The auction that made millions

Monday 03 April 2017

The sale of Jersey collector David Gainsborough-Roberts' vast collection of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia is the subject of a major documentary to be aired on Channel 4 tomorrow.

‘Marilyn Monroe: Auction Of A Lifetime’, which tells the life story of the Hollywood icon through some of her most personal and glamorous possessions which were sold at a Los Angeles auction in November 2016, is being shown at 21:00.

Monroe, who made her name in the 1950s playing the role of a “dumb blonde” in a string of movies, is still regarded as one the most popular sex symbols of all time. Despite her fame, she lived a tragic life: was married three times - including to US baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, and playwright Arthur Miller - and died aged 36 in mysterious circumstances from an alleged drugs overdose in 1962, which many have tried to link with US president John F Kennedy and his brother, the Attorney General, Robert.

Pictured: A red sequin dress, worn by Marilyn Monroe.

Mr Gainsborough-Roberts’ collection – at the time the largest in private hands in the world - sold for more than a million pounds. Amongst the highlights in the collection are a sheer black beaded and sequined dress worn in Some Like it Hot; an elaborate embellished stage gown from There’s No Business Like Show Business; a pink linen halter wiggle dress for the 1953 thriller Niagara; a green satin one-piece with black sequins and gold fringe dress from Bus Stop; and a lilac satin leotard featured in a Life magazine shoot in 1958.

Additional film pieces include costumes from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Let’s Make Love, along with a pair of rhinestone earrings worn by Monroe in How To Marry A Millionaire and a pair of sequin embellished opera gloves from the Rachmaninoff scene of The Seven Year Itch. In all, Mr Gainsborough-Roberts had 69 lots in the sale.

But the most expensive item that was auctioned – which didn’t belong to Mr Gainsborough-Roberts – was Marilyn’s so-called ‘Happy Birthday Mr President Dress’, the one she was wearing when she appeared from inside a ‘cake’ to sing Happy Birthday to American president John Kennedy. It sold for $4.81 million.

Pictured: Mr Gainsborough-Roberts, sporting Ms Monroe on his tie.

Although Mr Gainsborough-Roberts wasn’t well enough to travel to the sale in the USA, his brother Paul did, and was interviewed for the documentary. David – a self-confessed obsessive of anything to do with the fifties screen goddess - spent a lifetime building up his collection but said the time was right to sell. After his death, he says he intends to leave his fortune to various Island charities including the Jersey Heritage Trust.