Marilyn Monroe died at 36. Her death certificate lists Acute Barbiturate Poisoning. Ingestion of Overdose as the cause. Just below that line, you can see that the person who issued her death certificate typed Probable Suicide since it has never been determined whether her death was a suicide, an accident, or possibly a homicide. This book is a collection of death certificates for 170 Hollywood notables from the Silent Era to today--fascinating A death certificate is an intriguing document. It encapsulates a person's life story on one page--the birthplace, parents, education, length of career, residence, time, place, and cause of death, and finally, what happened to the remains. The information required for a death certificate can vary since each state looks at it differently. California regards them as public documents. Texas and New York makes them available only to family members and others showing a direct need.