Marilyn Monroe’s Personal New York Telephone Bills, 1955

From the Personal Files of Marilyn Monroe: Dated May 16, 1955, and August 16, 1955, these original New York Telephone Company monthly billing statements were issued to Marilyn Monroe Productions, Inc., care of Milton Greene, at the company’s offices at 480 Lexington Avenue in New York City.

Each bill bears handwritten annotations, including the initials “MM,” possibly written by Marilyn Monroe herself to signify her review and approval of the expense. Accompanying these statements is Marilyn Monroe Productions bank check number 184, dated June 22, 1955, signed by Milton Greene, documenting payment for the May invoice. Together, these records reflect the daily operational and financial activity of Monroe’s independent production company during a pivotal moment in her career.

In 1955, Monroe had taken the unprecedented step of forming Marilyn Monroe Productions with photographer Milton Greene, asserting creative and professional control at a time when few performers, and even fewer women, exercised such authority within the studio system. These telephone bills, ordinary in function yet extraordinary in context, stand as surviving evidence of that independence.

Marilyn Monroe’s relationship with the telephone itself was deeply personal. She once remarked:

“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.”

Despite relying on it for connection, she guarded her privacy intensely. Monroe was known to conceal her telephone number from visitors, sometimes turning the telephone toward the wall so its number could not be seen. At one residence, she reportedly went further, placing a false number on the dial, said to connect to the Los Angeles Morgue, a deliberate measure to protect herself from unwanted intrusion.