42 Weird Facts about Marilyn Manson

June 2, 2017 | Josh Mendelssohn

42 Weird Facts about Marilyn Manson


Marilyn Manson is a musician, actor, and public figure who has been active since the late 80s. Though not as popular today, Manson once dominated the music charts.

Here are 42 weird facts about Marilyn Manson.


42. Normal Name

Marilyn Manson was born Brian Warner. He is of German and English ancestry, but grew up in the American Midwest. His mom is Episcopalian and his dad is Catholic.

Marilyn Manson Facts

41. Like Father

Manson attended Christian heritage school until the 10th grade. This was the kind of school that told you what not to listen to. Take a wild guess what music Manson listened to?

Marilyn Manson Facts

40. Musical Manson

When he was still known to the world as Brian Warner, Marilyn Manson was pursuing a career as a music journalist.  He majored in journalism at Broward College and also wrote for a local Florida lifestyle magazine called The 25th Parallel.

Marilyn Manson Facts

39. Inquisitive Manson

Manson also got to interview many famous rock stars before becoming one himself. One such rock star is Trent Reznor, who would later go on to produce to of Manson's albums, and sign Manson to his Nothing Records.

Marilyn Manson Facts

38. Too Long

In 1989, Marilyn Manson & The Spooky Kids was formed. They recorded their first demo in 1990, and started gaining a following by 1992 for their highly visual shows featuring shocking imagery and bizarre costumes. The band shortly thereafter dropped The Spooky Kids and continued as just Marilyn Manson.

Marilyn Manson Facts

37. Namesake

Marilyn Manson and his original band mates got their names by mashing up the first name of an iconic female sex symbol and an iconic serial killer. For Manson, it's a mash up of Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson. On the flip side, Charles Monroe sounds very distinguished.

Marilyn Monroe

36. Will You?

Manson has been engaged three times; once to actor Evan Rachel Wood, once to actor Rose McGowan, and once to burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese. He only married Dita, but they divorced shortly after.

Marilyn Manson Facts

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

35. Shooting Star

Manson’s music was accused of influencing of the tragic Columbine school shooting. Manson even appeared in the documentary Bowling for Columbine, discussing at length with Michael Moore how he did not support the shooters, or the idea that his music influences people to commit acts of violence.

Marilyn Manson Facts

34. Son Of A…

Manson has also acted, appearing in several shows like Eastbound & Down, Californication, and he had a recurring role in Sons Of Anarchy as Ron Tully. He said the most challenging part of the role was growing a goatee.

Marilyn Manson Facts

33. Gimme Grammy

Although Manson has been nominated for Grammys multiple times, the recording artist hasn’t ever won any.

Marilyn Manson Facts

32. Platinumbers Game

Though he’s never won any Grammys, Manson has had two albums go platinum: Antichrist Superstar and Mechanical Animals.

Marilyn Manson Facts

31. Collector

Manson collects metal lunchboxes from the 40’s and 50’s. He also collects outdated medical prosthetics and other old-timey medical memorabilia.

Marilyn Manson Facts

30. Obscene

Manson’s Mechanical Animals depicted Manson wearing an androgynous body suit, and Walmart decided that the cover was too obscene for its shelves. Two years later, Walmart would stock Manson’s next album Holy Wood (In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death) because it was “commercially viable” and “in the top ten charts.” The cover art was also surprisingly more tame, so that probably helped.

Marilyn Manson Facts

29. Wonky For Wonka

Manson is a huge fan of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, and even wanted to play Willy in the remake of the film. He eventually lost the role to his good friend Johnny Depp.

Marilyn Manson Facts

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

28. Getting Deep With Depp

Manson is really close with Johnny, so much so that they have matching back tattoos. Depp has even said that he used Manson as inspiration for the role of Willy Wonka in the remake. Luckily, this didn’t affect their friendship.

Marilyn Manson Facts

27. Heart The Kart

Manson is a huge fan of the Mario Kart franchise. He’s also had his music in many video games. No word on who his main character is for Mario Kart.

Mario Kart - Marilyn Manson Facts

26. Spirited

Manson is a huge fan of the alcoholic drink Absinthe. So much so that he made his own brand of the drink called Mansinthe, and won a gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2008.

Marilyn Manson Facts

25. Heartfelt

Manson was born with a condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, which results in a rapid heart rate. The condition is due to an extra, abnormal electrical pathway in his heart.

Marilyn Manson Facts

24. Parents Just Don’t Understand

Manson’s mom always called him by his birth name, Brian, while his dad would refer to him as simply Manson.

Marilyn Manson Facts

23. Superscar

In his memoir, The Long Road Out Of Hell, Manson mentions that his body is covered in scars accrued from years of self-inflicted cuts during shows. Hopefully, the memoir helped heal some of those scars.

Marilyn Manson Facts

22. Birthday Suit

In 1999, Honcho magazine published a nude photoshoot of Manson as a birthday tribute to the singer. The photos were taken five years prior, before Manson had become a big star.

