Goodbye, Norma Jean?
Officials say someone climbed a more than two-storey tall Hollywood public art piece and stole a statue of Marilyn Monroe in Los Angeles, China Plus reported.
The statue depicting Monroe in her iconic pose from the 1955 film “The Seven Year Itch” went missing this week from the “Four Ladies of Hollywood” gazebo.
“I am calling this the great Marilyn caper of 2019,” local Councilman Mitch O’Farrell told NBC Los Angeles. “We have a witness who saw someone climb this structure and saw off the statue at the top and it’s a Marilyn Monroe image.
“It’s not OK to come and vandalize public art,” he added.
Los Angeles police say investigators have recovered fingerprints from the gazebo, but no arrests have been made, the report said.
Security camera footage appears to show someone jump down from the artwork and walk away with a backpack before entering the nearby Roosevelt Hotel, the station reported.
The gazebo was erected in 1994, drawing mixed reviews from critics. It pays tribute to women in film, with depictions of Dolores Del Rio, Dorothy Dandridge, Mae West and Anna May Wong making up the structure’s pillars.
Monroe, whose real name was Norma Jean Mortenson, died in 1962 under mysterious circumstances. While it is suspected she died of a drug overdose, conspiracy theories abound regarding her death, raising the possible involvement of underworld mafia figures.
She is considered one of the film industry’s most iconic figures, and her image can be found on merchandise around the world.