Marble bust of rock legend Jim Morrison found, 37 years after it disappeared

Catherine Zhu · CBC Radio

· Posted: May 28, 2025 7:01 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 28

A marble bust of rock fable Jim Morrison vanished without a hint successful 1988, leaving down lone rumours, speculation and a enigma that baffled fans for decades.

Now, 37 years later, it's yet been recovered — unexpectedly uncovered successful Paris during an wholly unrelated investigation. 

On May 16, the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office announced the betterment of the long-missing sculpture. The police's Financial and Anti-Corruption Brigade discovered the bust portion executing a hunt bid from an examining magistrate astatine the Paris Court.

For Jeff Jampol, manager of Morrison's estate, the find was arsenic unexpected arsenic it was surreal. 

"I thought, 'Wow, it's a truly absorbing twist,'" Jampol told CBC's As It Happens host Nil Köksal. 

"It was truly absorbing however they came crossed it portion they were undergoing a antithetic operation." 

Croatian sculptor Mladen Mikulin installed the bust, carved from Macedonian achromatic marble, to spot connected Morrison's tombstone successful 1981, connected the tenth day of the Doors frontman's death. 

But implicit time, it was vandalized — its chemoreceptor and lips chipped, covered successful graffiti. And successful 1988, it disappeared completely.

Now recovered, the sculpture is reportedly successful the aforesaid information it was erstwhile it disappeared — inactive marred by decades-old graffiti, the chemoreceptor inactive broken.

There was nary contiguous connection connected whether the bust would beryllium returned to the sedate oregon what different probe mightiness instrumentality place, according to The Associated Press.

Larger than life 

Morrison and the Doors near an indelible people connected the euphony country of the 1960s. Co-creating the groundbreaking psychedelic stone set with keyboardist Ray Manzarek successful Los Angeles, Morrison helped motorboat a dependable that was dark, experimental and provocative. 

"The Doors were a precise edgy, dark, psychedelic band, and they sang astir and spoke of things that astir bands bash not," said Jampol. "It taps into a definite zeitgeist and a definite portion of the conscious and unconscious. [They] stood isolated from each different set I knew." 

The set exploded from obscurity to stardom with their 1967 breakout deed Light My Fire. 

At the bosom of that mystique was Morrison — nicknamed The Lizard King —  whose magnetic dependable and outlandish performances, became a awesome of rebellion and counterculture. 

Before his days connected stage, Morrison studied movie astatine UCLA was a devoted scholar of William Blake, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg — poets whose power bled into his lyrics.

More than a bust 

In 1971, astatine the tallness of his fame, Morrison moved to Paris with his longtime partner, Pamela Courson. He hoped to give himself to penning poetry. But conscionable months later, helium was recovered dormant successful their flat bathtub astatine the property of 27.

Though nary autopsy was performed, his decease was ruled a bosom attack.

Morrison was buried successful Paris's famed Père-Lachaise Cemetery, resting among taste giants similar Oscar Wilde, Édith Piaf, and Frédéric Chopin.

"Jim had commented helium would emotion to beryllium buried there. He's with his chap artists," said Jampol. 

Morrison's sedate rapidly became 1 of the astir visited successful Paris. Tourists and fans alike proceed to flock determination each twelvemonth connected the day of his death.

"In a state wherever you person the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe and the Notre-Dame Cathedral and Euro Disney and the Louvre Museum and the Champs d'Elysées, Jim's gravesite astatine Père-Lachaise is 1 of the apical 5 astir visited sites successful France," Jampol said. 

For fans, the bust is simply a tangible transportation to Morrison's legacy. But for Jampol, his essence lies elsewhere. 

"There's truthful overmuch mythology and lore ... tied up successful Jim Morrison and the band," helium said. "Some [fans] are attached to carnal objects.… They connect immoderate benignant of outsized lore to them."

"But for america [and] for the Morrison family, we're funny successful the art, the music, the poesy and the filmmaking of Jim. That's what's important to us [than] which guitar Robby Krieger played, oregon which garment Jim Morrison wore.

'The creation and the connection is what's cardinal to us."