Financial ruin struck Marilyn Monroe in 1949-1950. The production of Love Happy had already been completed, but it did not arrive in theaters until spring. She had no acting gigs. Modeling opportunities disappeared. She was broke.
Desperation makes people do things they wouldn’t normally think of. Marilyn agreed to pose for nude photographer Tom Kelley. There was only one condition: his wife Natalie had to be in the room. Kelley had asked earlier. She said no. Well, the answer was yes.
The meeting took place on May 27, 1949. She signed the release form “Mona Monroe.” A thin veil. A half-hearted attempt to hide her identity from the world.
Kelley produced 24 transparencies. Two basic positions emerged that day. One showed her lying on red velvet, in full body profile. The other captured her seated, head tilted back, legs beneath him.
Contrary to what most people think, the Red Velvet shot came first. It was called “The New Wrinkle”. It became the original calendar image. Another pose, “Golden Dreams,” gained traction only when the audience realized who was lying on the red cloth.
“Golden dreams” became a workhorse. It appeared in calendars. Deck of cards. Keychain. Coasters. Drinking glasses. One entrepreneur even made a rubberized three-dimensional version that moved when the handle was turned. Scary? Perhaps. Effective? Undisputed.
In December 1953, “Golden Dreams” launched the premiere issue of Playboy magazine. It just didn’t show in it. It brought it into being.
For all this fame, Marilyn received $50. Just fifty dollars for the images that would define her early iconography. Kelley didn’t fare much better when he sold the rights to the Western Lithograph Company. He got a pittance. But manufacturers and promoters? They became rich. Bootleg versions flooded the market.
Initial sales rose to eight million copies in the mid-1950s. Millions more in pirated copies. The demand was insatiable. Some of Kelley’s unused transparencies disappeared from his studio in the early 1950s. Stolen? Lost? Who knows.
This financial result forced her hand. But it also set the stage for her next move. She met Johnny Hyde. Hollywood power player. He cast her in the Asphalt Jungle.
Her career was about to change. But first, she had to survive the night.
