Happy New Year

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and all the best in 2014!

Fans in her hands

Thanks to Brianna and Natalia for sending in their photos with Marilyn's handprints.  I have added them to the website here.

New Marilyn Tattoos Added

Thanks to Anja, Brittney, Francisco, Mackenzie and Elisa for sending in photos of their tattoos.  I have added them to the website here.

My Marilyn Christmas Tree

I'm sooooo excited.  After many years of lusting after the Glamorous Miss Monroe ornaments by the Bradford Exchange - I found some that were reasonably priced on Ebay!  

At one time I had over 50 bradford exchange Marilyn plates.  While I really enjoyed them they just took up too much room and I had so many other things I wanted to be able to display so I ended up selling them.  One of the things I like about the ornaments is that they feature some of the same artwork from the plates I used to have.  

The collection consisted of 56 ornaments which were sold as 14 sets of 4 back in the early 2000's.  I've got 40 of them now so I plan to keep my eyes peeled for the rest.  I went out today and picked up a cute little turquoise tree to display them on.  Love it!

#MarilynMonroe items up for Auction at Bonhams

Some really interesting items are coming up for auction at Bonhams on November 25, 2013.  Here are my favourites....

An original title made for River of No Return  ESTIMATE $700-$900

20th Century Fox, 1954. Carved wood, framed. Created by Pacific Title for the film's opening credits but not screen-used.River of No Return, a Western set in the Pacific Northwest in the 19th century, was directed by Otto Preminger and starred Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum.
Overall: 45 x 19 1/2 in.; Wood only: approximately 39 x 14 in.

An eight-page handwritten letter from Marilyn Monroe to Grace Goddard  ESTIMATE $50,000-$70,000

Autograph Letter Signed ("Norma") in pencil, 8pp, 4to, [Van Nuys, CA, September 14, 1942], to Grace Goddard, regarding her wedding and married life, with original autograph transmittal envelope signed ("Mrs. James E. Dougherty").  16-year old newlywed Norma Jeane Dougherty writes to her foster mother Grace Goddard mentioning the man she believed was her biological father and describing her wedding and married life in vivid detail. Though Monroe's birth certificate lists a Martin Mortensen as her father, she always believed that her true biological father was a man named Charles Stanley Gifford, a co-worker of her mother Gladys at Consolidated Films during the 1920s. Monroe is known to have reached out to Giffords once she was an established celebrity, but he rebuffed her attempts. This letter reveals that by as young as 16—at the moment she begins her adult life as a married woman—she was interested in establishing a relationship with the man she thought of as her father.

The first line of this letter to Grace reads: "I want to thank you so much for writing Mom and explaining things about Stanley G. I'm sure she understands now." 
Norma, who had married Jimmy Dougherty just three months prior, describes life as a married woman: "He really keeps me busy cleaning the house and fixing meals, everybody told me that it is quite a responsibility being a house wife, and boy, I'm finding it out. But it really is a lot of fun. / Jimmy is so swell to me, in fact I know that if I had waited 5 or 10 years I couldn't have found anyone who would have treated me better. I just think the world of him and we get along so nicely. He is just so sweet about every little thing."
Norma Jeane goes on to describe her new home, even drawing a floor plan diagram of the rooms and furniture. The next 5 pages list in exacting detail each guest invited to the wedding and the gift sent: "Mr. and Mrs John Ingram (He is the school teacher that was such a good friend of Jimmy's). He is also Doris Drenen's brother-in-law. And Doris Drenen is Jim's ex—remember? I remember only too well."
She describes a gift from the Gaddis family: "The most beautiful cocktail set I have ever seen in my life. It is out of solid copper. The set consists of a huge round copper tray with a mat or cork on one side and asbestos on the other for hot drinks. Then there are eight copper glasses then there are eight little copper tray things for the glasses. Also there is a little copper bucket for grated ice. It is really beautiful." Other guests listed include Aunt Ana [Lower], Grace Godard's aunt, who fostered Norma Jeane from age twelve to age fourteen; and the Bolenders, who raised Norma Jeane from infancy until she was seven.
Norma Jeane adds a poignant post script, again mentioning the man she thought of as her biological father: "How can I get in touch with Stanley Gifford? Through Consoladated [sic] films? Or something like that. Which dept?" 
8 x 10 in.

