Marilyn Monroe sex tape sells

A sex tape featuring Marilyn Monroe has sold for $1.5 million.

The 15-minute black-and-white silent footage - which shows the screen legend performing oral sex on an unidentified man - was bought by a wealthy Manhattan businessman, who has vowed to keep it from public view.

Memorabilia collector Keya Morgan, who organised the sale, said: "The gentleman who bought it said out respect for Marilyn he's not going to make a joke of it and put it on the internet and try to exploit her. That's not his intention and I would never get my name involved if that were to happen."

In the video - which was found by Morgan while he was researching for a documentary on the late actress - a clothed Marilyn is seen performing the sexual act, but the man's head remains out of the shot for the length of the film.

Morgan added: "You see instantly that it's Marilyn Monroe - she has the famous mole."

According to files from America's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), late baseball player Joe DiMaggio - who was married to Marilyn for eight months in 1954 - tried to buy the footage from Morgan for $25,000, but he "would not part with it".

Marilyn died in August 1962 aged 36 from a suspected drugs overdose. Many people believe her death was a conspiracy to cover up her affair with former US President John F. Kennedy. However, this has never been proved.