The glamor of Old Hollywood (UPDATE)

 

 

Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn and Judy Garland One of the largest collections of old Hollywood photographs has been gone up for auction this week. Guernsey's auction house in New York is holding a two day sale from April 6-7 to sell the Movie Star News Collection of three million photographs and negatives that capture the history of Tinseltown. The pictures were captured by Irving Klaw, a Manhattan photographer who was the first to tap into the public's insatiable demand for movie photographing. Mr Klaw, a candy shop owner by trade, branched into the photography business in 1939 and negotiated a deal with movie studios to capture scenes of famous faces on movie sets. He captured the most celebrated figures from old Hollywood including Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn and Paul Newman. The collection of pictures of Marilyn Monroe includes more than 600 photographs of the screen siren. Some like it hot: Marilyn Monroe smiles broadly for the cameras as she enjoys a night out on the town Crowd favorite: Marilyn Monroe entertains the troops in Korea Dynasty: Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra (1963) Palling around: Natalie Wood and James Dean in Rebel without a cause (1955) Dame Taylor: The stunning Elizabeth Taylor poses for a close up glamor shot Style: Elizabeth Taylor in a publicity photo for A Place in the Sun (1951) Sexy: Marilyn Monroe Wardrobe Test Photograph   A girl's best friend: Marilyn Monore 'gets a costume adjustment' on set (left) and tries out difference outfits and is photographed for The Sleeping Prince (right) Stud: James Dean in Giant (1956) Screen god: Orson Welles 'smokes a stogie' The legend: Fay Wray in a scene from King Kong Damsel in distress: Fay Wray in a scene from King Kong Swoon: Fay Wray in a scene from King Kong   Starlets: Elizabeth Taylor's glamor photo (left) and a head shot of Judy Garland from The Wizard of Oz (right) America's Sweetheart: Judy Garland in a 1940's Armed Services promotional photo, Take A Serviceman Home for Thanksgiving Stunning: Marilyn Monroe with Richard Widmark in a publicity photograph for Don't Bother to Knock (1952) Oh! Miss Scarlett: Vivian Leigh in Gone With the Wind (1939) Gorgeous: Vivian Leigh in Gone With the Wind How tiresome: Vivian Leigh in Gone With the Wind   There's no place like home: Ray Bolger as The Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (left) and Bert Lahr as The Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz (right) Gotta have heart: The Villagers 'oil' The Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz The real Jessica Rabbit: 1950s It girl with her daring backless dresses inspired sultry style of cartoon character She was the 1950s It girl who turned heads with her daring dresses, but model and actress Vicki Dougan has another claim to fame as the muse for cartoon pin up Jessica Rabbit. But just as Jessica Rabbit lamented 'I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way,' Dougan's infamous style was also not of her doing. The struggling actress was propelled to fame thanks to a Hollywood publicist who commissioned a series of provocative backless dresses for Dougan. Dare to bare: Vicki Dougan attracted lots of attention thanks to her backless dresses Pin up: The model, seen here in Los Angeles in 1956, went on to do Playboy photo shoots The plunging designs got plenty of media coverage for the starlet, especially after she was thrown out of a preview party for attracting too much attention. She was even nicknamed 'The Back' thanks to her outrageous dresses that she wore on every occasion, according to Messy Nessy Chic. While actresses Veronica Lake is also credited as being behind the creation of the animated leading lady in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Dougan's famous style is apparent in the character's sultry look and revealing outfits. A 1957 article in the Oakland Tribune reveals how Dougan's style was all part of a carefully crafted image created for her by Milton Weiss. Daring: Dougan was known for her backless dresses and was nicknamed 'The Back' Inspiration: Dougan is said to be behind Jessica Rabbit's look Back in demand: The signature style made Dougan the talk of the town Style icon: A Hollywood publicist's vision helped bring fame to Dougan, seen here in 1957. 'His first move was to have three expensive dresses made for her - without backs. He then titled his client “The Back” and had her appear at previews and parties in her plunging creations. 