Thu 28 September 2000
Morrison To Remain In Paris
Jim Morrison will remain buried in a Paris cemetery, according to the surviving members of the Doors, and despite some people insisting his body be exhumed and moved. Morrison, who died in the French capital in 1971, is buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery. However, the lease on his grave is up next July, 30 years after his death.
His presence has continued to anger relatives of the other dead in the cemetery, who insist that the thousands of Doors fans who visit the cemetery disturb the tranquillity by trampling on graves, scrawling graffiti and leaving rubbish. Morrison's grave requires a full-time guard to protect the shrine, and some relatives have petitioned for his body to be exhumed and returned to the US when the lease expires.
However, Ray Manzarek, The Doors keyboard player, told fans at a reunion in the USA on Monday that the grave was the fourth most popular attraction in Paris, and was unlikely to be moved by the French government. Manzarek said he expected French officials "to supersede" any petition by disgruntled families. He insisted: "It's a great place for him. It would be nice for him to be here (in the USA), but that's a perfect place for him, the American in Paris."
-www.dotmusic.com
Wed 27 September 2000
Jim Morrison Can Rest For Eternity In Paris
PARIS. French officials on Wednesday laid to rest fears that the late Doors rocker Jim Morrison faces eviction from his Paris grave next year, according to Reuters. Officials at the famous Père Lachaise cemetery confirmed that the fast-living Doors lead singer, who died of heart failure at age 27 in 1971, would not be disinterred next July when the normal 30-year lease on a tomb runs out. The throngs of tourists to his grave have prompted relatives of people buried nearby to petition the cemetery to move Morrison's remains next year, thinking the lease ran out after the 30th anniversary of his death on July 6, 2001. But a cemetery official confirmed to Reuters that his grave had a perpetual lease and added: "It's there and it will stay there."
-www.newsnet5.com
bravenet.com