The burial vault above Marilyn Monroe’s has sold for $4.6m on eBay. Monroe is buried in a wall of vaults at the Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles, and currently the vault above Monroe is occupied by Richard Poncher, who wanted to be buried face down on top of the actress (a request his wife apparently agreed to).
However his widow decided that in order to raise money, she’d move her husband to an adjacent vault (which was originally intended for her) and sell the one above Monroe. The plots were originally purchased from Joe Dimaggio during his divorce from Marilyn in 1954.
While Elsie Poncher was hoping to raise $1.6 million to pay off the mortgage on her home, the auction has now closed with bids reaching a startling $4.6 million. More than 20 bids were received, starting at $500,000, which suggest an awful lot of people would like to get on top of Marilyn Monroe, despite the fact she’s been dead for 47 years.
The Westwood Village Memorial Park is also the last resting place of everyone from Dean Martin and Natalie Wood to Poltergeist actress Heather O’Rourke and, most recently, Farrah Fawcett, although ever since her burial it is Monroe’s simple marble vault, bearing a plaque with her name, that has drawn the most attention. Indeed, Hugh Hefner has previously purchased the vault next to hers, which is where he plans to spend his eternity.