'Soon local photographers zeroed in on Miss Dougan’s bare spinal column, and gagsters began originating such cracks as, “Vikki Dougan makes the best exits in town".' The Brooklyn born starlet went on to appear in a 1957 issue of Playboy and she was often featured in the press. Her outfits became so legendary that when a 1957 interviewer asked her what her latest backless design will feature, she laughed "Me",' according to Glamor Girls of the Silver Screen. However, by 1959 she had fading into obscurity and would have stayed there had it not been for the 1989 film Who Filmed Roger Rabbit. Cover girl: Vicki Dougan rose to fame thanks to her Hollywood makeover Fame: Dougan worked as a model and actress in the 1950s Rising star: The aspiring actress, who appeared in Tunnel of Love, was helped to fame thanks to her daring dress sense     Marilyn Monroe's affinity for the camera was her ticket to stardom. Arriving in Hollywood in the early 1950s as Norma Jeane Baker, selling 'Marilyn' became her life work and she quickly succeeded in becoming a page one headliner, a columnist's dream and a photographer's best friend. In a stunning collection of rare photographs in the book Marilyn In The Flash, Her Love Affair with the Press 1945-1962, by photographic preservationist David Wills and published by Dey Street, an imprint of William Morrow Publishers - the blonde bombshell's true personality can be seen. Daily Mail Online has obtained some of the hundreds of electrifying pictures of the Hollywood goddess. Norma Jeane's figure was a perfect model size, 'except in one place', Emmeline Snively, proprietor of the Blue Book Modeling Agency, remembered. 'The blouses were always too tight across the front'. +15 Marilyn Monroe posing for Playboy in December 1953. 'At 5'5' tall, she measured 36-22-34 and while her weight fluctuated throughout her adult life from 118 to 140 pounds, she always maintained that hourglass ratio,' recalls Emmeline Snively, proprietor of the Blue Book Modeling Agency +15 Marilyn Monroe was declared 'a movie press agent's dream', by Time magazine in 1952. At the mention of her name, men made a wolf whistle +15 Robert Wagner with a seductive Marilyn Monroe on his lap during a test scene for Let's Make It Legal on June 14, 1951. Wagner was the 'test boy' for Fox at the time and played the male lead for actresses being screen tested for possible contracts. Their film careers took off at the same time and were receiving 5,000 fan letters a week 'At 5'5' tall, she measured 36-22-34 and while her weight fluctuated throughout her adult life from 118 to 140 pounds, she always maintained that hourglass ratio'. In future years, she would be hailed as 'a genetic marvel of feminine proportions' because her legs gave the illusion of length by the very short distance from her waist to the upper thigh combined with her narrow back, rib cage and large breasts. Whatever her weight, she always photographed ten pounds lighter. With one little twist of that derriere she stole the show with her unbridled sex appeal leaving Joan Crawford and Lana Turner in the dust and every other star looking dull by comparison. 'Monroe who has zoomed to stardom after a three-year stretch as a cheesecake queen is easily the most delectable dish of the day', gossip columnist Hedda Hopper is quoted in the book. She was also an interviewer's dream. She had her own brand of 'breathy, unexpected wit' that the photographers and the public loved. When asked why she posed nude for the 'Golden Dreams' calendar in 1952, she responded, 'Hunger'. Asked what she had on, she answered, 'The radio'. +15 Marilyn as Sugar Kane Kowalczyk in Some Like it Hot. This was her most famous movie that also starred Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon but problems quickly surfaced on the set with Monroe's erratic behavior, forgetting her lines, showing up late or not at all. She started to believe that director Billy Wilder was her enemy. She silenced him when he tried to give her direction and cried when she did a bad take +15 Montgomery Clift and Marilyn Monroe attend the premiere of The Misfits on January 31, 1961. Her husband, Arthur Miller, wrote the screenplay for it but their marriage was breaking up at the time. This was Marilyn's final film appearance +15 Marilyn held a press conference at the Hotel Continental Hilton in Mexico City while on a private trip to the capital. The FBI was concerned about the actress's relationship with Frederick Vanderbilt Field who was disinherited by his wealthy family over his leftist views. The Feds were monitoring any possible ties to communism +15 Monroe and husband playright Arthur Miller spent a two week vacation in Jamaica in January 1957, and dodged questions from the press about her possible pregnancy. Tony Curtis claimed she was pregnant with his baby when she confessed her affair with Curtis to Arthur When asked if she was wearing underwear, she quipped, 'I'm wearing Chanel No. 5' Actor Robert Wagner remembers Marilyn from 1950 when they were both contract players at Twentieth Century-Fox. They were making $75 a week, take-home pay a mere $55. He was taking acting lessons on the Fox lot across the hall from Marilyn's drama coach, Natasha Lytess. The two became friends and often lunched together at the Fox studio commissary. Wagner was the 'test boy' and played the male lead opposite an actress screen testing for a studio contract. He tested twice with Marilyn in the early fifties and remembered her as being nervous but very focused and important to her to do her best. By then she had begun to create that 'Marilyn Monroe' character. 