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Would You Pay $44K For Marilyn Monroe's Underwear?
Marilyn Monroe in "River of No Return"
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If you would pony up considerable cash to be the owner of some (yes: used) undies that once rested upon the nether-regions of Hollywood mega-icon Marilyn Monroe, you should have been in Beverly Hills this weekend, when one such pair of panties--worn by the actress in the 1954 film "River of No Return" were on the auction block.
Monroe memorabilia brought in almost $400,000 at the "Hollywood Legends" auction, which included a massive lot of photos. The items all came from Allan "Whitey" Snyder, who did Monroe's make-up for 15 years.
"A bidder also paid $32,500 for Monroe's junior high school diploma, and a tube of Helena Rubinstein mascara owned by Monroe sold for $5,625. An Elizabeth Arden brown eyeliner pen, also owned by the actress, sold for $5,625," notes the AP (via ABC7).
The auction, put on by celebrity memorabilia specialist Darren Julien of Julien's Auctions, found over 800 items of Hollywood memorabilia and Historic Americana items up for grabs from the highest bidder, and, in addition to the Monroe pieces, had some Whitney Houston items for sale. Other items in the auction were clothing worn by Grace Kelly and Princess Diana; a Superman costume worn by Christopher Reeve; the riding jacket worn by Clark Gable in "Gone With the Wind"; and one of Charlie Chaplin's canes.
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The full auction results have been posted online.
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