Cook Islands 5 Dollars Silver Coin 2011 Marilyn Monroe, Hollywood Legends
Commemorative issue: Hollywood Legends Series - Bernard of Hollywood
Despite obscurity and lack of funds, Bruno Bernard (1912-1987) set up his first darkroom in the basement of his Hollywood apartment in 1940. Shortly thereafter, he moved his studio to the famous Sunset Strip. “No one knew the name Bernard, but they all knew Hollywood“, and hence the optical trademark signature Bernard of Hollywood, which ensured the image of glamour visually for decades, was created.
Bruno Bernard was considered as "Rembrandt of photography" and the “The king of Hollywood glamour” and Marilyn Monroe’s discoverer. In 1984 Bernard was the first still photographer to be honoured with an Oscar at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Obverse: Head of Queen Elizabeth II with tiara facing right.
Lettering: ELIZABETH II COOK ISLANDS 5 DOLLARS.
Engraver: Ian Rank-Broadley.
Reverse: The iconic image of Marilyn Monroe is posing for photographers while filming the subway grate scene for "The Seven Year Itch" in September 1954, Marilyn Monroe wearing a white halterneck dress, which hem is blown; Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Motion Pictures category at right (Classic film camera representing motion pictures).
Lettering: HOLLYWOOD LEGENDS 2011Bernard of Hollywood MARILYN MONROE.
Value: 5 Dollars = 5 New Zealand Dollars.
Metal: Silver (.925).
Weight: 25 g.
Diameter: 38.61 mm.
Shape: Round.
Mintage: 2500 pcs.
Partially coloured on relief.
Marilyn Monroe Coins
Cook Islands 5 Dollars Silver Coin 2011 Marilyn Monroe, Hollywood Legends
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson, June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962), was an American actress and model. Famous for playing "dumb blonde" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s, emblematic of the era's attitudes towards sexuality. Although she was a top-billed actress for only a decade, her films grossed $200 million by the time of her unexpected death in 1962. She continues to be considered a major popular culture icon.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Monroe spent most of her childhood in foster homes and an orphanage and married for the first time at the age of sixteen. While working in a factory as part of the war effort in 1944, she met a photographer and began a successful pin-up modeling career. The work led to two short-lived film contracts with Twentieth Century-Fox (1946–1947) and Columbia Pictures (1948). After a series of minor film roles, she signed a new contract with Fox in 1951. She quickly became a popular actress with roles in several comedies, including As Young as You Feel (1951) and Monkey Business (1952), and in the dramas Clash by Night (1952) and Don't Bother to Knock (1952). Monroe faced a scandal when it was revealed that she had posed for nude photos before becoming a star, but rather than damaging her career the story increased interest in her films.
By 1953, Monroe was one of the most bankable Hollywood stars with leading roles in three films: the noir Niagara, which focused on her sex appeal, and the comedies Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire, which established her star image as a "dumb blonde". Although she played a significant role in the creation and management of her public image throughout her career, she was disappointed at being typecast and underpaid by the studio. She was briefly suspended in early 1954 for refusing a film project, but returned to star in one of the biggest box office successes of her career, The Seven Year Itch (1955). When the studio was still reluctant to change her contract, Monroe founded a film production company in late 1954, Marilyn Monroe Productions (MMP). She dedicated 1955 to building her company and began studying method acting at the Actors Studio. In late 1955, Fox gave her a new contract, which gave her more control and a larger salary. After giving a critically acclaimed performance in Bus Stop (1956) and acting in the first independent production of MMP, The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), she won a Best Actress Golden Globe for Some Like It Hot (1959). Her last completed film was the drama The Misfits (1961).
In 1962 Monroe began filming the comedy Something’s Got to Give. However, she was frequently absent from the set because of illnesses, and in May she traveled to New York City to attend a gala where she famously sang “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kenned, with whom she was allegedly having an affair. In June Monroe was fired from the film. Although she was later rehired, work never resumed.
Monroe's troubled private life received much attention. She struggled with addiction, depression, and anxiety. She had two highly publicized marriages, to baseball player Joe DiMaggio and playwright Arthur Miller, which both ended in divorce. She died at the age of 36 from an overdose of barbiturates at her home in Los Angeles on August 5, 1962. Although the death was ruled a probable suicide, several conspiracy theories have been proposed in the decades following her death.
Hollywood Legends
Marilyn Monroe Vivien Leigh Sophia Loren Claudia Cardinale Elizabeth Taylor