Marilyn Monroe Fraud Lawsuit Victory: How an American Legend Defends Himself from His Crypt
Marilyn Monroe’s legacy has seen many wins this past week, including one that was set on the calendar for today, May 7, 2007.
Today would have been the day the lawsuit filed against defendants Robert W. Otto of Chicago, Mark Roesler of CMG Worldwide, and The Queen Mary Corporation by expert witness and Bellinghaus team plaintiffs, including Mark Bellinghaus, Ernest Cunningham and Emily Sadjady. to be heard. Mark Bellinghaus and Ernest Cunningham entered with the intent to sue and Mr. Bellinghaus purported to be a plaintiff, however attorneys George G. Braunstein and Timothy D. McGonigle requested that Mark Bellinghaus act as an expert witness due to his status as a “collector “. It turns out that lawyers for both parties decided to settle this matter last week out of court. No further details were revealed. Despite the agreement, it is still a great victory for the Bellinghaus team for the memory of Marilyn Monroe in the present and in the future.
In November 2005, “Marilyn Monroe The Exhibit” was presented aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach. The exhibit featured items said to belong to the late actress. Included on display were dresses, jewelry, and other memorabilia and personal items, which were later discovered by Mark Bellinghaus, the owner of the world’s largest collection of authentic Marilyn Monroe, to be 99% of the items featured were fake. He recognized these fake items immediately when he attended the opening of the exhibition. He especially singled out the Clairol rollers, one of the so-called “highlights” of the Robert Otto collection, since Mr. Bellinghaus owns the authentic Marilyn Monroe wire rollers. Mark Bellinghaus’s findings were posted on his blog exhibit and diminished the credibility of this exhibit so dramatically that it began as an event scheduled to tour 39 cities and 6 continents with anticipated grosses in excess of $100 million (including sponsor funds and merchandise sales) over the next 12 years to become an embarrassment that was subsequently closed.
In all seriousness, why would the public want to see a Victoria’s Secret dress (which is actually one of them), billed as Marilyn Monroe’s and furthermore displayed with the copyrighted signature of the immortal Hollywood icon? And if that wasn’t enough, this exhibit claims that this dress was designed by famed costume designer William Travilla especially for Monroe. Victoria’s Secret was established many decades after Marilyn Monroe’s death. And even more demeaning to her memory, 100% fake underpants, which had her name handwritten on the inside of the disgusting piece with a modern Sharpie marker, as well as looking huge and too big to have fit. Astute fans know that Marilyn Monroe avoided underwear to begin with, let alone a pair snatched from Grandma’s underwear drawer.
These are just a few of the scandalous items that were on display for seven months in the biggest display scandal to ever hit the US, and it was about to go around the world. What a shame this would have brought to our country. Had it not been for the persistence of Mark Bellinghaus, how many more innocent fans and attendees would have lost their $22.95 admission costs because they were cheated by a fraudulent exhibit?
To read Mark Bellinghaus’s blog post:
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/02/06/132111.php
Please see the attached link for the initial news report on this Marilyn Monroe fraud exposure:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f5mTyYKG_s
For more information on the Mark Bellinghaus Authentic Marilyn Monroe Collection:
http://EzineArticles.com/?id=542783
The victory that Marilyn Monroe’s image has been protected from fraud goes hand in hand with another triumph regarding the image of the late superstar. In New York last Thursday, federal judge Colleen McMahon ruled that Marilyn Monroe’s beneficiaries and licensors have no postmortem rights of publicity ownership to her, who died with her in 1962 as she did not bequeath this right in her will. This decision was part of a countersuit by The Shaw Family Archives LLC, which was sued for its infringement of publicity rights by Marilyn Monroe LLC of its sales of images of Miss Monroe without her consent. However, Marilyn Monroe LLC had misread the Celebrity Rights Act, which was passed in 1985 and extends a celebrity’s publicity and likeness rights 70 years after death, and did not apply to Ms. Monroe’s circumstances. , since she did not give her consent in her will.
The leaps and bounds made in memory of Marilyn Monroe have been tremendous this past week. Unfortunately, even years after her death, Marilyn Monroe’s abuse has continued worse than ever from those who didn’t know her as well as some who did. Anna Strasberg is a prime example of someone who never knew her, but has made money off of the late actress’s legacy. Robert Otto is another who has sold fictitious ‘bling’, said to have belonged to her at her quack shows. Bebe Goddard (Marilyn Monroe’s own adoptive sister) and Dolores Hope Masi have also generated counterfeit items for sale claiming to have been owned or inspired by Marilyn Monroe. Sherry Lea Laird profits from Marilyn Monroe through her stories of the actress being reincarnated within her. And storytellers like Jeanne Carmen and June DiMaggio have woven webs of stories about her friendship with the late actress, but none can present evidence like personal photographs with her to validate her stories. June Alpino, also known as June DiMaggio, has also served as the only authenticating connection to the items in the Robert Otto/Queen Mary exhibit, which the world now knows are fake.
May the actions of The Bellinghaus Team, as well as the court success of The Shaw Family Archives LLC, set a precedent for the future protection of Marilyn Monroe’s memory. Part of the success of the right of publicity lawsuit can also be attributed to Mark Bellinghaus, who provided attorneys for The Shaw Family Archives LLC with information from Marilyn Monroe’s will. He was able to share this as he is the owner of this authentic document that he bought at auction in 2005. His copy belonged to May Reis, the second beneficiary in Marilyn Monroe’s will, while Lee Strasberg was only named in the fourth. place. See this attached link for more information on this groundbreaking ruling:
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/05/03/goodbye-norma-jean-and-to-your-right-of-publicity/.
The public now recognizes that misdeeds against the late actress will no longer be tolerated. It is as if Marilyn Monroe herself has spoken out to declare to the world that enough is enough.