Alleged Marilyn Monroe Porno "Flops" at Auction

In following up to my blog post of July 23, 2011, "Marilyn Monroe Porno? The Widow's Peak Speaks," I'm pleased to announce that, not surprisingly, the sale of this pornographic film flopped at auction on August 7 in Argentina. In spite of Mikel Barsa's unsubstantiated claims that it was a young Norma Jeane performing sex acts on an unknown man in the film, there were no bidders.



It is clearly not Norma Jeane/Marilyn Monroe in this film. Nonetheless, Barsa claims he may negotiate a sale with a buyer in Denver Colorado.



Even though there are clear and significant differences in facial structure, and body mass and form between Marilyn Monroe and the woman in the film, coupled with the fact that Marilyn Monroe had already been discovered in 1945, someone is still actually considering buying this film? SERIOUSLY?



Thankfully, after Barsa conducted a press conference announcing the sale of the film, media outlets around the world sought an opposing perspective. I was honored to have been contacted by the Associated Press, Reuters, and ABCNews.com to express my views on whether or not it was Marilyn in the film. This issue received press coverage around the world.



I'd like to express sincere gratitude to Joshua Greene of the Milton H. Green Archives, Chuck Murphy of One West Publishing (management company for Andre de Dienes images) and Margaret Miller of the Richard C. Miller estate for allowing me to use photos of Norma Jeane/Marilyn Monroe in comparing her likeness to the woman in the pornographic film.



With these side-by-side comparisons, it's very clear that it's not Norma Jeane in the film. The comparisons were shared with the AP, Reuters and ABCNews.com, and have now been shown around the world.



To view my interview with Reuters, as published via the Huffington Post UK, click here.



Also interviewed for this topic by ABCNews.com was Michelle Morgan, author of Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed, and Lois Banner PhD, author of MM Personal.



Very recently, Authentic Brands Group, the corporation that purchased Marilyn Monroe's licensing rights in January of this year, came out swinging, threatening legal action. According to Nancy Carlson of Authentic Brands Group, "A sale of the film would invite legal action for perpetrating a fraud on the public, violating the Monroe estate's exclusive rights to her image and other claims of intellectual property infringement."



Was this fraud from the onset? Without question, it isn't Norma Jeane in the pornographic film. According to Barsa, he sold this same film in 1997, albeit a 16mm version, to a private collector for $1.2 million. Whoever that private collector is...they might want to think about asking for their money back. "No widow's peak, no Marilyn."



Was it a mere coincidence that Mikel Barsa auctioned the film a mere two days after the 49th anniversary of the death of Marilyn Monroe? Not likely.



So, this issue has been put to rest, for now anyway. As a friend of mine on Facebook says, "...at least for another five years," until someone else tries to sell it again, claiming it's Norma Jeane before being discovered.

New Suit Filed Over Rights to Marilyn Monroe's Image

Nearly five decades after actress Marilyn Monroe died, the Hollywood blond bombshell still lives, at least in courtrooms in Indianapolis and across the country.

Legal battles over the rights to profit from her image and celebrity, worth millions of dollars a year, have continued from New York to California since her death in 1962.

Fishers-based celebrity licensing agency CMG Worldwide has stayed near the center of the legal action for 20 years, representing some of the primary heirs of Monroe's last will.

However, a New York court decision in 2008 began to loosen their lock on the dead celebrity's "post mortem right of publicity," opening a door for Monroe's most intimate writings and other personal effects to be sold.

In the newest lawsuit, filed in federal court in Indianapolis, CMG is suing some of the heirs who used to be the agency's clients, plus the editor of a book about Monroe and a competing agency.

It is the latest fallout from a move early this year by Anna Strasberg, widow of Monroe's late acting teacher Lee Strasberg, to drop CMG and sell Monroe items to another agency, Authentic Brands Group.

Jamie Salter, chief executive officer of that company, has told New York tabloids that the plan is to get Monroe's name onto higher-quality merchandise and to use digital technology to get her into films and ad campaigns.

CMG is asking in the suit for unspecified fees believed to be in the millions of dollars from royalties and other expenses the agency says were agreed upon during the split.

Strasberg reportedly received more than $20 million for the Monroe materials from Authentic Brands, a Canadian company with offices in New York.

CMG's website continues to show Monroe, along with James Dean and dozens of other dead celebrities, among major clients. Authentic Brands claims to represent her, too.

"We're still in the Marilyn business," said Mark Roesler, chairman and chief executive of CMG.

The company negotiated nearly 2,000 product licensing agreements worth millions for her estate and still represents photographers and others who have Monroe pictures or other items.