'It was really something she made by herself. She made it her own', Wagner states. 'The camera loved her and she loved the camera.' 'She was surprisingly shrewd... and extraordinarily driven'. Monroe made any news photo a work of art and lived up to the promise of her screen image and became one of the greatest stars in Hollywood history. She sought out the press in a mutually beneficial relationship that lasted her entire life and career. 'Can you please tell me who Marilyn Monroe's publicity agent is?' Wallis Simpson, The Duchess of Windsor commented to her publisher Charles Pick in 1955 when photographs of Marilyn supplanted her on the front page of all the daily newspapers. Marilyn arrived in Tinseltown when stars were no longer bound by contract to one studio. Marilyn shows off her physique in these beautiful screen tests +15 Marilyn Monroe had her hair straightened and bleached for the first time in 1946. She was willing to pose for any picture and cooperated with many photographers to feed the publicity machine supplying pictures to 400 newspapers across the country that had to fill two papers of shots a day. Still photographers made Monroe a star before the movie studios made her one +15 Monroe and fellow sex symbol, Betty Grable, arrived together at Ciro's for a party Walter Winchell gave for gossip columnist Louella Parson. Both of their husbands, baseball slugger Joe DiMaggio and the trumpet playing band leader, Harry James were out of town. Grable was pin-up girl number one of World War II and the highest paid entertainer in the United States. Marilyn didn't have to worry about Grable's success impacting her own. Betty retired from the screen in 1955 +15 Walter Winchell (pictured right) was one of the biggest gossip reporters of the era and a good friend of Joe DiMaggio. He took the slugger's side during his divorce from Marilyn and released a gossip item saying he knew the reason for the divorce but he wasn't going to divulge it. He was the only reporter to attend Marilyn's funeral only because of his friendship with DiMaggio +15 Monroe ran out on the infield of Dodger Stadium with Los Angeles Angels outfielder Albie Pearson for an Angels-New York Yankees game in August 1962. Marilyn was making an appearance in a pre-game ceremony on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy fund. A record crowd of 51,584 fans watched the Yankees beat the Angels They were becoming independent contractors. Movie magazines and gossip columnists took over doing publicity for stars. At the beginning of her career, Norman Jeane was encouraged to try acting by US Army Air Forces photographer David Conover who was shooting 'morale-boosting' pretty girls for Yank Magazine in 1945. Her next stop was the Blue Book Modeling Agency where owner Emmeline Snively recommended her to freelance photographer Andre de Dienes. The timing of her arrival in Hollywood was perfect. Movie/fan magazines were transitioning from black-and-white photos to vibrant colored shots of the stars. Technicolor was super-charging movie screens. The sharp brilliance and saturated colors of Kodachrome film showed off Marilyn's sexy curvature in men's magazines like See, Tempo, Quick, Gala and Laff. +15 Marilyn In The Flash features hundreds of unseen pictures of the Hollywood icon throughout her career that highlight the media's love affair with her When she morphed from having curly brown locks and became a captivating blue-eyed blonde, her first husband, Jim Dougherty, signed divorce papers. Norma Jeane hooked up with Hollywood agent Johnny Hyde who was responsible for bringing her to the attention of the head of talent at Twentieth Century Fox, Harry Brand. The name Norma Jeane morphed into the mellifluous 'Marilyn Monroe' in 1946 and the grooming and polishing of the new starlet was set in motion. It soon turned into a tidal wave. Photo syndicates couldn't get enough and the magazines were close on their heels. She was escorted to the best cocktail parties, introduced to editors, columnists and radio representatives. At one magazine soiree, 'Marilyn took control of her own PR, showing up late wearing a spectacular red gown – one size too small – and making a knockout entrance'. 