Marilyn Monroe and moi shared a bed. ... Well, not really. During a brief affair in East Hampton, I wound up in the one-time rented cottage of the late great Playwright Arthur Miller and his then-wife, the one and only Marilyn Monroe. As she might whisper "Some Like It Hot", and so for one steamy night we did experience that infamous ambiance. Yes as a young'un I, too, was beautiful, they said, but also "brainy," and coming from a feminist-oriented Mum, I wanted to play it "straight" as in straight-forward. No "Dumb-Blonde" was I!!! I didn't want to allure men -- or anyone -- by my curvaceous torso, ample "girls," tiny waist, large baby blues or naturally platinum blonde hair. I wanted to be appreciated for who I was, what I knew, what I might contribute, my intellect, my spirituality and my God-granted talents -- my visual art, my writing and my serious aspirations to make the world a better place. Marilyn made it tough for wom...

Posted at 12:23 PM ET, 12/28/2011 Some like it hot, but Kim Jong Il in Marilyn Monroes fluttering dress is certainly not what most people have in mind when they think hot. North Korean artist Song Byeok perfected his portraiture skills painting Kim Jong Il as a propaganda artist for his regime in the 1990s a skill that he puts to use now as a satirical artist, painting the Dear Leader in embarrassing situations such as Monroes subway grate scene from The Seven Year Itch. Hes one of several artist-defectors whose careers have gotten a boost from the dictators death. North Korean defector and artist Song Byeok paints next to another work of his, titled "Marilyn Monroe," which satirizes North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, at his atelier in Seoul, Dec. 23, 2011. (Kim Kyung-Hoon - Reuters) Byeok works under a pseudonym, because he fears retaliation against relatives who remain in North Korea. He was selected at age 24 to become an official state propagandist, according to the biog...

SEOUL (Reuters) - Above the ballooning dress of Marilyn Monroe is the face of the late North Korean despot Kim Jong-il . A pigeon flies overhead and a feather lies nearby on the ground. North Korean artist Song Byeok once proudly drew the "Dear Leader" in propaganda paintings. But he was sent to labor in one of the reclusive state's notorious prisons after hunger forced him to try to flee. Now a defector living in the South Korean capital, Seoul, Song has turned to mocking a ruler who led his country into famine, isolation and economic ruin. "The day I finished this, he passed away," Song said of his painting and the death of Kim on December 17. "He's not an eternal creature but the same as the feather of a pigeon," said Song, using the feather to symbolize something inconsequential. "I thought it would've been better if he made North Koreans better off and forget hunger before he died." Kim, who was 69 when he died, was a patron of...

By Cristina Merrill | Dec 26, 2011 11:34 PM EDT North Korean artist Song Byeok used to paint propaganda for the country's late leader Kim Jong-il. Now he paints the man in mocking ways, such as portraying him as late actress Marilyn Monroe. One painting features him wearing a white dress and looking like Monroe circa "The Seven Year Itch," striking a jaunty pose and sporting pink underwear. Byeok was jailed and sentenced to labor for a time after he tried to reach China to get food and was caught, according to a Reuters report. "I thought it would've been better if he made North Koreans better off and forget hunger before he died," Byeok told Reuters of Kim. This isn't the first time this year that art featuring world leaders has caused a stir. United Colors of Benetton came under fire after the company featured ads of world leaders kissing as part of their "Unhate" campaign. As someone who was imprisoned under Kim's rule, Byeok brings a ...

SEOUL (Reuters) - Above the ballooning dress of Marilyn Monroe is the face of the late North Korean despot Kim Jong-il . A pigeon flies overhead and a feather lies nearby on the ground. North Korean artist Song Byeok once proudly drew the "Dear Leader" in propaganda paintings. But he was sent to labor in one of the reclusive state's notorious prisons after hunger forced him to try to flee. Now a defector living in the South Korean capital, Seoul, Song has turned to mocking a ruler who led his country into famine, isolation and economic ruin. "The day I finished this, he passed away," Song said of his painting and the death of Kim on December 17. "He's not an eternal creature but the same as the feather of a pigeon," said Song, using the feather to symbolize something inconsequential. "I thought it would've been better if he made North Koreans better off and forget hunger before he died." Kim, who was 69 when he died, was a patron of...

