Police Fear Wild Scenes At Funeral

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29896, 9 August 1962, Page 13

Police Fear Wild Scenes At Funeral

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

HOLLYWOOD, Aug. 8. Police today prepared for wild crowd scenes when the body of the actress. Marilyn Monroe is interred, in a solid bronze coffin, at private funeral services.

Yesierday her second husband. Joe di Maggio, her halfsister. Bernice Miracle, and a close friend, Inez Melson, appealed to friends and tans to remember the “gay. sweet Marilyn” They urged a prayet of farewell in “the confines of your home or church" to avoid turning the funeral into a melee

Miss Monroe’s body is to be interred tn the West wood village cemetery after private funeral services in a tiny 40-seat mortuary chapel The police chief. Mr William Parker said a force of 50 policemen would be assigned outside the grounds of the cemetery to keep the curious from gaining entry The family of Miss Monroe

said they wanted the funeral to be one of “absolute dignity.” Only about 15 guests have been invited—excluding all celebrities in the hope of preventing a “circus atmosphere" Mr Parker said: “We are hoping, of course, that many don’t show up. but we’ve had experience with Marilyn Monroe fans before—so we wjll be ready ” The mortuary is on an avenue just 100 feet south of Wilshire boulevard a major road, and police were expected to have a difficult job if huge numbers of fans flocked there The wife of the mortuary’s managing director, Mrs Gyv Hockett, said they expected a big crowd “Our ’phones haven’t stopped ringing It seems like there have been millions of calls all through the night People all want to know whether they can come to the rites.’‘ she said In London, a former actress. Patricia Marlowe, was found dead in bed at her Mavfair home yesterday A friend said that she had been upset by Miss Monroe’s death

Police took possession of two notes.

The “Evening News” said police found empty tablet bottles in the room It said that the actress, aged 28. turned her back on a Hollywood contract after being left a small fortune about nine years ago.