Marilyn Monroe’s Personal Receipt for Her 1956–1957 Screen Actors Guild Membership
From the Personal Files of Marilyn Monroe: This original receipt from the Screen Actors Guild documents Marilyn Monroe’s membership for the 1956–1957 term, reflecting her continued standing within the professional organization representing film actors during one of the most significant periods of her independent career.
Preserved alongside the receipt is Marilyn Monroe Productions bank check number 1206, dated November 20, 1956, issued in payment of her membership dues and signed by Joseph Carr, who served as business manager for Marilyn Monroe Productions. The check provides direct evidence of the administrative and financial structure supporting Monroe’s professional obligations during this period.
Maintaining membership in the Screen Actors Guild was essential to Monroe’s ability to work within the motion picture industry, particularly as she exercised greater control over her career through her independent production company. These documents reflect the formal and institutional framework within which Monroe operated, even as she redefined her position within the industry.
Together, the receipt and corresponding payment check form a complete and verifiable record of Monroe’s professional status, preserved among the personal business files of Marilyn Monroe Productions.
Related Collection Artifacts:
Marilyn Monroe’s Personal Screen Actors Guild Membership Card, 1959-60
Marilyn Monroe’s Final Screen Actors Guild Membership Card, 1962
Collector’s Note
This Screen Actors Guild membership receipt represents Marilyn Monroe’s formal standing within the professional organization that governed and protected the rights of film actors. By 1956, Monroe had already transformed her career through the creation of Marilyn Monroe Productions, yet her continued membership in the Guild remained essential to her ability to work within the industry.
The accompanying Marilyn Monroe Productions payment check, signed by her business manager Joseph Carr, reflects the administrative structure supporting her professional obligations during this period of independence. Together, these documents illustrate the balance Monroe maintained between institutional participation and personal autonomy.
Preserved among her personal files, these records provide tangible evidence of Monroe’s active engagement with the professional systems that both defined and were ultimately reshaped by her historic career.
Scott Fortner
Marilyn Monroe Collection
Founder & Owner
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