Marilyn Monroe Transparancy Slides Being Sold for Charity

March 2010

The Hollywood Entertainment Museum (HEM) will continue to sell items from its archives in an effort to save its media arts highschool program for at risk students. Included in the auction are 116 transparencies of Marilyn Monroe appearing on the cover of more than a dozen magazines.

View the online auction listing at http://www.icollector.com/auction.aspx?as=17212&p=1&ps=100&kw=marilyn%20monroe

The full press release for the auction is provided below:

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Historically Significant Hollywood Items Continue at Auction for Charity The Hollywood Entertainment Museum will Auction more of its Prized Collection March 27th and April 17th.

Hollywood, CA – Hollywood Entertainment Museum (HEM) announced today the continuation of the auction of its prized collection in an effort to save its media arts high school program for at-risk kids. Plans are in place to host two online auctions with live auctioneer streaming Saturday March 27th, and Saturday April 17th. Presented by Super Auctions, these auctions make available some of Hollywood’s most iconic items.

Fantastic discoveries of lost Hollywood history are being made as a warehouse full of original pieces of history are being cataloged and verified. Included in this lot are more than 100 color transparencies of “Marilyn Monroe – Cover Girl”, color slides from Gone with the Wind, and an entire Max Factor collection dating from 1917 through 1970.

But it’s not all about the items. Phyllis Caskey, President of Hollywood Entertainment Museum (HEM) and main force in creating the Hollywood Media Arts Academy, a collaboration between HEM and the Los Angeles County Office of Education, explains the powerful impact of the school: “In just a short period of time, I see the transformation that takes place in students who attend the Hollywood Media Arts Academy. While training for careers in the media arts, they earn their high school diplomas leading to higher education and security for their futures and families.”

Founded in 1986, HEM’s program mixes culture and education as one of the most successful in the country, and it serves as a global model. This unique fusion of education, community and culture grounds HEM in a deep sense of social responsibility. As a result, more than 82 percent of HEM students graduated high school, and 50 percent of those graduates went on to college.

Like all schools, HEM is faced with tough economic conditions, and has found a unique way to cover expenses. HEM’s auction will raise money to keep the program in operation. Fans of movies, television shows and the stars of by-gone eras, have an opportunity to claim a piece of history, while providing educational opportunities that change lives.

For more information on items and bidding, visit www.superauctions.com.

ABOUT HOLYWOOD ENTERTAINMENT MUSEUM (HEM) (hollywoodmuseum.com)

HEM, founded in 1986 as a 501(c)3 non-profit, is an exceptional mix of culture and education. Through the Hollywood Media Arts Academy, HEM uses entertainment media as a vehicle to inspire, engage and teach at-risk youth. This unique fusion of education, community and culture grounds HEM in a deep sense of social responsibility and exemplifies the spirit of Los Angeles.

ABOUT SUPER AUCTIONS (superauctions.com): Super Auctions, Certified and Accredited Auctioneers from Huntington Beach, California, is the World’s Largest Entertainment Auction Company who specialize in the Auctioning, Marketing, Consulting and Appraising of Amusement & Entertainment Based Assets and Real Estate. Super Auctions has been exclusively serving the Entertainment Industry sector for more than 16 years.

Issues Persist in Monroe Photo Copyright Lawsuit

March 2010

JUDGE DENIES MOTION TO APPOINT RECEIVER TO COLLECT ATTORNEYS' FEES DEBT

By WIRE SERVICES

Story Published: Mar 17, 2010 at 9:39 PM PDT

Stymied in his initial approach to recover more than a half-million dollars in attorneys' fees and associated costs from Marilyn Monroe's estate, an attorney for the photo studio that produced her famed Red Velvet collection says he'll try another approach.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe on Tuesday denied a motion by M. Danton Richardson, lawyer for Tom Kelley Studios Inc., for the appointment of a third party known as a receiver.

Richardson wanted a receiver to marshal Marilyn Monroe LLC's assets to satisfy a $508,000 judgment obtained in U.S. District Court on behalf of the company and the Pasadena-based Soni Law Firm.

