Marilyn Monroe Memorabilia

August 5, 2007 will mark 45 years since 36-year-old Marilyn Monroe's lifeless body was found in her Brentwood home. The tragic goddess has ever since been the subject of conspiracy theories, numerous books, films and songs and the world's fascination with everything Marilyn continues to be very much alive. After Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean memorabilia is the most sought-after in the world.

When Monroe died, she bequeathed the bulk of her estate to her acting coach, Lee Strasberg, head of the famous Actors Studio, (who, incidentally, played gangster, Hyman Roth, in Godfather II). It was Monroe's desire that her belongings be distributed to her "friends, colleagues and those to whom I'm devoted." Lee Strasberg met and married a woman named Anna in 1967, 5 years after Monroe's death. When Strasberg passed away in 1982, Anna took over the administration of Monroe's estate, While she took measures to prevent other entities from profiting from the Monroe estate, Mrs. Strasberg auctioned off many of Marilyn's possessions at Christie's to the tune of $13.4 million in 1999. She has made a king's ransom in licensing fees. Various photographers who owned the rights to photos they took of Marilyn brought suit to end Strasberg's control of these rights, and recent court rulings have held that Marilyn did not specifically bequeath the right of publicity in her will.

This past June, Strasberg's spokesman, Bill Cunningham, was quoted in the New York Daily News as saying: "There are still trademark and copyright protections in place. If you want to use the image or name of Marilyn Monroe, you still have to get [Strasberg's] permission."

In May 2006, a baseball autographed by Marilyn Monroe and her then husband, baseball great, Joe DiMaggio, sold for a whopping $191,200.

In a December 2006, at an auction of memorabilia from various famous figures, an early signed photograph of Monroe was the highest selling item, topping the Beatles, author Charles Dickens, slugger Babe Ruth, Bert Lahr as The Cowardly Lion and even President Lincoln!

in an online interview, John Gilmore, the author of Inside Marilyn Monroe: A Memoir , tells an interesting story about the 1957 film "The Prince and The Showgirl which Marilyn made with Sir Laurence Olivier. It seems that by the time the picture was over, everyone was less than enthralled with Miss Monroe and feeling the chill, she chose not to attend the wrap party in person. Still, she sent all the men bottles of liquor and each woman an autographed picture of herself. These gifts were scornfully disposed of. Mr. Gilmore goes on to relate that the autographed photo he owns of Marilyn was last appraised at $27,000.

Sources:
New York Daily News: Goodbye Norma Green
R & R Enterprises Auction Results
Inside Marilyn Monroe interview by Paul Waters