Opening Day Auction Closing May 9th
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/10/2015
There had been attractive actresses before, but none came close to being the superstar sex-symbol that Marilyn Monroe became. No other actress before or since possessed her special combination of confident sexuality and innocent vulnerability. From the early 1950's she starred in hit after hit: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and The Seven Year Itch (1955). While her on-screen roles made her out to be very one-dimensional, the real Monroe was actually a quite complex woman, very curious about politics and well read. Constantly working to improve her craft, she studied at the Actors Studio to broaden her range. Bus Stop (1956) showed her new range of acting chops which made Marilyn Monroe an even bigger star. Her tragic death in 1962 marked not only the end of the career of a talented and beautiful actress, but also the end of the magical world of Hollywood. This signed check dates from 1953, the very height of her career as a sex-symbol. In December she would appear on the cover of the premier issue of "Playboy" and within a year she would marry Joe DiMaggio. The check has been made out in blue ink pen in Monroe's flowing script for $10.00 to the "Little Gypsy". This was a 1940's and 50's Hollywood hot spot that specialized in Hungarian cuisine. The bombshell includes her address "882 N. Doheny", a swanky apartment building that also boasted Frank Sinatra as a tenant. The 6 1/8" x 2 3/4" check shows some edge wear and toning from age. There are the usual cancellation perforations, some of which partially land on the "M" in Marilyn, though this does not affect the visual appeal of the signature. The ink of the cancellation stamp on the reverse has partially seeped through to the front and another is present on the front though neither is in the area with the signature. Encapsulated and authenticated by PSA/DNA.