"Parties change, and the Strasberg group sold to the group from Canada. CMG remains in the intellectual property business, representing the estates of our clients, just not the Strasbergs anymore," Roesler said.

The latest suit was filed in April in Hamilton Superior Court and then moved last week to the U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana in Indianapolis.

CMG is suing Authentic Brands Group, the Anna Freud Center, Anna Strasberg and her son David, and book editor Stanley Buchthal, plus two limited liability companies created by the defendants.

Roesler and New York attorney Terri Dipaolo, representing Authentic Brands, said the two companies have reached a private agreement, so Authentic Brands may be dropped from the suit. CMG claimed in the suit that at least $1.6 million was owed by Authentic Brands.

The Strasbergs, Buchthal and the Freud Center in London, founded by one of Monroe's psychiatrists who was named an heir in her will, are accused of fraud and breach of contract in the breakup of CMG's long-running representation of the estate. Their attorneys could not be reached for comment.

Monroe's career was the stuff of Hollywood legend. Nude photos of the young Monroe graced the cover and inside pages of the first issue of Playboy magazine, launching her and the entertainment empire of Hugh Hefner.

Monroe was married three times before she died at age 36. The first was when she was 16, after a childhood of orphanages and foster homes. The second was in 1954, to Yankees slugger Joe DiMaggio. He third marriage was in 1956 to playwright Arthur Miller, who suggested she study acting with Lee Strasberg in New York.

Strasberg taught a method system that required actors to tap into their deep emotions. That sent Monroe into psychoanalysis with Dr. Marianne Kris, who later founded the Freud Center.

Little has been simple about Marilyn Monroe's legal affairs since she died in her Brentwood, Calif., home on Aug. 5, 1962. Fights to control her image have led to new laws and legal precedents affecting other celebrities, and courts of appeal in two states are still reviewing cases.

Since there is no federal law creating a right to control the publicity of dead celebrities, CMG's Roesler said, the company has been asking states to pass laws for the past 30 years. About half have adopted related laws, and Indiana has one of the strongest, giving the estates of celebrities the right to publicity for 100 years after their deaths.

MarilynMonroe.com is Dead

The official Marilyn Monroe website, www.MarilynMonroe.com, formerly managed by CMG Worldwide, is dead.

A WhoIs look up indicates the URL is now owned by Authentic Brands Group, the new company owning licensing rights to the Marilyn Monroe name and likeness.

Registrant: Authentic Brands Group
Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: MARILYNMONROE.COM

"What will the NEW "New Look of a Legend" look like?" I wonder.

Anna Strasberg Has Sold "Marilyn Monroe"

MARILYN MONROE RELOCATES!

I was shocked this morning to read an article claiming that "Dealmaker Jamie Salter, who already markets Bob Marley-themed merchandise, has agreed to acquire the rights to another dead celebrity: Marilyn Monroe."

Salter’s New York-based firm Authentic Brands Group LLC and media company Neca Inc. are buying Marilyn Monroe LLC from the late star’s estate, Salter said. Anna Strasberg, who is the administrator of the estate, will be a minority partner in the venture, which will control, among other things, the actress’s name and images of her lips and eyes, he said.

Interestingly, two firms are now claiming to represent and market Monroe: CMG Worldwide (the firm representing Marilyn for years) and now Authentic Brands Group LLC. Marilyn's name is listed on both sites. The CMG sponsored site www.MarilynMonroe.com is still active.

I'd heard through my contacts that the Strasburgs were planning on firing CMG Worldwide. Has it actually happened?

Anna Strasberg offered the following statement: "In light of my caring for the preservation of Marilyn Monroe's image over the years, and my personal and professional commitments to my husband, Lee Strasberg's, work, teaching, lecturing, and directing The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institutes, and to my family, which now includes my grandchildren, I am pleased to let you know that I have entered into a partnership with Jamie Salter and ABG, who impressed me with their bold, imaginative ideas. I will remain involved, and I enthusiastically look forward to their innovative ideas and continuing to carry out with integrity Marilyn's great and timeless legacy."

The full text of the news article is provided below:

Dead-Celebrity Collector Salter Buys Marilyn Monroe Name From Her Estate

Dealmaker Jamie Salter, who already markets Bob Marley-themed merchandise, has agreed to acquire the rights to another dead celebrity: Marilyn Monroe.

Salter’s New York-based firm Authentic Brands Group LLC and media company Neca Inc. are buying Marilyn Monroe LLC from the late star’s estate, Salter said. Anna Strasberg, who is the administrator of the estate, will be a minority partner in the venture, which will control, among other things, the actress’s name and images of her lips and eyes, he said.

Authentic brands, which is backed by Leonard Green & Partners LP, is shopping a reality show based on Monroe, who has been dead almost 50 years, and plans to sell makeup, lingerie and other products that carry her name, Salter said.