The attorneys' fees stem from costs to Tom Kelley Studios in fighting litigation between it, the estate and CMG Worldwide Inc., the latter's licensing agent, concerning who has the publicity and distribution rights to the actress' photos.

A federal judge found that CMG, which sends royalties and income to MMLLC, could not assert right of publicity claims over the photos in California. The judge awarded Tom Kelley Studios a portion of the $3 million in attorneys' fees requested.

The estate has not paid the attorneys' fees, according to Richardson. But Yaffe said the answer is not the appointment of a receiver, who he said normally works with both sides to satisfy a judgment.

"You want a receiver to chase a deadbeat,'' Yaffe told Richardson. "I don't think that's the function of a receiver.''

Richardson said after the hearing he will consider attempting to recover the fees through a court-ordered assignment.

Tom Kelley Studios was named after its founder, who shot the then-22- year-old Monroe while she was lying nude on red velvet in May 1949. The shoot helped make the actress an international sex symbol and the photos became the prototype for the Playboy magazine centerfold.

After Kelley died, Tom Kelley Jr. assumed control over his father's business, Richardson said.
The company filed a petition against the estate last Dec. 31. In his court papers, Richardson says he believes Marilyn Monroe LLC is insolvent and cites as proof the testimony of the estate's senior vice president, David Strasberg, during a judgment debtor examination hearing last June.
Strasberg is the son of Anna Strasberg, whose acting coach husband Lee Strasberg was Monroe's mentor. He testified that the estate does not own any significant physical property that could be sold to satisfy the judgment, according to Richardson's court papers.

Richardson also said the estate owes millions of dollars to other law firms.

Estate attorney Alan R. Kossoff denied that Marilyn Monroe LLC is insolvent. In his court papers, he says Strasberg testified during the debtor hearing that the estate's annual revenues are more than $1 million.

"The bottom line is that MMLLC is not insolvent and there is no basis for a receiver,'' Kossoff stated.

The estate pays its bills and will continue to do so, according to Kossoff. MMLLC has appealed the federal court's ruling regarding publicity of the photos and a victory would negate the attorneys' fees award, Kossoff's court papers state.

CMG is jointly liable for the fees and could pay them if the appeal fails, according to Kossoff.
Monroe was 36 when she died of a drug overdose in her Brentwood home on Aug. 5, 1962.

Source: http://www.laindependent.com/entertainment/88319322.html

Coming Soon...

March 2010

The Marilyn Monroe Collection on Exhibit

Rare SLIH Footage of Marilyn Monroe For Sale

March 2010

Bideo.com is hosting an online auction for a never before published amateur video of Marilyn Monroe on the set of the film Some Like It Hot.

View the auction here: http://www.bideo.com/auction/8098

Auction Lot Description:

Rare never before published amateur video of Marilyn Monroe on the set of the film Some Like It Hot. Listed on the 50th anniversary of Monroe’s Golden Globe victory on March 8, 1960, for her highly acclaimed performance in this comedic masterpiece from Hollywood’s Golden Age. The auction will run concurrently from March 8th, ending on the 51st anniversary of the film’s premiere on March 28th, 1959.

The home video was taken on the site of the famous beaches of the Hotel Del Coronado Resort in San Diego, California, where the so-called ‘Miami beach scenes’ were filmed, based thematically in the movie when Joe and Jerry (played by Curtis and Lemon respectively) decide to run to Miami to hide-out and lay low from the film’s gangster ‘Spats Colombo’ and his various henchmen after witnessing the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. The onset footage of Monroe was shot during one of the film’s most memorable scenes in which the title of the film is first explained and revealed, in an exchange between Curtis and Monroe as a reference to the type of Jazz the wild and young set, like Monroe’s character ‘Sugar’ and her girlfriends prefer, i.e. ‘Hot’ Jazz! It is at this point in the scene, after tripping while trying to retrieve a beach ball she and her friends are playing with, that ‘Sugar’ meets aptly named ‘Junior’, played by Tony Curtis’ character ‘Joe’, in disguise, as the millionaire Shell Oil tycoon and playboy inspired by Cary Grant’s Americanized English accent and debonaire onscreen persona.

