At celebrity cemetery

Grave site next to Monroe & Hefner was auctioned off

A grave site next to Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner has now been auctioned in the USA.(Bild: APA/AFP/VALERIE MACON)

A grave site near Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe and "Playboy" founder Hugh Hefner has been sold at a US auction. The tomb in the Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Cemetery in Los Angeles changed hands for 195,000 dollars (180,372 euros) on Saturday, according to the auction house Julien's Auctions. The estimated price was between 200,000 and 400,000 dollars. 

After her death at the age of 36, Monroe was buried in the cemetery in 1962. Hefner had purchased the crypt directly next to her resting place in 1992. He died in September 2017 at the age of 91.

Urn grave with prominent neighbors
However, the urn grave now being auctioned is not right next to celebrities: It is located one row above and four places to the left of Monroe's resting place in an urn wall.

This pink designer dress worn by Marilyn Monroe was also auctioned off.(Bild: APA/AFP/VALERIE MACON)

According to the auction house, fans from all over the world still make pilgrimages to the cemetery to pay their last respects. Other celebrities are also buried there - actors such as Natalie Wood, Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal as well as writer Truman Capote.

Monroe dress fetches top price
The most expensive item of the three-day auction was a pink silk dress by Italian fashion designer Emilio Pucci, which Monroe had worn. It sold for 325,000 dollars - more than eight times the estimated price, according to the auction house.

Pieces from the estate of Hugh Hefner were also auctioned off.(Bild: APA/AFP/VALERIE MACON)

A burgundy tuxedo with black silk pyjamas and slippers from Hefner's wardrobe fetched just under 36,000 dollars. An issue of Hefner's first "Playboy" magazine from 1953 with Marilyn Monroe on the cover went under the hammer for 6,500 dollars.