Death of Marilyn Monroe Front Page – August 6, 1962

Sixty years ago this month, the world was reeling from the news of actress and screen sex symbol Marilyn Monroe's death on August 4, 1962 at the age of 36.

Above is the front page of the Journal of Monday, August 5, 1962 with the sad news of her passing on Saturday. It must have been surreal for many Lorainites to open their Journal and read what happened.

"A doctor smashed his way into a locked bedroom – and found Marilyn Monroe dead in a bed, nude, a telephone clutched in her hand, an empty pill body nearby," led the wire report story.

"It was her psychiatrist who found the body early Sunday.

"The mysterious death brought a tragic end, at 36, to the trouble-scarred life of Norma Jean Baker – the frightened waif who became the world's most famous blonde as Marilyn Monroe.

"Was it suicide? Had she called someone before she died?"

The circumstances surrounding Marilyn's death will probably always be debated. 

Many theories exist that point to her possible murder by the CIA, FBI or even the Mafia, due to her relationships with President John F. Kennedy as well as his brother Robert Kennedy.

We'll probably never know if it was really suicide or not.

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I was never a big fan of Marilyn Monroe and have only seen a handful of her movies, believe it or not. But my favorite is Niagara, in which she does a pretty good job of playing a villain. Of course, the real reason I like the movie is because it captures on film the Canadian side of Niagara Falls circa 1953.

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I'm not quite old enough to remember hearing that Marilyn Monroe had died.

It's strange how we can remember where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news of the death of someone famous or important.

Elvis, John Belushi, Jack Webb, Princess Diane, Daws Butler, Mel Blanc... my own list goes on and on.