Julien’s Auctions is hosting an online sale, ‘Merry, Merry Marilyn II‘, closing on Monday, December 30. Bids start at $25 with no reserve, and a festive wristband accompanies each purchase. The original ‘MMM’ auction was held in 2020 (see here.)
Among the almost 100 lots on offer are personal documents, ephemera and photos from the Silver Screen archive, and a selection of 1970s prints by Richard C. Miller, showing Norma Jeane in 1946.
A set of 1970s prints of Marilyn, photographed by Earl Moran. Unpublished in her lifetime, the images inspired Moran’s pin-up calendar illustrations in the late 1940s.
A 1948 portrait by Laszlo Willinger, in a 1970s print; and a 1952 calendar for Geltman Sponging Co. featuring Marilyn’s ‘A New Wrinkle’ pose from her 1949 session with Tom Kelley.
In these colour prints from another 1948 sitting with Willinger – likely pulled from a pin-up magazine – with Marilyn striking two ‘cowgirl‘ poses, labelled ‘Caught Short’ and ‘Southern Exposure.’
A still photo showing Marilyn with her fellow chorus girls A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950); and an exhibitor’s campaign book for Let’s Make It Legal, hailing Marilyn as the ‘1951 Model Blonde.’
From a selection of vintage magazines: Focus, September 1952 – a pocket-sized magazine including a 7-page article headlined, ‘A Psychiatrist Looks at Marilyn Monroe’ (with cover photo by Paul Melching, 1951); and Billed Bladet, March 1953 – a Danish magazine with Marilyn on the cover (but not inside) in a publicity shot for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Six 1970s prints of a 1953 portrait by Frank Powolny; and a handwritten cheque dated June 26, 1952, and signed ‘Marilyn Monroe, Hotel Bel Air’.
Four 1970s prints showing Marilyn on the set of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), possibly by Ed Clark; including a shot from the ‘porthole scene’ with co-star George Winslow; and three more images from her ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’ number.
From a selection of images shot by Bob Beerman in Marilyn’s Los Angeles apartment on June 26, 1953 – the same day she signed her name in cement outside the Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.
Marilyn and her makeup artist, Allan ‘Whitey’ Snyder, on the set of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; on location for River of No Return with her stand-in, Helen Thurston; and with Tommy Rettig, her River co-star, at a premiere in 1953.
A Christmas card from Marie DiMaggio, Marilyn’s sister-in-law from her second marriage to Joe DiMaggio.
Redbook, March 1953 – Nickolas Muray’s photo illustrates a cover story on the magazine’s 14th Annual Movie Awards, with Marilyn named as Outstanding Personality of the year; and a photo from her 1954 tour of Korea, when she wore the same Ceil Chapman dress. Marilyn also appears in these two cover insets: Collier’s, July 9, 1954 – includes a 4-page article by Robert Cahn, about Marilyn’s work with jazz pianist Hal Schaefer as she rehearsed songs for There’s No Business Like Show Business, with photos by John Florea; and Saturday Evening Post, May 5, 1956 – featuring ‘The New Marilyn Monroe,’ a 6-page article from a serialised interview with Pete Martin, later published in full as Will Acting Spoil Marilyn Monroe?
An original print of Marilyn on location for The Seven Year Itch in New York; and a memo from Darryl F. Zanuck, head of Twentieth Century-Fox, dated October 21, 1954 and addressed to director Billy Wilder et al, reading in part, ‘I got caught up on the rushes last night on Seven Year Itch. They are excellent. Monroe was particularly outstanding.’
A rare herald sample sent to cinema owners for display; two newspaper clippings from June 1955, related to the film’s release; an advertisement for the tie-in book, Marilyn Monroe as The Girl; and a telegram sent to Charles Feldman by a Fox studio executive regarding the publicity campaign (‘some papers refuse to accept wind blowing ad … this is a very delicate situation …’)
Marilyn photographed by Frank Burley for The Seven Year Itch; and at a New York press conference for Marilyn Monroe Productions on January 7, 1955.
