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The Future Marilyn Monroe Signs a Legal Document for Her First Contract with 20th Century-Fox, dated September 5, 1946....
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Description
20-Year-Old Norma Jeane Dougherty's First Step to Superstardom
The Future Marilyn Monroe Signs a Legal Document for Her First
Contract with 20th Century-Fox, dated September 5, 1946. Typed
Legal Document Signed. One page, 8.5 x 11 inches (216 x 279 mm).
Los Angeles, California, September 5, 1946.The document reads, in full:
"In the matter of the contract between Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, Employer, and, Norma Jeane Dougherty, a minor, Employee. To the honorable Superior Court of the State of California, in and for the county of Los Angeles. It is hereby stipulated by and between the undersigned that the Petition for Approval of Contract of Minor to Render Services as Actress in the above entitled matter may be set for hearing before the above entitled Court, in Department 35 thereof, on Tuesday, the 10th day of September, 1946, at 1:45 p.m., and may be heard at that time or at such other time or times to which the Court may continue the matter, without further notice to any of us." Signed in black ink, "Norma Jeane Dougherty," by her foster mother and legal guardian, "Grace McKee", and by the studio's Attorney-at-Law, "Robert H. Patton."
The 16-year-old Norma Jeane Baker married 21-year-old factory worker James Dougherty in June 1942. The following year, Dougherty enlisted in the Merchant Marines and was then deployed to the South Pacific, where he remained for the better part of two years. While he was stationed abroad, Norma Jeane began work at the Radioplane Company in Van Nuys, California. She was discovered by photographer, David S. Conover, who was sent to the factory on assignment to photograph women workers as morale-boosts for American soldiers. She quit the factory shortly after and embarked on her formative modeling career, posing for Conover, Andre de Dienes, and other photographers. She proved an ambitious young talent, and after a year of hard work, she had appeared as a pin-up girl on the cover of dozens of men's magazines and in numerous advertisement campaigns.
With her eyes set on Hollywood, she straightened and dyed her hair blonde and started taking drama classes, as well as singing and dancing lessons. She signed with the Blue Book Model agency, but they stipulated that she must be unmarried, so she divorced James. Following an unsuccessful interview with Paramount Pictures, she was granted a screentest by Ben Lyon, an executive at Twentieth Century-Fox. Head executive, Darryl F. Zanuck, was less enthusiastic but gave her a standard six-month contract anyway, lest she be lured away to RKO Pictures or another rival studio.
Because she was under 21 at the time of her signing, this legal document from the Superior Court facilitated that first contract with 20th Century-Fox through the California court system. Without this, there simply would be no Marilyn Monroe, the pop culture icon that we know today. It was shortly after the date of this document, under the advice of Ben Lyon, that Norma Jeane changed her name to Marilyn Monroe, marking the genesis of the silver screen's greatest star.
The document is slabbed in acrylic by PSA/DNA and is accompanied by both PSA/DNA and James Spence Letters of Authenticity.
Condition: Slight toning and flattened folds.
Provenance: Property of A Distinguished American Collector From The Pacific Northwest
Auction Info
2023 July 8 Historical Platinum Signature® Auction #6275 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
July, 2023
8th
Saturday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 10
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 1,168
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