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Bill Pursel

Published February 26, 2013 at 229 × 350 in

An original photograph of Mr. Pursel from the late 1940s,
around the time he knew Marilyn Monroe.

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

Wait for it… In Her 👠: Santa Catalina Isla

Wait for it…

In Her 👠: Santa Catalina Island 🚩

Did you know? Before Hollywood, there was Avalon. 💫

In September 1943, 17-year-old Norma Jeane Dougherty - not yet Marilyn Monroe - moved to Catalina with her first husband, Jim, who was stationed there with the Merchant Marine during WWII. They lived in the island town of Avalon.

In this photo, Marilyn stands on an embankment on the beach in Avalon, Catalina. Behind her is the majestic Catalina Casino, which was built in 1929. It still stands today nearly 100 years later.

Incredibly, young Norma Jeane visited Catalina with her mother, and that same casino, when she was just seven years old. She wrote about the experience in a 1942 letter to her half-sister Berniece:

“My mother brought me here for the summer when I was about seven years old. I remember going to the Casino to dance with her, of course. I didn’t dance, but she let me sit on the side and watch her, and I remember it was way after my bedtime too. But anyway, what I’m getting at is that at Christmas time, the Maritime Service held a big dance at the same Casino and Jimmie and I went. It was the funniest feeling to be dancing on that same floor ten years later, I mean being old enough and everything. Oh it’s hard to explain the feeling I had.”

I’m “In Her Shoes” in the exact same spot this photo of her was taken, pre-stardom.

My posts from my time on Catalina represent the earliest ever Marilyn Monroe photographed locations I’ve visited for this series. Probably the earliest ever Marilyn location is Hollygrove, her childhood orphanage.

Be sure to like and follow for more “In Her 👠” content. There are more posts from Catalina to come!

@lovecatalinaisland
@catalinamuseum
@visitcatalinaisland

#MarilynMonroe #NormaJeane #CatalinaIsland #Avalon #WWIIHistory #BeforeSheWasFamous #VintageHollywood #CatalinaIsland #avaloncalifornia

Wait for it… 👠 In Her Shoes! Santa Catalin

Wait for it… 👠

In Her Shoes! Santa Catalina Island 🏝️☀️🏖️

Did you know? Before Hollywood, there was Avalon. 💫

In September 1943, 17-year-old Norma Jeane Dougherty - not yet Marilyn Monroe - moved to Catalina with her first husband, Jim, who was stationed there with the Merchant Marine during WWII.

They lived in an apartment above the Marlin Club in the seaside city of Avalon. While Jim trained, Norma Jeane lived the quiet life of a young military wife. Photos taken of her on the island show a hint of the star she would become.

By 1944, she returned to the mainland and was soon discovered by photographers. Just one year later, she launched her modeling career and changed her name. A star was born and the rest is history.

Pictured here, Norma Jeane poses with her husband, Jim Dougherty on the beach on Catalina Island. The setting has changed because a cement platform stage was built in this same area, which is why the ground is so much higher. Nonetheless, this is the exact same spot where she and Jimmy stood.

Be sure to like and follow for my “In Her Shoes” content. There are more Catalina posts to come! Special thanks to @acousticalmagic for helping me with MM sites on Catalina. @lovecatalinaisland @catalinamuseum @visitcatalinaisland @marilynmonroe

#MarilynMonroe #NormaJeane #CatalinaIsland #Avalon #WWIIHistory #BeforeSheWasFamous #VintageHollywood #CatalinaIsland #AvalonCalifornia

Wait for it… In Her 👠! Marilyn Monroe at Mi

Wait for it…

In Her 👠!

Marilyn Monroe at Mission San Juan Capistrano

Seventy-nine years ago, in the summer of 1946, Marilyn visited Mission San Juan Capistrano with photographer André de Dienes. It was around the time she signed her first contract with 20th Century-Fox. In this photo, she was still known by her birth name, Norma Jeane Dougherty. She would change her name the next year.

André de Dienes was one of Marilyn’s earliest and most important photographers. They first met in 1945, and he photographed her extensively during her transition from Norma Jeane to Marilyn Monroe.

Marilyn’s trip with de Dienes was part of a photo shoot and sightseeing journey across Southern California. De Dienes was capturing images of Norma Jeane in various natural and historical settings, aiming to portray her as fresh, innocent, and strikingly photogenic.

Mission San Juan Capistrano is one of California’s most famous and historically rich missions. Founded in 1776, it is located in present-day Orange County, and is renowned for its stunning ruins, religious heritage, and cultural significance.

I visited the Mission last weekend as part of my trip to San Diego, where I also shot several “In Her Shoes” posts at the Hotel del Coronado, where Some Like It Hot was filmed in 1958. It’s located an hour north of San Diego.

Be sure to like and follow for my “In Her Shoes” content. There’s more to come!

Up next: CATALINA! ⛵️ 🏝️ ☀️

#marilynmonroe @missionsanjuancapistrano

In Her 👠!: Marilyn Monroe at Mission San Juan C

In Her 👠!: Marilyn Monroe at Mission San Juan Capistrano ⛪️

Seventy-nine years ago, in the summer of 1946, Marilyn visited Mission San Juan Capistrano with photographer André de Dienes. It was around the time she signed her first contract with 20th Century-Fox. In this photo, she was still known by her birth name, Norma Jeane Dougherty. She would change her name the next year.

