eBay Winner Of Marilyn Monroe's Crypt Cancels Bid
Aug. 25 2009, Published 9:05 a.m. ET
Some like it hot, and some just get caught up in the heat of the moment: A Japan resident who bid more than $4.6 million in an eBay auction, for a crypt directly above that of screen legend Marilyn Monroe's, backed out on the purchase after winning the auction.
The seller, Elsie Poncher, told the LA Times she auctioned off the coveted spot at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery to raise funds to put toward the $1.6 million mortgage on her Beverly Hills home.
After winning the auction with a $4,602,100 offer, the bidder said in an e-mail to Poncher's rep, Steve Miller: "I am awfully sorry, but I need to cancel this because of the paying problem."
Miller told the paper he contacted the 11 other bidders who were willing to bid at least $4.5 million for the crypt, giving them an additional 24 hours to resubmit an offer.
Poncher said that her husband Richard, who died in 1986, originally purchased the crypt from Monroe's ex-husband, Yankee great Joe DiMaggio. Poncher said that when she dies, she will be cremated and her husbands remains will be placed in a crypt that was reserved for her.
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Other notable celebrities who are buried at that cemetery include Dean Martin, Rodney Dangerfield, Merv Griffin, Mel Torme, Truman Capote and Farrah Fawcett.