'It was a short trip from the locker doors and garage walls of male fans everywhere'. Star-maker machinery was at work when Marilyn became the first centerfold in Hugh Hefner's Playboy magazine in December 1953. Minor movie roles were coming in but all of her commercial endorsements opened more doors to the fame she so passionately pursued. She posed for ads for shampoo, soap, liquid makeup, hair color, garden umbrellas and patio furniture. 'Monroe's screen persona was the result of considerable forethought, the skill of expert hands – two of them her own—and a significant dose of fear'. Marilyn had to be 'ready' in face, form and psyche and always kept the cast and crew waiting. Hairstylist George Masters recalled, 'Whenever she was being made up and I was doing her hair that extraordinary platinum, some incredible change occurred and she became 'Marilyn Monroe'. Fascinating archive footage of Marilyn at The Savoy (related) +15 Marilyn with her date and boyfriend Mexican screenwriter Jose Bolanos at the Golden Globe Awards on March 5, 1962 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Marilyn had flown down to Mexico to buy furniture and came back with a new boyfriend. DiMaggio was expecting her to return to him +15 The blonde bombshell returned to Hollywood from New York to play Cherie in Joshua Logan's film of William Inge's critically acclaimed Broadway play Bus Stop in 1956. A reporter asked her if the high-neck dress indicated this was a new Marilyn. She responded, 'No, I'm the same Marilyn - it's just a different suit' +15 The sex symbol successfully battled a sudden gust of air from the subway vent in Manhattan while filming The Seven Year Itch in September 1954 in New York. It was all in the script for the film. Joe DiMaggio was on set with columnist Walter Winchell but DiMaggio left in a huff when Marilyn took little control of her skirt Marilyn Monroe at President Kennedy's birthday party in 1962 'Her voice changed, her hands and body motions altered and suddenly she was a different woman from the plain girl I'd seen a few moments before. She was brilliant'. Marilyn on the silver screen brought 'big bang to the movies and big bucks to her studio'. She was the most photographed motion picture star and she loved being photographed. French actress Catherine Deneuve believed Marilyn had a light that belonged only to her – something that comes from her but is beyond even her. 'It's something that happens when the camera loves you that much'. This collection of photographs were taken by many members of the press – journalists and photographers, 'who nurtured Marilyn's dream, preserved her words, captured her light on film, and allowed her to shine for future generations'. 'Marilyn's gifts to the world are her films and the thousands of dazzling photographs we continue to enjoy'. 'Few have provided such an extensive and diverse photographic legacy that continues to increase in popularity with each successive year'.     A photographer who spent the early 1970s snapping Hollywood’s most famous figures on the red carpet is now showing his collection for the first time and proving that celebrities were truly glitzier and more glamorous in the days before digital. In Red Carpet Press Pass, Robert Cumming portrays a Tinseltown that predates Photoshop and Botox, one where celebrities had only their magnetism and star quality to help them stand out on the red carpet. It was also a world where red carpets themselves were hardly the daily affair they are today. ‘By devious means,’ Cumming writes, he was able to get a toehold in the then-exclusive paparazzi world, ‘concluding with two Golden Globes and two Academy Award ceremonies.’ ‘Forty years later, awakening in a new millennium, the medium of the digital print is a better way of displaying this work,’ writes Cumming. His photo exhibition—only one of which has been seen in print before—is showing at Janet Borden Inc. in New York City. Cumming’s photos put 1970s glamor on full display and force viewers to wonder if today’s dime a dozen Kardashian style celebrity world can possibly stand up to the Hollywood enchantment of yesteryear. Days before digital: Robert Cumming's Red Carpet Press Pass collection shows Hollywood glitz as it can only come through on film, a world before infinite hard drive space when a special shot like this of Dionne Warwick really meant something Special: In Cumming's 1970s, red carpets weren't the dime a dozen events they are today. When big names of the day like John Travolta came out, people paid attention 'By devious means,' Cumming writes, he found his way into the paparazzi world, one that would not recognize the troubled starlet chasing celebrity photographers of today. Here, Barbra Streisand his helped out of a limo Before Lady Gaga: The glamor of the 1970s also included singer Cher dressed as a Native American princess during her Half Breed days Camaraderie: In 1977, Rocky won