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‘Becoming Marilyn’: Carroll, Aoki at LA Gallery

Among the more rare items on display at the ‘Becoming Marilyn’ exhibition, at the Andrew Weiss Gallery in Los Angeles, are these photographs of Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio arriving at Tokyo Airport in March 1954 for their honeymoon, taken by Kashio Aoki.

Allie Is Wired reports that Bill Carroll, one of the first professional photographers to work with then-model Norma Jeane Dougherty in 1946 made a special guest appearance at the gallery last week, and shared his memories of the young MM. (The article dates Carroll’s photographs to 1945, but from her hair colour I would say it was taken a year later.)

“In 1945, Carroll was in need of ‘cover cards’ for his film business and decided to schedule a Santa Monica photo shoot with his friend’s recent catch, Norma Jeane. Carroll wanted a ‘good-looking Plain Jane, the kind of kid you’d like to live next to’ and thought Norma Jeane fit the bill. It wasn’t until 40 years later when ‘leafing through Time Magazine’ that Carroll recognized a picture of Norma Jean by David Conover that he processed oh so many years ago. Carroll spent the next few months going through old photographs until he found all of the 1945 photos of a young Marilyn Monroe posing in Santa Monica.”

Rare outtake by Bill Carroll
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Maf the Dog at Southbank Centre

Artwork by Robin Davey

Prizewinning novelist Andrew O’Hagan’s The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe is a literary comedy full of philosophy, comedy and heartbreak.

‘The book is a miracle,’ wrote Edna O’Brien, ‘and already a classic’.

For this special event, Andrew O’Hagan leads an ensemble reading of Maf the Dog with some of Britain’s leading actors, including Ian MacDiarmid (Six Characters in Search of an Author, Star Wars) and Suzanne Bertish (Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Hunger.)

Sunday 18 July 2010, 7:45pm

Southbank Centre, London

Ticket information here

Read my review of Maf the Dog, here

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Keeping Time with Marilyn

This Girard Perregaux Stainless Steel Marilyn Monroe Timepiece, part of the Girard Perregaux 1945 collection, is available in a limited edition of just thirty.

On sale now for $8,500, only at Essential Watches

Press Release

(However, if cheap and cheerful is more your thing, try this watch instead – currently on offer at Ebay and various online stores. My husband bought this for me on my birthday – it’s cute as a button, keeps time, and cost around £2 including speedy delivery from China!)

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Phil Stern Exhibition, Milan

Phil Stern, 1953

“When you think of photographs of famous people you think of the paparazzi. But when you see Phil Stern’s photographs of Hollywood icons like Marilyn Monroe and James Dean you think of art. Not only are his photos moments captured in time, but they are also art – photos of an era long gone. Phil Stern managed to break down the wall of celebrity and show people for who they really were. When you’re talking iconic photographers you can’t really look any further.”

Marc Baker, ‘The Vine’

Forma Gallery

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Marilyn’s X-Ray Sold at Julien’s

A 1954 X-ray of Marilyn Monroe’s chest is reported to have sold for $45,000 (about £30,000) at the ‘Hollywood Legends’ auction in Las Vegas this weekend. Here’s the item description from Julien’s Auctions:

“X-ray of Marilyn Monroe’s chest. Printed on the x-ray is the following information, ‘Cedars of Lebanon Hospital/Drs. E. Freedman and S. Finck/ Name Di Maggio Marilyn/ No. 50612 Date 11-10-54/ Ref. By Dr. L. Krohn.’ As a radiology resident at Cedars, a young doctor obtained these x-rays. When he taught at the school himself, he used these x-rays to ensure that students were paying attention. Monroe was said to have known about the x-rays and their use, about which she said ‘Isn’t that sweet.’ Monroe’s hospital visit was said to be for her chronic endometriosis – or as her doctor’s described it, ‘For correction of a female disorder she has suffered for years.’ Accompanied by a copy of the X-Ray. 17 by 13 3/4 inches”

It’s hard to know what to make of Marilyn’s comment at the time, or how she might have felt about this sale.

