As the Musée Grévin prepares to reopen in Paris this Wednesday, May 19, staff have treated their Marilyn waxwork – inspired by her iconic gold lamé dress pose – to a spring clean, the NY Daily News reports (photo by Thomas Samson, AFP.) Across the Atlantic, this year’s Artichoke Festival will go ahead at the Monterey fairgrounds. (Marilyn was, of course, crowned the first Artichoke Queen back in 1948.)
Meanwhile in Palm Springs, the imminent return of the Forever Marilyn sculpture continues to stir up controversy, with a #MeTooMarilyn protest staged recently on Museum Way. However, the statue remains popular with local businesses and especially the LGBTQ community, though some dispute the claim that it will boost tourism. “She’s an attraction, in our opinion. She’s not an art,” Forever Marilyn’s champion Aftab Dada of PS Resorts tells NPR.
Looking ahead to Marilyn’s 95th birthday on June 1st, Los Angeles fan club Marilyn Remembered is now accepting donations for a floral bouquet to be placed at her graveside in Westwood Memorial Park. And Julien’s Auctions is hosting an online sale of photographs and memorabilia to mark the occasion, which I will cover in the near future.
The Marilyn Report 