Marilyn Monroe 1926-1962
In addition to several other European magazines this summer (see here), Marilyn is currently gracing the cover of German bi-monthly Meine Stars Von Damals (‘My Stars From Back Then’), with the headline, ‘Her Double Life is a Mystery to This Day’. She covered another German title, Nostalgie, back in March.
Thanks to Lorenzo at Marilyn Remembered
In an era where the Marilyn fandom is increasingly centred online, it’s refreshing to find that some clubs have maintained their print-based model. Among these is Some Like It Hot, a German fan club founded in 1992, which still offers subscribers a regular newsletter in German and English, Marilyn Today. For more information, contact Benjamin Meissner here or via Instagram.
Meanwhile in Spain, the artist, museum curator and Marilyn scholar Frederic Cabanas has published a short booklet, Marilyn in New York: Side by Side, comparing familiar images of her NYC haunts with photos of the locations today. The text is in Catalan, but the visuals are the main attraction. If you’re interested in purchasing this, visit the Cabanas Foundation website or drop a line to [email protected]
Thanks to Michelle Morgan
Following a recent cover story in Yours Retro magazine, the 60th anniversary of Some Like It Hot also makes the front page of the latest Weekly News, plus a centrefold tribute from Craig Campbell.
On the weird side of Marilyn fandom, in Take A Break: Fate & Fortune‘s May issue, Emma Pearce of Cornwall shares her belief that MM is haunting her home – via a reproduction of a painting by Renato Casaro which she found in a rubbish tip (depicting Marilyn as Jesus, with Bogart and Elvis among her disciples, in a pastiche of Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper.) Maybe the ghost isn’t Marilyn, but an angry critic?
Further afield, the second issue of German magazine Nostalgie features a lovely Monroe cover. Sadly, the usual conspiracy theories about her death are trotted out inside.
Thanks to Fraser and Johan
Dear Los Angeles: Letters and Diaries 1542-2017, edited by David Kipen, is a new anthology featuring two missives from Marilyn herself among its assorted diary entries and correspondence. The first – dated February 2nd, 1962 – is extracted from a letter to her stepson, Bobby Miller, recounting her meeting with the Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy during a dinner party at Peter Lawford’s home. (You can read it in full by clicking on the images below.)
The second – which she wrote just over two weeks later, on February 17 – is a brief note to the German Consul, Mr. Volkmar von Fuehlsdorff.
Marilyn was also mentioned by director Elia Kazan (her friend and former lover) in a tongue-in-cheek letter dated July 27, 1955. It’s unclear who Kazan was addressing, but his words are clearly in jest (Marilyn was in New York at the time.)
Marilyn Monroe: The Unknown, a new exhibition featuring the collection of Ted Stampfer, opens at the Historical Museum of the Palatinate (Museum Der Pfalz-Speyer) in Speyer, one of Germany’s oldest cities and part of the Rhineland-Palatinate region this Sunday, December 16, for a six-month stay. There is an accompanying programme of events and you can also purchase special edition lipstick and wines.
Thanks to MM News
With the festive season fast approaching, here’s a selection of the best Marilyn calendars (and diaries) for 2019. First of all, here’s a bumper edition of high-quality images from Hugo et Compagnie…
TeNeues are offering a calendar and diary this year…
Another calendar and diary, from Italy:
This US calendar is officially licensed and approved by Marilyn’s estate.
Marilyn is also featured (with Arthur Miller) in this German literary calendar from Anfang & Aufbruch…
Several Marilyn-related titles have been published in Europe recently. First, and most peculiar, is Marilyn Monroe: Broken Dreams, from Germany’s Oio Books, blending photos of Marilyn with digitally melted images. The author is named only as ‘An Idiot.’
Die Sünde der Frau (The Sins of Woman) is a German translation of Dutch author Connie Palmen’s 2017 book profiling Marilyn alongside writers Marguerite Duras, Patricia Highsmith and Jane Bowles: all of whom, Palmen believes, were rebellious women who paid a high price for freedom.
And in France, a new children’s book from the Quelle Histoire series introduces younger readers to Marilyn.
Monroe’s World is a newly founded German company selling high quality prints of Marilyn. They have just released a limited edition birthday calendar, priced at 39.95€.
Thanks to Fraser Penney
Marilyn Monroe – 90th Anniversary, an exhibit featuring photographers such as Andre de Dienes, Bruno Bernard, Nahum Baron and Arnold Newman, is on display at the Galerie Hiltawsky in Berlin until January 14 next year, Hans Schneider reports for BlouArtInfo.