A signed photograph of Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio  ESTIMATE $3,000-$5,000

Silver gelatin print of Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio stepping out of an elevator, Monroe dressed in a long black coat and black pumps, looking up and smiling at the crowd and DiMaggio in a dark three-piece suit, looking down, c.1954, signed by each ("Marilyn Monroe / Joe DiMaggio") in black ink at lower margin.
Provenance: Profiles in History, Hollywood Auction 42, June 10, 2010, lot 170; Estate of Jerome Shochet
Photographs signed by both Monroe and DiMaggio are exceedingly rare as their marriage lasted only nine months.
4 1/8 x 5 3/4 in.

Marilyn and the Camera is now MarilynGeek

Well it was just a matter of time but I have now merged my newly created MarilynGeek site with MarilynMonroe.ca!

What this really means is that I have changed the name from Marilyn and the Camera to MarilynGeek.  It is mostly a cosmetic change as the content is remaining the same.

I have been using Marilyn and the Camera for over 13 years so it was time for a refresh :)  You can use either MarilynMonroe.ca or MarilynGeek.com to access the website from now on.

Norma Jeane 1942 Yearbook for sale

I am looking to sell my 1942 University High yearbook featuring a young Norma Jeane.  It is in excellent shape.  What makes this copy unique is that it belonged to someone who really knew Marilyn!  This belonged to a schoolmate named Annette Cowgill.  Annette signed her name at the front in a distinctive coloured pen.  She also used this pen to cross out the photos of some boys she disliked and she placed checkmarks next to the people she knew and liked.  There is a checkmark next to Norma Jeane's name!

If you would like some detailed information please visit my website http://www.marilynmonroe.ca/camera/yearbook/

If you are interested in making an offer please contact me at melinda@marilyngeek.com.  

Serious inquires only please.

New Chanel Ads to feature #MarilynMonroe

The late actress had famously said she wore nothing but the fragrance to bed.

CHANEL has announced that images of Marilyn Monroe will be used in TV and print campaigns for its legendary fragrance starting Nov 17.

Although she did not appear in ads for Chanel No. 5 during her lifetime, the iconic American actress may have been the perfume’s best ambassador.

In 1952, when asked by Life magazine what she usually wore to bed, she famously responded that she wore nothing but the fragrance. The declaration went down in Hollywood history as an example of the famous sex symbol’s witty charm, contributing in the process to the mystique surrounding Chanel No. 5.

Six decades later, Chanel plans to place the late actress in the spotlight in No. 5 campaigns.

At the end of 2012, just after bringing on Brad Pitt as an ambassador for No. 5, Chanel released Marilyn And No. 5, a web video in its Inside CHANEL series. The clip expresses Monroe’s affinity for the fragrance through archival images and a previously unreleased audio recording of Monroe discussing her famous quote. – AFP Relaxnews

#MarilynMonroe Sexy Hair

Marilyn is the new face of Sexy Hair products.  You will likely find advertisments featuring her in all the current magazines.  I came across one in the October issue of Cosmo.  They feature Milton Greene images along with a quote attributed to Marilyn (some of the quotes are real and some can not be sourced as Marilyn's).  Regardless, it is a beautiful ad campaign.

I decided to give their hairspray a try and I have been using it for the past month (I found it at Shoppers Drug Mart here in Canada).  While it is expensive and probably more than what most people want to spend, I am very impressed with it.  I would recommend you give it a try.

Sexy Hair is pulling out all the stops with their promotion as well.  They chose my beautiful maid of honour, Suzie Kennedy, to launch their products in the UK.  Stunning!

Marilyn's Cosmetic Surgery

It appears that after all of these years evidence has come forward that Marilyn did indeed have some cosmetic surgery.

(Reuters) - A Southern California plastic surgeon said on Wednesday he is behind the auction of a physician's notes that shows actress Marilyn Monroe had undergone cosmetic surgery, and he will donate the proceeds to assist U.S. veterans with medical work.

Norman Leaf, who had previously requested anonymity, told Reuters that interest in the auction of the notes along with a set of X-rays caused him to come forward.

The set of six X-rays and the file of doctors' notes offer a partial medical history of the Hollywood sex symbol from 1950 to 1962 and are expected to fetch between $15,000 and $30,000.

The auction will be held on November 9-10 by Julien's Auctions, a Beverly Hills, California, auction house.

The notes were written by plastic surgeon Michael Gurdin and confirm speculation that Monroe, who epitomized Hollywood glamour and set a standard of big-screen beauty in the 1950s, went under the knife for cosmetic reasons.

