A selection of extraordinary colour photos of a young Marilyn, taken by Richard C. Miller in 1946, are among the Monroe-related items on offer at Heritage Auctions. The sale is set for July 29.
Peter Blake Exhibit in London
The work of Peter Blake, ‘Godfather of Pop Art’, is on display at the GX Gallery in Camberwell, South London, until August 11, its first stop in a nationwide tour.
Londoners may want to hurry, though, as according to Dulwich OnView, the Marilyn prints are selling fast!
A selection of Blake’s Monroe-inspired works can be viewed here
Marilyn and ‘Majestic 12’
Robin Ramsay casts a sceptical eye upon one of the more exotic conspiracy theories linking Marilyn with JFK and UFOs in The Fortean Times, in response to allegations recently made in the UK’s Daily Mail.
In his article, Ramsay traces the Monroe connection to journalist Dorothy Kilgallen, who knew Marilyn professionally throughout her Hollywood years – though they were not close friends – and was one of the first to investigate the Kennedy rumours after her death.
However, the rumour appears to be based on documents compiled by Majestic 12, a secret committee formed at the orders of President Harry S. Truman in 1947, after the Roswell Incident. The FBI has since declared documents authorised by MJ-12 ‘completely bogus’ – though UFO enthusiasts will disagree.
Marilyn Flip Flops at the 99 Cent Store
Mailer’s Marilyn, Reappraised
Alex Carnevale has posted a critical review of Norman Mailer’s 1973 book, Marilyn, over at This Recording:
“He re-enacts Marilyn’s abuse as a child, giving it the texture of fiction, and presents it as a fait accompli …Throughout he styles his portrait in the present tense, reminding his audience of why the genre of literary biography is so intensely small … Arthur Miller came close to suing Mailer, claiming he made up slanders and inserted them in Marilyn’s mouth. Miller became convinced that Mailer was in fact recasting himself as Marilyn.”
More Sugar Please…
Two more outdoor screenings of Some Like it Hot tonight: at 8pm in Van Neste Square, Ridgewood, New Jersey; and at 9pm tonight, as part of the ‘Flicks From the Hill’ series at Baltimore‘s American Museum of Visionary Art.
Alleged Blue Movie Resurfaces
Another alleged sex tape has resurfaced, to be auctioned by Spanish collector Mikel Barsa. This tape is nothing new – it was released as a DVD a few years ago, rather cheekily entitled The Bluest Marilyn Monroe.
Speaking to NPR, Los Angeles-based collector Scott Fortner confirmed what most informed fans believe – that the girl in the clip was not Marilyn:
“That’s not Marilyn. The chin is not the same, the lips are not the same, the teeth are not the same. Marilyn was a tiny little thing. And I know that for a fact. I own her clothing…In the Marilyn community, people have debated this for years and years and for the most part it’s widely believed that this is not her.”
However, Barsa insists that the woman is indeed the young, pre-stardom Monroe:
“People with romantic notions have denied that it’s Marilyn Monroe, and have invented stories…This film shows the real Marilyn Monroe — it was only later that the studios discovered her and transformed her.”
Barsa first made the film public in 1997, and at the time CMG – then MM’s licensing company – threatened to sue. While it is true that Marilyn’s appearance subtly changed over the years, in my opinion her jaw was never as square as that of the unidentified girl in the clip.
For comparison, here’s a photo by J.R. Eyerman of a noticeably slimmer Marilyn in one of her early movies, Love Happy (1949.)
Another stag film attributed to MM, The Apple-Knockers and the Coke, was correctly identified as starring Playboy model and MM lookalike Arline Hunter by collector (and friend of Marilyn) James Haspiel as long ago as the 1970s.
While Marilyn did pose topless or even nude on occasion, no sex film has ever been attributed to her. And yet rumours continue to circulate, and titillate a scandal-hungry public.
Mr Barsa plans to auction the film in Buenos Aires on August 7, days after the 49th anniversary of Marilyn’s. Coincidence, or marketing opportunity? You decide…
UPDATE: An excellent blog post from Scott Fortner points out the main differences between the girl in the film and the young Marilyn.
Sugar at Margaret River
A charity screening of Some Like it Hot has been arranged by the Friends of Margaret River Hospital, in Western Australia (nearest city: Perth.)
Set for July 30, a ticket price of $20 includes entry to a vintage-themed market at 4pm, with the movie starting at 6pm, plus a free glass of wine.
More details at Augusta-Margaret River Mail
Beyond ‘The Seven Year Itch’
As the giant statue of Marilyn in Chicago turns heads, the Tribune has collected trivia on The Seven Year Itch, including a review from the archives:
“A rib-tickling film … adult entertainment of a sort which children will neither understand nor enjoy, but mama and papa will find a good many laughs.”
‘Bus Stop’ in L.A.
Bus Stop is probably the most frequently revived of William Inge‘s works, thanks to Marilyn’s starring role in the 1956 movie adaptation. The original play is now being staged by the Kentwood Players at the Westchester Playhouse, Los Angeles, until August 20, with Jessee Foudray as Cherie.
So it seems our heroine might make it to Hollywood and Vine at last…
“What I really like about the play is that the characters make emotional changes based on something that was right in front of them the whole time, but they didn’t see it. And Inge does it in such a beautiful and logical way.”
Max Storme, director, in the Daily Breeze