Sound like you've seen, read, and heard it before? You have. Simon Curtis' My Week With Marilyn treads the exceptionally well-worn turf of exploring Marilyn Monroe from the viewpoints of the men surrounding her. Curtis invites the audience to be enrapt, aroused, frustrated, and perplexed by Marilyn along with Sir. Laurence Olivier, Arthur Miller, and most directly, Colin Clark, a young director's assistant and the film's protagonist. Moments of intimacy between Colin and Marilyn hint at a well known, but compelling, contrast between Marilyn's public persona and her private struggles. The audience, however, sees these moments from Colin's perspective, again cementing the understanding of Marilyn as object, rather than subject. Michelle Williams is alluring and delightful to watch as Marilyn, yet she is narrowly confined within a conventionally written Monroe. Her character vacillates predictably between "little girl lost" and dangerous temptress...

In the wake of "My Week With Marilyn," we now give you "My Christmas Eve With Marilyn," on the night a stranger suddenly showed up, unannounced, in Marilyn Monroe 's Hollywood bungalow. The date: Christmas Eve, 1953. I met Marilyn the way I meet a lot of amazing women, at 2 in the morning Christmas Eve, the men folk long retired. They would be up late wrapping the last presents and polishing off a bottle of Champagne. When I land in the fireplace like 300 pounds of wet cement, they jump with surprise, then run to hug me. Santa baby! When I arrived, Marilyn had just had a huge fight over the phone with her boyfriend. Just the sight of me cheered her up, she said. As powerful and controlling as she could be, Marilyn was still in essence a little girl. Who knew what potions she'd consumed to dull the pain, but I found Marilyn to be incredibly bright. As you probably know, much of my "magic" stems from my ability to slip through folds in the space-ti...

Next August will bring the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's death. (She would have been 86, which is as weird to write as it is to think about.) But Hollywood is getting an early jump on the remembrances. Currently playing in about 250 movie theaters around the country is Michelle Williams' "My Week With Marilyn," a dramatized (and possibly fictionalized) look at the screen siren during a critical period of her life while filming "The Prince and the Showgirl. In February, Monroe comes to the small screen via the NBC scripted series "Smash," in which theater producers mount a fictional Broadway show about the bombshells life. The real-life Broadway actress Megan Hilty and "American Idol" star-cum-recording artist Katharine McPhee, putting her own spin on "Happy Birthday, Mr. President," each vie to play her. As if that weren't enough, the series could spawn an actual Broadway musical, with creators developing lyrics and music...

For a person who's been dead for almost 50 years, Marilyn Monroe gets a lot of press. The public's continued fascination with the shapely siren attracts modern day figures who want to hitch their wagons to her star. Most recently, Lindsay Lohan made headlines by mimicking the "Some Like it Hot" actress in a Playboy magazine pictorial that appears in the popular men's magazine's January issue. Lohan's seductive pictures, some of which were similar to Monroe's iconic photos in the magazine's first issue, generated a big splash on the Internet -- especially when the steamy images were leaked on the web before the magazine hit the newsstands. More problems ensued when the "Mean Girls" actress failed to show up for her exclusive TV interview with Ellen DeGeneres after lingering too long in Hawaii, a jinxed jaunt during which she had her purse stolen with $10,000 inside. (We know, who else would have ten grand stashed in her wallet and then ...

A treasure trove of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia went under the hammer at an auction in Los Angeles on Friday (16Dec11), and two signed photos sent the bidding wild. The Profiles in History Icons of Hollywood sale produced many big surprises as items went for much more than their expected price and Monroe's booty was a prize pick-up. Camera negatives from the film Some Like It Hot sold for $1,500 (937) - five times their expected sales price - and rare shots of Monroe and Clark Gable on the set of The Misfits went under the hammer for $2,000 (1,250) - over three times what they were expected to fetch. Highlights of the Monroe lots also included an autographed letter signed by the 18-year-old 'Norma Jeane' ($52,500/32,800); a personal Monroe photograph signed by Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart and Gary Cooper ($60,000/37,500); a portrait of a young Marilyn wearing a sheer lace trim, signed ($37,500/23,400), and Monroe's invitation to a John F. Kennedy birthday celebration ($4...

