‘Yours Retro’ Names Marilyn as No. 1 Movie Icon

First posted here on October 8, 2019 A special edition of Yours Retro magazine, 100 Greatest Movie Icons, is now available in the UK – and Marilyn tops the list! Her Monkey Business co-star Cary Grant takes second place, with Bette Davis (All About Eve) coming 7th, Sir Laurence Olivier (The Prince and the Showgirl) 18th, Tony Curtis (Some Like...

Marilyn, Ben Hecht and ‘My Story’

First posted here on March 1, 2019 Born in 1893 to Belarusian Jewish immigrants, Ben Hecht became a noted Chicago reporter and novelist before scoring his first Broadway hit with The Front Page (1928.) He later became one of Hollywood’s greatest (and most prolific) screenwriters. This month, two new biographies of Hecht will be published. The first, Adina...

Marilyn, Harold Lloyd and the ‘Careless Man’

First posted here on October 22, 2018 Marilyn’s 1953 poolside photo session at the home of Harold Lloyd – and the mysterious accompanying clip, where she whispers seductively, ‘I hate a careless man’  – has long been the subject of speculation. Some have linked it to Coca Cola, as Marilyn was sipping a bottle through...

Inside the Coca Cola Archive With Marilyn

First posted here on December 8, 2017 Marilyn and Coca Cola are among the most recognisable American cultural icons. In an article for the Daily Mail, Anna Hopkins visits the Coca Cola archive managed by Ted Ryan in Atlanta, Georgia and finds images of Marilyn sipping Coke by the pool at Greenacres, the Hollywood home of...

Marilyn ‘Kissed’ in Coca Cola Ad

First posted here on March 2, 2015 Marilyn is one of several vintage stars featured in a new ad campaign marking the centenary of the iconic Coca Cola bottle. The original photo was taken by Edward Clark on the set of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes with co-star Jane Russell, as the two women took a break from filming the ‘Two...

Marilyn Inspires Dries Van Noten’s Menswear

First posted here on June 26, 2015 Marilyn has long cast a shadow over women’s fashion, and now Belgian designer Dries Van Noten has made her a central focus in his Spring 2016 menswear collection. "Belgian designers have been standoffish about the celebrity craze," Miles Socha writes for WWD. "Yet there was the ultimate Hollywood...

Richard C. Miller and the Story of Marilyn’s Audition

First posted here on September 19, 2019 Richard C. Miller first photographed Norma Jeane Dougherty as a young model in 1946. By 1950, she was an aspiring actress and he photographed her again at an audition for Street Scene, an upcoming production at the Players Ring Theatre in Los Angeles. She didn’t get the part, and...

Beyond the Blonde: Debbie Harry and Marilyn

First posted here on October 19, 2019 In my previous post (see here), I revealed how Blondie singer Debbie Harry was influenced by Marilyn, as described in her new memoir, Face It. Now I’m looking at some other parallels in their careers. In 1975, Debbie posed on the New York subway for her bandmate and boyfriend Chris...

Face It: Debbie Harry and Marilyn

First posted here on October 19, 2019 Of all the performers influenced by Marilyn’s style, few have paid homage with as much panache as Blondie singer Debbie Harry – albeit with a punk rock edge all her own. In the first of two extracts from her new memoir, Face It, Debbie looks back on childhood days...

Marilyn and the ‘Hollywood Liars’

First posted here on April 7, 2019 Hollywood Menteur (or Hollywood Liar) is a new comic book inspired by The Misfits, from the French cartoonist Luz. As you may recall, a despairing Marilyn calls her cowboy friends ‘liars’ during her furious speech in the desert. It’s also the subject of an exhibition in Paris, as Jacques LeRoux...