"They had put a chin implant in and it was made of carved bovine cartilage," Leaf said of Monroe's 1950 cosmetic surgery. "They didn't have silicone chin implants in those days."

Monroe's biggest films, such as 1953's "How to Marry a Millionaire," 1955's "The Seven Year Itch" and 1959's "Some Like It Hot," were all shot after 1950.

Leaf, 72, added that the "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" actress also underwent a small cosmetic procedure on the tip of her nose at that time too.

Gurdin's notes indicate that Monroe visited him in 1958 complaining of a chin deformity and he noticed the implant had dissolved.

"As what typically happens with that. It absorbed over the years," Leaf said.

The X-rays are dated June 7, 1962, after Monroe saw Gurdin following a late night fall and two months before the actress would die at age 36 from an overdose of barbiturates.

Leaf, who began a medical partnership in Beverly Hills with Gurdin in 1975, said he did not know he was in possession of the files until about 20 years ago, when he was made aware of Gurdin's old charts that were hidden away storage.

"I've been looking at it and treasuring it and keeping it under lock and key and hidden away in my safe," Leaf said of Monroe's files and X-rays.

Proceeds from the sale will be donated to nonprofit foundation Rebuilding America's Warriors, which helps U.S. veterans receive free reconstructive surgery on injuries that are not covered by government benefits, said Leaf, who is the foundation's medical director.

"I think it's the perfect link because Marilyn entertained the troops in Korea (in the 1950s), so this is a chance for her to help the troops out again," Leaf said.

Leaf self-published a memoir, "Are Those Real? True Tales of Plastic Surgery from Beverly Hills," in 2010 in which he detailed Gurdin's notes on Monroe.

2014 Marilyn Monroe Calendar

Thanks to Daniel for pointing out this great Marilyn calendar for 2014.  I love the Shaw and Greene photos but I've had my fill of them on calendars :)  Just tired of the same photos year after year.  So here is something a little different.

You can order this calendar through the Amazon link below.

 

MarilynGeek.com has been launched!

I am excited to announce the opening of my MarilynGeek.com website and the unveiling of my new logo.  Could she be any cuter?   Ever since I started using the MarilynGeek moniker I have been wanting some artwork that would show Marilyn with her Pola look.  It took a long time to find the artist who could bring my vision to life.  Thank you Brandon!!!

At this point MarilynGeek.com is just a landing page to direct fans to my social media pages but who knows what it will become over time.  I have re-branded my social media pages with the new artwork.  Hope you all like the new look of the blog :)

I love this artwork so much that I have also opened up a Zazzle store.  If you haven't heard of Zazzle it is a print-on-demand service like Cafepress (except with higher quality products).  I've included a photo of my new iphone casemate cover that I ordered from Zazzle.  I am thrilled with how it turned out!  If you are interested in getting your own MarilynGeek swag visit http://www.zazzle.com/pinupgeek. There is a sale this weekend with 15% off everything.

New Marilyn Monroe Tonner Doll - Shipboard Wedding

Tonner dolls has released yet another Marilyn doll.  I've already discussed the shortcomings of their Marilyn facial sculpt.  She lacks a great resemblance to Marilyn and they don't seem to really be changing up the hair at all.  However, they continue to WOW with the amazing attention to detail on the outfits.

This one features the wedding dress Marilyn wore in the double wedding aboard the ship at the end of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.  I have always loved this look and considered copying the dress for my wedding :)  I think this is one that I won't be able to pass up.

You can reserve her through the Tonner Doll website.  This time they are also making the outfit available for purchase separately if you already have a doll.

New Owners Hope To Make Sinatra's Old Lake Tahoe Resort A Big Hit

A Lake Tahoe resort once owned by Frank Sinatra and frequented by his Rat Pack buddies is about to undergo a major makeover.

The Cal Neva hotel-casino that straddles the California-Nevada line will close for more than a year beginning Monday to allow for the multimillion-dollar project.

The 219-room, 10-story hotel and 6,000-square-foot casino will be upgraded in an effort to revive the struggling property, said Robert Radovan, co-owner of Criswell-Radovan. His Napa Valley, Calif.-based development company acquired the Cal Neva in April.

"Our goal is to bring it back to its former glory and to make it what it was like in Sinatra's day," Radovan told The Associated Press. "It has such great soul and character, and it's needed this redo for many decades."

