Joe DiMaggio Delivered Over 18,000 Roses to Marilyn Monroe's Grave in the 2 Decades After Her Death

Celebrity

In the years following Marilyn Monroe's passing, her ex-husband Joe DiMaggio sent over 18,000 roses to her grave site.

Published on January 12, 2023

Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe had a famous but short-lived marriage. The two celebrities got married in 1954 and separated just after nine months.

Still, DiMaggio and Monroe continued to have a strong attachment to one other. After Monroe died, DiMaggio sent flowers to her burial site for many years.

Joe DiMaggio directed Marilyn Monroe’s funeral

Monroe died on Aug. 4, 1962 at the age of 36. The actor was dealing with an addiction to prescription drugs, and her cause of death was determined to be acute barbiturate poisoning. Fans have long suspected she died of suicide, but Monroe did not leave a suicide note, so this question will remain unanswered.

According to PBS, after Monroe’s death, DiMaggio agreed to direct Monroe’s funeral. The baseball star refused to allow Hollywood elites into the funeral, reportedly saying “If it wasn’t for them, she’d still be here.”

Joe DiMaggio regularly sent flowers to Marilyn Monroe’s grave

Monroe is buried in a crypt at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles. DiMaggio regularly sent flowers from Parisian Florist, a flower shop on Sunset Boulevard that Monroe liked, according to Iamnotastalker.com. Reportedly, DiMaggio’s original order specified that he wanted “six fresh long-stemmed red roses” sent to Monroe’s burial site “three times a week.” DiMaggio also stated this request would be carried out “forever.”

Parisian Florist sent flowers to Monroe’s crypt every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. However, DiMaggio reduced the frequency to twice a week in 1982, and flowers were delivered every Tuesday and Saturday from then on. A few months later, DiMaggio canceled the order, though it is unclear why.

In total, DiMaggio sent over 18,000 roses to Monroe for 20 years.

“I firmly believe that all the years that [DiMaggio] made those visitations to her grave site and left flowers. . . he was still in love with her, but also [did it] out of a great sense of guilt,” said actor Brad Dexter via PBS. “Because I think he helped contribute to her demise. I’m firmly convinced that if he had behaved differently, they would have had a good marriage. He destroyed it — and he felt that guilt.”

Joe DiMaggio is not buried next to Marilyn Monroe

DiMaggio died in 1999 at the age of 84. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California.

Although DiMaggio and Monroe are not buried near each other, Monroe does have a famous crypt neighbor. According to Dirt, in 1992, Hugh Hefner bought the crypt on her left for $75,000. Monroe and the Playboy brand have always been connected ever since she rose to fame after appearing on Playboy’s first cover in 1953. Hefner was buried in the crypt after his death in 2019.

Above Monroe’s crypt lies a fan, Richard Poncer. He wanted to be buried upside-down so he could face the starlet. His wife is buried next to him and above Hefner.

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