the Academy Award for Best Picture, though writer and star Sylvester Stallone did not take home an Oscar of his own. Here, he feigns like he did along with some cohorts who actually won statues Ceremony: Cumming caught on film the glamor at two Golden Globe ceremonies and two Academy Awards. Here, Faye Dunaway holds the Oscar after being names the best actress for 1976's Network Shade: Puffing on a cigarette, living legend Jack Nicholson. has trouble blending into the crowd in dark sunglasses and characteristic smirk Shining: Farrah Fawcett was a megastar in the dazzle days of 1970s Hollywood and had the gold lame dresses to prove it. Fawcett died from cancer in 2009 Never before seen: Only this image of Richard Burton has been publicly shown before, and was only included in a portfolio with other California photographers Ambiance: In Cumming's Hollywood days, even future presidents attended Tinseltown galas. Here, the Gipper arrives to a star-studded event 'Forty years later,' writes Cumming, 'awakening in a new millennium, the medium of the digital print is a better way of displaying this work.' Here, Mary Tyler Moore shows beams in her 70s glamorous style Here, Olivia Newton John poses for a photo while Cumming takes her photo while posing. This sort of behind-behind the scenes look at Hollywood was far less common than in today's industry Stars: Here, Mae West gushes to a gentleman friend. Many of the celebrities of Cumming's Hollywood are revered as legends today, with not a reality star in sight Confidence: Here, Kirk Douglas displays the machismo of a true Hollywood patriarch. Cumming writes that his main interest as a photographer living in the Golden State was anything 'peculiar to California.' This includes Hollywood, of course Cult actress, one time stripper and John Waters muse Liz Renay appears in Cumming's collection, amid more notable stars The cuts of the dresses, the plush chinchilla coat, and the gentleman's tie mark this photo as classically 1970s

A new photo book sheds light on the life of Audrey Hepburn during the prime of her career, capturing her behind-the-scenes on set as well as in the privacy of her home. Bob Willoughby's Audrey Hepburn features 280 pages filled with photographs of the late Hollywood icon, from her arrival in Hollywood in 1953 until 1966, three years after she shot to fame in My Fair Lady. In one of the more intimate images, Hepburn is seen doting on her baby son Sean, who was born in 1960, as her The Children's Hour co-star James Garner smiles in the background. Scroll down for video +16 Behind-the-scenes: A new book features rarely seen candid photos of Audrey Hepburn from 1953 to 1966. (Pictured: Sean, Audrey's son by Mel Ferrer, plays with his mother while actor James Garner beams) +16 Downtime: The portraits were all taken by the late Hollywood photographer Bob Willoughby, her friend and confidante. (Pictured: The actress at the villa the Ferrers rented while shooting Paris When It Sizzles) Sean, whose father was Hepburn's first husband Mel Ferrer, giggles from his crib as his glamorous mother laughs with him. Another photo shows the actress reclining against a tree beside a pond, which was located at the villa that the Ferrers rented while shooting 1964 film Paris When It Sizzles. Sporting her signature short bangs, Hepburn wears a knee-length pink skirt and white shirt and looks demurely at the camera, her bare feet planted on the tree trunk. The portraits in the book, which hits stores in September costs $54 on Amazon, were all taken by the late Hollywood photographer Bob Willoughby, who passed away in 2009. +16 Everyday life: Hepburn takes her pet fawn Pippa or 'Ip' shopping in Gelson's supermarket, in Beverly Hills +16 Keeping fit: She wore a striking red leotard to do some exercising and stretching in the garden +16 Interactions: In one particularly striking photo, she is seen looking downcast with her Green Mansions co-star Anthony Perkins, who is seemingly attempting to cheer her up He said of meeting the Belgian-born star for the first time: 'She took my hand like… well a princess, and dazzled me with that smile that God designed to melt mortal men's hearts.' From that first encounter, the pair became fast friends, and Willoughby was often at her side to capture her at her most candid moments. He even snapped a photo of her shopping at a Beverly Hills grocery store with her pet fawn Ip, whom she met on the set of 1959's Green Mansions, directed by her then-husband Mel Ferrer. Timeless beauty: Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's +16 Close comrades: Hepburn pictured with Bob Willoughby, who passed away in 2009 +16 Enraptured: Willoughby said of meeting the star (pictured in 1953) for the first time: 'She took my hand like... well a princess, and dazzled me with that smile that God designed