Tag: Marilyn Monroe’s former home

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Marilyn Monroe’s First, and Last, Home

UPDATE – this house is currently for sale.  You can see interior photographs of it on the Curbed LA site. 

Just finished another excellent book about the life and times of Miss Marilyn Monroe. The book, Goddess , was recommended to me by a staff member at Vroman’s – even though it is currently out of print – who said it was the definitive biography about the star. See why I love that bookstore?!? 🙂

Anyway, reading the book reminded me that a couple of years back, on our annual Haunted Hollywood tour, my boyfriend and I did a little stalking of the house where Marilyn Monroe took her final breath. This was actually the first, and last, home Miss Monroe every owned. She purchased the house in 1961, but didn’t officially move in until March of 1962, just six months before her death.

While shopping for homes in 1961, Marilyn decided she wanted a place close in both proximity and looks to her therapist, Dr. Ralph Greenson’s, home. The Spanish style home on Fifth Helena Drive fit the bill, as it looked very similar to Dr. Greenson’s home and was located only a few short miles away. According to Goddess, Marilyn actually cried while signing the final papers as she said she never imagined she would be purchasing a home alone. Ironically, after moving in to the home, Marilyn had a plaque placed above her door which read “Cursom Perificio”. Translation – “My Journey Ends Here”. How right she was.

Sadly, there isn’t a whole lot to see of the home from the street as there is a huge wall surrounding it. But it was still very cool to visit, and I highly recommend stalking it if you are at all Marilyn fan. According to Goddess, Marilyn absolutely loved her little Spanish bungalow and was personally handpicking all of the furnishings before her death. She even made a trip to Mexico shortly before her death to pick up some decorations for the home. (In the above photo a large green home is visible above Marilyn’s gate – that is a neighbor’s house, not hers.)

Remember to be courteous when stalking and not to disturb the home’s current residents. From what I have read they do not take kindly to tourists taking pictures in front of their house. Which begs the question – Then WHY in the heck did they buy one of the world’s most famous houses?? LOL

You can read a brief history of Marilyn’s home here.

UPDATE: 

Are you a Marilyn Monroe fan? Visit BarrysTickets.com for Marilyn Tickets to see a play based on the legendary Marilyn Monroe.

Marilyn Monroe fans visiting the L.A. area will be excited to hear that tickets to a new stage show chronicling the starlet’s life are currently available at Barry’sTickets.com.  Marilyn – the Story of the Silver Screen Goddess, A Dance Musical, comes to Los Angeles from London’s West End and recounts the tragic behind-the-scenes life of the world’s most iconic blond.  The musical, which was choreographed and directed by the Oliver and Evening Standard award-winning director Peter Schaufuss, provides audiences a glimpse of the private world Marilyn rarely shared with the public – the world of a woman who achieved every success imaginable, except for true happiness.  The show features a cast of fifteen remarkable actors and showcases fifteen lively song and dance numbers including Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind”, which the singer originally wrote in honor of Marilyn in 1973, “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” from the hit movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” from the 1960 movie Let’s Make Love.  Don’t miss Marilyn – The Story of the Silver Screen Goddess, A Dance Musical.   

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Marilyn’s final home is located at 12305 Fifth Helena Drive in Brentwood. The house can be difficult to find as there are many streets in the area with the name “Helena”. Take South Carmelina Avenue past First, Second, Third and Fourth Helena Drive and then you will see Fifth Helena, where Marilyn’s home is located.

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Marilyn Monroe’s Former Home

For some reason lately I have been obsessing on Miss Marilyn Monroe. I never really had any interest in her until recently, had never even seen any of her movies all the way through, and generally never really had an opinion about her one way or another. But that all changed about two weeks ago when my acting teacher recommended that I study some of Marilyn’s films. I rented The Seven Year Itch and ever since have become completely obsessed. I had no idea how absolutely adorable Marilyn was! She completely lit up the screen anytime she was on it. For those of you who have yet to see any of her movies, I highly recommend renting The Seven Year Itch. My favorite scene is when she leans out of her second story window and announces to her neighbor “I just washed my hair!” with the same excitment as if she had just booked a movie role. It’s hilarious! 🙂

So last week, when I found the address of one of Marilyn’s first residences, a small studio apartment, in my fave stalking book, I dragged my boyfriend right out to stalk it. Marilyn lived in the property during the year 1942. At the time, Marilyn, who was then known as Norma Jean Baker, was 16 years old and had just married her first husband Jim Dougherty. Some refer to the studio as her “first honeymoon home”. But when we arrived at the address, we discovered that Marilyn’s former home is no longer there. 🙁

When my boyfriend and I pulled up to the address, we saw a sign announcing an apartment for rent in what I assumed was Marilyn’s former building. In what definitely constitutes a stalker maneuver, we called the phone number and asked for a tour of the available apartment. 🙂 I was hoping the vacant apartment was the one Marilyn had actually lived in back in 1942. But the super nice property manager explained to me that long ago there used to be a single family home and a small studio sized guest house located on the property. The guest house is where Marilyn lived in 1942. Both homes were torn down many years back to make room for the apartment building that is standing there today. Today stalkers can only visit the land where Marilyn’s former home once stood.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The apartment building where Marilyn’s former home used to be located can be found at 4524 Vista Del Monte in Sherman Oaks. The property manager said tourists flock to the building constantly to take pictures. He said he’s even seen news-people holding newscasts in front of the building on occasion. 🙂