The memorial bust of Jim Morrison, placed at his graveside after his death in 1971, has been found after being missing for 37 years.

After his death in 1971, The Doors frontman, Jim Morrison, had a marble bust placed by his gravestone in Paris, as a tribute to the singer’s fruitful but short life. 

Originally sculpted in 1971 by Croatian artist Mladen Mikulin, the sculpture, like the rest of Morrison’s gravestone, soon became covered in graffiti tributes left by fans – with some fans even removing the sculpture’s nose and mouth to keep as mementos. But, in 1988, the bust disappeared from the Paris grave and it’s whereabouts has remained unknown for the past 37 years. 

That was until the 20th of May 2025, when French authorities stumbled across the stolen bust in an unrelated anti-corruption investigation by the financial arm of the French police. A post on X, made by the force showed the current condition of the sculpture.

French police have recovered the missing bust of Jim Morrison while investigating an unrelated crime. The statue that once adorned the grave of The Lizard King had been “lost” for 37 years after it was stolen from a Paris cemetery in 1988

I guess This Is The End… of the search pic.twitter.com/JD86B5WAiN

— Rock Oracle Music (@rock_oracle_) May 20, 2025

The cemetery in Paris, where the sculpture had originally resided, and where Jim Morrisons grave still stands, claim that they have not heard from the French police and are unsure if the bust will be returned to the graveside. The cemetery’s curator told French news outlet Le Figaro (via BBC News): “The police haven’t contacted us, so I don’t know whether the bust will be returned to us.” Morrison joined the infamous group of musicians known as “The 27 Club”, when he was found dead in the bathtub of his Paris apartment in 1971, age 27. His untimely death came whilst The Doors were recording their seventh album ‘Other Voices’, an album that came to fruition later that year with keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger sharing lead vocals. The discovery of the missing bust has brought closure to members of the Morrison family, as a spokesperson for the estate stated that they wanted it on the grave “so it’s gratifying to see that it’s been recovered”.  Coming just four years after the 50th anniversary of the singer’s death, fans are already taking to social media to pay tribute to the life and death of one of rock’s great frontmen.

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