After leaving Hollywood behind in December 1954, Marilyn spent a few weeks with Milton and Amy Greene in Westport, Connecticut. Even after moving into a New York hotel in January 1955, she often returned to Westport for weekends. On the 06880 blog, lifelong Westport resident Dan Woog speaks with 94-year-old Butzi Moffitt, seen at Marilyn’s left in this candid snapshot.
“I have only a vague recollection of The Separate Shop. That’s okay — I was not the women’s clothing store’s target audience. Plus, it opened before I was born, and was in my early teens when it was sold. I have better memories of The Ice Cream Parlour … But those memories pale compared to Butzi Moffitt’s. She owned them both.
Butzi’s Southport home is filled with photos. (And — in the kitchen — an actual wrought-iron Ice Cream Parlour table.) Those photos include Butzi with Marilyn Monroe. She was great friends with Milton Greene, the Weston photographer who helped make the actress famous. ‘She was sweet, caring, gentle,’ Butzi recalls. ‘Not a tough cookie at all.’
Butzi became a store owner in 1952. She worked for a woman who owned an ‘unsuccessful’ dress shop. ‘I thought women’s sportswear would be more popular,’ Butzi says. The Separate Shop opened in Sconset Square — then called Sherwood Square — and soon there were ‘lines out the door’ … Marilyn Monroe was a regular customer, Butzi says. She bought cashmere sweaters in 3 sizes — 32, 24 and 36 — to wear in different seasons.”
The Marilyn Report 