Marilyn and Jane: real movie stars.

Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell were immortalized at Grauman’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard on June 26, 1953 before the release of their movie, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

Looking their best in their low cut summer halter dresses showing lots of cleavage, the blonde bombshell and the statuesque brunette were all smiles as they stepped up to the plate.  Then they stretched out and settled in on a cushion put out for their comfort.

Officials of Grauman’s soundly ignored Monroe’s suggestion that they imprint their best assets for posterity – hers being her bottom and Russell’s being her breasts – so, they signed their names, left their shoe and handprints, and wrote the name of their movie across their adjoining squares in the cement.

Marilyn, concerned that she would mess up, had the opportunity to practice beforehand.  Rather than placing her high heel pumps into the wet material, she went barefoot.  The test slab, measuring 17 X 22” and weighing 23 pounds, was sold in 2010 for $30,000.

More Monroe memorabilia has been on the auction block the past couple of years. The tight red sequin dress with slits down the front and up her leg she had on when she and Russell sang “Two Little Girls from Little Rock” sold for $1.2 million about the same time.  While that’s not as much as her iconic white halter dress from The Seven Year Itch that went for $4.6 million, it’s not too shabby.

The strapless pink satin gown with the oversized bow that showed off Marilyn’s curves when she performed “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” went for $320,000.  While not quite in the same league as her other attire, Madonna commemorated the outfit when fittingly she wore a copy in her video “Material Girl.”

As Russell in character as Dorothy Shaw said of her best friend Lorelei Lei, “You know I think you’re the only girl in the world who can stand on a stage with a spotlight in her eye and still see a diamond inside a man’s pocket.”

This being Oscar season it’s worth noting that the famed classic, a commercial and critical success, didn’t receive any nominations, let alone any awards – not for best movie, best actress, best screenplay, best songs, or best costumes.  This begs the questions: what does the Academy know and when do they know it?

© 2012 Susan Marg – All Rights Reserved

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To see more of Marilyn and Jane at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWNiTUmwf0Y