Happy 90th Birthday Marilyn!

It is hard to believe that our lovely Marilyn would have been 90 years old today. She is forever young in our minds and hearts. I hope everyone is holding a good thought for her today.  Happy Birthday Marilyn!

Juliens Hollywood Legends Auction June 2015

Julien's latest Hollywood Legends auction was a strange one indeed.  Items that belonged to Marilyn and originated from the Christie's auction went for below the estimates.  Many lots remained unsold because they did not reach the reserve.

Yet items that should not have sold for much went for insane amounts...

Signed Playboy $87,500

 

A grave marker went for $209,000

The star of the show the dress from Something's Got to Give also went for under the estimate at $290,000 (estimate was $300,000 - $500,000)

New Coca-Cola Ad - I kissed Marilyn

I have to admit this new advertising campaign by Coca-Cola is pretty cool.  They are using photos of famous people drinking a coke.  This beautiful billboard of Marilyn is currently displayed across the street from Toronto's Coca-Cola Headquarters in downtown Toronto.

Marilyn Merlot Posters for sale

3 Marilyn Wine posters for sale - Marilyn Merlot 2005 & 2006, Norma Jeane 2006. Never been displayed - a few marks on some edges. $100 for all 3 includes shipping to the US, shipping international is $10.  Email me at marilynfanATgmail.com

Video Tour of My Marilyn Monroe Collection

I did an interview for the Wellington County Museum highlighting my items that are currently on display.  I am happy to be able to share this with those of you who are unable to come and see it in person.

Postcards from Exhibit available

I have had some requests to mail out the postcards from my Marilyn exhibit. To cover my costs I am asking for $2 shipping to Canada, $3 shipping to USA and $4 international shipping. You can send payment via paypal to marilynfan@gmail.com and be sure to include your mailing address.

Mad about Marilyn on Local News

Was interviewed about my exhibit by CTV news.  Special thanks to Marilyn fan, Bronte, who travelled a distance to come today.

Here is the link to the news clip...

http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=453330&binId=1.1147261&playlistPageNum=1

My Marilyn Collection featured in Wellington Advertiser

My local newspaper came by my house for an interview about my collection.  You can read the article here:

http://www.wellingtonadvertiser.com/comments/index.cfm?articleID=22867

My Marilyn Collection on Exhibit from Sept 12 - Jan 11

Do you live in the Guelph/Kitchener/Waterloo area? Come and see my collection!

I am really excited to be showcasing my collection at the Wellington County Museum and Archives which is located between Fergus and Elora. Please visit the museum website for hours of operation and directions.PLAN YOUR VISIT

How did this exhibit happen?

Some of you have asked for the backstory to how this exhibit came about. Last year the Museum started an exhibit called "Wellington County Collects" where they invited local residents to share their collections. They have a large display case that is located in the Archives building (next to the Museum) and it features a new collector every 3 months. I contacted them earlier this year to offer my Marilyn dolls for this display.

The museum curator came to my house to view my collection. She took photos of my items (everything not just the dolls) and we firmed up the dates I would be featured. I came home from work the next day and there was a message that the Museum was so impressed they wanted to give me an entire room in the Museum instead of just the display case!! On top of that they were interested in holding an opening night event showing a Marilyn film!

I will also be interviewed for our community TV channel on the opening night so I hope to be able to share this with everyone.

This really is a dream come true for me. Living in a small town in a rural area I've never had an opportunity to share my collection like this before.

What will be happening on opening night September 12?

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes will be shown at 7pm in the Museum. The doors open at 6pm. It is a 1950's theme evening so I plan on dressing retro and I hope others will too. Snacks will be served and of course popcorn for the movie too.

You can look at the Marilyn exhibit throughout the evening. You will also be able to access the Archives building directly to see the doll display there.

Don't worry if you can't make it opening night - the exhibit will be running until January 11, 2015. If you do visit on another day don't forget to go next door to the Archives building or you will miss out seeing the dolls.

Thanks ever so to everyone that can make it out!

Happy Birthday Marilyn!

Marilyn would be 88 years old.  Hope all of you are keeping her in your thoughts today.  I sure am - I just finished unwrapping a new addition to my collection and I can't keep my eyes off her :)

This is a Happy Birthday Mr. President scuplture by Susana Adalid.  She arrived all the way from Spain.  If you were following my facebook page MarilynGeek on Facebook you already saw the big reveal :)

Marilyn Movie Night at Museum

I have some very exciting news - my Marilyn collection is going to be featured at our local Museum starting in September!  I'll post more details when the dates are confirmed.  Maybe some of you MarilynGeeks who live in Ontario will want to stop by and see it. 

