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Official account for the Scott Fortner #marilynmonroe Collection, the world’s largest private collection of Monroe’s personal property & archives.

Marilyn Monday: A super rare shot of Marilyn, caug

Marilyn Monday: A super rare shot of Marilyn, caught in the moment on the set of The Misfits in 1960. (Most likely by Eve Arnold.)

Of all her 30 films, The Misfits is perhaps my least favorite. It’s painful for me to watch, perhaps because today we know of the film’s aftermath, (the death of Clark Gable, separation of Marilyn and Arthur, the final completed film for both Marlyn and Gable, and of course her own passing just two years later). And, I just don’t care for the film’s story.

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Just gonna leave this right here. 🥰 No clue wh

Just gonna leave this right here. 🥰

No clue where or when this was taken. Anybody?

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Happy birthday to the one and only @bobmackie ! M

Happy birthday to the one and only @bobmackie !

Mr. Mackie and me at @juliens_auctions in 2016.

While a globally famous designer today, having worked with @cher and @itscarolburnett , many don’t know Mackie was hired very early in his career by the French Designer Jean Louis as a sketch artist. Bob was assigned a task to sketch a dress for Marilyn Monroe, which she wore on May 19, 1962 at Madison Square Garden for her performance of “Happy Birthday” for JFK. For decades, the dress he designed has been one of the most famous gowns in the world. Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday Mr. President” dress.

About @kimkardashian wearing Marilyn’s dress to last year’s Met Gala, Mackie said, “Kim Kardashian wearing Marilyn Monroe’s gown to Met Gala was a big mistake.” No kidding!

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A little bit of big Marilyn in Palm Springs! 👱🏼‍♀️🌴☀️⛰️

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#forevermarilyn
#palmsprings

Following my video from yesterday showing Marilyn’s light fixtures from her home, many of you have asked if Marilyn’s star light fixture that I own also lights up. The answer is yes, but with help. I’ve kept the light original. I’ve not replaced any wiring or the original light socket. The original electrical wiring and socket are too old and perhaps too unsafe to use. In order to light the lamp, I place a separate socket inside with an LED light.

This is what it Marilyn’s star light looks like when it’s illuminated! Technically, it’s called a Moravian Lamp, and similar lights can be purchased online.

This light hung in Marilyn’s kitchen at 12305 Fifth Helena Drive in Brentwood. It was the only home she ever owned by herself, and sadly the location where she passed away on August 4, 1962.

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Some very cool foreign film posters for Marilyn’

Some very cool foreign film posters for Marilyn’s films, currently up for auction at Heritage Auctions.

1. Germany, Seven Year Itch
2. Japan, River of No Return
3. Germany, The Prince and the Showgirl

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Let there be light! Here’s something a little

Let there be light!

Here’s something a little fun! My friend Remi Gangarossa has been shooting a film with a fictional story about Marilyn Monroe and the topic of time travel. Learn more here: @marilynsdarkparadise . I’m proud of this film. It tells a touching story and it’s very well produced.

For the film project, Remi is using actual Marilyn Monroe owned items when and where they fit into his story. He visited me over the weekend to shoot some scenes using MM owned items from my collection (her Erno Laszlo cosmetics, her pill bottle and one of her drinking glasses). He’s also been purchasing his own pieces over the last few years, and last December, he won an incredible item: The actual wall sconce that hung on the wall in Marilyn’s bedroom in her Fifth Helena Drive home, the same room where she passed away on August 4, 1962. The light fixture can be seen in photos of Marilyn’s bedroom that were taken by police as part of their investigation.

In this film, the public gets a chance to see rem and me illuminate the wall sconce for the first time since those last photos were taken in Marlyn’s bedroom. We also bring together one of Marilyn’s lights that I own: The star light that hung in her kitchen, also in her Brentwood house.

Be sure to follow Remi at @marilynsdarkparadise to learn about the project and get notified about the release of the film in early 2024.

Thanks Remi for this opportunity!

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“I disappeared because if people won’t listen

“I disappeared because if people won’t listen to you, there’s no point in talking to people,” Marilyn told me. “You’re just banging your head against a wall. If you can’t do what they want you to do, the thing is to leave. I never got a chance to learn anything in Hollywood. They worked me too fast. They rushed me from one picture into another.

“I know who started all of those stories which were sent out about me after I left Hollywood the last time,” she added. One paper had an editorial about me. It said: ‘Marilyn Monroe is a very stupid girl to give up all the wonderful things the movie industry has done for her and go to New York to learn how to act.’ Those weren’t the exact words, but that was the idea. That editorial was supposed to scare me, but it didn’t, and when I read it and I realized that it wasn’t frightening me, I felt strong. That’s why I know I’m stronger than I was.”

Marilyn Monroe to Pete Martin for The Saturday Evening Post, published on May 19, 1956.

Marilyn was right. Between 1953 and 1955, six films were produced and released (prior to her move to New York) in which she played the starring role.

1953:
Niagara
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
How to Marry A Millionaire

1954:
River of No Return
There’s No Business Like Show Business

1955:
The Seven Year Itch

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Later, when I talked to Marilyn in New York, I gui

Later, when I talked to Marilyn in New York, I guided our conversation around to a story written by Aline Mosby, of the United Press. The story was about how Marilyn had told her that she had bought Joe a king-size, eight-foot bed because she didn’t approve of separate bedrooms. “People say it’s chic to have separate bedrooms,” Marilyn told me. “That way a man can have a place for his fishing equipment and guns as well as sleeping, and a woman can have a fluffy, ruffly place with rows and rows of perfume bottles. The way I feel, they ought to share the same bedroom. With a separate-bedroom deal, if you happen to think of something you want to say, it means you have to go traipsing down the hall, and you may be tired. For that matter, you may forget what you started out to say. Besides, separate bedrooms are lonely. I think that people need human warmth even when they’re asleep and unconscious.”

Marilyn Monroe to Pete Martin for The Saturday Evening Post, published on May 19, 1956.

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