A porcelain figurine manufactured by Franklin Mint in 2002, based on Marilyn’s ‘Emerald Session‘ with photographer Milton Greene from March 1955.
A first edition hardback copy of Norman Mailer’s Of Women and Their Elegance (1980), with this handwritten inscription from Milton Greene: ‘To Peggy & Yoram / Love and Happiness / Milton / Happy Birthday, Yoram’ — the addressee being Yoram Kahana, a longtime journalist and member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Marilyn on the Bus Stop set in 1956, with acting coach Paula Strasberg in the background; and photographed by Milton Greene with the two sons of co-star Eileen Heckart (original negative included.)
At left, an original print of Marilyn’s favourite Cecil Beaton photo from 1956, one of many copies she had made to sign for special people in her life; and at right, Marilyn with Arthur Miller outside her Sutton Place apartment building on June 22, 1956, as they announced their engagement to the press.
The Millers at London’s Savoy Hotel on July 15, 1956; and a day later, Marilyn with Sir Laurence Olivier, her co-star in The Prince and the Showgirl.
Marilyn photographed by Carl Perutz on June 16, 1958; and at the Los Angeles premiere of Gigi on July 10.
Marilyn and Tony Curtis in one of three images shot on location for Some Like It Hot; and shooting the final scene with co-stars Jack Lemmon and Joe E. Brown (sold separately.)
Marilyn’s personally owned Film Daily magazine, dated February 25, 1959, featuring a review of Some Like It Hot and promotional photos by Richard Avedon. ‘Miss Monroe achieves a fine level of portrayal, giving a zestfulness to the altogether fresh comedy,’ wrote critic Mandel Herbstman.
A costume test for Some Like It Hot; and the Millers, photographed by Paul Schumach at the New York premiere on March 29, 1959.
Exhibitor’s campaign manual for Let’s Make Love (1960.)
Marilyn photographed by Eve Arnold in 1960; and a single page of dialogue for The Misfits, dated August 17, 1960, with pencilled cross-outs for her character ‘Roslyn’ as well as her ‘note to self’ reading ‘Try to make / Guido Relief’ [sic], another penciled annotation in upper right corner in someone else’s hand reads ‘May Reis’s’ [Marilyn’s secretary]; on the next an orange wax pencil annotation of ‘MM’ in the upper margin, though no other annotations appear.
Marilyn with Mexican screenwriter Jose Bolanos, her date for the evening, at the Golden Globe Awards on March 5, 1962, when she was named World Film Favourite; and one of four miscellaneous files – a typed letter from secretary Cherie Redmond to Marilyn’s attorney, dated April 2, 1962, outlining concerns about Marilyn’s finances and business ventures, including a funny situation about a recipe she was going to contribute to a cookery book. Redmond writes ‘I’d hate to have someone use her recipe then turn around and sue her because they couldn’t stomach some ingredient she included.’
A 2012 print from Marilyn’s final studio sitting for Bert Stern; a 1980s ‘gold foil’ poster proof; and a contact sheet print, all signed by the photographer.
Two 1970s prints from Marilyn’s 1962 Vogue layout with Stern; and a typed letter from Milton Rudin, Marilyn’s lawyer (and brother-in-law to her psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson.) The letter is regarding her bank balance, with Rudin admonishing her that ‘at the rate you have been making those expenditures, you will spend the $13,000 in a very short period of time.’
And finally, one of four prints from a George Barris portfolio; a copy of Variety dated August 6, 1962, with Marilyn’s death announced on the front page; and a group of newspaper clippings from the Los Angeles press circa 1965, reporting on legal issues over Marilyn’s estate and the fate of her mother.
UPDATE…
The three top-selling lots in this auction were the handwritten cheque and annotated pages from The Misfits shown above, and these beach photos from Some Like It Hot, fetching $7,800 each. You can view the results in full here.
The Marilyn Report 