A set of three negatives (with copyright) from photos captured by Milton Greene on the Bus Stop set in 1956 was the top-selling item in the Julien’s Auctions online event, Happy 99th Birthday, Marilyn!
Fetching a final bid of $5,200, the negatives show Marilyn as exhausted singer Cherie, woken by cowboy Bo (Don Murray) who then tries to woo her by reciting Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address while her landlady looks on with disapproval.
This bedroom scene was comedic in tone, but detached from the film’s original context, these images of Marilyn nude in bed evoke mixed feelings as we recall her death just six years later.
A set of three original prints by Gene Daniels, showing Marilyn at the Golden Globes in 1962, fetched $4,550.
Two Marilyn Monroe Productions cheques also attracted high bids, signed by Marilyn to secretary May Reis ($3,575) and her maid Hazel Washington ($3,250.)
And a 2021 print of ‘A New Wrinkle,’ Marilyn’s 1949 nude calendar pose for photographer Tom Kelley (signed by his son and archivist, Tom Kelley Jr.) fetched $3,900.
This won’t be the last we see of Marilyn at Julien’s this month, as she is also featured among items from the collection of filmmaker David Lynch, who passed away recently. This auction ends on Wednesday, June 18, to be followed by a Day of Classic Hollywood – including items of Marilyn’s personal property – which closes on Friday, June 20.
Both events are part of the popular Hollywood Legends event at Julien’s Auctions, and I’ll cover them in more detail soon.
The Marilyn Report 