AP FILE - In this June 2, 1955 file photo, actress Marilyn Monroe, right, in a glamorous evening gown, with Joe DiMaggio, arrives at thetheater. By Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press Tuesday, July 31, 2012 | 6 p.m. NEW YORK Only 11 years after her death, Elton John sang his ode to Marilyn Monroe. "And I would have liked to have known you, but I was just a kid," went the lyrics. "Your candle burned out long before your legend ever did." What John didn't know was how much truer his words would ring a few decades later. Monroe passed away a half-century ago this Sunday, a murky death that remains one of Hollywood's most tantalizing mysteries. But look around: Her legend lives on, more vibrantly than ever. In a development this fiercely ambitious actress surely would have appreciated, the 1950's bombshell has become a 21st-century pop culture phenomenon. Just flip through a celebrity magazine: Some of-the-moment young starlet or pop singer will be channeling ...

Marilyn Monroe is dead. Long live Marilyn Monroe. Indeed. Could the iconic bombshell be any more alive? It was 50 years ago, on Aug. 5, 1962, that the star was found dead in her Brentwood home in Los Angeles, naked and still clutching a phone. She was 36. Accidental drug overdose? Suicide? Murder at the hands of a powerful political clan? The Mob? The story is still fresh today, thanks to Monroe's magic potion: beauty, sensuality, insecurity and talent, all mixed together with a giant dollop of mystery, a potion that has only grown stronger over the years. Marilyn has never really gone away. She still graces the covers of magazines three times on the front of "Vanity Fair" in the past four years alone. She also remains a publishing phenomenon. There is a flood of new books fiction and non-fiction analyzing her childhood, her final days, her passions and paradoxes. Photo books, too. Lovely photos. Fashion photos. Nude photos. From highbrow dressed in Lanvin to high ca...

London, July 30 ( ANI ): Even though Marilyn Monroe is said to have been discovered by chance on a wartime production line and propelled to Hollywood stardom, her "natural beauty" was in fact the product of meticulous calculation, it has been revealed. It all started with a red cardigan, the Daily Mail reported. The 'sweater girl' look, launched by Lana Turner in the 1937 film 'They Won't Forget', was coming into vogue across America but it hadn't reached Emerson Junior High School , Los Angeles - until Norma Jeane Mortenson , or Marilyn Monroe as she was later to be known, found her own distinctive way. Teenage girls in that era often wore a front-buttoned cardigan over a white blouse with a prim collar. Norma Jeane eliminated the blouse as well as the bra and camisole worn under it. She then took a red cardigan, turned it around, and buttoned it up the back. The sweater clung to her breasts and she called it her 'magic sweater'. From there...

In working on a story for Sunday's Image section about how Marilyn Monroe's brand continues to march on a half-century after her untimely death I ran across all kinds of licensed products and properties bearing her name and likeness, many of which appear in a companion piece running in the same issue. Photo Gallery: Marilyn Monroe Merchandise But two of the more ambitious are the separate projects underway to open both a chain of Marilyn Monroe cafes and Marilyn Monroe nail salon-day spas -- both of which are being done in cooperation with (and licensed through) the company that owns the bulk of the Marilyn Monroe estate. First out of the gate is expected to be the first Marilyn Monroe Caf , which a company representative says will open its doors north of the border in the Toronto, Canada, suburb of Oakville the second weekend in September to coincide with the Toronto International Film Festival. (Toronto also happens to be where the cafe franchise's parent company is hea...

London, July 30 ( ANI ): Even though Marilyn Monroe is said to have been discovered by chance on a wartime production line and propelled to Hollywood stardom, her "natural beauty" was in fact the product of meticulous calculation, it has been revealed. It all started with a red cardigan, the Daily Mail reported. The 'sweater girl' look, launched by Lana Turner in the 1937 film 'They Won't Forget', was coming into vogue across America but it hadn't reached Emerson Junior High School , Los Angeles - until Norma Jeane Mortenson , or Marilyn Monroe as she was later to be known, found her own distinctive way. Teenage girls in that era often wore a front-buttoned cardigan over a white blouse with a prim collar. Norma Jeane eliminated the blouse as well as the bra and camisole worn under it. She then took a red cardigan, turned it around, and buttoned it up the back. The sweater clung to her breasts and she called it her 'magic sweater'. From there...