to melt mortal men's hearts' +16 Getting in character: Hepburn grins as she greets the international press, who were invited to attend the first day of shooting of My Fair Lady +16 Classic beauty: The star wears striking earrings during a photo session at Paramount Studios in 1953 'Beverly Hills habitués are fairly blasé about what they see, but Audrey being followed around town by this lovely creature stopped everyone in their tracks,' the photographer once said of her unusual pet. Willoughby also captured her interacting with her co-stars while shooting her movies, revealing aspects of her personality rarely seen in pictures. In one particularly striking photo, she is seen looking downcast while sitting on a camera boom with her Green Mansions co-star Anthony Perkins, who is seemingly attempting to cheer her up. +16 At work: Here she chats with director George Kukor on the set of My Fair Lady while Assam, her Yorkshire terrier, sits in the basket of the bike she used to cycle around the studio grounds +16 On set: The actress pictured in a still from one of her most famous films, My Fair Lady +16 Fashion sense: She wears a dress designed for her by Givenchy while reclining on a bed in Paris When It Sizzles +16 Captivating: Hepburn pictured flaunting her famous doe eyes in a still from Paris When It Sizzles And another behind-the-scenes photo sees her chatting with director George Kukor on the set of My Fair Lady. While the pair converse, Assam, her Yorkshire terrier, sits in the basket of the bike the actress used to cycle around the studio grounds. Willoughby, who was credited by Popular Photography as 'the man who virtually invented the photojournalistic motion picture still,' shot many stars in his career, including Judy Garland, Marilyn  Monroe, Natalie Wood and James Dean. +16 Picture perfect: Willoughby, who shot many stars in his career including Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and Natalie Wood, was known to consider Hepburn (pictured in 1953) his favorite +16 Popular subject: The star climbs into the Paramount Studios car waiting to return her to the hotel after a photo session with photographer Bud Fraker +16 Muse: Willoughby is pictured examining a still of Audrey Hepburn But above them all, he was known to consider Hepburn as his unequivocal favorite. 'As Hepburn's career soared following her Oscar-winning US debut in Roman Holiday, Willoughby became a trusted friend, framing her working and home life,' reads a description of the book. His historic, perfectionist, tender photographs seek out the many facets of Hepburn's beauty and elegance, as she progresses from her debut to her career high of My Fair Lady in 1963. 'Willoughby's studies, showing her on set, preparing for a scene, interacting with actors and directors, and returning to her private life, comprise one of photography's great platonic love affairs and an unrivalled record of one of the 20th century's touchstone beauties.' One of the largest private collections of Marilyn Monroe photographs, including never seen before images from her first and final photo shoots, could fetch a staggering £80,000 at auction. The incredible hoard of 32 rare photographs depict the Hollywood icon's career from start to finish and will go under the hammer on November 26. The collection includes an early shot of the actress in early 1946, aged just 15, wearing a white jumper and beret in her first ever glamour shoot. Scroll down for video +24 One of the last pictures ever taken of Marilyn at a photo shoot in 1962 is part of a collection going on sale +24 One haunting image shows the star, who died in 1962 from an overdose, feigning death +24 The photos could fetch an impressive £80,000 at auction when they go under hammer on November 26 +24 +24 The 32 rare photographs up for auction depict the Hollywood icon's career from start to finish +24 The collection includes an original photo issued by Fox Studios showing her in sultry pose, wearing a sling back dress Other candid snaps show the blonde beauty at different stages of her life right up until one of the last ever photos taken of her in July 1962. The black and white image was captured just weeks before she was found dead aged 36 at her LA home following a barbiturate overdose on August 5, 1962. Taken by celebrity snapper George Barris the poignant snap shows Marilyn in a cream jumper lying on a beach, resting her chin on her hands and staring into the camera. The set also includes a chilling picture Monroe had commissioned herself of her pretending to be dead - just a few months before she passed away. Others include an original photo issued by Fox Studios showing her in sultry pose, wearing a sling back dress. It was this image which inspired artist Andy Warhol as the basis for his now world famous screen print images of her. Previously