André de Dienes was one of Marilyn’s earliest and most important photographers. They first met in 1945, and he photographed her extensively during her transition from Norma Jeane to Marilyn Monroe.

Marilyn’s trip with de Dienes was part of a photo shoot and sightseeing journey across Southern California. De Dienes was capturing images of Norma Jeane in various natural and historical settings, aiming to portray her as fresh, innocent, and strikingly photogenic.

Mission San Juan Capistrano is one of California’s most famous and historically rich missions. Founded in 1776, it is located in present-day Orange County, and is renowned for its stunning ruins, religious heritage, and cultural significance.

I visited the Mission last weekend as part of my trip to San Diego, where I also shot several “In Her Shoes” posts at the Hotel del Coronado, where Some Like It Hot was filmed in 1958. It’s located an hour north of San Diego.

Be sure to like and follow for my “In Her Shoes” content. There’s more to come!

#marilynmonroe @missionsanjuancapistrano

Wait for it…. 👠 In Her Shoes: Hotel del C

Wait for it…. 👠

In Her Shoes: Hotel del Coronado

A trip to San Diego last weekend took me to Coronado Island, the location of the famous Hotel del Coronado, where location shots were filmed for Marilyn’s 1959 classic, “Some Like It Hot.”

In this shot, I’m standing on the stairs to the hotel’s main entrance, where several scenes were filmed. Here, Marilyn and costar Tony Curtis take a break between scenes.

Stay tuned and follow me for more “In Her Shoes” posts! Tomorrow I’ll post about my visit to Mission San Juan Capistrano, where Marilyn was photographed by photographer Andrew de Dienes in 1946.

#marilynmonroe @delcoronado

Wait for it… 👠 🏖️ ☀️ 🎥 In Her

Wait for it… 👠 🏖️ ☀️ 🎥

In Her Shoes: Hotel del Coronado

A trip to San Diego over the July 4th holiday weekend called for a visit to Coronado Island. Of course, this is the location of the famous Hotel del Coronado, where location shots were filmed for Marilyn’s 1959 classic, “Some Like It Hot.”

In this shot, I’m standing on a platform right on Coronado Beach. It’s located just behind the hotel. Marilyn was pictured right here between takes in 1958. You can see Point Loma behind us.

Stay tuned and follow me for more “In Her Shoes” posts from the Hotel del Coronado. @delcoronado

#marilynmonroe #hoteldelcoronado

Wait for it… 👠 In Her Shoes: Hotel del Co

Wait for it… 👠

In Her Shoes: Hotel del Coronado

A trip to San Diego over the July 4th holiday weekend called for a visit to Coronado Island. Of course, this is the location of the famous Hotel del Coronado, where location shots were filmed for Marilyn’s 1959 classic, “Some Like It Hot.”

The hotel is basically the same as it was when Mairlyn filmed there, although there have been some changes due to refurbishment. The hotel was first opened in 1888, making it 137 years old.

In this photo, Marilyn is seen on Coronado Beach on the back side of the hotel. Crowds of fans and onlookers can be seen behind her.

“Hot” Film Facts:

🔥 In 2001, the American Film Institute selected SLIH as the number one comedy film of all time.
During filming, Marilyn was pregnant for the final time. She miscarried in December 1958.

🔥 SLIH won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design (b&w) and received nominations for Best Actor (Lemmon), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography (b&w), Best Director and Best Screenplay.

🔥 Reverend Monsignor Thomas F. Little of the National Catholic Legion of Decency found Some Like It Hot to contain “screen material elements that are judged to be seriously offensive to Christian and traditional standards of morality and decency. ... The subject matter of ‘transvestism’ naturally leads to complications; in this film there seemed to us clear inference of homosexuality and lesbianism.” 🙄

Stay tuned and follow me for more “In Her Shoes” posts from the Hotel del Coronado.

#marilynmonroe #hoteldelcoronado

Happy early 4th of July! 🇺🇸 🎆 It’s a

Happy early 4th of July! 🇺🇸 🎆

It’s a great big three day weekend here in the US. If you’re celebrating, what are your plans?

I’ll be visiting the Hotel Del Coronado where Marilyn filmed Some Like It Hot! 👊🏻

#marilynmonroe

Up Close and Personal: Marilyn Monroe’s purple e

Up Close and Personal: Marilyn Monroe’s purple eyeshadow.

A small glass bottle with a gold plastic stopper; filled with purple eye shadow called “Lumino Violette de Parme,” label reads in part “Starry Eyes, Lilly Dache, Liquid Eye Luster.” This makeup was originally sold at Julien’s Auctions in 2005, and it comes directly from Marilyn’s estate.

Marilyn wore this purple eye shadow to the press party for Some Like it Hot, which was held on July 8, 1958 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The photos of Marilyn in this video are from that event.

The Marilyn Monroe Collection includes Marilyn’s personal cosmetics from Erno Laszlo, Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubenstein, and now Lilly Dache.

You can see items from the collection, including Marilyn’s personal cosmetics, on exhibit next year at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles as part of their exhibit “Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon,” from May 31, 2026 through February 28, 2027. @academymuseum

#marilynmonroe

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