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Marilyn Doll Artist Kim Goodwin Has Died

Kim Goodwin, who was a make-up artist to celebrities from Elizabeth Taylor to Charlize Theron, died of heart failure and other complications this weekend.

Kim’s sad passing was announced by his best friend, singer Marie Osmond, who kept fans updated throughout his illness. Marie’s brother Donny Osmond, with whom she has been performing at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for eleven years, has also offered  condolences.

Kim was much loved by the Marilyn fan community, creating a series of one-of-a-kind dolls which became highly prized due to his impeccable renditions of Marilyn’s iconic fashions. He also a devoted collector of rare photographs, sharing his expertise with biographers like Michelle Morgan.

In a recent tour video, Kim transformed Marie into silver screen icons Marilyn, Elizabeth, plus Sophia Loren and Ann-Margret.

Over at Marilyn Remembered, artist Richard Hanna and former model Linda Kerridge shared tributes to Kim, while Lorraine Nicol wrote about what Kim’s dolls meant to her.

And here is a selection of Kim’s Marilyn dolls, as posted by Melinda Mason on her Marilyn Monroe and the Camera website.

A model girl,  from Norma Jeane to Marilyn…

… whether in a potato sack or creamy silk…

She was the blonde gentlemen preferred…

An idol to millions…

Or was she just The Girl Upstairs?

A showgirl, from Cherie to Sugar…

Fast forward to 1962…

A star in her prime…

But something had to give…

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Linda Kerridge in ‘Fade to Black’

Fade to Black, a 1980 slasher flick about a young man who becomes infatuated with a Marilyn Monroe lookalike (played by Australian actress and MM impersonator, Linda Kerridge) is reviewed today on the Retroist blog.

Here’s another take on the MM connection, from Unknown Movies:

“Then there is the part of the movie surrounding Kerridge’s character. After she misses the date she had with Binford, the movie simply forgets about her until near the end of the movie. Oh wait – there’s the scene midway through when Binford visits her during the night to do something that makes no sense when you consider how Binford has been treating everyone else that has done him wrong. In any case, it’s still somewhat jarring to see her character suddenly appear again after being forgotten about for so long. Come to think of it, I think every subplot in the movie gets stretched out like this instead of playing out with a more tight feeling.”

Fade to Black‘s other claim to fame is a brief appearance by the young Mickey Rourke.