August 5, 1962. It’s a date burned into the collective memory of Hollywood. When the news broke that Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Brentwood home, the world basically stopped spinning for a second. Most people know the headlines—the empty bottle of Nembutal, the tangled sheets, the "probable suicide" verdict that launched a thousand conspiracy theories.
But what actually happened once the flashbulbs stopped popping in her bedroom?
The aftermath of Marilyn’s death is a messy, sometimes ghoulish, and deeply capitalistic saga. It’s a story of a woman who wanted peace but instead became a multi-million-dollar industry. Honestly, the reality of what happened to her body, her house, and her money is often stranger—and sadder—than any of the rumors about the Kennedys or the CIA.
The Chaos at the Mortuary
Marilyn didn't just drift off into some peaceful, cinematic afterlife. The immediate hours following her death were chaotic. After her body was discovered by her psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson, and her housekeeper, Eunice Murray, she was hauled off to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office.
She was Case No. 81128.
There’s a really grim account from Allan Abbott, who ran one of the most famous funeral services in Hollywood at the time. In his book Pardon My Hearse, he describes a woman who looked nothing like the "Blonde Bombshell" the public adored. Because she’d died facedown, purple blotches (lividity) had settled on her face. Her roots were showing. She hadn't shaved her legs in a week.
It’s a stark reminder that beneath the satin and the light, she was a human being who was struggling.
The mortuary staff actually had to use a wig from her last unfinished film, Something's Got to Give, to make her look like "Marilyn" again. Her longtime makeup artist, Whitey Snyder, did her face one last time. He’d promised her years before that if she died first, he’d do her makeup. He kept that promise, reportedly sipping from a flask of gin to steady his shaking hands while he worked.
The Funeral Joe DiMaggio Ran
While Hollywood was clamoring to turn her funeral into a spectacle, her second husband, baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, took total control. He was devastated. He didn't invite the studio execs. He didn't invite the Rat Pack. He blamed them for what happened to her.
"If it wasn't for them, she'd still be here," he famously said.
The service at Westwood Village Memorial Park was tiny—only about 30 people. DiMaggio leaned over the open casket, sobbed, and whispered "I love you" over and over. For the next 20 years, he famously had a half-dozen red roses delivered to her crypt three times a week. He never remarried.
The Battle for the Brentwood Hacienda
Marilyn had only lived in her house at 12305 Fifth Helena Drive for about six months before she died. It was the only home she ever actually owned on her own. She’d bought it for around $75,000. On the front step, there was a tile that read Cursum Perficio—Latin for "My journey ends here."
Talk about haunting.
After she died, the house became a weird sort of pilgrimage site. It’s changed hands about 14 times since 1962. In 2023, the current owners, Brinah Milstein and Roy Bank, actually filed for a demolition permit. They wanted to tear it down to expand their own estate next door.
Fans lost their minds.
Just recently, in late 2025, a Los Angeles judge finally blocked the demolition for the second time. The city designated it a Historic Cultural Monument. So, for now, the modest Spanish-style house is safe, but it’s basically a fortress of tall fences and privacy hedges now because the "Marilyn tourism" never really stops.
Where Did the Money Go? (The $50 Million Mistake)
This is where things get truly complicated. Marilyn didn't have a massive amount of cash when she died, but she had "the brand."
In her will, she left the bulk of her estate—including her clothes and her intellectual property—to her acting coach, Lee Strasberg. She trusted him. She thought he’d protect her legacy.
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But here’s the kicker: when Lee died in 1982, he left everything to his third wife, Anna Strasberg.
Marilyn and Anna never even met.
Anna Strasberg turned the Monroe estate into a licensing juggernaut. She hired a company called CMG Worldwide to put Marilyn’s face on everything from wine to T-shirts to Mercedes-Benz ads. In 1999, Anna auctioned off a massive haul of Marilyn’s personal belongings at Christie’s, raking in over $13 million.
The "Happy Birthday Mr. President" dress? It sold for $1.26 million back then. (Later, in 2016, it went for a staggering $4.8 million). Eventually, Anna sold the remainder of the estate to a branding company for an estimated $50 million.
It’s a bit of a tragedy that the woman who felt so exploited in life ended up being "owned" by people she didn't even know.
The Missing "Red Diary"
One of the most persistent legends of what happened to Marilyn Monroe after her death involves a missing red diary. Private investigator Milo Speriglio spent years claiming that a diary existed where Marilyn vented about the Kennedys and government secrets.
Did it exist? The Coroner’s office notes don't mention it. But the legend persists because it fits the narrative of the "woman who knew too much." While we have her poems and some notes (published later in the book Fragments), a "tell-all" diary has never officially surfaced.
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Why We Can't Let Her Go
We are obsessed.
Every few years, a new movie or documentary comes out trying to "solve" her. From Blonde to the endless Netflix deep dives, we keep digging her up.
Why? Maybe because her death felt like an unfinished sentence. She was only 36. She was in the middle of renegotiating her contract with Fox. She was planning to remake her image.
The fact that her belongings are still being sold—like her 1956 Ford Thunderbird or her worn-out address book—shows that we treat her less like a person and more like a collection of relics. Even her final resting place isn't entirely private. The crypt directly above hers was sold on eBay for millions, and the one next to her was famously owned by Hugh Hefner.
What You Can Actually Do With This History
If you're a fan or a history buff, don't just consume the tabloid versions of her story. There are ways to engage with her legacy that are a bit more respectful than buying a t-shirt at a gift shop.
- Read her own words: Instead of biographies written by men who never met her, check out Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters by Marilyn Monroe. It’s the closest you’ll get to her actual voice.
- Visit Westwood Village Memorial Park: If you go to pay your respects, remember it’s a quiet, functioning cemetery. Skip the "Hollywood tour bus" vibe and just appreciate the peace she finally found.
- Support Archival Preservation: Look into organizations like the Los Angeles Conservancy, which fought to keep her Brentwood home from being demolished.
Marilyn Monroe's story didn't end in 1962. It just turned into a different kind of drama—one involving courtrooms, auction blocks, and architectural battles. She remains the most famous woman in the world, not just for how she lived, but for the way we’ve refused to let her rest since.
Actionable Insight: If you want to understand the real Marilyn, look at her business moves in her final year. She was the first woman since Mary Pickford to start her own production company. That’s the legacy that actually matters—not the conspiracy theories.
Next Steps for Research:
- Look into the Marilyn Monroe Productions archives to see how she tried to take control of her career.
- Research the 1982 Los Angeles District Attorney's re-investigation into her death, which confirmed the original autopsy findings while acknowledging some "procedural gaps."
- Check out the Westwood Village Memorial Park site map to see the other icons buried near her, which provides context on the "Old Hollywood" she was a part of.