'Happy Birthday Marilyn' Exhibit Shows Rare Images of Icon, a Former Valley Student
Kamis, 02 Juni 2011 by Android Blackberry
On Wednesday, which would have been her 85th birthday, fans from across the globe hailed the former San Fernando Valley star as a Beverly Hills gallery debuted an exhibit of never-before-seen Marilyn Monroe photographs.
"Our warmest and deepest congratulations to the most wonderful, exclusive and stunning woman on earth," writes a German fan club in one of much more than 100 birthday missives sent for the "Happy Birthday Marilyn" exhibit.
"You are Joyce and Shakespeare within the exact same way," adds a fan from France. "Beautiful and hard to translate. ... We miss you. We enjoyDaily News gallery pictures.
The Andrew Weiss Gallery, which claims the largest archive of Marilyn photos in the world, has hung additional than 100 rare or never-before-seen images in what might be one of the most comprehensive Marilyn exhibition ever.
There's the Bill Carroll shot, amongst the earliest, of a 19-year-old Norma Jeane Baker before she had morphed into a sultrier Marilyn. Prints start at $1,250 for a sweater or Malibu bikini shot.
You'll find the works of Tom Kelley, Milton
Greene and Bert Stern, which helped turn a starlet into an icon.
And then you will find the never-shown images of George Barris, who took the penultimate photos of Monroe, before she overdosed on barbituates in 1962.
A one of a kind 30-by-40-inch Barris print known as "The Crucifix" of the beloved star sells for $35,000.
'Historic' exhibition
And in a first exhibition of its kind, the birthday wishes of the Marilyn Remembered Fan Club are being featured alongside images of the Playboy and silver-screen legend. The gallery is still looking for birthday card submissions.
"It's historic," stated Lily Yu, director of the 40-year-old Weiss gallery. "It matters simply because she means a lot of points to a lot of people - from coming from absolutely nothing to living the dream of becoming a movie star and model.
"It's beyond her body. It is empowerment."
For some, she was the original Oprah, but with a soft baby-like voice. For others, she had curves that could captivate kings. And ex-husbands from high school sweetheart James Dougherty of Van Nuys to baseball legend Joe DiMaggio and playwright Arthur Miller.
It was as a 16-year-old student at Van Nuys High School - which she attended from 1941 to 1942 with Jane Russell - that Baker married Dougherty before launching her modeling career.
And winning a world full of adoring fans.
Such as a 10-year-old boy ogling a drive-in screen in Monroe, Wis., in the course of a re-release of "Some Like it Hot." Who melted before the larger-than-life blond.
"I was overwhelmed, with the extraordinary glamor," said Greg Schneider, of Los Angeles, who co-founded Marilyn Remembered 28 years ago. "She was magic. Glowing on the screen.
"She captured my heart."
Therefore began a lifelong devotion. And 1 of the world's largest collections of Marilyn memorabilia - from her bungalow bedroom dresser, kitchen fridge as well as a dozen Marilyn movie dresses, such as the white satin, chiffon and beaded number from "The Prince along with the Showgirls."
Schneider said the Beverly Hills exhibit shows not just the glamorous Marilyn, but the individual Marilyn. The actual Marilyn.
"Her soul speaks via all these photos," he said."
It was in July 1954 that a freelance photographer in New York City answered a call to shoot photos of Monroe on the location of the "Seven Year Itch."
Photographer mesmerized
George Barris had seen her photos and knew she would be a star.
But when he climbed a brownstone on 62nd Street, he discovered the 28-year-old model leaning out a second-story window - plus the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen.
And lunged for his Rolleiflex camera.
"I just saw her posterior. And I said, `I've got to photograph this.' She must have heard the shutter," recalled Barris, now 88, of Newbury Park. "She turned around and smiled.
"And said, 'I'll take a dozen of those."'
It was practically a decade later that Barris, who photographed Elizabeth Taylor on the set of "Cleopatra," wished Marilyn a pleased birthday on the Fox set for "Something's Got to Give."
One last shoot
Inside the summer of 1962, he was collaborating with Marilyn on a book. Unencumbered by makeup, he photographed her at a friend's home in North Hollywood and on the beach at Santa Monica.
He could see sadness in her eyes, he said. And he knew that her heart was breaking. Aside from a brief Life magazine shoot, it could be the last in-depth session with Monroe. She died on Aug. five, at 36.
"Here was this beautiful woman," said Barris, emotional about the loss of his friend. "If only she had the really like and kindness she deserved, she would have lived a good deal longer. ... She lived alone, regrettably, and she died alone."
Every single year, he remembers her birthday. Now he says it is time he share his private prints.
"I feel she belongs to the world, and her fans," Barris said. "I need to share them with the individuals who really like her."
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