Art and Myth: Alison Jackson’s Marilyn

First posted here on February 21, 2014 Over at Mental Floss this week, artist Alison Jackson‘s photograph of two lookalikes impersonating Marilyn Monroe with President John F. Kennedy topped a list of ‘10 Internet Lies That Just Won’t Die.’ Of course, Jackson’s work is not primarily intended to deceive – it’s an artistic interpretation of the fantasies so...

Marilyn in Nat Dallinger’s Hollywood

First posted here on February 20, 2014 An archive of 58,000 images (many unseen) by Hollywood press photographer Nat Dallinger was recently acquired by the Motion Picture Academy, the Hollywood Reporter has announced. You can view a series of photos showing Marilyn at a press party for Let’s Make Love - held at the Twentieth Century Fox Commissary...

America’s Sweethearts: Norma Jeane and Shirley Temple

First posted here on February 12, 2014 Perhaps the most celebrated child star of all time, Shirley Temple, died on Monday, February 10th, 2014. Writing for Bust, Alanna Bennett notes that in her teenage years, Shirley looked a lot like the then-unknown Norma Jeane Baker. “I mean, look at them. It could be chocked up to 1940s/1950s...

Bob Dylan Takes Marilyn to the Superbowl

First posted here on February 3, 2014 Bob Dylan – perhaps the most influential folk-rock artist of the 20th century – has appeared in an ad for Chrysler, screened during last night’s Superbowl. (You can watch it here.) To the tune of his song, ‘Things Have Changed’, Bob muses on what it means to be...

Marilyn-Spotting on the Streets of Banff

First posted here on January 16, 2014 This rare candid photo has a ‘meet-cute’ story behind it, as explained by blogger Posh Todd … “Never-before-seen photo of Marilyn Monroe, taken in Banff, Alberta, in 1953 when she was filming Otto Preminger’s River of No Return. The gentlemen in the photo is Norm Charach, the beloved late...

George Jacobs on Marilyn and ‘Mr S’

First posted here on January 2, 2014 George Jacobs, who served as valet to Frank Sinatra for 15 years, died of natural causes on December 28th, 2013, at his home in Coachella Valley, reports the Los Angeles Times. He was 87. His 2003 book, Mr S: The Last Word on Frank Sinatra (aka My Life With Frank Sinatra), featured memories from...