A Marilyn Monroe Autograph
An original Marilyn Monroe autograph, originally acquired while she was in Banff, Canada filming River of No Return in 1953.
This autograph was obtained by Mr. Leonard Chowaniec. He worked at the Banff Springs Hotel, which is where Marilyn actually stayed. Chowaniec met Marilyn one day while she was shopping at a local store. He grabbed a large, unused “As Advertised” sign that was nearby and asked Marilyn to sign it for him. Marilyn signed an exceptionally fine, bold and large autograph for Leonard.
Photos of Leonard from 1953 (white t-shirt). Interesting point of note: Leonard was an extra in the 1954 film Saskatchewan starring Alan Ladd. Marilyn and Ladd each received best actress and actor accolades at the Photoplay Awards in 1954.
![Flashback: Meeting Amy Greene, August 5, 2012
Without question, it’s mind boggling and beyond cool to meet people who were part of Marilyn Monroe’s inner circle. During my time as a fan and collector I’ve met several people who fall into that category. In this case, its Amy Greene, wife of Milton Greene. I met her at the 2012 MM memorial where she was a guest speaker. Marilyn lived with the Greenes in their Connecticut home in 1954 and 1955.
Amy on what it was like to live with Marilyn: I’m a very secure woman, so she was fine. She never got out of line, and I never got out of line, and we became girlfriends. As Sinatra said, ‘She was a good broad.’ I love that statement. You young people don’t know what that means, but it is the highest compliment that a man like Sinatra could say about anybody.
In the past, she’s talked about how she and Milton heard of Marilyn’s passing: We were in France, in Paris. Milton was doing the collections for Life magazine, and there was a radio. I kept saying, ‘Well let’s try to get some music or something.’ All we got was news, news, news, and neither one of us could understand French that well. All of a sudden, the words Marilyn Monroe came on. We didn’t know what it was. So, we went to [Château de] Fontainebleau, had a wonderful picnic lunch, drove back to Paris, and the first thing we heard—the telephone was ringing off the wall. It was Arthur Jacobs, who was her publicist trying to get us all day. And he said Marilyn’s dead. […] I collapsed. Milton was staggering. That was the last thing we expected.
Amy on Marilyn’s public image today: The interesting thing, and I was thinking about this yesterday, was in the ’50s she was strictly candy for men, but since the feminist movement—which started around my dining room table, thank you very much—women have accepted her, they no longer make fun of her. So in the end, she’s earned respect, which is what she wanted.”
(Source for quotes: Gotham Magazine)
If I were to describe her in one word, it would be “sharp.” Her senses are keen. She was as confident when I met her as she was during the Edward R. Murrow interview. (Swipe left!)
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