused and found herself unhappily married at the age of sixteen
(1). Confusion within herself such as not having a family to relied on started
as early as she could remember. One situation affected another one (1). She
always wished to have a family of her own. The concept and the warmness of not
having family affection was something that affected her life the most (1).
When
Monroe started her career, she was always doubting herself and to add on she
had many failures on her way to the top. Despite of this, she had something
that brought her back up and tried and tried until she got things done. Marilyn
became dependent on sleeping pills because she felt like she was not going to
be able give her all to her audience due to lack of rest (“They Knew the Real
Marilyn Monroe”). Allan “Whitney” Snyder expressed that Marilyn Monroe forced
herself to work too much and the directors pushed her to believe she could
improve herself to an extreme point, and he feels that this affected her career
and added to her anxiety problems: “If she would had been her cute little self
she could of being so much better” (1). Allan, her personal make-up artists,
thought that if Monroe could have been able to have children, her mental health
would have been more stable (1). Marilyn’s housekeeper said she could not
describe her as depressed, but she did admit Monroe had many worries that would
cause her mood swings such as breaking down as soon as she made it home (1).
One
of the most recognized Hollywood actresses, Marilyn Monroe found open doors
throughout her career due to her beauty. Marilyn was damaged since her early
childhood and her instability caused her to close those doors. Outwardly Monroe
projected a beautiful image but stumbled and collapsed when her mental health
got on the way.
Many
conspiracy theories were built after Marilyn Monroe’s unexpected death. There
are three conspiracy theories to point out about Monroe’s tragic dead. The
first one is did the government try to silence her, second one is did she
commit suicide, and third one is unintentional overdose.
The
first conspiracy theory suggests government took actions in order to silence
Marilyn, which caused her death. Monroe’s secret relationships with the Kennedy
men gave rise to the most talked about conspiracy theory. "The Secret
Service had specific instructions not to photograph President Kennedy and
Marilyn together because it would have been a national scandal," according
to Morgan, a photographer at a private party for Kennedy’s birthday (Berman).
This statement adds to the mystery of the government trying to hide Marilyn’s
presence. Not enough evidence was collected in order to blame the government
for Marilyn’s death, however many steps were taken the day of her death and are
questionable. Police arrived to the scene an hour and a half later after
Marilyn was found dead. Marilyn’s bedroom was never declared a crime scene nor
searched for evidence (“The Death of Marilyn Monroe”). A survey collected that fifty percent of the
people who participated in it believed Marilyn was murdered by the government.
The
second theory is that depressed, Monroe commits suicide, and this news
officially sold to the public. “It was learned that medical authorities
believed Miss Monroe had been in a depressed mood recently” (Hertel and Neff).
Monroe had been seen Dr.Greenson who treated her depression. Monroe suffered
the number one reason known to cause suicide, depression. Another sign pointed
that Marilyn wanted to end her life was her locked door, when according to her
housekeeper she would not usually do that (“The Death of Marilyn Monroe”). This
Hollywood icon had already attempted suicide three times, yet sought for help
to save her life (1). Monroe filled a prescription of Nembutal, a sleeping pill,
just one day before her death. An empty Nembutal bottle was found on the side
of her counter next to her body. The actress’s biopsy found high levels of it
in her liver and blood test (Hertel and Neff). A recent survey between twenty
people proves that only three participants believed she committed suicide.
Marilyn’s public found this conspiracy hard to believe when they saw her as a
glamorous diva on screen. Someone who seemed confident, full of luxury and
beauty, could a single bottle of pills erase her from the screen? The argument
on this conspiracy is the fact that no residues from the pills were found in
her stomach when she possibly swallowed more than twenty pills (“The Death of
Marilyn Monroe”).
The
third theory is unintentional overdose. Forty percent of the public that
participated in a survey believed that Monroe’s dead was unintentional suicide.
Marilyn had just bought a house, and her house keeper believed Marilyn was not
depressed. She had plans ahead of her, and a recent purchase of her house
inspired her to work harder ("They Knew the Real Marilyn Monroe”).
Monroe’s best friend, Miss Newcomb, had just seen her days before her death.
She declares “Marilyn was in perfect condition and was feeling great”, and she
thinks her death must have been an accident (Hertel and Neff). People who were
really close to her affirm Marilyn Monroe appeared stable and gave no sense to
an intentional overdose (“They Knew the Real Marilyn Monroe”). If Marilyn had
forgotten she had already taken her dose of sleeping pills, it would of not
took more than a second dose to have knocked her out and yet still not enough
to kill her (“The Death of Marilyn Monroe”). Marilyn’s counter looked much like
that of a drug abuser, with over a dozen pill bottles on the counter (Hertel
and Neff).
The
most reasonable conspiracy theory is an official report published since her
death. Marilyn Monroe committed suicide. Filling a prescription of the drug
that killed her just a day before her death was enough evidence to believe it
was intentional. Marilyn already owned multiple prescribed pills to help her
fall asleep (Hertel and Neff). She had signs of drug abuse and physiological
issues. Lack of evidence, strange protocols followed after her death add
numerous conspiracies, but the clearest one to believe is that Monroe killed
herself. Most victims of depression battle their pains and agonies alone. The
people surrounding them do not notice this because they are good at hiding
appearances. Marilyn fought her inner self at all times, always pretended to be
someone she was not, and that killed her inside. The drugs just did the final
touch (“They Knew the Real Marilyn Monroe”).
Fifty-four
years later, Monroe still captures us as she did in life. Her death will remain
a mystery she took to the grave. She was more than a star, a seductive cocktail
of glamour, and she was damaged. Monroe’s legacy will remain with us, and the
conspiracies surrounding her death will live generation through generation.
On August 5, 1962, the streets of
L.A. filled with sorrow. The unexpected death of the Hollywood actress Marilyn
Monroe, left to ponder three conspiracy theories:
1. Did the government murder Marilyn
Monroe?
2. Monroe committed suicide?
3. Marilyn had an unintentional over dose?
Although
the official news sold to the public was that Marilyn committed suicide, strange
protocols taken after her death, will always leave her public to question their
tragic lost.
Work Cited
Hertel,
Howard, and Don Neff. ""From the Archives: Marilyn Monroe Dies; Pills
Blamed"" Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, n.d. Web. 17 Nov.
2016.
"How
Much Did Marilyn Monroe Weigh? | Danamo's Marilyn ..." Danamo's Mariyn
Monroe Pages. Word Press, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
King,
Susan. "Marilyn Monroe: People Who Knew Her Recall the Real Person
..." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 04 Aug. 2012. Web. 24 Oct.
2016. ...
Mead,
Rebecca. "Forever Marilyn." ProQuest. The Conde Nast Publications,
Aug. 2012. Web. Aug. 2012.
Rollyson,
Carl. "Carl Rollyson." Marilyn Monroe: A Life of the Actress -. N.p.,
2014. Web. 09 Nov. 2016.
"The
Death Of Marilyn Monroe - Conspiracy Theories. August 4th 1962." YouTube.
YouTube, 12 Oct. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
"They
Knew the Real Marilyn Monroe." Youtube. Youtube, 21 Oct. 2014. Web. 24 Oct.
2016.
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