Marilyn Monroe Death: 51 Years Later, the Legend Grows

Marilyn Monroe died 51 years
ago Monday.
The Los Angeles Times' front
page the following day - August
6, 1962 (51 years ago today)
shows the impact of the icon's
loss at the age of 36:
The star died of a drug overdose
under circumstances that are still
debated to this day. What is not
debated is that her legend has
only grown since.
Marilyn . Her name alone says it
all.
A woman blessed with beauty,
shrouded in mystery, befallen by
tragedy and passing away at far
too young an age, Monroe was
ahead of her time.
Astonishingly, Marilyn was
considered talented, versatile,
vivacious, troubled and
profoundly sexual during her
prime. That image still applies
today.
The blond, curvy, breathy star
and her life fascinate and inspire
countless celebrities and regular fans alike.
Enigmatic and vulnerable innocent yet sexually iconic, and
never far from a tinge of scandal,
Marilyn was a walking embodiment of American culture.
In death, she also became a
sympathetic figure, a victim of
her own fame. She lost control
of her own greatness and was
often taken advantage of.
We project hopes, dreams,
memories, indelible images and
cautionary tales to her all the
time. Some reasonable and
some appropriate, others less
so.
One thing you can never take
away or overstate when it comes
to Marilyn Monroe, however, is
this simple truth: There will
never be another like her.