The 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's death will be marked across Southern California froma film festival in Palm Springs to a cemetery in Westwood. Monroe was found dead in her Brentwood home on Aug. 5, 1962. The Los Angeles County coroner ruled that she died from "acute barbiturate poisoning," likely self-inflicted. She was 36 years old. Her death launched dozens of rumors and conspiracy theories because of her links to powerful men, including President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Robert, then the attorney general. ADVERTISEMENT It is hard to believe that she would be 86 years old today if she lived. For the most devoted fans of the late screen siren, she will forever be that 1950s version of Marilyn platinum and pouty, giggling and playful. It is that Marilyn that fans will remember with several events marking the run-up to the half-century mark of her death. Here are a few: The Hollywood Museum has an exhibit on Monroe that runs through Sept. 2 and includes ...

By Lois Banner PUBLISHED: 16:03 EST, 28 July 2012 | UPDATED: 16:04 EST, 28 July 2012 She was discovered by chance on a wartime production line and propelled to Hollywood stardom - or so the myth goes. But, as the 50th anniversary of her death approaches, we reveal Marilyn Monroe's 'natural beauty' was, in fact, the product of meticulous calculation. And her campaign began while she was still at school... Typing cool: Marilyn strikes a pose in 1946. It was her 'magic red sweater' that helped catapult her into the limelight It all started with a red cardigan. The sweater girl look, launched by Lana Turner in the 1937 film They Wont Forget, was coming into vogue across America. But it hadnt reached Emerson Junior High School, Los Angeles until Norma Jeane Mortenson, or Marilyn Monroe as she was later to be known, found her own distinctive way. Teenage girls in that era often wore a front-buttoned cardigan over a white blouse with a prim collar. Norma Jeane eliminat...

The 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's death will be marked across Southern California froma film festival in Palm Springs to a cemetery in Westwood. Monroe was found dead in her Brentwood home on Aug. 5, 1962. The Los Angeles County coroner ruled that she died from "acute barbiturate poisoning," likely self-inflicted. She was 36 years old. Her death launched dozens of rumors and conspiracy theories because of her links to powerful men, including President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Robert, then the attorney general. ADVERTISEMENT It is hard to believe that she would be 86 years old today if she lived. For the most devoted fans of the late screen siren, she will forever be that 1950s version of Marilyn platinum and pouty, giggling and playful. It is that Marilyn that fans will remember with several events marking the run-up to the half-century mark of her death. Here are a few: The Hollywood Museum has an exhibit on Monroe that runs through Sept. 2 and includes ...

Marilyn Monroe was, and in many ways remains, the preeminent sex symbol of American culture. Beautiful, funny, famous, rich, she was all any man could hope for. Her known romantic entanglements include everyone from Joe DiMaggio, to Marlon Brandon, to president John F. Kennedy. But until now, fewer knew she also had affairs with women. Radar Online reports that Monroe already allegedly admitted to encounters with movie stars such as Joan Crawford, Barbara Stanwyck, Marlene Dietrich and Elizabeth Taylor, she also seduced a 16-year-old girl who ran her fan club. Author Tony Jerris wrote the book Marilyn Monroe: My Little Secret, told by Jane Lawrence, which includes the allegations of Monroes lesbian affair. Monroe met Jane Lawrence when Lawrence was 12, and the two bonded over having similar troubled family pasts. Lawrence struggled with her sexuality, but Monroe gave her comfort. She told her, Whatever your sexual preference is, it means nothing love is love, Jerris told Radar Onlin...

The 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's death will be marked across Southern California froma film festival in Palm Springs to a cemetery in Westwood. Monroe was found dead in her Brentwood home on Aug. 5, 1962. The Los Angeles County coroner ruled that she died from "acute barbiturate poisoning," likely self-inflicted. She was 36 years old. Her death launched dozens of rumors and conspiracy theories because of her links to powerful men, including President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Robert, then the attorney general. ADVERTISEMENT It is hard to believe that she would be 86 years old today if she lived. For the most devoted fans of the late screen siren, she will forever be that 1950s version of Marilyn platinum and pouty, giggling and playful. It is that Marilyn that fans will remember with several events marking the run-up to the half-century mark of her death. Here are a few: The Hollywood Museum has an exhibit on Monroe that runs through Sept. 2 and includes ...

By Olivia Fleming PUBLISHED: 16:09 EST, 26 July 2012 | UPDATED: 16:18 EST, 26 July 2012 A new book to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's death has revealed how the blonde bombshell was sexually attracted to women. Marilyn Monroe: My Little Secret, told by Jane Lawrence to author Tony Jerris , reveals how the Fifties sex symbol seduced a 16-year-old girl who started the actress' first fan club at 20th Century Fox. In recollections told to Mr Jerris, Ms Lawrence reveals how the then 29-year-old actress 'leaned in and kissed me full on the lips, very softly and very slowly. I was nearly hyperventilating.' Secret affair: Jane Lawrence (left) tells her story to author Tony Jerris, revealing how the Fifties sex symbol seduced her at 16 after she started the actress' first fan club at 20th Century Fox Ms Lawrence also reflects upon her fondest memories of the screen goddess, how she became the superstar's confidante, whom Marilyn used to call, ...

