Why Marilyn Monroe's Fans Were Upset Hugh Hefner Was Buried Next To Her

March 2024 ยท 2 minute read

In 1948, before she was Marilyn Monroe, the glamorous Hollywood actress envied by women and desired by every man in the United States, Norma Jeane Baker was a struggling actress who was desperate for money (per NPR). The actress decided to pose nude for photographer Tom Kelley. The photos were eventually sold to Western Lithograph Co, which featured the photos in a calendar titled, "Golden Dreams."

Monroe did not want the photos to be traced back to her. The young actress signed the release forms under a different name, Mona Monroe, and she reportedly told Kelly, "You must promise to never tell anyone about my posing for you in the nude. I want you to promise me that you will take the pictures so that I wouldn't be recognizable in them" (via Marie Claire).

Yet, the Western Lithograph Co. wasn't concerned with Kelly's promise to Monroe. They took the money and Hefner in turn built his "Playboy" empire off Monroe's body. The first copy of the new magazine sold an outstanding 50,000 copies. In her biography, " Marilyn: Her Life in Her Own Words," the actress had this to say to the author, George Barris:

"The magazine, I was told, thanks to my photos, [was] an instant sellout all across the country, an instant success. I never even received a thank you from all those who made millions off a nude Marilyn photograph. I even had to buy a copy of the magazine to see myself in it."

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