The X-Ray dates from November 1954, when Marilyn underwent surgery to relieve her chronic endometriosis. Photos taken of her leaving Cedars of Lebanon Hospital the following day showed her to be extremely distressed by the paparazzi’s presence.

To illustrate this point, I have posted the least upsetting photo from this occasion above (I have no intention of posting the X-ray here. This is a personal decision, those who wish to see it can search on Google.)

In The X-Rays of Others, an article for yesterday’s Huffington Post, Dr Elaine Schattner criticises the auction:

“It seems ironic that Monroe, who was hospitalized for gynecological reasons and died childless, has no descendants to hold her records near, to intervene or somehow say ‘no, the x-rays are off-limits.’ Rather, it’s her doctor’s children who’ve cut the deal.

I can’t help thinking that she, who struggled so in her life, in and out of strangers’ households, love affairs and flicks, is defenseless now again. The films render her vulnerable, again, to more inspection. The loss of privacy is irrevocable, a violation after death.”

Read full article here

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The Marilyn Eyebrow

The British pop star, Cheryl Cole, has told Company magazine of her most recent beauty SOS:[/caption]

“I had a disaster last year. I tried to pluck my eyebrows like Marilyn Monroe’s. I saw a programme on her and thought: ‘She’s amazing. I want her eyebrows.’ But I went too far. Everyone was asking if I’d had Botox.”

Perhaps she should have tried this Marilyn Eyebrow Stencil. According to a product review by Tinkerbelll at PopSugar, “Marilyn had a contoured shape in her eyebrows that gave her forehead a wider look … These eyebrows even out the shape of my face, because I have a wider jaw and rounder cheeks, similar to Marilyn’s.”

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Marilyn in Fort Lauderdale

Leaving Florida after a short holiday, 1961

In March 1961, while Marilyn was recovering from illness, ex-husband Joe DiMaggio invited her to join him for a relaxing break in Florida. According to today’s Orlando Sentinel, Marilyn visited the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel during her stay…

“The New York Yankees once made the hotel their home during spring training, and it is said that a chunk of the bar remains missing, where the former owner broke it off so Marilyn Monroe could sign it.”

Source

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Marilyn’s Ceil Chapman Dress in Las Vegas

Photo by Ethan Miller

Marilyn Monroe’s Ceil Chapman evening gown is displayed next to Anna Nicole Smith’s custom painted Marilyn Monroe dresser at Julien’s Auctions annual summer sale at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino June 24-27, 2010, in Las Vegas,Nevada.

Scott Fortner has noted on his blog that while beautiful, the gown is partially damaged due to neglect over the years since Marilyn died. Sadly, this is true of many of Monroe’s former possessions – but still, they continue to sell at high prices. Another Chapman gown belonging to the star sold at Christie’s for $100,000 in 1999.

Some info on Ceil Chapman from Vintage Bulletin:

“Ceil Chapman began her career in New York, her first company was ‘Her Ladyship Gowns’ started in 1940 with partner Gloria [Morgan] Vanderbilt. The she went on to another company labeled ‘A Chapman Original’ which later became simply ‘Ceil Chapman’. She was a popular, talented designer through the early 1960’s. Known for her exquisite draping that enhanced the female form, she became a favorite among many stars of the era, such as Deborah Kerr and Elizabeth Taylor. Rumor has it she was the favorite designer of Marilyn Monroe.

Her specialty was evening, formal wear, done in silks, taffeta, chiffon and organdy, embellished with beading and lace. She designed a great deal for movies and television.”

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Marilyn and the Greensons

Arnold Newman, 1962

“Marilyn would give me older sisterly advice about men and about life … and at other times, it seemed like I was the older one and more experienced, and I would give her sisterly advice.”

Joan and Daniel Greenson, the children of Marilyn’s last psychiatrist, Dr Ralph Greenson, give a rare interview to Christopher Turner in today’s Telegraph.

Source