Articles by Lorraine

BURT REYNOLDS MARILYN COLLECTION FOR SALE
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BURT REYNOLDS MARILYN COLLECTION FOR SALE

Calling all Burt Reynolds fans! Julien’s Auctions is excited to highlight the life and career of Burt Reynolds in 2019!  Hundreds of items are due to hit the auction block on June 15th and 16th and fans can bid either in person, or online so nobody misses out!  Highlights include personal film scripts, Burt’s last 2 passports, multiple awards and many of his signature cowboy boots.

Interestingly, it seems that Burt Reynolds, a movie icon in his own right, was somewhat of a fan of our very own movie icon Marilyn!  Several of the items up for auction include artwork and books on Monroe from his very own private collection.  Reynolds owned the 2012 book “Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes-Letters” which tells us that his interest in Marilyn was more than just a casual one, as the book showcases personal handwritten letters, scraps of paper, poetry and general musings from Marilyn that go deeper than your average biography, or photo book on her life.

Reynolds was clearly no stranger to having a passion for beautiul blondes, he once was married to Loni Anderson, who portrayed one of Marilyn’s biggest competitors, Jayne Mansfield, in “The Jayne Mansfield Story.”


Here we take a look at all the Monroe items up for sale from Burt Reynolds personal collection:

Lot 421 of 871: MARILYN MONROE NEON LIGHT-UP PERSONALITY POSTER
A black and white image of the icon with neon tubing emanating from her Chanel N° 5 perfume bottle that lights up when the piece is plugged in; on display in the star’s home billiards room at his Tequesta, Florida house.

https://www.julienslive.com/m/lot-details/index/catalog/305/lot/117279?url=%2Fm%2Fview-auctions%2Fcatalog%2Fid%2F305%3Fpage%3D9&fbclid=IwAR2cJpPrn3DSjvNypnaPVHuaWJh2EMiLMZ-YWHBf4kq0y5V_zyO79rS5WvM

Lot 422 of 871: MARILYN MONROE LIMITED EDITION PRINT
An artist’s rendition of the icon with a smaller image of her in the upper right corner, signed (illegibly) in silver paint pen in the lower left corner and numbered “1/60;” linen-backed; with a ‘Burt Reynolds Productions Inc.’ blindstamp in lower right corner; on display in the star’s billiards room at his Tequesta, Florida house.

https://www.julienslive.com/m/lot-details/index/catalog/305/lot/117280?url=%2Fm%2Fview-auctions%2Fcatalog%2Fid%2F305%3Fpage%3D9&fbclid=IwAR2mRFsqpsTfPbs_wAWMcc9MhczMo1Qkdk90AT-PNZzeYS8RvQomrXXjtfI

Lot 423 of 871: BURT REYNOLDS MARILYN MONROE BIOGRAPHIES
A group of six; mostly hardcovers, by authors including (in alphabetical order) Janice Anderson, Stanley Buchthal, Roger Kahn, Norman Mailer, Randall Riese, and Penny Stallings; all with a ‘Burt Reynolds’ blind stamp on the front free end page; all from the star’s home library at his Tequesta, Florida house.

https://www.julienslive.com/m/lot-details/index/catalog/305/lot/117281?url=%2Fm%2Fview-auctions%2Fcatalog%2Fid%2F305%3Fpage%3D9&fbclid=IwAR1sGwn6iXQddMk5dopkIF6h5JZiBdIvn15Q-Y6pNt8Yl3AQguIAoB1x1Kk

Lot 424 of 871: MARILYN MONROE PERSONALITY POSTER
A 1980s-era artist’s rendition of the star printed on high-gloss paper, rolled; with a ‘Burt Reynolds Productions Inc.’ blindstamp in lower right corner; on display in the star’s billiards room at his Tequesta, Florida house.

https://www.julienslive.com/m/lot-details/index/catalog/305/lot/117282?url=%2Fm%2Fview-auctions%2Fcatalog%2Fid%2F305%3Fpage%3D9&fbclid=IwAR0Bfp8ZE9nnJruh0fq-BfclDAWxspCmxA3SKN1Zqg7SF_S2k1MuJysa4MY

Lot 425 of 871: MARILYN MONROE PERSONALITY POSTERS
A set of two; both featuring black and white images of the icon, rolled; both with a ‘Burt Reynolds Productions Inc.’ blindstamp in lower right corners; both on display in the star’s billiards room at his Tequesta, Florida house

https://www.julienslive.com/m/lot-details/index/catalog/305/lot/117283?url=%2Fm%2Fview-auctions%2Fcatalog%2Fid%2F305%3Fpage%3D9&fbclid=IwAR2yw57lIAAYJ8T6Kg9iS1W5kJbVY_SwLmTNyRsR5B7LI-8LT1QjOAOCMwo

For all other lots and the link to bid online, head here: https://www.julienslive.com/m/view-auctions/info/id/305

 

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR PRESIDENT AT 57

“I can now retire from politics after having had ‘Happy Birthday’ sung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way.”
– John F. Kennedy May 19th 1962

On May 19th 1962, Marilyn attended the 45th Birthday celebrations for the then President Of The United States, John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Gardens in New York. The event was a fundraising gala for the Democratic party and was attended by more than 15,000 people, including celebrities, each guest, including Marilyn paid $1,000 to attend.

