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A personal invitation to join the
founding members of the exclusive Hollywood Museum Associates Board
of Directors.
"The Hollywood Museum
Associates Board of Directors extends to Marilyn Monroe the honor
to become one of the founder members, and to enjoy the full
privileges of its association with the county of Los Angeles
Hollywood Motion Picture and Television Museum."
Also present are two typed
related notes with handwritten notations, one being in Marilyn's own
hand. The first handwritten note on an insert with the
invitation reads, "Dear Marilyn, Do so hope you will join this
exciting project- Fondly, Sybil-" Sybil being
Sybil Brand, wife of Harry Brand, longtime head of publicity for
20th Century Fox.
The second note is a message from
Cherie Redmond, Marilyn's last secretary from January, 1962 until
her death. This note to Marilyn reads, "Miss Monroe,
I may be wrong - but I have a sort of feeling not everyone is asked
to become a founder member.....the list is not long, although it is
impressive. The life membership fee is $1,000 - it is tax
deductible though - Would you like me to discuss it with Mr. Rudin?
cherie" Mr. Rudin being Marilyn's attorney. To which
Marilyn responds in her own hand, "Yes I'll do it - Make
out check please"
From the book "Marilyn: The Last Months " by Eunice Murray:
 While she was in Mexico City
buying paintings for her home, Marilyn had a difficult time
choosing between two similar oils of an adobe house at twilight.
One had a light in the window; the other did not. It seemed
strange that she hesitated so long before deciding on the painting
with the light. "This one looks lived in," she said at last.
"It has so much more warmth." If this symbolized a hesitancy
to dare to dream of a warm home life of her own, by spring and
summer of 1962, the decision was made, Marilyn allowed herself a
light in the window. But only for her friends. The new
sanctuary must not be violated by people she felt out of harmony
with. This fact became very clear to Eunice when she heard
about the new business secretary Marilyn's attorney had hired.
"She must never be allowed in
my home," Marilyn told Eunice in Mexico City. Marilyn and
her secretary had traveled to New York together the week before
the Mexican trip to arrange for business files to be sent to
Twentieth Century-Fox. They had stayed together in Marilyn's
New York apartment, and then the clash in personalities had
arisen. "Mr. Rudin says she's a good secretary, and I guess
she is," Marilyn said. "But she can't be one of my close
friends."
Marilyn's reaction had been
adverse from the moment she heard her name from the attorney.
"Cherie?" Marilyn had said on the phone. "Oh, no, not
another Cherie!" That had been Marilyn's name in the movie, Bus Stop." "Couldn't she have another name?"
Marilyn asked unreasonably, as if that name belonged once
and for all to the naive dance-hall girl in Bus Stop.
Cherie was an excellent secretary, capable enough to be earning
$250 per week to handle Marilyn's business affairs. But
Marilyn insisted, "She is not one of the people who will be
invited to my home." Later, when Cherie needed to have
Marilyn sign checks, Marilyn arranged to have her give any papers
or checks to Eunice at the gate of her home. Any information
for Marilyn had to be in writing. Marilyn had a week in New
York to observe her, and had formed a sudden judgment. "I
don't want her advice about anything but business matters," she
said. "Besides," Marilyn added with a whimsical glint
in her eye, "She drank up the last of my Dom Perignon."
The note from Cherie to Monroe is
date stamped April 9, 1962, just four short month's before Marilyn's
death. Important activities in Marilyn's life around this time
include:
-Initial filming of Something's
Got To Give - April 21, 1962
-JFK's birthday celebration at
Madison Square Garden - May 19, 1962
Also included with the invitation
to Marilyn was an architectural rendered image of the museum.
Provenance: Julien's Auctions: Property
from the Estate of Marilyn Monroe, June 4, 2005
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