Simon Monjack

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Simon Monjack
Simon Monjack.jpg
Monjack in March 2010
Born Simon Mark Monjack
(1970-03-09)9 March 1970
Hillingdon, Greater London, UK
Died 23 May 2010(2010-05-23) (aged 40)
Los Angeles, California
Cause of death Pneumonia and anaemia
Nationality British
Citizenship British
Education Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe
Occupation Writer, director, producer
Years active 2000–2007
Religion Judaism
Spouse(s) Simone Bienne (2001–06; divorced)
Brittany Murphy (2007–09; her death)
Children Jasmine Monjack
Parents William Monjack (deceased)
Linda Monjack

Simon Mark Monjack (9 March 1970 – 23 May 2010) was an English screenwriter, film director, film producer and make-up artist. He was the widower of American actress Brittany Murphy.[1][2]

Contents

Early life [edit]

Monjack was born in Hillingdon, Greater London, to a Jewish family.[3] He grew up in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire.[4] He attended Juniper Hill School, Flackwell Heath, then Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe.[4] When he was 15, his father, William (1949–1986), died[4] of a brain tumour[5] in Oxfordshire.[6] His mother Linda (née Hall), a hypnotherapist,[7] lives in Bourne End.[8]

Career [edit]

Monjack directed, produced, and wrote the B-movie Two Days, Nine Lives in 2000.[9] He received story credit for the 2006 biopic Factory Girl about Warhol actress/model Edie Sedgwick.[10] Director George Hickenlooper contended that "Monjack had nothing to do with Factory Girl" and that "he filed a frivolous lawsuit against us [...] making bogus claims that we had stolen his script. He held us literally to hostage and we were forced to settle with him as he held our production over a barrel." Monjack denied these claims.[11] In 2007, E! News reported that Monjack was slated to direct a film adaptation of D. M. Thomas's novel about Sigmund Freud, The White Hotel, with Brittany Murphy cast in a leading role.[12] The project never materialized.

Legal troubles [edit]

In 2005, warrants were issued for Monjack's arrest in Virginia on charges of credit card fraud, but the charges were later dropped.[13]

In 2006, Coutts Bank successfully sued Monjack, who had been evicted from four homes, for $470,000.[13]

In February 2007, Monjack was arrested and spent nine days in jail, facing deportation, because his visa to the United States had expired.[13]

Personal life [edit]

Monjack married Simone Bienne in Las Vegas in November 2001;[13][14] they separated five months later,[14] and were divorced in 2006.[13] That year,[4] he met actress Brittany Murphy (although he claimed to have met her when she was a teenager and stayed in touch[15]). In April[16] 2007, he married her in a private Jewish ceremony at their Los Angeles home.[1] The couple did not announce their engagement beforehand and rarely made public appearances together before their marriage.[12]

In late November 2009, TMZ reported that Monjack became "incoherent" during a flight from Puerto Rico to Los Angeles. Murphy told the responding firefighters at LAX Airport that she believed he was having an asthma attack and felt that the situation was not serious; however, EMTs disagreed and rushed him to a nearby hospital.[citation needed]

On December 20, 2009, Murphy died after collapsing in their bathroom.[2] The cause was later revealed to be pneumonia, with secondary factors of iron-deficiency anemia and multiple prescription drug intoxication. [17]

Death [edit]

In January 2010, Monjack's mother, Linda Monjack, told People that her son was "unwell, and the doctors are carrying out tests. On whether he has a heart problem it is not really for me to say, you must ask him, but yes, there have been health problems in the past. I believe it's common knowledge, and it’s been in the press that he had a slight heart attack a week from Brittany's death."[18]

Monjack was found dead on May 23, 2010 in his house in Hollywood, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office. Law enforcement sources say the Los Angeles Fire Department was called there for a medical emergency after Murphy's mother, Sharon, found Monjack unconscious in the master bedroom around 9:20 pm, and then called 911. Paramedics arrived; Monjack was pronounced dead at 9:45 pm after suffering a fatal myocardial infarction.[19]

The coroner's report found the cause of Monjack's death to be acute pneumonia and severe anemia, similar to the causes attributed to his wife's death five months earlier in the same house.[20] He was buried at the Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills next to Murphy.[14][21]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b Fleeman, Mike (2007-05-08). "Brittany Murphy Marries Writer-Director". People. 
  2. ^ a b "Actress Brittany Murphy dead at 32". CNN. 2009-12-20. Retrieved 2009-12-20. 
  3. ^ "England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916-2005". Retrieved 2009-12-21. 
  4. ^ a b c d Simon Monjack, Buckinghamshire husband of tragic Hollywood star Brittany Murphy found dead
  5. ^ Simon Monjack: The short life and lonely death of a showbiz widower
  6. ^ Deaths England and Wales 1984-2006
  7. ^ Brittany Murphy's Mother-In-Law: Simon Monjack Has Lost The Love Of His Life
  8. ^ Has Mr Brittany Murphy got something to hide?
  9. ^ "Two Days, Nine Lives (2000)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2009-12-21. 
  10. ^ "Simon Monjack". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2009-12-22. 
  11. ^ "Director: Brittany Murphy was warned about husband Simon Monjack but did not listen" New York Daily News. December 27, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2009.
  12. ^ a b Serpe, Gina (2007-05-08). "Brittany Murphy Made a Missus". E!. Retrieved 2009-12-22. 
  13. ^ a b c d e MacIntosh, Jeane (2009-12-22). "Debts and Arrests in Husband's Dark Past". New York Post. Retrieved 2009-12-22. 
  14. ^ a b c Tragic actress Brittany Murphy's husband Simon Monjack found dead
  15. ^ Transcript of CNN Larry King Live interview with Sharon Murphy and Simon Monjack
  16. ^ Brittany Murphy and Simon Monjack: A history of their romance
  17. ^ Brittany Murphy's death ruled an accident Retrieved on 2010-02-05.
  18. ^ "Brittany Murphy's Husband Found Dead". people.com. 2010-05-24. Retrieved 2010-05-24. 
  19. ^ Shoard, Catherine (2010-05-24). "Simon Monjack, husband of Brittany Murphy, dies of heart attack". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-05-24. 
  20. ^ "Coroner finds Simon Monjack's death was similar to Brittany Murphy's". CNN. 2010-07-21. Retrieved 2010=07-22. 
  21. ^ Johnson, Chris (2010-05-28). "Simon Monjack laid to rest next to wife Brittany Murphy in the Hollywood Hills.". London: Daily Mail. Retrieved 2010-05-29. 
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