Marilyn Monroe’s Personal New York Telephone Bills
From the Personal Files of Marilyn Monroe:
May 16, 1955
An original New York Telephone Company monthly telephone bill, dated May 16, 1955. Addressed to “M MONROE PRODUCTIONS INC / ATT M GREEN / 480 LEX AVENUE 17. Note the annotated “MM” – likely Marilyn’s own handwritten initials, approving payment for this expense. Also part of the Marilyn Monroe Collection, Marilyn Monroe Productions bank check #184, dated June 22, 1955, paying for this telephone bill, signed by Milton Greene.
August 16, 1955
An original New York Telephone Company monthly telephone bill, dated August 16, 1955. Addressed to “M MONROE PRODUCTIONS INC / ATT M GREEN / 480 LEX AVENUE 17. Note the annotated “MM” – likely Marilyn’s own handwritten initials, approving payment for this expense.
“You know who I’ve always depended on? Not strangers, not friends. The telephone! That’s my best friend. I seldom write letters, but I love calling friends, especially late at night, when I can’t sleep.”
-Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn jealously guarded the secrecy of her telephone number. Sometimes she made sure that the telephone was always turned to the wall, so that guests would not be able to memorize her number from the dial. At one address, she put a false telephone number on the dial; not just any old number, but the number, reportedly, of the Los Angeles Morgue.