Marilyn graces the cover of UK magazine The Oldie‘s August issue (which you can order here.) Inside, socialite and interior designer Nicky Haslam claims to have met her while working for Vogue‘s art department in New York, when he was sent to her East 57th Street apartment with the photos from her ‘Last Sitting’ with Bert Stern.
According to Haslam, Marilyn looked somewhat bedraggled – which is plausible enough, although it’s unlikely she was wearing a ‘grey tracksuit’ as he describes. (Tracksuits were uncommon before the 1970s, and no such apparel was found among the items of clothing from her estate, auctioned at Christie’s in 1999.)
But this is a minor quibble. My major problem with Haslam’s story is that Marilyn did not visit New York again after her ‘Happy Birthday Mr. President’ performance in mid-May. The Stern sessions were at the Hotel Bel Air in June and July. Peter Levathes, head of production at Twentieth Century-Fox, recalled to Monroe biographer Donald Spoto that Marilyn was reviewing Stern’s photos with publicist Pat Newcomb when he visited her at home in Los Angeles on July 25.
However, Haslam’s memories are firmly placed in her New York apartment building, which unfortunately makes his account problematic. Nonetheless, he has also provided an introduction (in English) for Marilyn: Ein Requiem, a book of Stern’s photos set for publication in Germany soon.
Thanks to Lorenzo at Marilyn Remembered
The Marilyn Report 