Marilyn Monroe’s Personal 1962 Phonebooks

From the Estate of Marilyn Monroe, two phonebooks from 1962, each with multiple annotations and entries made by Marilyn herself. Both approximately 7×9 inches, one is in green calfskin with a gold border on the front cover, the other in black vinyl.

The black phonebook lists Marilyn’s address and phone number on the first page: 12305 Fifth Helena Drive, Los Angeles 49, California, 4761890. A phone number in Marilyn’s own hand can be seen near the top of the page.

These phonebooks offer an incredible and insightful look into the life of Marilyn Monroe in her final year. Both include addresses from New York and Los Angeles, and list many celebrities, movie moguls, and members of the press, along with members of Marilyn’s family and even her former husbands.

In an undated memo to Monroe, Cheri Redmond (Marilyn’s final secretary in 1962) wrote, “Miss Monroe, These are the new phone books. I thought you would like the white one for your bedroom – the green one for the family room (or wherever else you want another copy kept in your home.) I have also a set of sheets for the studio dressingroom…….if I could please have the black phonebook I brought uptodate for you in New York. Cherie”

Marilyn responded in her own hand, “No – I want to also keep my black book.”

In the photo below of Marilyn’s sun room in her Brentwood home, the green phonebook with the gold border on the cover can be seen on the coffee table.

Two phonebooks were on the floor next to her bed the night Marilyn died, which can be seen in photos taken by the police as part of their investigation.

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Provenance: Christie’s Fine Manuscripts – Including a Collection of Marilyn Monroe Memorabilia Sold to Benefit Hollygrove Children’s Home, Los Angeles, September 12, 2001

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