Marilyn Film Fest Coming to Chinese Theatre - Examiner
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. is hosting a Marilyn Monroe Film Fest in honor of her birthday. The festival is sponsored by Playboy and will begin on Friday, June 1, which would have been Marilyn’s 86th birthday.
As a child, Marilyn—then Norma Jeane—lived within walking distance of Hollywood Blvd. It was not uncommon for the little girl to walk down to one of the grand movie palaces on Hollywood, including the Chinese and the Egyptian, and watch movies all day. Like just about everyone who enters the famed forecourt at the Chinese, Norma Jeane often placed her hands and feet in movie stars’ concrete prints. Though very young, she was already dreaming of becoming a famous actress.
In 1953, an adult Marilyn returned to the theatre that had represented her movie star dreams as a child. Along with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes co-star Jayne Russell, she sealed her fame in the Chinese Theatre’s forecourt by placing her hands and feet in wet cement. Her concrete block rests among those of her childhood heroes, such as Clark Gable and Jean Harlow.
“When I was younger, I used to go to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and try to fit my foot in the prints in the cement there. And I’d say, ‘Oh, oh, my foot’s too big, I guess that’s out.’ I did have a funny feeling later when I finally put my foot down into the wet cement. I sure knew what it really meant to me—anything’s possible, almost.”
The Marilyn Monroe Film Fest runs seven days and will present the following movies:
Friday, June 1 (Marilyn’s actual birthday): Some Like it Hot
Saturday, June 2: No Business Like Show Business
Sunday, June 3: How to Marry a Millionaire
Monday, June 4: The Seven Year Itch
Tuesday, June 5: Bus Stop
Wednesday, June 6: The Misfits
Thursday, June 7: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Ticket prices are $10 for Some Like it Hot and $5 for the other films. A percentage of the profits will to Hollygrove, the orphanage Marilyn lived in during her childhood.
Forever Marilyn
As a child, Marilyn—then Norma Jeane—lived within walking distance of Hollywood Blvd. It was not uncommon for the little girl to walk down to one of the grand movie palaces on Hollywood, including the Chinese and the Egyptian, and watch movies all day. Like just about everyone who enters the famed forecourt at the Chinese, Norma Jeane often placed her hands and feet in movie stars’ concrete prints. Though very young, she was already dreaming of becoming a famous actress.
In 1953, an adult Marilyn returned to the theatre that had represented her movie star dreams as a child. Along with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes co-star Jayne Russell, she sealed her fame in the Chinese Theatre’s forecourt by placing her hands and feet in wet cement. Her concrete block rests among those of her childhood heroes, such as Clark Gable and Jean Harlow.
“When I was younger, I used to go to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and try to fit my foot in the prints in the cement there. And I’d say, ‘Oh, oh, my foot’s too big, I guess that’s out.’ I did have a funny feeling later when I finally put my foot down into the wet cement. I sure knew what it really meant to me—anything’s possible, almost.”
The Marilyn Monroe Film Fest runs seven days and will present the following movies:
Friday, June 1 (Marilyn’s actual birthday): Some Like it Hot
Saturday, June 2: No Business Like Show Business
Sunday, June 3: How to Marry a Millionaire
Monday, June 4: The Seven Year Itch
Tuesday, June 5: Bus Stop
Wednesday, June 6: The Misfits
Thursday, June 7: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Ticket prices are $10 for Some Like it Hot and $5 for the other films. A percentage of the profits will to Hollygrove, the orphanage Marilyn lived in during her childhood.
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