More than 30 years after Planet Hollywood first opened, items of movie memorabilia from the New York restaurant went under the hammer at Heritage Auctions. Among the Marilyn-related lots sold this week were her Jax halter-dress, worn for her ‘Incurably Romantic‘ number in Let’s Make Love ($137,500).
A 1970s replica of Marilyn’s most famous Travilla costume – from the ‘subway grate’ scene in The Seven Year Itch – fetched $78,125; and a version of the iconic Travilla ensemble from Bus Stop reached $26,250.
A sequined leotard designed by Travilla for Jane Russell in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes – she and Marilyn wore matching versions in a publicity still, briefly seen on a poster outside the Paris theatre where the showgirls are performing – sold for $6,562.
Sir Laurence Olivier’s military jacket from The Prince and the Showgirl fetched $17,500.
Other items included a large pin-up of Marilyn, originally offered to readers of Popular Science magazine in August 1953 ($4,000); a rare oversize ‘Champion Line’ sample portfolio from 1952, featuring Marilyn’s nude calendar pose for Tom Kelley ($1,375); and a 1978 portfolio featuring 10 colour images from Marilyn’s 1962 ‘Last Sitting’ with Bert Stern ($10,625.)
A set of four University High School yearbooks from 1942 (the listing incorrectly named it as Van Nuys High) featuring a photo of Norma Jeane Baker in her graduating year, sold for $2,750.
And finally, a certificate naming Marilyn as ‘Miss Radar of 1952’ – elected by the 502nd Tactical Control Group of the U.S. Air Force in Korea – was sold for $3,000. The pin-up image duplicated on the certificate was also used on the poster art for Don’t Bother to Knock.
The Marilyn Report 