unseen Marilyn Monroe letters go to auction (related) +24 +24 Some of the pictures of the iconic star will never have been seen by the general public before +24 Many of the pictures show Marilyn as the care-free sex symbol she was most well known as +24 Each individual image could fetch up to £2,500 each when they are auctioned +24 +24 The pictures go back to the start of her career when she looked markedly different with brunette hair +24 Marilyn, really called Norma Jeane Mortenson, totally transformed her image over the course of her career +24 Despite her carefree public image, Marilyn's life was marked by unhappiness and heartbreak The collection of original prints are being sold by professional snooker player Dominic Dale, who has collected Monroe memorabilia for the past 25 years. Each individual image could fetch up to £2,500 each when they are auctioned by Mullocks Auctioneers at Ludlow Racecourse, Shrops., in two weeks time.. Richard Westwood-Brookes, historical document expert at the auctioneers, said: 'These are classic images of Marilyn and are works of high art in their own right. +24 +24 The collection of original prints are being sold by professional snooker player Dominic Dale, who has collected Monroe memorabilia for the past 25 years +24 Marilyn's 'ditsy blonde' persona, which many of her roles revolved around, hid a woman of real intelligence 'What's important about these photos is that they all have their photographer's stamp on the back, so they have come straight from the negative of the image 'As a result we are pricing them at £500 estimate each. 'But judging from the worldwide interest in original photographs such as these of Marilyn we expect that they will make far more. 'We have seen similar images to these changing hands in recent times for five times that figure. +24 Not many of the photos in the mammoth collection are in colour, which will surely raise their value +24 +24 The star is considered by many, even over fifty years after her death, to be one of the most beautiful women ever +24 The collection also boasts an original signature of Marilyn surmounted by a rare black and white photograph taken by the celebrated American photographer Andre De Dienes on Tobey Beach in May 1949 +24 +24 The set also includes snaps by several other renowned photographers including Joseph Jasgur, who signed this snap 'This is a chance to own one of the largest private collections of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia in the world. 'It really is a really unique opportunity to get your hands on some rare photos of one of the most iconic Hollywood stars that ever lived.' The collection also boasts an original signature of Marilyn surmounted by a rare black and white photograph taken by the celebrated American photographer Andre De Dienes on Tobey Beach in May 1949. Marilyn was on a promotional tour for the film titled 'Love Happy', a Marx Brothers movie, when she met up with the Mr De Dienes who first photographed her in 1945 as the young Norma Jeane Dougherty, a 19-year-old model with the Blue Book Modelling Agency. The set also includes snaps by several other renowned photographers including Joseph Jasgur, Bruno Bernard, Philippe Halsman and Milton H Greene. +24 The intense interest sparked by the collection becoming available shows our obsession with Marilyn is as strong as ever Mr Westwood-Brookes added: 'In addition to the photographs, Dominic's collection also has some very important books including an extremely rare edition of 'Marilyn - a Hollywood Farewell' by Leigh Wiener with preface by Richard B Stolley. 'This was produced in 1990 as a limited edition signed by Wiener and Stolley. 'Unfortunately Wiener died before he could complete more than a few signings, and the copy we are offering is one of those very few which bear both signatures, together with an autograph dedication from Stolley to Dominic Dale. 'The collection also contains the definitive books produced by the photographers, which include printed versions of the originals we are offering in the sale, and many other rare and desirable books about Marilyn.' Snooker ace Dominic, 42, added: 'It will be sad to see them go but my snooker commitments now call for me to be jetting around the world all the time. 'I think the time has come for my collection to pass into the hands of other lovers of Marilyn who will cherish them as much as I have done.' Dominic, whose nickname is 'The Spaceman', is one of the top 30 professional snooker champions in the world. Despite being born in Coventry, he represents Wales and has won the Grand Prix of snooker as well as the prestigious Shanghai Masters. He regularly appears on television where, in addition to playing, he also appears as a commentator and presenter. Share or com

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