A model release form signed by Richard C. Miller and 19-year-old Norma Jeane Dougherty on April 30 1946 (and countersigned by the photographer’s wife Margaret D. Miller) sold for $18,000 this week, as part of a Rare Autographs auction at University Archives. A later print from this sitting by the Richard C. Miller Estate is also included.
Norma Jeane’s address is listed as 11348 Nebraska Avenue, home of Ana Lower, a close family friend who had cared for her as a child. This may have been one of Norma Jeane’s last signatures as a married woman, as she would file for divorce from husband Jim Dougherty just two weeks later. And by September, she had adopted the stage name of Marilyn Monroe to launch her acting career.
A seven-dollar cheque made out to the I. Magnin department store and signed by Marilyn on November 7, 1950 has sold for $7,000. She was a regular customer, and would purchase a red silk taffeta dress there in 1951 that she wore on several occasions, despite criticism in the press. Her given address of 1309 North Harper Avenue was actually home to her acting coach Natasha Lytess. Marilyn divided her time between Harper Avenue and the home of her agent and lover, Johnny Hyde, while also renting an apartment at the Beverly Carlton Hotel. After several years of bit parts, her career was on the rise, and by December, Hyde had negotiated a seven-year contract with Twentieth Century-Fox on her behalf. Sadly, he would die of a heart attack in the same month.
And finally, a snapshot of Marilyn with friends Amy Greene and Sam Shaw at the East of Eden premiere on March 9, 1955 sold for $550. She had recently moved to New York amid an ongoing dispute with Fox, and attended this event – a benefit for the Actors Studio, where she had recently begun taking classes – as a celebrity usherette. Amy was married to Marilyn’s business partner, Milton Greene, while photographer Sam Shaw was also a close friend. This is a Type 1 photograph, printed within two years of the original image being shot; and as with the two other Marilyn-related items in this auction, it has been certified by leading authenticator John Reznikoff.
The Marilyn Report 