A bust of Jim Morrison, the late lead singer of The Doors, has been found by French police, almost 40 years after it was taken from his grave.
The sculpture was put on Morrison’s grave in Paris’s Père Lachaise Cemetery on July 3, 1981, ten years after he died. It was made by the Croatian artist Mladen Mikulin.
Though, the bust was stolen seven years later, in May 1988. Vanity Fair reported that two people took the statue after leaving it locked up in the cemetery overnight.
Police in Paris have finally confirmed that the bust has been found after years of rumors and speculation about its whereabouts. It was found again during a search tied to a fraud case. No new information has been released about where it has been for the past 37 years, nor has there been any word on whether it will return to its original spot on top of Morrison’s grave.
In the 1960s, Morrison became famous as the lead singer of the Los Angeles rock band The Doors. The group put out six highly acclaimed albums in just over four years.
Their self-titled debut album from 1967 went to the top of the Billboard 200 and produced the number one song on the Hot 100, “Light My Fire.” All of their albums that came out during Morrison’s lifetime also made it to the top ten. Their only record to top the Billboard 200 was Waiting for the Sun in 1968. The song that went with it, “Hello, I Love You,” became their second number one hit on the Hot 100.
It is not clear how Morrison died in Paris on July 3, 1971. He was 27 years old. He was buried in the city’s Père Lachaise Cemetery. His grave quickly became one of the most visited memorials to a singer who has died in the world.
As of February, the Paris City Council had decided to celebrate Morrison by giving a footbridge over the Bassin de l’Arsenal his name. A few weeks before, news came out that a fire in downtown Los Angeles had done a lot of damage to the old Morrison Hotel, which became famous for The Doors and their 1970 album of the same name.
