Marilyn Monroe 1926-1962
David Wills’ 2011 book, Marilyn Monroe: Metamorphosis, is one of the best photo retrospectives on the market – so it’s no surprise to report that his latest publication, Hollywood in Kodachrome, is also of fine quality. Focussing on 1940s photography, Wills devotes ten pages to Richard C. Miller, Bruno Bernard, Tom Kelley and Earl Thiesen’s glorious colour shots of a young Marilyn in her starlet years.
Scans by Chris at Club Passion Marilyn – click on thumbnails to see them at full size.
Here’s a selection of the best Marilyn-related calendars on sale now. First up is a bi-monthly calendar from French publisher Hugo Image. This is probably the highest-quality product on the market. (The photo below shows the back cover, and was posted at Immortal Marilyn.)
Next up, ‘Fox Presents the Films of Marilyn’ or ‘Marilyn in the Movies’ is an unusual and fun calendar. (Thanks to MarilynGeek for sharing the back cover.)
Individual photographers are well-represented this year, with calendars featuring Milton Greene, Sam Shaw (I prefer the smaller version, as the large one is colourised) and Andre de Dienes (pictured below.)
Several other calendars include miscellaneous candid and formal shots. You’re very likely to spot these in local shops, so I won’t post them here.
And for diarists, there’s good and bad news: while TeNeues are not offering a Marilyn diary this year, she makes the cover of their new Glamour Magneto Diary, featuring more artwork of MM and other vintage stars inside.
UPDATE: This calendar from ML Publishing features classic images of Marilyn in black and white.
Marilyn Wines have just released the ‘2012 Norma Jeane‘, priced at $13, inspired by Bruno Bernard’s pin-up photo of the young starlet: ‘100% Merlot from the Lodi AVA of California…rich in color with dark berry flavors end ready to enjoy.’
Susan Bernard – daughter of photographer Bruno Bernard, and author of Marilyn: Intimate Exposures, is giving a one-hour at London’s National Portrait Gallery on March 14th at 7pm, to accompany the current exhibition, Marilyn Monroe: A British Love Affair, on display until March 24th.
Susan Bernard, author of Marilyn: Intimate Exposures, told the San Francisco Chronicle about her early encounter with MM.
“In her only memory of meeting Marilyn Monroe, Susan Bernard is 3 or 4 years old. She’s in Los Angeles, and the Hollywood legend is sitting in her father’s car.
‘It’s almost like a mirage,’ Bernard says. ‘An apparition. I remember she had blond hair, and she was called Marilyn. She was very sweet. She giggled a lot.'”
While promoting the Marilyn: Intimate Exposures exhibit, now open at Proud Chelsea in London, Susan Bernard spoke to the Huffington Post about what Marilyn means to her…
“Marilyn has been my guardian angel. She picks me up when I am down and gives me strength. She empowered women way before Women’s Lib. Marilyn, the writer Anais Nin, and my mother are my inspirations.”
An exhibition featuring Bruno Bernard’s photos of Marilyn – from early pin-ups to Hollywood glamour – will open at London’s Proud Chelsea on August 1, running through to September 9, reports MM Collection Blog.
A selection from Yury Toroptsov’s ‘Marilyn and I’ photo series will be on display at Renoma & Komplex store in Paris alongside the photos of Bernard of Hollywood in a show entitled ‘Seule’ (‘Alone’) dedicated to MM. Opening reception on Thursday, May 10, running through to July 25.
Don Murray – Marilyn’s cowboy love in Bus Stop (1956) spoke about her at the Palm Springs International Film Festival this weekend, where The Prince and the Showgirl was also screened, and Susan Bernard talked about her father’s photos of Monroe.
‘He was filming his first major motion picture and she was “one of the biggest stars in the world.” And yet, he learned quickly that filming revolved precariously around Monroe and her whims…
“Bus Stop” has been called her “best-behaved film.”
“When I heard that I thought, well, God, what was her worst-behaved film?” Murray said.
He told the stories with fondness and also spoke of her talent and sense of humor.’
Marilyn was briefly a student at UCLA – studying Renaissance Art and Literature. So it seems apt that her ‘alma mater’ should mark the upcoming 50th anniversary of her passing on January 25 at 7.30pm in the Billy Wilder Theatre (also apt), with a selection from the Archive’s vast Hearst Metrotone News collection of newsreel clips and outtakes featuring a candid Monroe; a screening of the seminal documentary, ‘The Legend of Marilyn Monroe’, with an appearance by producer Terry Sanders; and also Susan Bernard (who seems to be everywhere lately!)