Shot between takes by a sailor who had been personally invited to visit the set of the film by Monroe, the two-minute and thirty second clip, offers a revealing view of the actress, displaying a casual, candid, and care-free side of the legendary actress seldom known, or seen by her worldwide adoring fan-base. In the home video, Monroe is seen dressed in her costume from the scene, a bathing suit and short terrycloth robe, flirting and playfully frolicking with a beach ball–as she continues to interact with cast, crew, and fans alike, including several other sailors present for the filming, emanating that timeless radiance which fascinated the camera then and which continues to captivate audiences throughout the world nearly fifty years following her tragic still unexplained death in 1962. Also visible in the home movie are co-star Tony Curtis, variously sitting in the most recognizable prop of the scene–the covered wicker sun chair, and dressed in his yachting habit complete with ascot and Captain’s hat. Celebrated director Billy Wilder, whose famously turbulent onset relationship with star Monroe was and is well-documented to date, can also be seen, in the figure of a short rotund man angrily brooding back-and-forth, while walking in-and-out of the shot with an apparently frustrated demeanor in shades and a baseball cap. It seems evident from this amateur video, that Monroe’s infinite breaks, and her frequent and overall distraction with working, were truly constant sources of stress and annoyance, taking their toll on Wilder’s overall directorial control of the picture. Biographically the footage of Monroe on the set of the Some Like it Hot, dates to a very difficult and important period in the actresses’ life, as she was pregnant and showed considerable weight gain. Also Monroe’s highly publicized marriage to writer Arthur Miller was in trouble, causing her to be ‘sequestered’ by Wilder’s orders, living mostly onset at the Coronado resort, to prevent her from running off and leaving the picture prematurely.

Presumed lost for decades, the original Kodak color 8 Millimeter reel recently resurfaced in Australia when the daughter of the sailor who first filmed it, discovered film among her late father’s possessions. In 2008 the reel was sold to an anonymous collector in Melbourne, who is now looking to sell the full copy right and the original reel.

Winning bidder will receive the non-watermarked digital file, a DVD transfer copy, the original 8-Millimeter color Kodak reel (still in original box; pictured at bottom left), and the exclusive full commercial rights for the footage. All other copies and reproductions of the film, used for the purposes of promotion and publicity, including the watermarked proof will be automatically deleted.

The Marilyn Monroe Collection Congratulates Suzie Kennedy on Her Wins at the Reel Awards!

March 2010

The Marilyn Monroe Collection is proud to congratulate Suzie Kennedy on her recent wins at the Reel Awards in Las Vegas, NV.

The recognition Suzie received at the show, which is held in conjunction with the annual Celebrity Impersonator Convention, included honors for "Best Print Media" and also the top award overall: "First Place, Vegas Tribute Idol."

Suzie is recognized today as one of the top Marilyn Monroe impersonators in the world, and accolades received at the Reel Awards cement her place in history as truly capturing the essence and spirit of Marilyn Monroe.

Recently, Suzie's professional career skyrocketed to new heights with her appearance in the West End production of "Marilyn and Ella" written by Bonnie Greer. She also co-starred opposite Leonardo Pieraccioni in 2009's "Io E Marilyn" (Marilyn and Me), a comedic full length feature film produced in Italy.

Suzie has been retained by top auction house Christie's London to model items from Marilyn Monroe's estate that are going up for auction, and premiere collector David Gainsborough Roberts often works with Suzie to showcase the numerous Marilyn Monroe costumes in his collection. She's been featured in many advertisements and commercials as Marilyn as well.

Congratulations Suzie! No one's star is shining brighter today than yours.

To learn more about Suzie Kennedy as Marilyn Monroe, visit www.topmarilynmonroelookalike.co.uk

Newly Added: Marilyn's Trunk & Childhood Book

March 2010

Years ago, slightly before the now famous 1999 Christie's auction, "The Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe," and back before I started collecting Monroe owned items, I discovered that a trunk and its contents, once owned by Marilyn, had been auctioned by Christie's in 1995.

When I first saw the photo of the trunk and everything that had been inside, which included possessions from her childhood, I was indelibly drawn to them. This was the first time I'd seen anything that Marilyn herself had owned, and to know they were items from her childhood that she'd treasured was something truly spectacular.

