For Sale: Crypt Directly Above Marilyn Monroe. Bids Starting at $500,000

Updated (8/24/09) – The winning bid for the crypt above Monroe is $4.6 million.

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Original post:

For sale: Crypt directly above Marilyn Monroe‘s.

Starting bid on eBay: $500,000 (presently up to $4.5 million)

When Marilyn Monroe was laid to rest in crypt #24 at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park, the real estate around her became instantly valuable.  Even Playboy king Hugh Hefner has claimed a space next to her.

Years ago, Monroe’s deeply devoted former husband, baseball great Joe DiMaggio, purchased two crypts near Marilyn: one directly above and another kitty-corner to Monroe’s. But when DiMaggio and Monroe divorced in 1954, DiMaggio sold the two crypts to a friend of his, Richard Posner. Posner didn’t realize the purchase he made would be as lucrative as it is since Monroe’s celebrity status wasn’t fully realized at that point; she died of an overdose in 1962.

When Posner died in 1986, he had a wish that his wife, Elsie, fulfilled:

“He said, ‘If I croak, if you don’t put me upside down over Marilyn, I’ll haunt you the rest of my life.’ “

So there lies Posner for the past 23 years — lying face down above Marilyn, his wish fulfilled. However, that will soon change. Elsie would like to  sell the crypt where her husband is entombed and move him to the crypt next door — the one reserved for her — and sell his crypt on eBay for a starting bid of $500,000. Bidding ends on Aug. 24 at noon and so far, 18 bids have come in with the top bid $4.5 million.

According to the LA Times, Elsie would like to take the money from the auction and pay off the $1.6-million mortgage on her Beverly Hills home so she can “… leave it free and clear for my kids.”

Elsie doesn’t need space on “the wall” since her wish is to be cremated.