Greeted by Marilyn
On a recent trip to Palm Springs, Red and I were greeted by a 26 foot tall, 34,000 pound statue of Marilyn Monroe. Her appearance triggered an ear-to-ear grin, and we did a double-take as she flashed us her knickers. We drove past the “Forever Marilyn” Statue from it’s new home at the corner of Palm Canyon Drive and Tahquitz Canyon Way, but went back the next morning, to take a closer look.
50th Anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s Death
2012 is the 50th Anniversary of her death, so it’s fitting that this statue was moved from it’s original Chicago location, to the heart of Palm Springs. Steward Johnson (the 80 year old Johnson & Johnson heir) recreated the iconic image from the classic scene from the 1955’s “The Seven Year Itch” .
Windy Cities
In the film, Marilyn’s skirt was blown up by the wind from a subway grate. But the scene is just as plausible for the statue’s original home, Chicago “the windy city, and her new temporary home of Palm Springs.
As iconic as Marilyn is to Hollywood Glamour, Wind Turbines are the iconic images for Palm Springs. Hundreds of them line the freeway and highway 111 leading into town.
I can’t think of a better location for the “Forever Marilyn” statue during this anniversary year. Especially given Marilyn’s auspicious connection with Palm Springs.
Marilyn Discovered in Palm Springs
In 1949, Marilyn Monroe was “discovered” by Johnny Hyde, from the William Morris Talent Agency, at the Charlie Farrell Racquet Club in Palm Springs. At the time, she was poolside, having her photos taken by Bruno Bernard.
Even though the swimsuit design hasn’t stood the test of time, the wedge platforms are still on-trend today.
Palm Springs “Hollywood’s Playground”
In the 1920’s, Palm Springs started to become the quick jaunt getaway for Hollywood stars.
In the old Hollywood system, Actors under contract had to be available back on Set “within 2 hours”, for photo and film shoots. As Palm Springs is only 120 miles away from Los Angeles, it hugged the edge of this 2-hour limit and became the playground for the rich and famous. Palm Springs offered an “anything goes” aura of freedom, away from the prying eyes of the Hollywood Studio system, hell bent on projecting squeaky-clean reputations of their stars.
Experience a slice of Marilyn Glamour
If you’re heading to Palm Springs, why not take advantage of some of the activities organized by the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism:
Marilyn’s Star: Palm Canyon Drive
Similar to the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Palm Springs Walk of Stars has nearly 350 Golden Palm Stars embedded in the sidewalks throughout downtown Palm Springs. Marilyn Monroe’s star is located at 101 S. Palm Canyon Drive, adjacent to the “Forever Marilyn” sculpture.
Marilyn’s House: Take a Celebrity Tour
Marilyn Monroe lived in a’50s bungalow-style house in the Las Palmas neighborhood. During a celebrity tour, visitors will hear the stories and secrets of the stars and see Marilyn’s home along with many other celebrity homes including the Elvis Honeymoon House, Elizabeth Taylor’s and Frank Sinatra’s homes.
#MarilynMonroe came from the windy city #Chicago to #PalmSprings for a visit Share on X
© 1949 photo of Marilyn by Bernard of Hollywood, all other photo’s Roving Jay
Marilyn was a true icon. She had something special, and that’s why her reputation as an icon is still standing tall today. Great Statue – although it does look like she has cellulite on her arms!
Hi Michelle … maybe her arms look a bit blobby – but her legs look great! 🙂
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Like i love her soo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and her and Betty Boop look soo much alike i mean just soo much alike that’s who i thought Betty Boop was based on but i guess not!!!!!!!!
She’s still an icon after all these years.
Ah, that’s looks so cool! She was truly amazing 🙂
It was right near the Starbucks shop, so a good view with your brew!
Marilyn was bigger than life, so a massive statue suits her just fine. She still is an icon, though she’d probably never imagined getting an introduction like yours. 🙂
“and we did a double-take as she flashed us her knickers”
It’s such an iconic image… and great that the sculptor chose this one to immortalize her memory.
Interesting post on Marilyn Monroe. Quite some facts I did not know.
Palm Springs has such a rich Hollywood history.
This is great. I have always wondered if it ever crossed their minds (to celebrities) that even years after their departure we would still be talking about them. Would also love to go to one of the celebrities tour.
I wonder if we’re only talking about her as much as we do, because of the mystery that surrounds her death, and that she died in her prime!
Marilyn was truly an icon and classic beauty. I learned a lot about her from this article.
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A beauty … but not in a classic sense based on today’s standards. So it’s an interesting part of our cultural history that she was deemed as iconic.
Ah Marilyn is amazing. I always try to do the same pose in front of Moulin Rouge in Paris, or anywhere were wind blows from under 😀 Hehe
I can still vividly remember the first time I saw steam and felt air come up through the grates along a New York City street. An iconic moment.
A giant Marilyn Monroe statue would be neat to see!
I’ve been a couple places that have wind farms, and I always find them so neat to watch!
I think Palm Springs is the biggest and most expansive wind farm I’ve encountered.
I knew nothing about Palm Springs before but (genuinely) a giant Marilyn has just put it on my list. That is one huge dose of Americana! I also never knew about the two hour rule, that is so intense!!!
Los Angeles is known as the centre of the movie industry, but if you love the Hollywood era from the heydays, you have to come and visit Palm Springs.
I absolutely love Marilyn! I never knew she was discovered in Palm Springs. Thank you for sharing this great information! I would love to see her house.
The mind boggles at the parties that must have gone on here in the forties and fifties – choc full of Hollywood icons.
We made our first time visit to Palm Springs this past summer but somehow we missed this! I think your trip was more eventful than our lazy one was though! I never knew she was discovered there either!
I think it was just a temporary exhibition of this statue, and it either went on tour, or went back to it’s home in Chicago.