It was a star studded evening, with performances from the likes of: Ella Fitzgerald, Danny Kaye, Jack Benny, Henry Fonda, Maria Callas, Elliott Reid and Peggy Lee to name a few. But it is undoubtedly Marilyn Monroe’s breathy and iconic rendition of “Happy Birthday” that has permanently been engrained in people’s memories and turned what should have been a musical moment lasting only a few minutes, into an historical moment lasting a lifetime.

It was an honour for Marilyn to be invited to sing for the President, but she was very nervous about performing live in front of 15,000 audience members, joking that she might even forget the words!

Peter Lawford, President Kennedy’s brother in law introduced Marilyn that night.  She was introduced several times in what would be an obvious light hearted dig at her inability to appear on time, the spotlight would shine to where Marilyn should enter.. but nothing.. of course, this was all planned to be this way! She was in on the joke too!

Finally, Marilyn appeared on stage (after Lawford refers to her as “The Late Marilyn Monroe”) and the crowd go wild, a collective gasp could be heard as she took off her fur shawl to reveal the gown underneath… the rest is history..

“Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday Mr President,
Happy Birthday to you…

Thanks Mr President,
For all the things you’ve done,
The battles that you’ve won,
The way you deal, with US steel,
And our problems by the ton,
We thank you so much!”

The latter verse was a snippet from the classic song, “Thanks For The Memory,” for which she had written new lyrics specifically aimed at Kennedy.

It still to this day remains one of the most recognisable and iconic moments in pop culture history.

REMEMBERING KIM GOODWIN
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REMEMBERING KIM GOODWIN

The Marilyn Monroe community was shocked and stunned at the untimely passing of truly one of the greatest Monroe sculptors of all time, Kim Goodwin.

Primarily a very talented and successful make up artist, Goodwin was also a legend among the Monroe fandom for his exquisite work on creating the most beautiful one of a kind Marilyn Monroe dolls the world has ever seen. No other sculptor has ever come close to creating a true likeness of Monroe as Kim did and his attention to detail was second to none. The “Marilyn Remembered” Facebook group has seen an overwhelming outpouring of love and respect for this wonderful man.

You will forever be missed Kim. Thankyou for all you have given us.

Kim Goodwin gave fellow Monroe fan Melinda Mason permission to display photographs of his dolls on her website “Marilyn Geek.” Many Marilyn fans first became aware of his work through her website, so out of respect for Kim and Melinda, we would highly recommend you check out her website and feast your eyes on a whole gallery of gorgeous creations.
Visit http://www.marilyngeek.com

To whet your appetite, here is our very own Lorraine Nicol’s personal Kim Goodwin doll:

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SOME LIKE IT HOT AT 60: THE DEL

Where the magic happened: The Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego

When we think of “Some Like It Hot”, we immediately think of Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Joe E. Brown etc but there’s another main character in the film: the beautiful and iconic Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. Of course, in the film, the hotel is being disguised as the “Seminole Ritz” in Florida, where Sweet Sue and her Society of Syncopators frolic on the beach by day and play to hundreds of hotel guests at night

Marilyn and the iconic Del tower.

The cast and crew spent 2 weeks filming all the exterior and beach shots at the hotel and by all accounts, the shooting went very well. The only real problem that arose was the continuous sound of planes flying overhead. The Del is located near the Coronado Naval Base, so every so often they would have to stop and wait for the deafening thunder of the areoplanes engines to pass before contuining with the shoot!

That same continuous flow of areoplanes can still be seen and heard if you visit or stay near the Del to this day!

Sugar and “Shell Oil Jr” meet for the first time.
Sugar and Daphne discuss the “millionaire” they have just met!

A lot of fans are always surprised to know that the interior shots of the Hotel weren’t filmed in San Diego, but on a sound stage in Los Angeles. However, if you are lucky enough to stay or even visit the Hotel Del Coronado, you’ll still feel like you could bump into Sugar, Daphne or Shell Oil Jr around every corner!

Up until recently, the Hotel Del Coronado has remained true to its history and kept its authentic victorian look inside and outside of the Hotel. However, as of March 2019, it emerged that it would be going through a $200M renovation ( https://www.marilynrememberedfanclub.com/200m-hotel-del-coronado-reconstruction/ ) we can only hope that any changes to the look and feel of the Hotel will be minimal.

Here are some shots taken of the Del in recent years:


The Del is very proud of its ties to “Some Like It Hot” even inviting the cast and crew back to celebrate the films 25th and 50th anniversary respecitvely.
Here are some news reels from 1984 when Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Billy Wilder came together to celebrate the movies 25th birthday:
https://youtu.be/nRg551tTOOI
https://youtu.be/i93CFNAhDPA
https://youtu.be/bKQEUHSQwgY

For more information on the Hotel Del Coronado, head here: https://hoteldel.com/