During the summer of 1961, Ralph Roberts, Marilyn's personal masseur and friend, drove her to the Roxbury, CT home she'd shared with Arthur Miller. The purpose of the trip was for Marilyn to retrieve the last of her personal items from the house that she'd given to Miller in the divorce. While there, Marilyn packed into a trunk several items that, as Roberts put it, were from "her past." Included inside the trunk were magazines and newspaper articles featuring Marilyn, her very first childhood camera that had been gifted to her by her Aunt Anna, a collection of cigarette cards she'd pasted into an album, and books...about the movie industry, about Abraham Lincoln, and poetry. Also, a purse, a deck of cards and a pair of sunglasses.

I've thought of that trunk since seeing it for the very first time over ten years ago, and recently I was lucky enough to add it to The Marilyn Monroe Collection.

I've been lucky enough over the years to acquire several items that Marilyn owned and packed into this trunk:

Her Brownie Camera, given to her by her Aunt Anna
Her Album of Film Stars from her childhood
Her Collection of Film & Gossip Magazines
Her Collection of Newspaper Clippings

I also recently added another item from the trunk: Marilyn's childhood book "A Pictorial History of The Movies."

Perhaps one day I'll be able to locate the rest of the contents of this trunk. In the meantime, I'll do my best to preserve and maintain these items that were important to Marilyn.


To learn more about the Marilyn Monroe Collection, visit www.MarilynMonroeCollection.com

Daughter of Famed Hollywood Columnist Sidney Skolsky Passes

March 2010

Steffi Sidney-Splaver, Sidney Skolsky's daughter and friend of Susan Strasberg, passed away on Monday February 22.

Marilyn Monroe fans will recall that, supposedly, at Sidney's request, Steffi listened in on the extension when her father talked to Marilyn around 1962 as he wanted a witness to some of the explosive information that she was sharing. This information was printed in Susan Strasberg's book, "Marilyn and Me: Sisters, Rivals and Friends".

Ms. Sindey-Splaver's obituary from the LA Times:

Steffi Sidney-Splaver, who as a young actress appeared in and then gave up acting to become a Hollywood writer, publicist and producer, has died. She was 74.

Sidney-Splaver died Monday of kidney failure at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, said her husband, Rick Splaver.

Born April 16, 1935, in Los Angeles, she was raised on movie lore and the entertainment business. She was the daughter of famed Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky, who observed movie stars and other personalities from his perch at Schwab's Pharmacy on Sunset Boulevard and claimed to have been the first to call the Academy Award statuette "Oscar."

A graduate of Fairfax High School, Sidney-Splaver studied at the Actors Lab in Los Angeles. Her first movie role was in "The Eddie Cantor Story," a 1953 film her father produced.

Two years later, the dark-haired actress landed the role of Mil in "Rebel Without a Cause," Nicholas Ray's 1955 film about adolescent angst starring James Dean and Natalie Wood. Billed as Steffi Sidney, she played one of the girls in the gang of teenagers tormenting Jim Stark, played by Dean.

Decades later, teenagers still gushed about Sidney-Splaver's part in the classic film, she said in a 2000 interview with The Times.

"They just flip," she said. "I just find that amazing. They still identify with that movie."

A few more movie roles followed, including in "Hold Back Tomorrow" (1955) and "The Hot Angel" (1958). Then she left acting to write for teen magazines Datebook and Tiger Beat and work as a production assistant and associate TV producer. She also produced TV commercials.

After she married Splaver in 1985, they formed a public relations agency, Splaver Associates. They moved to Whidbey Island near Seattle in 1998, and she retired in 2003.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by her sister, Nina Marsh.

A memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. April 16 at Mount Sinai Hollywood Hills, 5950 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles.

Marilyn Spotting: Norfolk, UK

March 2010

My buddy Robert from England recently sent me some photos for the "Marilyn Spotting" section of my blog.

Robert spotted Marilyn at a roadside cafe called the Hollywood Legends Diner in the county of Norfolk, in the east of England. They had life-sized cardboard cut-outs of Jimmy Dean, Betty Grable, Brando, Elvis and of course Marilyn.

Note that JFK was placed strategically near Marilyn in the diner!