NOTE: This article was originally published as Marilyn Monroe: Lost Photos of America's Sweetheart Recovered, on OpEdNews, February 13, 2012. However multiple technical difficulties resulted in problems with the text, the photos and the captions, so it is reprinted here in corrected form with a new title.
In August 1953, LOOK magazine
documentary photographer, John Vachon, was sent to Alberta Canada to take pictures
of Marilyn Monroe filming on location. He took over 100 stunning photos of her
during two weeks, but only three were published in LOOK. The rest were
forgotten for nearly 60 years, until they were recently rediscovered.
Marilyn, August 1953: The Lost LOOK Photos, Photographs by John Vachon, Text by Brian Wallis (Calla Editions) is a luscious, hardcover, coffee table book with over 100 previously unseen photos.
Marilyn Monroe was in the
Canadian Rockies to make River of No
Return shortly after the release of Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes. She had injured an ankle, and taken time off to recuperate.
As a result, Vachon had the opportunity to photograph her in a more relaxed
atmosphere than was typical for the star.
We are used to seeing
Marilyn sexy and sultry, and there's plenty of that in these photos -- but
there's also a relaxed, playful Marilyn that is rarely seen.
And the Rockies offered a breathtaking background for a goddess of the screen.
Vachon got a photo of Marilyn with
husband-to-be, Joe Dimaggio. the only time that the two posed formally together
for a photographer.
Marilyn stands by an
appropriately suggestive signpost.
Relaxing, (note the cast
still on her left foot)
... and looking ethereal.
On the 50th anniversary of her mysterious death, it's timely to give thought to one of the screen goddesses' quotations:
After LOOK magazine folded in the early 1970s, its founders donated their huge photo archives to the Library of Congress. John Vachon's negatives of Marilyn Monroe were included.
Three
of Vachon's photos were used in LOOK's October 20, 1953, article about location
shooting in Canada. The rest have remained unpublished until now.
"Marilyn, August 1953: The Lost LOOK Photos" is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other bookstores.
All photos c. the estate of John Vachon. All rights reserved. Contact Dover Publications for all permissions. http://www.doverpublications.com
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