“Every female celebrity has tried to emulate her in some way,” said Salter, who declined to say how much his firm paid for the name. “Marilyn Monroe is the brand.”

Dead stars and their associated business generated $2.25 billion in North American revenue in 2009, says Ira Mayer, who runs The Licensing Letter, which tracks licensing deals. UBS, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Cie. Financiere Richemont SA’s Montblanc have all hitched their brands to dead icons.

“The interest in dead celebrities by brands is only growing because it’s a known quantity,” said David Reeder, vice president at GreenLight, a unit of Corbis Corp. that represents the estates of Steve McQueen, Johnny Cash and Andy Warhol. “There’s a lot of private-equity money looking to buy entertainment properties.”

‘Face of Marilyn’

Authentic Brands is in talks with mass and luxury retailers to sell a line of Monroe-branded lingerie, cosmetics and home products, Salter said. The proposed reality TV show, “Who is The Next Face of Marilyn,” would feature contestants vying to represent the Monroe brand.

Last year, Salter, 47, agreed to buy TapouT, Silver Star Casting Co. and Hitman Fight Gear, three apparel brands that cater to fans of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the mixed martial arts network.

He got into the dead celeb game in 2009 when he and his former employer Hilco Consumer Capital partnered with the estate of Bob Marley to sell merchandise under the late reggae singer’s name.

Since then, the Marley enterprise has launched a line of earbuds and headphones, featuring collections called “Freedom” and “Jammin,” under the House of Marley brand.

The partners also sell Marley’s Mellow Mood, a "relaxation drink" made from green tea, Valerian root extract and other ingredients by the Marley Beverage Co. It’s for sale in 2,000 U.S. supermarkets, Salter says.

‘Prolong Celebrity Life’

Marilyn Monroe is the latest dead celebrity to launch a new career. A photo of the late actorMcQueen appears in UBS’s “We Will Not Rest” television campaign, which celebrates achievers. The John Lennon estate has deals with Citroen and Montblanc. Last year, Fender Musical Instruments Corp. sponsored the “Experience Hendrix” tour, which featured artists performing music associated with guitar legend Jimi Hendrix.

“You want to prolong the life of the celebrity, and licensing is a powerful means of accomplishing that,” Mayer of The Licensing Letter said.

CKX Inc., an entertainment conglomerate that produces “American Idol,” has an 85 percent interest in Elvis Presley Enterprises, which controls the late musician’s estate. Lisa Marie Presley, his daughter, remains a shareholder. New York- based CKX has since signed with Sirius XM Radio Inc. for an Elvis channel, just inked a deal with Liquid Comics to develop an Elvis character and expanded the relationship with International Game Technology for Elvis slot machines.

‘Viva Elvis’

CKX also cut a deal with Cirque du Soleil to stage a tribute show called “Viva Elvis” at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Since opening last February, the show has brought a new audience to the Elvis brand, said CKX Chief Executive Officer Mike Ferrel.

“The family felt they had taken the brand as far as they could,” Ferrel said in a telephone interview.

Monroe would be 84 had she lived, and her image may not resonate with a younger generation, says Michael Stone, founder of the Beanstalk Group, a New York brand consultant that has worked with Procter & Gamble Co. and Ford Motor Co.

“The people who grew up with Marilyn Monroe are in their 70s now,” said Stone. “How does a Marilyn Monroe compete with a Celine Dion fragrance when Celine can be in the commercial?”

The social media revolution has exposed younger audiences to celebrities, including ones no longer in the public eye -- or even alive -- says Salter’s partner Joel Weinshanker, president and chief operating officer of Neca, which handles licensing for such films as “The Lord of the Rings” and “Twilight.”

‘That Wall’s Disappeared’

“There always used to be a wall between a movie star and a fan, between a musician and a fan,” he says. “In the 21st century, that wall’s disappeared.”

Monroe’s Facebook fan page has about 355,400 friends and features film clips. The two dealmakers plan to devote part of the Marilyn advertising budget to Facebook.

It’s easy to damage the brand of an iconic star of yesteryear, says Mayer. He points to the commercial that ran during the 1997 Super Bowl U.S. football championship, in which Fred Astaire danced with a Dirt Devil, a vacuum cleaner brand since acquired by Techtronic Industries Co. At the time many viewers expressed revulsion, and the spot made worst lists of Super Bowl ads.

Reviving dead celebrities for profit requires taste and authenticity, says Salter. “That’s how we create value,” he says. “Everything we do must have authentic DNA.”

Ultimately, Salter may add to his roster of dead celebrities, he says. Another that may eventually be up for grabs: Hendrix.