Marilyn Monroe ‘wished to die’ before tragic passing according to unearthed autopsy

The 36-year-old and her career in Hollywood remain talking points for film aficionados. She built a formidable reputation for her comedic “blonde bombshell” characters, earning her universal acclaim and a spot as one of the Fifties and Sixties’ most popular and illuminating figures. Across her career, Monroe’s films grossed more than $2billion (£1.5billion), figures that made her the most profitable actress for a decade, with appearances in films such as Some Like It Hot and Niagara earning widespread plaudits.

Today, Monroe’s classic film The Misfit airs on Great Movies Classics.

The drama, which also stars Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift, is set in Reno, and follows the story of a cowboy joining three other misfit wanderers, namely a rodeo rider, a mechanic and a showgirl, to find out the meaning of their lives.

While viewers continue to adore her iconic movies, there remain question marks over her untimely death in 1962.

While a report on her death revealed the cause of Monroe’s death, fans question how exactly she came to supposedly die of an overdose nearly 60 years ago.

It remained unclear at first what the exact cause of her death was, and even the autopsy was unable to offer a concrete answer.

A day after the tragedy, on August 5, Monroe’s autopsy was conducted by Dr Thomas T. Noguchi, and a report was released 12 days later on what was found.

Dr Noguchi noted that the death was ascribed to “acute barbiturate poisonings” due to “ingestion of overdose”.

The medical examiner, Dr Theodore Curphey, followed up the findings with a press conference.

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At the conference he told reporters: “It is my conclusion that the death of Marilyn Monroe was caused by a self-administered overdose of sedative drugs and that the mode of death is probable suicide.”

A psychological autopsy was ordered by Dr Curphey, and was conducted by three mental health professionals, which found Monroe “had suffered from psychiatric disturbance for a long time”.

It added: “Miss Monroe had often expressed wishes to give up, to withdraw, and even to die.”

Monroe’s funeral was held at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, four days after she was found dead.

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It was organised by among others her ex-husband Joe DiMaggio, and saw hundreds of spectators crowd the streets near the cemetery.

Monroe was later entombed at Crypt No. 24 on the Corridor of Memories.

Prior to her death, Monroe had seen her career and personal life reach incredible highs, alongside a series of devastating lows.

For every hit she had in the movies, the reality of a childhood spent in foster homes across the US and three failed marriages weighed heavy on the California-born actress.

Many noted how her personal misfortune had even seeped into her appearances on set, including in her last film Something’s Got To Give.

Reports from the time show that Monroe was often late to the set, forgot lines and according to an All That Is Interesting article this month drifted in a “depressed and drug-induced haze”.

While on set she was even fired by the film’s management as a result of “spectacular absenteeism”, a decision that was later u-turned on.

And, by August, Monroe was dead.

The New York Times published a story regarding her death on August 6, stating that she had been found with an “empty bottle that had contained sleeping pills” by her bed.

It added: “Miss Monroe’s physician had prescribed sleeping pills for her for three days.

“Ordinarily, the bottle would have contained 40 to 50 pills.”

The Misfit airs on Great Movies Classics from 4.25pm today.