Marilyn Manson Facts

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

21. Caulkinfluence

Home Alone star Macaulay Caulkin was actually the first person to ever bring Manson a cigarette. It happened when they were filming Party Monster, and a scene called for Manson’s character to smoke a cigarette. Macaulay was the one to give him his first pack, Virginia Slims.

Marilyn Manson Facts

20. F-Word

Manson once wrote the F-word across his face to keep the paparazzi away, since they can’t sell any pictures that are deemed profane.

Marilyn Manson Facts

19. Eye Spy

Manson wears two different color contact lenses in both eyes, each with a different sized pupil. Manson does this as a tribute to legendary British musician David Bowie, who suffered from anisocoria, a condition where one pupil is permanently dilated; which also creates the illusion that both eyes are different colors.

Marilyn Manson Facts

18. Charity Case

Manson supports various charities like Music for Life and Little Kids Rock. He even worked with the Make-A-Wish foundation, and had a terminally ill fan come to the studio and lay down backing vocals for a track Manson was working on.

Marilyn Manson Facts

17. Artist

Manson started painting in 1999, and would paint five-minute concepts that he sold to drug-dealers. He even started an art movement called Celebration Corporation.

Marilyn Manson Facts

16. Bedeviled

Manson is a fan of Anton Lavey, who founded the Church Of Satan. Manson is also a fan of Aleister Crowley who has been described as the “highest profile Satanist ever.”

Marilyn Manson Facts

15. Make Me

While in Cologne, Germany for the opening night of his art exhibition, Manson tried to visit the Cologne Cathedral, but was denied entry because of his makeup.

Marilyn Manson Facts

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

14. Too Busy To Massacre

In 2002, Manson was hired to write and record the score for the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but never got around to it as he was too busy working on his own album The Golden Age Of Grotesque.

Marilyn Manson Facts

13. Gamify

Manson not only loves playing video games, he even voices characters in video games sometimes. He voiced the alien Edgar in 2005’s Area 51 and his likeness was used for MTV’s Celebrity Death Match.

Marilyn Manson Facts

12. Wondering Years

A strange urban legend surrounding Manson is that he played Paul in The Wonder Years. This is definitely not true, but their childhood photos do look very similar.

Marilyn Manson Facts

11. Political Ties

Manson is related to conservative political commentator, former CNN host and one-time Presidential candidate Pat Buchanan. They are fourth cousins, twiced removed.

Marilyn Manson Facts

10. Still Got It

After Manson was used as a scapegoat for the Columbine shootings, he wrote an article called “Columbine: Whose Fault Is It?” in which he denounced how society immortalizes mass killers through the media.

Marilyn Manson Facts

9. Manson Family

Manson once did a photo shoot with famous photographer Terry Richardson, where both he and his father wore the iconic singer’s trademark makeup. Hilarity ensued.

Marilyn Manson Facts

8. O’Realy?

Manson was a guest on Bill O’Reilly’s The O’Reilly Factor, back when it was still on the air. During the interview, O’Reilly repeatedly attacked Manson with false allegations, but Manson remained composed and his answers stayed thoughtful. At one point, Manson stated “It’s better to use a curse word than to hurt somebody else, I find.”

Marilyn Manson Facts

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

7. Heartfelt Pt 2.

After the daughter of Michael Jackson, Paris Jackson tried to commit suicide, Manson reached out to her, saying “I hope you feel better. You will be on my guest list anytime you want.” Aww, Mansy…

Marilyn Manson Facts

6. Strange

Manson’s song “Killing Strangers” was inspired by Manson’s father, who was a member of the Air Force.

Marilyn Manson Facts

5. Who?

Manson is almost unrecognizable without his trademark makeup. He uses Christian Dior foundation, Aquacolor for the blue, and a mixture for the black.

Marilyn Manson Facts

4. The Man, The Myth

Over the years, there have been a few myths surrounding Manson. The two biggest ones were that he injected heroin into his eye, which resulted in the dilated pupil in one eye. Another is that he had several ribs removed in order to perform oral sex on himself. Both are false.

Marilyn Manson Facts

3. Animal Lover

Rumors circulated that Manson once threw a live puppy into a jacked up crowd at one of his shows, who then proceeded to rip the puppy to pieces. Another rumor surrounding the singer is that he once bit the head off of a live chicken on stage. While neither story is true, in 1995, there was a live chicken on stage, and it did get thrown into the crowd. The chicken lived, and no one bit it. Manson also has three dogs whom he loves very much.

Marilyn Manson Facts

2. Shocking

During one of his early concerts, Manson hired a pregnant looking actress to iron out the wrinkles on a Nazi flag on stage. She then sat on the ironing board and pretended to perform an abortion on herself. If you want to shock people, Nazis and abortion will do it.

Marilyn Manson Facts

1. Fire Safety

Manson has said that he only has sex in the dark, and with his underwear around his ankles because he has a phobia of his house catching fire. We wouldn’t want to be caught outside our burning home buck naked either.

Marilyn Manson Facts

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5


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