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Airdate: Marilyn: Her Final Secret

French doco turns to DNA to uncover the identity of the biological father Marilyn Monroe searched for her whole life.

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SBS has slated a French documentary Marilyn: Her Final Secret next week.

The film chronicles how, using strands of Monroe’s hair, chromosomes from her paternal lineage were analysed in France and the U.S., and then compared to DNA materials of th descendants of a man suspected of being her father.

“I spent years — and many sleepless nights — working with the very best laboratories to try to get those strands of hair to reveal their secrets, but the results kept on coming back negative,” said François Pomès, the director and executive producer of the documentary. “And then one day, after a year of testing, Ludovic Orlando wrote to me to say that one of the strands had offered up its secret, and that more than 20% of Marilyn’s genetic profile had just been decoded.

“Revealing, through science, the identity of the biological father whom she searched for her whole life is immensely satisfying for me as a fan of Marilyn Monroe. But I think the thing that touched me most was seeing the reaction of Marilyn’s ‘new’ family, who were overwhelmed by this irrefutable evidence.”

7:30pm Monday July 4 on SBS.

4 Responses

  1. It won’t help much. And True Colours is going to be up against Ninja Warrior, Masterchef, Big Brother, the ABC’s loyal Four Corners audience, Wimbledon and a David Attenborough doco. And I’m sure some in ABC would have wanted to put Mystery Road: Origins up against it. And that’s just on Monday, there will be competition on Tues, Wed and Thurs too. I imagine most of its audience will be +7 or On Demand. The broadcast is really just political symbolism.

    1. Jeez no room for optimism. Why on earth would ABC want to put Mystery Road against it? They’re not looking to take down SBS or a collegiate First Nations drama. Agree the overnights will be tough, but hopefully a lift in Total TV like DI Ray and The Responder.

  2. Just when you thought TV couldn’t go any lower than MAFS… So much for Saving Lives At Sea I guess. I was wondering how many of the 56 episodes SBS were going show, looks like 8.

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