Marilyn Monroe X-rays up for auction

10/8/2013
BLADE STAFF
Marilyn Monroe poses over the updraft of a New York subway grating while in character for the filming of
Marilyn Monroe poses over the updraft of a New York subway grating while in character for the filming of "The Seven Year Itch" in New York.

LOS ANGELES — A physician’s notes on Marilyn Monroe that indicate that the Hollywood sex symbol had undergone cosmetic surgery will be up for sale next month along with a set of her X-rays, an auction house said Tuesday.

The set of six X-rays and a file of doctors’ notes that offer a partial medical history of the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes actress from 1950 to 1962, are expected to fetch between $15,000 and $30,000 at auction on Nov. 9-10, said Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, Calif..

The notes written by Hollywood plastic surgeon Michael Gurdin appear to confirm speculation that Monroe, who epitomized glamour and set a standard of movie star beauty during the latter part of Hollywood’s golden era, went under the knife for cosmetic reasons.

“Nobody really thought about Marilyn Monroe having plastic surgery. It was always speculation — did she or didn’t she?” said Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien’s Auctions. “They thought she was such a natural beauty, they didn’t want to believe.”

Gurdin’s notes include references to a 1950 cartilage implant in Monroe’s chin, which he observed to have slowly begun to dissolve.