Fans gathered at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles on Wednesday, August 5th – the 64th anniversary of Marilyn’s passing – for the annual service hosted by the Marilyn Remembered fan club since 1982.
The service was hosted by Greg Schreiner, president of Marilyn Remembered, and featured a number of guest speakers…
- Debra Levine, whose biography of Marilyn’s choreographer Jack Cole is published this month
- Alisha Soper, who has played Marilyn onstage and in TV’s Feud
- Juliet Hyde-White, daughter of Marilyn’s Let’s Make Love co-star, Wilfrid Hyde-White
- Claudia Moriarty, niece of Marilyn’s stand-in, Evelyn Moriarty
- Susan Griffiths, who has played Marilyn in Pulp Fiction, Quantum Leap, and the TV movie Marilyn and Me
- Devik Weiner, son of photographer Leigh Weiner (Marilyn: A Hollywood Farewell)
Long-term members George, Roy, and Jane Guy also shared memories, while messages were relayed from Marilyn’s contemporaries, Terry Moore and Mamie Van Doren. The service ended with a video based on the original recording of Lee Strasberg’s eulogy for Marilyn, and flowers were left by her crypt.
On social media, French fanpages shared thoughts on her legacy today alongside images of a young Norma Jeane.
Sergio Serrano (aka Marilyn Mexico) recalled a past visit to Marilyn’s grave, while Olivier Coulon was also inspired by her ‘last sitting’ with Bert Stern; and Spanish artist Alejandro Mogollo turned to the ‘Running Wild’ number from Some Like It Hot.
Rich Hanna shared a haunting pencil sketch (after Cecil Beaton) and updated us on his ongoing sculpture project.
And a poignant tribute from another Spanish illustrator, Marta Ponce.
Finding Joe DiMaggio (managed by Silver Technicolor) revisited the days before Marilyn’s funeral on August 8, 1962.
The Eve Arnold Estate released a poster ‘setting the record straight’ about Marilyn’s reading of Ulysses; and April VeVea reflected on how Marilyn has influenced her academic career (via Classic Hollywood Women.)
And finally, some parting thoughts from Los Angeles poet Charles Bukowski on Marilyn’s death (via The Poetry Library.)
