Why, I’m having a blonde moment with Marilyn, reflecting on sixty years since we lost this cultural icon.
All of which is marked by the release of a new Netflix biopic of Norma Jeane Mortenson, Baker, Gifford or Marilyn Monroe, the name by which we know her.
Now why we have to wait until December here in Britain to see Blonde when Americans have been watching it all summer is beyond me.
Particularly as the anniversary of her death falls next Saturday, August 6.
The message being that to see Marilyn then you have to get out to the States… any excuse.
Star status
Now never missing an opportunity to make a buck out of Marilyn (she famously said Hollywood pays $1,000 for a kiss and 50c for your soul) there are tours.
But at from $700 for four hours Classic Experiences, Marilyn, not diamonds, is their best friend.
Starline Tours ferried us around Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Venice Beach and the Walk of Fame.
And she followed us too, on the murals near Muscle Beach.
In Eternity with Marilyn
Of course, the highlight is Marilyn’s favourite resting place, Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, off the highway.
There there’s a bench where you can lie back and think of our heroine.
While rather creepily Hugh Hefner’s drawer is next door to Marilyn…
He bought it so that he could spend eternity with the golden goddess.
A word on Blonde, little-known Ana de Armas plays Marilyn, surrounded by a stellar cast including Adrien Brody as Arthur Miller, Bobby Cannavale as Joe DiMaggio and Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman’s little girl Lucy.
Walk the Line
Again Starline Tours will give you the gen and much more on other celebs, while they offer too a Celebrity Homes Tour at only $55.
And they also have a One Day City Sightseeing Hop-On, Hop-Off at $39 and that’s just a sample of what they have to offer.
What they will emphasise is ‘they don’t do politics!’
Unless you want to know about Norma Jeane’s liaisons.
And how her heart belonged not to Daddy, but to RFK and JFK.
So don’t wait until December for your TV fix, get out to LA.
And enjoy your blonde moment with Marilyn and Starline Tours.
