My journey ends here...
FUNERALS
Joe DiMaggio organized Marilyn's funeral; he called Berniece Miracle, Marilyn's half-sister, and Inez Melson, who looked after Marilyn's business affaires.
Berniece Miracle allowed Marilyn's body delivery to DiMaggio.
He strictly ordained not to invite any of Marilyn's Hollywood friends, because he made them responsible of her death, morally if not concretely. As for the reporters and photographers, they were firmly kept away.
The only reporter allowed was Walter Winchell, one of DiMaggio's friend :
,
,
The funeral took place on August 8, 1962, at 1.00 PM, in the Westwood Village Mortuary Chapel
(
;
,
,
,
), located in the Westwood
Memorial Park Cemetery,in Los Angeles.
Invitation :
,
The police mobilized more than 50 policemen (
) to control the crowd and the traffic :
The religious service took place in the strictest privacy, and was celebrated by Reverend A.J.Soldan
(
), a Lutheran priest from the Westwood Village Church.
He read the psalm 23, the chapter 14 of Gospel of John, and extracts from psalms 46 and 139. The Lord's Prayer was declaimed.
The ceremony began with the Sixth Symphony of
Carl Sandburg having declined Joe DiMaggio's request for health problems, Lee Strasberg delivered the eulogy.
(
).
Partially exposed, she wore a green dress of Pucci and a green mull
scarf she particularly loved, and had worn during the press conference
in Mexico, on February 1962.
Allan "Whitey" Snyder had put make-up on her for the last time (he had first buckled down with a bottle of gin), faithful to the promise he had made her few years ago.
Because of the damages caused by the autopsy, Agnes Flanagan who combed her this day, had to put her a wig, which looked like her hairstyle in "Something's Got To Give".
In her hands, Marilyn held a bunch of tea-roses, gift from DiMaggio, who had watched over her during the previous night.
Chapel
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
Allan "Whitey" Snyder bore the casket with Allen Abbott, Sidney Guilaroff, Ronald Hast, Leonard Krisminsky and Clarence Pierce :
The procession :
the car
,
,
,
-
,
,
the guests
-
,
-
,
-
;
,
The crypt :
the casket getting out of the hearse
the crypt guarded by policemen
;
,
the casket in front of the crypt
-
,
closure of the crypt
The ceremony :
,
,
-
-
,
,
,
;
,
,
,
Joe DiMaggio's bunch of roses :
31 pople attended the ceremony :
,
,
Dr Ralph Greenson, his wife Hildi and their children enfants Don and Joan:
,
Rudy Kautzsky (her last chauffeur) :
,
,
,,
;
,
;
May Reis :
Allan "Whitey" Snyder, his wife Beverly and their daughter Sherry
Lee and Paula Strasberg
Florence Thomas (Employes) :
,
Marilyn's body rests in a marble crypt(
,
,
), not far from the grave of her guardian Grace
McKee (
) and from the one of her beloved "Aunt"
Ana Lower
(
).
Visitors
Bibliography
"Marilyn : A Hollywood Farewell", Leigh Weiner, Los Angeles, Leigh
Weiner, 1990.
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