As part of the opening celebration the Museum is thinking of hosting a Marilyn movie night - with the film of my choice.  I've narrowed it down to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes or Some Like it Hot.  I am interested to know what you guys think would be the better option.  Which film would have a broader appeal and would draw more people (non-fans and fans alike) to attend?  Please use the below link to vote....

Click here to take survey

Stay in Marilyn's room at Niagara Falls

Ever wanted to stay where Marilyn slept while filming Niagara?  Now you can.  Finally, the Crowne Plaza hotel in Niagara Falls is taking advantage of the fact that Marilyn stayed at their hotel.

I had visited in 2005 and got to see the inside of her room - but there was no sign that she had ever been there.   I thought it was strange that a hotel with such a rich history did nothing to commemorate one of their most famous guests.

Looks like they have now changed this.  The hotel has announced that they have added photos of Marilyn during the filiming of Niagara to the 8th floor of their property.  The room she stayed in is 801 and they have also added a photo of her in the room.  It is a very small room with 2 double beds.  The room was bigger during Marilyn's days but over the years it has been split up an made smaller.  The view from the room has also changed.  It once had a direct view of the US side of the falls but buildings have grown around the property and now block this view.

The hotel will take requests to stay in room 801 and the rates vary from $129 in the off season to $289 during the summer and on some weekends.  The hotel is also planning to offer tours of its historic property.

Marilyn Monroe Neon Sign

What a find!  Browsing some local classified ads and look what I see...this fantastic Marilyn Monroe neon sign.  I ended up driving 4 hours round trip in order to pick it up but it was worth it.  Love it!  It is huge at 5 feet in length.  Now I just need to find a better spot for it than on my coffee table :)

I am not sure where this sign originated.  If anyone has any knowledge of these please let me know.  It is marked with a TM so I believe it was approved by the estate and was perhaps used in a Marilyn Monroe line of merchandise.

UPDATE - thanks to a recent comment I realized I never came back to this post and updated that I did find out where these neon signs came from.  Looks like I only posted about it on MarilynGeek on facebook page.  These were used by MAC cosemtics for there Marilyn Monroe line of cosmetics.   Here is another photo of mine and a photo of a MAC store.

Happy New Year

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

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!

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!

The "new" Smash returns Feb 5

As a fan of the first season of Smash, I was excited to hear that it was coming back for round two.  It was fun to see a show based around a Marilyn Monroe musical.  I assumed that the series would pick up with the Marilyn show going to Broadway.  It never occurred to me that they would end up dropping the Marilyn theme and most of the characters from the show!

The 2-hour premiere of the new season is tomorrow night.  Now I understand why it is 2 hours - they need that much time to try and get viewers to buy into the new direction of the show.  They are dropping the personal lives of the characters to focus more on life in the theatre.  Instead of being about a single show like the Marilyn Musical in the first season, they will be introducing new shows.  So it will be about Karen and her new friends and the shows they are working on.  How disappointing.

The only bright spot is the upcoming CD release of the music for the fictional Marilyn Musical from the show.  You can order it through amazon below.  Maybe someone will step up and bring this Musical to Broadway for real.  

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Wishing all of you a wonderful holiday season.  I hope Santa brings you lots of Marilyn goodies this year.  Can't wait to turn on the fireplace and settle in for some christmas movies tonight.

Calling All Artists: Looking for MarilynGeek artwork

#MarilynMonroe

I have had many wonderful fans email me original Marilyn artwork they have created.  This got me to thinking about giving the artists out there a challenge.

I am looking for artwork to use for the new "MarilynGeek" theme.  In particular, I would like to create some cafepress products and graphics for my website.

So if you are an artist who enjoys creating Marilyn artwork show me your best MarilynGeek artwork.

My ONLY requirement is that it must depict Marilyn wearing glasses (not sunglasses).  My inspiration is her character Pola from How to Marry a Millionaire.  I love the photo used above in the blog's header with the title. If someone is able to recreate this look I would be thrilled.  I don't really need you to add any text just the artwork itself.

I will be sure to post all the submissions so everyone can enjoy them even if I don't end up using them all.

If you have a submission email it to me at melinda@marilynmonroe.ca (ensure the file is at least 2000 pixels at 200dpi but the bigger the better).  By submitting an entry you agree that all intellectual property rights of the artwork transfer to me to be used by my sole discretion.

MarilynGeek is here!

#MarilynMonroe I'd like to introduce you all to my new social networks handle "MarilynGeek".  In recent years the term "geek" has really evolved to include more than just computer nerds.  It also refers to "a person heavily interested in a hobby."

I've considered myself a geek in many areas like podcasts, apple and of course Marilyn.  So it seems a natural evolution to put the terms together.  Thus a "MarilynGeek" is akin to a super fan.

You can find me @MarilynGeek on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.  In addition, www.marilyngeek.com is now the home of my blog.

I'm so excited to have an easy to remember username on so many platforms :)