Anyone who balked at last year’s auction of the crypt directly above Marilyn Monroe’s—probably because you like your celebrity memorabilia to be just sort-of creepy but not, you know, ghoulish—here’s a bargain for you: Now you can buy the psychiatrist’s couch Monroe sat on during the months leading up to her death, an otherwise unremarkable piece of furniture save for the fact that it’s stained with the copious barbiturate-soaked tears Monroe cried as she realized she would never be a Kennedy and that her marriage to Arthur Miller hadn’t turned out to be the wild commingling of master and muse she’d once dared to dream of. You can bid on the sofa during the June 26 Hollywood Legends auction at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, where it’s currently being valued at between $800-$1200—which is just slightly less than an average couch at Crate & Barrel, but then, that Crate & Barrel couch doesn’t have a Hollywood tragedy associated with it, now does it? Imagine breaking the ice at your dinner parties by pointing out the cushions Monroe no doubt clutched to her chest as her carefully constructed delusions came crashing down, and she realized that for all the money and makeovers in the world, she would always be scared little Norma Jeane Baker—and isn’t it amazing how the upholstery has retained its bounce like that? The couch is being offered up in addition to various photos, bottles of perfume, scripts, checks, bank statements, and one of her nightshirts, and proving that no piece of Monroe-bilia is too tangential to be worthwhile to someone, you can also bid on one of Monroe’s chest X-rays, which should really give you some insight into Monroe as a performer, and would probably look great framed above your settee. Whee, you’re part of Hollywood history!
Join the discussion...