Marilyn Monroe - The Legend Lives On!

On March 17, 2008, Judge Murrow (NY) ruled against CMG Worldwide, agent to mostly dead celebrities, including Marilyn. Judge Murrow's ruling means that CMG and Marilyn Monroe, LLC, which is owned by Anna Strasberg, can no longer claim the rights of publicity to Marilyn Monroe, and they may end up paying back millions of dollars in revenue owed to the rightful copyright holders of Marilyn's beautiful photographs.

In the official court documents, Judge Murrow's decision was that CMG Worldwide was, "attempting to play fast and loose with the courts" in order to gain control of MM's rights of publicity. This is a landmark case that went in favor of the photographers that I showcase in this lens.

"After a 3-1/2 year legal battle, Judge Morrow has ruled that Marilyn Monroe, LLC (MMLLC) & Curtis Management Group, CMG cannot claim that Marilyn Monroe was a domicile of California, at the time of her death. This ruling is a result of MMLLC, and its predecessor, claiming that Marilyn Monroe was a domicile of New York.

The recent litigation focused on the fact when Marilyn Monroe died on August 5, 1962, none of the states where she was possibly domiciled, New York or California, recognized a descendible postmortem publicity right. The Court initially ruled in May 2007 that when Marilyn Monroe died she had no publicity rights to her images and therefore could not pass it on to her heirs or beneficiaries, but MMLLC secured an amendment to the California law in October of 2007 which gives the right of publicity of persons who died before 1985 to the residuary beneficiaries under their will. The Amendment, however, only applies to Marilyn Monroe if she died "domiciled" in California. A person's domicile is the one place that person considers a permanent home.

In the motion just decided, MMLLC tried to convince the Court that Marilyn Monroe was domiciled in California when she died. Greene and Kelley maintained that this claim is inconsistent with the claims made for nearly 40 years by MMLLC's predecessors in interest, the representatives of Marilyn Monroe's Estate, including Anna Strasberg who is the majority owner and Manager of MMLLC.

The Court found that the statements made by the representatives of the Estate, including the affidavits of Marilyn Monroe's friends and employees, all claimed that Marilyn died domiciled in New York. Judge Morrow also found that the statements were made to avoid California taxes.

Judge Morrow held that MMLLC was asserting an inconsistent position here to "gain the advantage that they can assert Monroe's right of publicity." Judge Morrow refused to allow MMLLC to obtain an unfair advantage by "attempting to play fast and loose with the courts." Judge Morrow ordered that MMLLC cannot acquire Marilyn Monroe's right of publicity by such underhanded tactics."


A LITTLE HISTORY:

In her will, Marilyn bequeathed her belongings to famous acting coach, Lee Strasberg, Anna Mizrahi's widow. Lee did nothing with Marilyn's belongings, name or likeness for over 20 years; however, once Lee passed away, Anna conceded that MM's rights of publicity were now passed down to her through her deceased husband's will.

She formed Marilyn Monroe, LLC and started licensing Marilyn's image and name on a variety of products that produced millions in revenue. She sold Marilyn's belongings (which Marilyn had asked Lee to distribute to her friends) at the famed Christie's Auction house, which brought in even more riches as collectors rushed to grab one last piece of Marilyn's memory. Anna also hired CMG Worldwide to act as her powerhouse licensing agent.

CMG will appeal this ruling, as they have stated on the official Marilyn Monroe site. This comes as no surprise because Marilyn is (was) one of the hottest celebrities that CMG represented. Bettie Page, no doubt, is a close second.

Congratulations to our beloved Marilyn. She is finally free and no longer under the control of Lee Strasberg's widow, Anna (Mizrahi) who knew Marilyn merely as an acquaintance, yet made billions using Marilyn's name and likeness on everything from wine to hair curlers.

The most recognized image from The Ballerina Sitting was chosen as one of Time-Life's three most popular images of the 20th Century.

Marilyn Monroe's "Black Sitting" is one of the most sought after. Marilyn with a black top hat, black stockings, a black scarf, and a glass of wine playing in front of the camera surrounded by drapey black velvet.

Marilyn Monroe formed her own production company with friend and photographer Milton H. Greene called Marilyn Monroe Productions, LLC. Below are the awards that she won for her performances in these two movies her and Milton produced:

1956 Golden Globe nomination: Best Motion Picture Actress in Comedy or Musical for Bus Stop

1958 BAFTA Film Award nomination: Best Foreign Actress for The Prince and the Showgirl

1958 David di Donatello Award (Italian): Best Foreign Actress for The Prince and the Showgirl

1959 Crystal Star Award (French): Best Foreign Actress for The Prince and the Showgirl