The Emmy Award-winning CBS News program “Sunday Morning” on May 31 features special coverage of Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday and the opening of the Lincoln Memorial Undercroft museum in Washington, D.C.
What happened
To mark the centenary of Marilyn Monroe’s birth, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles is launching an exhibition titled “Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon.” The exhibit, running from May 31, 2026, through February 28, 2027, explores Monroe’s enduring legacy as a film star and cultural icon. CBS correspondent Tracy Smith interviews experts studying Monroe’s life and those preserving her film persona. The program also highlights “Marilyn: The Lost Photographs, The Last Interview,” a new book by Richard Meryman and Allan Grant.
Additionally, CBS News correspondent Faith Salie reports on the upcoming public opening of the Lincoln Memorial Undercroft, a 50,000-square-foot foundation beneath the Lincoln Memorial that was built to prevent sinking into the swampy ground beneath the national landmark. Starting in June 2026, visitors can tour the Undercroft museum, which chronicles the memorial’s construction and its significance in civil rights history.
Why it matters
The Marilyn Monroe centennial exhibit offers renewed insight into a figure whose image and film work continue to influence American pop culture seven decades after her death. The Academy Museum’s presentation aims to deepen public understanding of Monroe beyond her celebrity persona.
The Lincoln Memorial Undercroft has long been an unseen part of the national monument. Opening it to the public provides a rare opportunity to appreciate the architectural and historical layers of a site central to American identity and civil rights struggles.
Background
Marilyn Monroe, born Norma Jeane Baker in 1926, was a film and fashion icon who died in 1962 at age 36. Her carefully managed celebrity image endures through film, photographs, and memorabilia. The Lincoln Memorial, dedicated in 1922, has been a backdrop for major historical moments including Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The Undercroft below the memorial was constructed to stabilize the structure but has remained closed to the public until now.
Sources
This article is based on reporting and publicly available information from the following source:
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