A colourised image of Marilyn graces the cover of Palm Springs Life‘s annual ‘Desert Living’ issue. The original shoot, captured by Dave Cicero in May 1951, also includes the famous image of Marilyn reading Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. Cicero first photographed Marilyn as a babysitter in 1947 for a studio publicity stunt, and would later join her in Korea.
Inside, Marilyn is featured in Emily Chavous Foster’s article, ‘Coachella Valley History Lives on in Local Lore.’
“In the 2011 book Marilyn: Intimate Exposures, Susan Bernard, daughter of celebrity photographer Bruno Bernard, recalls the fortuitous discovery of a promising ingénue named Marilyn Monroe.
‘It was in the Springs one auspicious morning that Marilyn, smelling like baby powder, was unloaded along with the camera equipment from Dad’s station wagon. This magical photo safari would change the course of her life forever, when Dad introduced her to Johnny Hyde, vice president of the William Morris Agency, who fell head over heels for her.’
It was December 1949. She was 23, posing in 4-inch cork heels on the diving board at the Racquet Club, a members-only tennis club in Palm Springs opened in the 1930s by actors Charles Farrell and Ralph Bellamy. That month’s edition of Screen Stars magazine referenced the club, hailing it as ‘so private, Farrell won’t tell how many members it has or what the dues are.’
But Johnny had already discovered Marilyn. The pair met a year earlier at a party in Beverly Hills. He had invited the starlet to join him at the Racquet Club for its New Year’s Eve gala. ‘John Hyde … hosted Marilyn Monroe, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Karl, Eleanor Cushingham, Sy Bartlett, and Benny Thau,’ Palm Springs Limelight News reported after the festivities wrapped.
In the months following their meet-cute in the desert, Hyde left his wife for Marilyn (who reportedly refused multiple proposals from the agent, 31 years her senior). He suffered a heart attack at the Racquet Club on Dec. 17, 1950, and died the next day.”
The Marilyn Report 
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