Stolen Jim Morrison Grave Bust Found

A bust stolen from the grave of The Doors singer Jim Morrison 37 years ago has been recovered in Paris.

Local authorities discovered the bust while conducting an unrelated financial anti-corruption investigation earlier this week.

No word yet has been given on whether the bust will be returned to Morrison’s final resting place, held for further investigation into the theft or relocated to a more secure installation.

A representative for Morrison’s estate told Rolling Stone that it was “happy to hear the news” of the statue’s recovery. “Obviously it’s a piece of history, and one Jim’s family wanted there on his grave, so it’s gratifying to see that it’s been recovered.”

As the darkly charismatic lead singer of The Doors, Jim Morrison ignited the minds (and loins) of his adoring fans with songs like ‘Light My Fire’, ‘Break On Through’ and ‘Love Her Madly’. Moody, brooding, volatile and unpredictable, he was the prototypical troubled artist.

Morrison famously died at the age of 27, found by girlfriend Pamela Courson in the bathtub of their Paris apartment in 1971. He was buried in the city’s Père-Lachaise cemetery, shared by other great artists such as Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein and Edith Piaf.

His grave immediately became the object of pilgrimages by devoted fans who flooded to the site over the following decades to pay their final respects.

The bust was created by Croatian sculptor Mladen Mikulin and installed in 1981 for the tenth anniversary of Morrison’s death. It was taken in 1988, and its disappearance remained a mystery for nearly 40 years.

The recovery of the bust brings closure for fans as well local cultural and tourism advocates, who consider Morrison’s grave a significant icon of Paris. However, there are concerns that returning the bust to its original placement will attract innumerable crowds the cemetery can no longer handle.

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