A bust of Jim Morrison made in 1981 by Croatian artist Mladen Mikulin was recovered by French authorities
The bust had been missing since 1988
Jim Morrison died at 27 in 1971 in his Paris apartment
French police have broken through to the other side of a cold case. Authorities uncovered a statue of Jim Morrison on Monday, May 19. The artifact had been missing from the Paris cemetery, where the late Doors frontman is buried, since 1988.
Paris public prosecutors uncovered the cultural artifact during an unrelated search, a source told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Morrison, who died at 27 in 1971, was buried at Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris.
The bust was sculpted by Croatian artist Mladen Mikulin and placed at Morrison’s grave in 1981 to honor the 10th anniversary of the singer-songwriter’s mysterious death. The art installation was found by the financial and anti-corruption brigade of the judicial police department of the police, per CBS News.
A riot broke out in 1991, on the 20th anniversary of the singer’s death, at the gravesite, the BBC previously reported. This prompted Père Lachaise to hire additional security for the grounds.
Morrison’s grave is one of the most highly visited musicians’ graves in the world, largely because of the rock ‘n’ roll mythology of Morrison’s death. His grave is located in an area of the cemetery known as Poet’s Corner, where Édith Piaf, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein and other notable artists are buried.
The Doors lead singer and songwriter was found dead in the bathtub of his Paris apartment at 27.
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American rock band The Doors pose for their first album cover, 1967. They are vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger.
While family members and friends later spoke out regarding Morrison’s struggles with addiction, no autopsy was ever performed, and his cause of death remains one of music’s most high-profile unsolved mysteries, per the Guardian.
French authorities ruled that Morrison died from natural causes, per the New York Times. An official report from French authorities lists a heart attack “possibly aggravated by excessive drinking,” and there were no signs of foul play.
Journalist Sam Bernett claimed in his 2007 book The End: Jim Morrison that the late singer’s family fabricated reports of his death to protect his legacy. Bernett, a former reporter with the New York Times, alleged that the singer arrived at the nightclub Bernett once owned, Rock & Roll Circus, looking to buy heroin for his girlfriend, Pamela Courson.
After making the purchase, Morrison reportedly disappeared into the bathroom, and Bernett stated that he later found him slumped over the toilet, according to Rolling Stone.
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“He had his head between his legs,” Bernett told PEOPLE in 2021. “He had white fluid around the lips and the nose, and his eyes were closed. I saw that something was very wrong.”
Marianne Faithfull, who died in January at 78, previously alleged that her ex-boyfriend, a French drug dealer, killed Morrison. “I could intuitively feel trouble,” when the late Jean de Breteuil told her he was going to visit Morrison. “I thought, I’ll take a few Tuinal [barbiturates] and I won’t be there.”
“And [de Breteuil] went to see Jim Morrison and killed him… I mean, I’m sure it was an accident,” the late singer told Mojo in 2014.
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Jim Morrison of The Doors at the Kongresshalle on September 14, 1968 in Frankfurt, West Germany.
Morrison, along with the Doors, were early pioneers of the psychedelic blues-rock that would define the late 1960s and early 1970s. With an affinity for literature and poetry, Morrison managed to pay homage to his bookish roots and blend them with the bohemian flair of the period that would inspire generations of musicians to come.
In February, Paris named a bridge after the iconic singer, located just steps from the Marais district where he lived prior to his death, CBS reports.
In January, Judy Huddleston, an ex-girlfriend of the late rockstar, alleged that Morrison raped her during their relationship. The allegation came forth in the documentary series Before the End: Searching for Jim Morrison.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
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