The property has fallen on hard times because of the double-whammy of the recession and competition from Las Vegas and Indian casinos. Its casino was forced to shut down in 2010 due to declining business.

During its heyday from 1960 to 1963, the Cal Neva was owned by Sinatra and became one of the most famous resorts in the country. It drew fellow Rat Packers Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford, and stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio and Juliet Prowse.

Monroe spent her final weekend at the Cal Neva before she died of a drug overdose in Los Angeles in August 1962. Five small cabins, including the one where she stayed that year, also will be renovated, Radovan said. The other cabins were used by Sinatra and friends.

Sinatra himself renovated the Cal Neva, adding the celebrity showroom and a helicopter pad on the roof. He used tunnels to shuffle mobsters and celebrities beneath the resort so they wouldn't be seen by the general public. The tunnels were built in the late 1920s so liquor could be smuggled in during Prohibition.

The showroom will be improved with modernized equipment, painting and new carpets, Radovan said, and the tunnels will be preserved. Public tours of the cabins and tunnels will resume after the project is completed. Bigger plans are in store for the showroom.

"The acoustics in that place are amazing. The modernized equipment will allow for high-end concerts," Radovan said, adding the room where Sinatra, Martin and Davis once performed will continue to be named after Sinatra.

Owners hope to make the hotel a 4-plus-star resort instead of a 1-star by upgrading rooms with modern amenities, larger bathrooms and bigger windows offering Lake Tahoe views, he said. Plans call for the redesigned casino to reopen with blackjack and other table games.

Radovan declined to provide a cost estimate for the project, but acknowledged it'll cost a "pretty penny."

"There will be an elegant, clean, post-modern feel to it after we're done," he said. "You don't want to lose the history of the Frank Sinatra era and eras before it. But you have to ... bring it back to where it's a modernized version of what it was in the heyday."

Owners hope to reopen the Cal Neva on Dec. 12, 2014, which would have been Sinatra's 99th birthday. He died in 1998.

Sinatra's gambling license was stripped in 1963 by Nevada gambling regulators after Chicago mobster Sam Giancana was spotted on the premises.

The Cal Neva is one of Nevada's first legal casinos. The present resort was built in 1937, when a fire destroyed the original lodge that had opened in 1926.  - The Associated Press

Jasper Remembers Marilyn

The Jasper Museum in Alberta, Canada is hosting an exhibit featuring photographs and memories of residents who remember when Marilyn came to town to film "River of No Return" in the summer of 1953.  The exhibit runs until September 22, 2013.

For those of us unable to see it in person the gift shop is selling a booklet about the exhibit.  It features some rare candids I have never seen before.  The stories are fun to read - although I wish there was more content.  It is a small book so please keep that in mind if you are thinking of ordering it.  I think it is worth it for the cover alone.  Just fantastic.

The book can be purchased directly from the museum for $9.95 Cdn plus shipping.

http://www.jaspermuseum.org/giftshop.html

Any #MarilynMonroe Collectors in Ontario Canada?

I have some books, puzzles, framed records, posters, and rare prints that I am looking to part with.  Time to clean out my closet and let some other Marilyn fans enjoy it.  No sense in holding on to it forever in boxes :)

My stipulation is that I am not interested in shipping these items - some are too big and fragile to ship.  I am looking for Marilyn fans who are able to travel to the Kitchener-Waterloo area in Ontario for pick up only. 

If you are interested send an email to marilynfan@gmail.com and I will send you the list and photos.

Thanks ever so!

51st Annual #MarilynMonroe Memorial Service

Monday, August 5 

• 11:00 AM:  The 2013 Marilyn Monroe Memorial Service at Westwood Memorial Park, arranged by the Marilyn Remembered Fan Club.  A reception following the memorial service will be held at the home of Greg Schreiner:  1237 Carmona Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90019.  Lunch will be served.  

Marilyn Remembered gratefully acknowledges Heritage Auctions and The Hollywood Museum for sponsoring this year's memorial service and reception.

Niagara and Bus Stop released on Blu Ray

Niagara "the 60th Anniversary Edition" will be released on Blu Ray July 30, 2013.  It is available for pre-order at Amazon below.  While, I am excited to see this in blu ray it is disappointing that the special features are only a restoration comparison and image gallery.  Could they not do something special for an anniversary edition?

