New Book Tells Powerful Story of Deputy Coroner Who Signed Marilyn Monroe Death Certificate

This riveting book details the powerful true-life account of Lionel Grandison, the African-American Deputy Coroner who investigated Marilyn Monroe’s case and signed her death certificate.

Lionel Grandison is the first public official directly related to Marilyn Monroe’s case, to write a memoir about the formal investigation.

“Most people are unaware that a 22-year old African-American was at the center of Marilyn’s investigation. Those events that transpired in 1962 changed his life for ever and his story is an unheralded part of American history.”

At the heart of this story is Grandison’s discovery of Marilyn’s secret diary, which was brought in with Marilyn’s property the day of her death.

The book reveals passages from Marilyn’s diary describing her involvement with Government Agencies and key public figures. Grandison was the last County official to acknowledge reading the diary before it disappeared from the Coroner’s Office days after her death.

Now 75, he also sparked the infamous 1982 District Attorney Inquiry into her death, after telling the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisor’s about what happened at the Coroner’s Office.

“My father is one of the last direct links to this historic case,” Grandison Jr. noted. “This book is about much more than Marilyn Monroe. It's about American Democracy and the somtimes tragic consequences of getting placed in its path."

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