South Africa’s Lira will be one among many performers at Barack Obama’s inaugural celebrations Monday, but she is determined to be remembered for a performance to rival Marilyn Monroe’s wooing of John F. Kennedy. The multi-platinum artist hopes to give Obama and other guests at…
Monroe and Communism: FBI releases classified files on the Hollywood star
Picture dated 11 October 1956, showing actress Marilyn Monroe (L) and her husband, writer Arthur Miller, at the Comedy Theatre in London as they are waiting first night of Miller’s new play, “A view from the Bridge” (AFP Photo)The FBI has released classified document confirming Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe was under surveillance for allegedly having “drifted into the Communist orbit” from the mid 1950s through to months before her death.The classified files on the actress and her husband Arthur Miller have been rediscovered after going missing. The documents reveal some of the names of Monroe’s alleged Communist friends, and that the FBI kept close track of the movie star, The Daily News reports.Information that the ‘Some Like It Hot’ star had ties to the Communist Party emerged in the 1950s, after Monroe married playwright Arthur Miller in 1956. That year the FBI recorded an anonymous phone call to the New York Daily News that sparked interest in Monroe’s affairs. The caller implied that Arthur Miller whom she had just married was a Communist and that Monroe had ‘drifted into the communist orbit’. The caller also reported “that the actress’s company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, was ‘filled with communists’ and that money from the company was being used to finance communist activities,” The Daily Mail says.That’s where Monroe’s file begins focusing on her travels, acquaintances and looking for signs of pro-Communist views. The FBI followed the actress up until months before her death under suspicious circumstances in August 1962. The files also include information given in news articles about the actress’ death and extracts from Norman Mailer’s biography of the actress, which highlights assumptions that Monroe was killed by the government.The death of the Hollywood star still remains a mystery, even after two major government investigations. The first one was held straight after her death, and the other one was launched in 1982. The files on Monroe were made publicly available on the bureau’s website, after The Associated Press launched a campaign to make more data on Monroe public to mark the 50th anniversary of her death. … Read More
Charlie Chaplin’s bowler hat and cane sold at auction for over $60,000
The original trademark bowler hat and a cane owned by Charlie Chaplin are displayed at Bonhams & Butterfields on October 20, 2005 in Los Angeles, California. (David Livingston/Getty Images/AFP)
Charlie Chaplin’s bowler hat and cane have become the symbols of Hollywood’s silent film era. A set of the iconic actor’s props was sold by Bonhams for $62,500.
His moustache, bowler hat and a cane have become the trademark style of the English-born comedian after his appearances as the “Little Tramp” character in films such as “City Lights” and “Modern Times.”
Chaplin had more than one hat and cane. Those auctioned on Sunday are from a private collection and have a direct link to Chaplin, Bonhams memorabilia specialist Lucy Carr said. Its unknown how many of Chaplin’s bowlers and canes still exist.
Chaplin’s hat and cane were auctioned off within Bonhams’ popular culture artefacts sale in Los Angeles.
Other lots on offer include a handwritten letter from John Lennon containing a sketch if himself and Yoko Ono nude; an archive of Marilyn Monroe photographs and more.
Candid Marilyn Monroe photos to be auctioned
Rare Marilyn Monroe photographs immortalising the American blonde bombshell will be auctioned November 8 in Warsaw, an auction house in the Polish capital announced Wednesday. Poland’s state treasury obtained the candid shots of Monroe — taken by a friend, Milton Green — in a…