Bus Stop is also being released the same day.  Again, the only special feature is an image gallery.  Regardless, I will enjoy seeing Cherie in Blu Ray :)



If you plan to order these through amazon please use the above links - it helps pay the hosting of marilynmonroe.ca

Rare Marilyn Candids Up For Auction

It still amazes me that new photos of #MarilynMonroe continue to come to light.  The latest shots are coming up for auction at Profiles in History on July 28.  They were taken when Marilyn was married to Arthur Miller.

The most touching to me was the shot of Marilyn on the beach with Arthur's children.  She looks so happy.  

Dearly Departed - Bert Stern

Bert Stern, a commercial photographer best known for his images of Marilyn Monroe in what became known as The Last Sitting, and the documentary Jazz on a Summer's Day, has died in New York City. He was 83.

Stern died Wednesday at his Manhattan home, said Shannah Laumeister, 43, a filmmaker who said the two were secretly married in 2009. She said the reason for keeping it secret was private.

Stern shot thousands of pictures of Monroe at the Bel Air Hotel in Los Angeles in 1962 for Vogue magazine just weeks before her drug overdose death. They included nude and semi-nude images.

The 2,500 images, including ones Monroe rejected, were published in a 1982 book titled The Last Sitting, and a second book, Marilyn Monroe: The Complete Last Sitting, that came out in 2000.

In Bert Stern: Original Madman, a documentary Laumeister made of the photographer, Stern said, "It was a one-time-in-a-lifetime experience to have Marilyn Monroe in a hotel room, even though it was turned into a studio."

"She was so beautiful at that time," Stern told Newsday. "I didn't say, 'Pose nude.' It was more one thing leading to another: You take clothes off and off and off and off and off. She thought for a while. I'd say something and the pose just led to itself."

He photographed many other celebrities, too, including Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Truman Capote.

"He was an enormously innovative photographer, both as a commercial photographer and a photographer of celebrities and fashion models. And one of the great people in his field," said Bruce Barnes, director of the George Eastman House in Rochester, N.Y.

Jazz on a Summer's Day, Stern's only documentary, was released in 1959. The film, about the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, was one of the earliest live concert movies as well as one of the most influential. In 1999, it was added to the National Film Registry in recognition of its historical significance.

Stern was born in Brooklyn on Oct. 3, 1929. In a 1968 interview with Newsday, he said his father was a children's portrait photographer. After dropping out of high school in his senior year, he served in the Army, working as a photographer on a base in Japan.

That experience helped him land a job in the mailroom at Look magazine, where he became a protege of Hershel Bramson, the art director, who would later give him his first job as a commercial photographer.

He launched his career with his first ad campaign, for Smirnoff Vodka, that featured a V-shaped glass of vodka set in the front of an Egyptian pyramid.

"He'll be remembered as someone who loved women and loved taking pictures and putting things he felt strongly about in the camera," Laumeister said. "His images will live forever and wow generations to come."

The Monroe images "go beyond the photograph and become a work of art," she added.

Stern was among a generation of photographers, including Irving Penn and Richard Avedon, who were known for their uncluttered and alluring images.

"He's not quite as well known but fits into that group for revolutionizing the way celebrities were photographed," said Jessica Johnson, assistant curator at the George Eastman House.

The Associated Press, with files from the New York Times

Related Blog Post: I MET BERT STERN!

#MarilynMonroe Milton Greene Photos at Auction

There is an auction coming up on July 27 through Profiles in History of Milton Greene photography.  It will feature many rare photos of Marilyn Monroe.  

If you are interested in purchasing one of the limited edition catalogue's you will need to call in your order to 310-859-7701.  They are $50 and that includes shipping anywhere.  

The catalogue looks beautiful.  You can flip through an online version here.  They are currently being printed and are expected to ship this week.  Can't wait for mine to come.

There were many questions raised when this auction was announced.  The photographs are being sold with copyrights - meaning they can be reproduced for profit.  The Marilyn community was shocked to think that Milton's Estate was selling off its catalogue of Marilyn images.

Thankfully, this is not the case.  Here is a message that was posted by Milton's son, Joshua Greene.