The tumultuous life of Marilyn Monroe has been well documented, but a new book about the screen goddess again brings up rumors of her affairs with other women and even claims she worried she was lesbian. Many previous biographers have speculated that Monroe may have had a relationship with acting coach Natasha Lytess. In an essay written for The Guardian to help promote her new book Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox , Lois W. Banner writes, "Yet she desired women, had affairs with them, and worried that she might be lesbian by nature." Also in the article Banner makes a case for Monroe, so often portrayed as a victim, as a proto-feminist.

Since PS Resorts unveiled the 26-foot Forever Marilyn on Tahquitz Canyon Way and Palm Canyon Drive in late May, local businesses are capitalizing on it, pushing Monroe memorabilia and pictures in their windows. On a drive up Palm Canyon or even along Highway 111, plenty of Monroe pictures and trinkets are visible along the way. Mr. G's for Kids has a display in its window of Monroe pictures, figurines, lunch boxes and other finds. The Palm Canyon Drive store has been selling much more Monroe souvenirs in the last month than before the statue arrived, said general manager Maite Munoz. We put a lot more of the toys in the window, she said. It's been selling significantly more, and some people are buying multiple items. Lindsey Jacobs, owner of Art Works Gallery and Framing in Palm Desert, is also riding the trend. She has three large Monroe pictures in her windows. The statue has created an interest. And with renewed interest, I decided to display them formally, she said. She com...

Image Credit: Douglas Kirkland See the iconic and oft-imitated photographs of Marilyn Monroe in lensman Douglas Kirklands memoir With Marilyn: An Evening/1961 . [ Complex ] Dude, wheres the Hollywood Star Lanes? Two men go in search of the L.A.-area locations seen in the 1998 movie The Big Lebowski . [ Yahoo Movies ] Meat is murder and cats make interesting headgear. Animal rights activist Morrissey stars in a new ad for PETA. [ Pitchfork ] You can learn a lot about a superhero by the font he uses. [ Flavorwire ] American Idol alum Kelli Pickler strips down to her (designer) undies to pay tribute to the troops. [ People Stylewatch ] Karl Lagerfeld unveils his Olympic-themed capsule collection in London. [ Vogue UK ] Read more: Style and Design: Emily Maynards finale dress, David Lynchs favorite things and more Style and Design: Madonnas thong incident, Banes leather jacket, and more Style and Design: Lana Del Rey fronts H&M, crafty Breaking Bad tributes and more

25 July 2012 | last updated at 11:43PM Marilyn Monroe, photographed by Allan Grant in July 1952 wearing Ferragamo shoes Like other divas of the silver screen Audrey Hepburn, Greta Garbo Monroe loved to wear Salvatore Ferragamo shoes. The exhibition is the result of long research and preparatory work, presenting items from the actresss wardrobe worn on the set or in her private life, as well as important documents that reveal the actresss managerial side, her skill and determination in building and grooming her success. A collection of photographs of Marilyn taken in her day-to-day life are juxtaposed with the power of the archetype and the endurance of the myth and the greatness. Curators Stefania Ricci and Sergio Risaliti have sought to interpret the genesis of certain famous photographs portraying Marilyn in classic poses. They have compared these portraits with famous works of art from the past, representing the memory of similar poses and expressions, from the balanced pathos of...

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Tuesday Jul 24 2012 With Marilyn Monroe it was melodrama all the way, with a mentally ill mother, a string of abusive foster homes and several marriages and flings. As the 50th anniversary of her death approaches, Donal Lynch looks back at the life and loves of Hollywoods most enduring icon. How much more analysis can one blonde take? Everyone has had a crack at Marilyn Monroe. In half a century, there have been thousands of biographies, essays by the likes of Gloria Steinem, Broadway plays, Hollywood homages, silk screens by Warhol, ballads, drag queens, place mats, collector's dolls and postage stamps. Her lore has only grown with time. Last year, her Seven Year Itch dress sold for $4.6m. She is a product, an idol and an American archetype, simultaneously beyond deconstruction and an endless font of inspiration. And yet, as we approach the 50th anniversary of her death, it seems pertinent once more to ask: how could a woman, who apparently took her own life aged just 36, who only...