Spend Eternity Next to Marilyn...Or Perhaps Not

Elsie Poncher wanted to sell her late husband Richard’s final resting spot, which is directly above Marilyn Monroe’s crypt, to help pay off her Beverly Hills mortgage. Her starting price on eBay was $500,000.00. Elsie said she decided to move her husband's remains and sell the crypt, located at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, to pay off a $1.6 million mortgage on her Beverly Hills home. The crypt sold...and then the buyer backed out.

Former Beverly Hills resident Richard Poncher rests in the tomb above Marilyn, with a plaque that reads "To the man who gave us everything and more." Elsie hoped that he had just a little more to give. Richard, who died 23 years ago at the age of 81, bought the crypt from Joe DiMaggio during his 1954 divorce from Monroe. The couple was at the Regency Hotel in New York talking to DiMaggio, Elsie said, when the retired ballplayer asked, "You want to buy two crypts?"

Isn’t it amazing to think that Joe DiMaggio, even in spite of how badly the short marriage turned out, actually bought two crypts, one for Marilyn and one for him, in the hopes of spending all eternity with her?

At the time, the Ponchers had no idea what an icon Marilyn Monroe would become in death or that she'd someday be entombed at the Westwood cemetery. When he was dying, Elsie said, her husband approached her with a request. "He said, 'If I croak, if you don't put me upside down over Marilyn, I'll haunt you the rest of my life.'" Right after the funeral, Elsie said, she told the funeral director of her husband's wish. "I was standing right there, and he turned him over," she said. Since then, Richard Poncher has been on top of Marilyn, looking down at her – a tad disrespectful in my opinion. Even in death, Marilyn gets no rest.

Bidding on the crypt opened at $500,000.00, and closed with a bid over $4.6 million that was soon withdrawn. The winner, who was from Japan, reneged from paying the $4,602,100 price, with a rep telling eBay that the client needs to cancel because of paying problems.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Poncher's banker emailed the 11 other bidders who offered at least $4.5 million for the vault, giving them a day to make an offer. If the right offer isn't made, they may try to find another way to sell the crypt.

Jolene Mason, general manager of the cemetery, said there still is one empty crypt in the Corridor of Memories Mausoleum where Monroe and Poncher are buried. It is located two spots above the actress and to the left. It can be yours for $250,000.

Playboy's Hugh Hefner bought the crypt next to the actress in 1992 for $75,000. He said he has many friends buried there, and living close by, it's almost the neighborhood cemetery. "I'm a believer in things symbolic," he said. "Spending eternity next to Marilyn is too sweet to pass up."

A New Marilyn Biography Scheduled for Release

Celebrity biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli has previously written books about Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly and more, and now he’s turned his eye toward Marilyn Monroe.

In “The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe” (an oddly similar title compared to Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe by Anthony Summers), Taraborrelli promises to reveal “a story that has never been told - until now.” Yet another work that’s being described the as the “definitive biography,” the book will discuss Gladys Baker (Marilyn’s mother), in depth, name Marilyn’s father (Charles Stanley Gifford), offer new insight into the half-brother she “never knew” (you also read about him in My Sister Marilyn by sister Berniece Baker Miracle) and talk about the “shocking scope of Marilyn’s own mental illness” (she was bi-polar). Taraborrelli cites 30 pages of interview subjects and says he is the first to read unpublished notes and interviews from reporters in the 1950s. Other words used to describe the book are “groundbreaking” and “haunting intimacy.” This book is due out mid-September. Let’s see how this one is!

Marilyn Monroe Memorial Bench Dedication

I was honored when Greg Schreiner, President of Marilyn Remembered, asked me to formally dedicate the new Marilyn Monroe memorial bench after the memorial service on Wednesday, August 5. This new bench is next to Marilyn’s crypt at Westwood Memorial Park, and was funded through donations that were made by fans from all over the world. I spearheaded the effort to spread the word that money was needed to replace the old bench.

In wanting the dedication to be special, I wrote what I hope is an appropriate and thoughtful speech:

“On behalf of Marilyn Remembered, thank you for coming to the 47th annual Marilyn Monroe Memorial Service.

It’s an incredible honor for me to be able to dedicate the Marilyn Monroe memorial bench today. For those of you who don’t know, this is actually the third memorial bench to be placed at Marilyn’s crypt. The first bench was stolen many years ago. The second bench, which was dedicated by Susan Strasberg, deteriorated and eventually fell apart.