"I HAVE BEEN ASKED TO EXPLAIN WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE UPCOMING AUCTION WITH PROFILES. IN 2000 WHEN I SEPARATED FROM A ABUSIVE BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP I HAD WITH VERY UNSAVORY PARTNERS. I WAS FACED WITH SPLITTING UP MY FATHERS BODY OF WORK AND GRANTING THEM THE COPYRIGHTS, A DECISION I REGRETTED EVERYDAY. I OFFERED MY GREEDY X PARTNERS 1.2 MIL & IT WAS NOT ENOUGH!!! SO IT SAT IN A VAULT IN NYC TILL 2005 WHEN THEY SOLD IT TO THE CURRENT OWNER FOR 500K. GO FIQURE.

THE BOTTOM LINE THE MM WORK IS MEDIOCRE AT BEST. THE BULK OF IT IS FROM THE SET OF BUS STOP & PRINCE, THAT IS WHY THE QUANTITIES ARE SO HIGH. THERE IS VERY LITTLE OF THE OTHER MM SITTINGS AND THEY ARE OUT, OUT, OUT, TAKES.

THE REAL ISSUE IS THAT IT IS HIS LIBRARY OF ALL THE OTHER PERSONALITIES AND FASHION HE DID OVER HIS LIFE TIME. SINCE I ALREADY OWN THE BEST OF HIS WORK WHICH IS 40 % OF THE COLLECTION INCLUDING THE BEST OF MM MY INTERESTS ARE IN THE OTHER WORKS FOR PERSONAL REASONS.

AS SAD AS THIS IS MAYBE IT WILL COME BACK HOME WHERE IT BELONGS.

THOUGHT YOU ALL SHOULD NO THE FACTS."

-Joshua Greene

  

Rare #MarilynMonroe with Marlon Brando Interview 1955

Here is an amazing audio interview where Marilyn discusses the Actor's Studio with Marlon Brando at the premiere of "The Rose Tattoo" in 1955.

This is new to me - how wonderful that jewels like this are being shared on places like youtube!

Marilyn starts speaking 10 minutes in to the video.

Fan Sighting - Yves Montand in Paris

Thanks to John Wright for sending along this photo he took during his trip to Paris.  It is the final resting place of Yves Montand and Simone Signoret.

It is located at Pere Lachaise cemetery, Paris.

If you are interested in hearing some interviews with Yves and exerpts from his autobiography here is a link to one of my best of podcast episodes featuring Yves.

MarilynGeek T-shirts

These are so cute, I had to share.  It is a neat piece of Marilyn art with that geeky vide.  Perfect for Marilyn Geeks out there!

Available on amazon through the below link.

New Heatwave Tonner Marilyn Doll

Tonner Dolls has released yet another Marilyn doll.  This one is a web exclusive and is limited to only 150 dolls.  It is based on Marilyn singing "Heatwave" from There's No Business Like Show Business.

The details of this outfit look amazing!  They really seemed to spend the time getting it right.  I am thrilled that they are continuing to release ORIGINAL Marilyn outfits that have not appeared on other dolls before.

The fun of the Tonner dolls will be the ability to pose her - especially in this outfit.  Let's hope they keep them coming!

What other outfits would you like to see Tonner Release?  I'd like to see a "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" doll.

MarilynGeek on Facebook

Hi Everyone,

My apologies for the lack of updates to the website and blog posts.  I have added a newsfeed here on the blog so you can see the latest Marilyn news stories from across the web.

I'd also like to encourage everyone to visit with me @MarilynGeek on facebook.   I have been posting there and sharing rare photos that I come across on facebook.  Hope to see you there!

Love Marilyn Documentary On Demand with Bell

I discovered today that the documentary Love Marilyn is available on pay per view in Canada!  I have Bell TV and found it available for $9.99.  I was so excited to finally be able to see it.  

Overall I think it was a wonderful documentary.  They used lots of rare footage which was refreshing however the real star was Marilyn's words.  I wasn't sure what I would think of other actors reading her words.  I enjoyed this when they would also show Marilyn's actual handwriting in the background.  Partly because it helped to identify what was going on.  I admit that I got confused sometimes as to whose words the actor/actress's were speaking as they also read excerpts from Mailer, Miller, Steinem, etc.

Nevertheless, I would recommend it as a high quality documentary on Marilyn that really tried to look below the surface and show her as a real person.  

New Marilyn Dolls from Tonner

Tonner dolls have released 2 new Marilyn Monroe dolls and an outfit.  I am so excited to see this doll company continue to produce unique Marilyn dolls.  They are giving us 3 new looks that have never appeared on any prior doll.

Monkey Business Doll

How to Marry a Millionaire Doll

Niagara Outfit Only