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NAMES IN THE NEWS : Marilyn Look-Alike Dies Alike

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From Times wire services

A 24-year-old British model who made a career out of impersonating Marilyn Monroe has been found dead in circumstances similar to the death of the Hollywood legend.

A lodger found the nude body of Kay Kent dead on her bed Monday night in a row house in this town 34 miles southeast of London, authorities said today. Sleeping tablets were found near the body.

Kent earned $90,000 a year, mostly from TV and restaurant and store advertising, by serving as a double for the film star.

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Monroe was found dead in her Brentwood home in 1962 with an empty bottle of sleeping tablets beside her.

Authorities said a half-empty bottle of vodka and photographs of Monroe also were scattered across Kent’s bed. Stills of the actress, books about her and Monroe’s voice recordings filled the room.

Her brother, Jay, 27, told a reporter: “She was so involved in her Marilyn image that she couldn’t help herself from dying just like her idol.”

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