Happy birthday, Bryan Warner! Or, as you might know him, Marilyn Manson. (Thank you, Lord Satan, for not taking him yet.) Believe it or not, the creepy goth rocker is now 49.
Wow. It seems like just yesterday he was terrifying Middle America and getting blamed for school shootings. Yes, time catches up to us all, but the Beautiful People singer is still
in concert. Recently he even got into a
, but the two appear to have patched things up. Perhaps he, Beebs and
will collaborate to make the weirdest song ever.
Bryan's stage name, of course, is a combination of two very different American icons: dreamy blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe, and crazy murderous cult leader, Charles Manson. Why conflate the two? As Marilyn wrote in his autobiography, The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, "The balance between good and evil and the choices we make between them are probably the single most important aspects shaping our personalities and humanity… Marilyn Monroe had a dark side just as Charles Manson has a good, intelligent side."
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We're used to seeing Marilyn in bright white powder, Joker-esque make-up, blood-red lipstick, creepy contacts, and black vampiric BDSM outfits. But beneath all the cosmetics and costumes, he's a regular dude. And last year he went through an event that we all dread - losing your father.
After his dad passed away, Marilyn shared a picture of the two on Twitter to commemorate Father's Day. Yes, they're wearing goth make-up. It seems the
apple doesn't fall far from the devil-worshipping tree. Actually, the photo is taken from a 2015 photoshoot for Paper Magazine. Clearly Marilyn loved his dad, because soon after, he shared another photo, that's a real throwback, and gives a surprising glimpse at the man behind the make-up:
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The photo reveals what Marilyn - or rather, Bryan - as a little kid, held in his father's arms. Back then, he was far too adorable to terrify anyone, although his hair is suspiciously long, and covers his ears. What's behind that hair? Could it be concealing horns, or tiny devils whispering in his ear? Anyway, it's a great picture. Both he and his dad look unrecognizable. In the Tweet, Marilyn wrote, "Today I lost my father, Hugh Warner. He taught me to be a man, a fighter, a survivor. I know he is with my mom now. I miss and love you dad." So far it has gotten 34,000 likes and 9,000 retweets.
In 2001, satirical newspaper The Onion ran a hilarious story, with the headline, "Marilyn Manson Now Going Door-To-Door Trying To Shock People." Seventeen years later, Marilyn Manson doesn't seem like a very shocking figure at all. These days, he's going door to door to show people heartwarming #ThrowBackThursday photos. Actually, sharing this childhood photo might be the shocking thing the alt-rocker has ever done.
