A version of Marilyn’s ‘cherry dress‘ – designed by Jean Louis for The Misfits and worn by her stand-in, Evelyn Moriarty – was sold for $57,500 last week, as part of the Entertainment Hollywood Signature #7361 event at Heritage Auctions.
As noted in a discussion on the Marilyn Remembered Facebook group, the cherries on the fabric appear to be placed slightly differently to Marilyn’s. There are two half-cherries on the décolleté, whereas Marilyn’s version had only whole cherries. This indicates less preparation in the cutting stage.
Stand-ins often wore an approximate but not exact copy of the star’s costume. In this case, however, the dress was very light and as the film was shot in black and white, it had to be similar enough to avoid strobing and hot spots.
Evelyn Moriarty became quite friendly with Marilyn and worked with her again on the unfinished Something’s Got to Give. She was also a regular guest at the annual memorial services for Marilyn in Los Angeles until her death in 2008.
While the whereabouts of Marilyn’s own ‘cherry dress’ remains unknown, Evelyn’s copy was also worn by Mira Sorvino in the HBO miniseries, Norma Jean and Marilyn (1996.)
Other Marilyn-related items in the sale included a pair of black Salvatore Ferragamo heels, which fetched $40,000. The shoes were previously donated by Anna Strasberg, inheritor of Marilyn’s estate, to actress Sophia Loren for a Sotheby’s auction benefiting AIDS research in 1989.
A revision of Marilyn’s first contract at Twentieth Century-Fox – dated September 9, 1946, and signed as ‘Norma Jeane Dougherty’ – sold for $13,125. She may have requested to stagger her salary more slowly, perhaps to avoid overspending. And a Marilyn Monroe Productions cheque, signed by Marilyn on July 15, 1960, fetched $3,250.
A card signed by Marilyn and Joe DiMaggio while in Banff Springs, Canada during the River of No Return shoot on August 17, 1953 sold for $11,250.
And finally, a print from Andre de Dienes‘ 1946 photo of Marilyn on Malibu Beach – titled ‘Meditation,’ with notations on the verso – sold for $2,250.
The Marilyn Report 
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