Lee Strasburg put it best when at her funeral he said, “Marilyn Monroe was a legend.” Here we are 47 years later, and the legend of Marilyn Monroe lives on. She affects all of us in one way or another and we’re here today to remember her as an amazing person.

I always experience a feeling of disbelieve when I’m here at Westwood. It’s just incredible to think we’re in the presence of THE Marilyn Monroe. She is the one original superstar. The one by which beauty will always be measured. The one undying legend. Quite simply, to me, she is THE ONE.

This memorial bench was made possible by donations from Marilyn Monroe’s fan from all over the world. The names of memorial bench sponsors can be found on the back of today’s memorial service program. We thank them for their generosity, and for helping to keep the legend of Marilyn Monroe alive.

I’m proud and honored to present to you, and to Marilyn fans all over the world, this beautiful memorial bench in remembrance of Marilyn Monroe.”

Marilyn Spotting: Morocco

Michele Ferro, a friend of The Marilyn Monroe Collection, recently sent me this image of Marilyn on a sign outside of a shop in Morocco. Thanks Michele!

Have you taken photos of Marilyn Monroe during your travels? Would you like to share them with the world on The Marilyn Monroe Collection Blog? Forward to me at Scott@MarilynMonroeCollection.com.

70's Star Angie Dickinson Comments on Marilyn Monroe

Superstar Angie Dickinson spoke about Marilyn Monroe during a recent interview. She was interviewed by Alan W. Petrucelli of The Barnstable Patriot.

You mentioned Marilyn Monroe. Did you know her?

I met her twice. It’s funny – I’ve met a lot of people and cannot remember when or where, but with Marilyn I remember the exact moments. The first time was in 1958 or 1959, in the ladies’ room of the great restaurant Romanoff’s. I came out of the stall and there she was, in a gorgeous black strapless gown. She had just lost a lot of weight, and I said, “Oh, Marilyn, you look fantastic!” And she said [Dickinson does a spot-on imitation of Monroe], “Thank you! I am down to a size eight!” She was sweet and gracious. The second time I saw her was at a dinner at Peter Lawford’s home. I walked in and said, “Hi Marilyn.” I think she said hi back.

Did you ever see fear or insecurity in her eyes?

I never got the chance. At that time she was at her peak. I was stunned by her beauty and her “specialness.” I saw her fragility but never fear or insecurity.

Do you think she was killed? There are all those Kennedy-linked conspiracies.

I would let them burn me at the stake before I change my comment: If Marilyn died of an overdose, it was accidental. In my heart, the only thing I am positive of is that she took an amount of pills, then took more, forgetting she had already taken them. She did not kill herself deliberately. That I have no doubt about.

About Angie Dickinson:

Though she appeared in a bit and uncredited role in the 1954 Doris Day musical Lucky Me, it was the role of flirtatious gambler Feathers, opposite John Wayne and Dean Martin in Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo (1959), that launched Angeline Brown, now known as Angie Dickinson. into stardom.

Dickinson made many films, including Ocean’s Eleven (1960) and the still-shocking Dressed to Kill, Brian DePalma’s 1980s thriller in which the actress (then near 50) played a sexually frustrated housewife and proved that time had been good to her. No wonder that in 1999, Playboy ranked Dickinson No. 42 on their list of the “100 Sexiest Stars of the Century;” in 2002, TV Guide ranked the actress No. 3 on their list of “50 Sexiest Stars of All Time.”

Yet she’s perhaps most known for her Emmy-nominated role as Sgt. Pepper Anderson in Police Woman, the groundbreaking ’70s small-screen series that spawned today’s slew of law and disorder shows.

And though Angie’s personal life – dating Frank Sinatra, marrying (and divorcing after 15 years of marriage) Burt Bacharach, and the 2007 suicide of their 40-year-old daughter Nikki – it’s her body (and body of work) that is most arresting.

This month, Angie can be seen in the Hallmark TV movie Mending Fences in which she plays a woman fighting to keep the family ranch while repairing her relationship with her daughter. It’s the first role she’s done since Nikki’s death. “I’d rather have a role with more meat,” she said. “But I’m not complaining. It’s work.”