By Lucy Laing Last updated at 4:32 PM on 17th December 2011 When Victoria Steel decided to lose weight she wanted a new image. But she never imagined that after dropping six stone she would bear such a striking resemblance to the blond bombshell icon Marilyn Monroe. Such was her drastic transformation that a model agency has actually taken her on to work as a Monroe lookalike. Victoria Steel (left) was shocked when she lost six stone how similar she looked to Marilyn Monroe (right) and now works as a Monroe lookalike Miss Steel, 25, who works in nightclub security, said: I loved Marilyn Monroe when I was growing up. When I lost all the weight, all my friends and family told me that I looked exactly like her, which was great. Stunning difference: After friends remarked how similar Victoria looked to Marilyn Monroe she began to alter her style to look like the icon Before I lost the weight I didnt look anything like such a sex siren. I look completely different now - just like Marilyn. M...

Home > News > uk-news London, Dec 18 : A UK woman, who works in nightclub security, bears a striking resemblance to the blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe after shedding six stones. Such was the drastic transformation of Victoria Steel from Manchester that a model agency has actually taken her on to work as a Monroe look-alike. I loved Marilyn Monroe when I was growing up, the Daily mail quoted her as saying. When I lost all the weight, all my friends and family told me that I looked exactly like her, which was great. Before I lost the weight I didnt look anything like such a sex siren. I look completely different now - just like Marilyn, she said. Steel, who lives in Manchester, started piling on the pounds when she was a teenager. I was in a relationship for several years and my partner and I loved takeaways. Id always been curvy and hardly noticed the pounds piling on. My weakness was chocolate bars and packets of crisps, Steelsaid. By the time she was 24, she weighed a hefty 1...

By Lucy Laing Last updated at 4:32 PM on 17th December 2011 When Victoria Steel decided to lose weight she wanted a new image. But she never imagined that after dropping six stone she would bear such a striking resemblance to the blond bombshell icon Marilyn Monroe. Such was her drastic transformation that a model agency has actually taken her on to work as a Monroe lookalike. Victoria Steel (left) was shocked when she lost six stone how similar she looked to Marilyn Monroe (right) and now works as a Monroe lookalike Miss Steel, 25, who works in nightclub security, said: I loved Marilyn Monroe when I was growing up. When I lost all the weight, all my friends and family told me that I looked exactly like her, which was great. Stunning difference: After friends remarked how similar Victoria looked to Marilyn Monroe she began to alter her style to look like the icon Before I lost the weight I didnt look anything like such a sex siren. I look completely different now - just like Marilyn. M...

A treasure trove of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia went under the hammer at an auction in Los Angeles on Friday (16Dec11), and two signed photos sent the bidding wild. The Profiles in History Icons of Hollywood sale produced many big surprises as items went for much more than their expected price and Monroe's booty was a prize pick-up. Camera negatives from the film Some Like It Hot sold for $1,500 (937) - five times their expected sales price - and rare shots of Monroe and Clark Gable on the set of The Misfits went under the hammer for $2,000 (1,250) - over three times what they were expected to fetch. Highlights of the Monroe lots also included an autographed letter signed by the 18-year-old 'Norma Jeane' ($52,500/32,800); a personal Monroe photograph signed by Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart and Gary Cooper ($60,000/37,500); a portrait of a young Marilyn wearing a sheer lace trim, signed ($37,500/23,400), and Monroe's invitation to a John F. Kennedy birthday celebration ($4...

Anorak Posted: 13th, December 2011 | In: In Pictures Comment (1) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink Comments View comments: 1 evil says: December 17th, 2011 at 11:09 am How come the cast of Deliverence got arrested ?Facial tattoos are never cool , especially when you are old. View comments: