I
am puzzled at some of the similarities in the lives of three stunningly
beautiful actresses of our times - Madhubala, Marilyn Monroe and Jayne
Mansfield. All were extremely beautiful, popular, had sad personal lives
and died unnatural deaths in mid 1960s when two of them were 36 and the
third was only 34 years old.
Madhubala.
First
Madhubala. She was born on February 14, 1933 – the date in February
that is now celebrated as the Valentine’s Day. The legendry Madhubala was
the Goddess of Love of her times.She was 5'-4".
Her
range of portrayals was amazingly diverse- as an Anglo-Indian club
dancer in Howrah Bridge, a tribal belle in Phagun and the most memorable
as Anarkali in Mughal-E-Azam, just to give three examples.
The
beauty of Madhubala had an ethereal quality about it. She had a sad
personal life. She is said to have pined for love during her short life
There were stories that she wanted to marry actor Dilip Kumar but the
marriage could not be fixed as her father reportedly had objections to
it. Then she was discovered with a serious medical ailment- a hole in
the heart that could not be set right in that period when heart surgery
was still to develop. She ultimately married singer actor Kishore Kumar
who was more interested in his singing career than looking after his
ailing wife.
She died, on 23rd February, 1967 and was
buried in the then Bombay’s Juhu cemetery. Though we kept on
remembering Madhubala and her films, but overlooked her final resting
place. The news came in February 2010 that her grave had been disposed
off and tomb demolished.
One does not know what is the
status today but does she not deserve to rest in peace? Would it not be
possible for her numerous admirers to chip in to ensure her a grave and
a decent memorial?
Had she been alive, she would have been 83 this year.
Marilyn Monroe
The
second young lady, Marilyn Monroe was perhaps the most popular of these
three at the international level. She was born on June 1, 1926. Her
nude photo was featured in the first issue of the Playboy magazine in
December 1953. She had a perfect figure of 35-22-35 and was 5’-5” tall.
She
received a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Some Like It Hot
(1959). Monroe's last completed film was The Misfits (1961), co-starring
Clark Gable with screenplay by her then-husband, Arthur Miller.Some of
her other films were; Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a
Millionaire and The Seven Year Itch.
She married thrice
and had no children. She died on 5th August 1962 at the young age of
36. It was a case of suspected suicide by drug overdose. She has had her
share of rumours and conspiracy theories abound her ‘real’ cause of
death.
She lies buried at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, in Los Angeles, U.S.A.
Had she been alive, she would have been 90 this year.
The
third sad tale relates to Jayne Mansfield. She was born on 19th April
1933 and died in a fatal car accident on June 29, 1967 at the young age
of 34. She was 5’-6” tall. She was known for her stunning vital
statistics: 40-21-35, which she maintained even after giving birth to 5 children. Yes, she had an incredible 21 inches waist.
Jayne Mansfield (right) and Sophia Loren (left)
She
featured as a playmate in the Playboy magazine and a few years later,
some of her nude photographs from her film “Promises-Promises-Promises’
too were published in the same magazine. Some of her famous films
were....The Girl Can't Help It, Too hot to handle and
Promises-Promises-Promises. She was a good singer too.
She married thrice and divorced thrice and had 5 children.
Had she been alive, she would have been 83. In fact today is her birthday, since she was born on 19th April in 1933.
Jayne Mansfield's grave
May God rest these beautiful ladies in eternal peace!
