Category Archives: Websites

Dear Birthday Girl – Unwrapping the Marilyn Archive

01 Thursday Jun 2023

Posted by in Marilyn Monroe, Updates, Websites

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On what would be Marilyn Monroe’s 97th birthday, here’s a gift from me to all her fans. (The photo above – shot by Ed Feingersh in March 1955 – shows Marilyn looking up at a James Thurber drawing on the wall of Costello’s Restaurant, an Irish bar on Third Avenue in Manhattan,  beloved by the literati.)

As regular readers will know, I’m the author of The Mmm Girl, a novel about Marilyn Monroe – and way back in 2010, I started a daily blog on Marilyn called ES Updates, part of the Everlasting Star online community. After a decade, I moved to a fully independent blog, The Marilyn Report, which continues to this day.

So what is THE MARILYN  ARCHIVE? It’s a way of keeping all the highlights from the ES Updates era online. My focus is on preserving stories of lasting value pertaining to Marilyn’s remarkable life and career, and her enduring cultural impact. So I won’t be repeating the more ephemeral posts about screenings, exhibitions, etc unless they’re still relevant.

It’s a long project, covering Marilyn-related news from 2010-20 – and at the time of writing, I’ve been working on it for a year and am approximately halfway done. I’ll keep adding to the archive whenever I have time, and my posts are usually either chronological or related to topics of current interest. So if you want to know more, please bookmark The Marilyn Archive and search away!

Tara Hanks

Merry Christmas to All My Readers!

24 Thursday Dec 2020

Posted by in Music, Updates, Websites, Writing

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Wishing you all happiness this Christmas, whether you’re at home with family or separated from loved ones in this winter like no other. This seasonal card, featuring the work of Walter Crane, was produced by the Radical Tea Towel Company.

Over the last few days I’ve shared my favourite books, music and films of 2020, . And at my sister blog, The Marilyn Report, I’ve compiled some of this year’s top Monroe stories (yes, she’s still making headlines …)

And finally, here’s a mellow version of ‘Blue Christmas’ from Sharon Van Etten – and a toast, from me to all of you. Cheers!

A Birthday Wish for Marilyn

01 Monday Jun 2020

Posted by in Anniversaries, Books, Marilyn Monroe, Updates, Websites

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Today marks what would be Marilyn Monroe’s 94th birthday. It’s also ten years since I started my sister blog, ES Updates (affiliated to Everlasting Star, the longest-running online forum about Monroe.) Whereas on this website I cover a range of subjects in mostly long-form pieces, ES Updates is dedicated solely to Marilyn with shorter, more frequent posts relating to all aspects of her life and legacy. So if you’re looking for ways to celebrate her birthday, please head over to ES Updates and subscribe to the daily email bulletin; and for a deeper dive, read my novel, The Mmm Girl. (The photo shown above was taken by László Willinger in 1950 to promote one of Marilyn’s first important roles in All About Eve, which turns 70 this year.)

Happy New Year To All My Readers

31 Sunday Dec 2017

Posted by in Anniversaries, Profumo Affair, Updates, Websites, Writing

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As the curtain falls on 2017, this blog also approaches its tenth anniversary. I’d like to thank everyone who has read (and hopefully enjoyed) my posts. This month I’ve been thinking a lot about Christine Keeler, who inspired my first novel and so much more. Wishing everyone a beautiful 2018 – and whatever this new year may bring, keep a dream in your hearts.

The James Abbe Archive

06 Monday Jul 2015

Posted by in Art and Photography, Jeanne Eagels, Websites

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This portrait of Jeanne Eagels, taken by James Abbe in 1919, was chosen for the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. Kendra Bean (author of Vivien Leigh: An Intimate Portrait) talks about her work at the Abbe Archive – and shares some restored photos – in a new blog post, ‘James Abbe: Capturing the Silent Screen.’

Abbe is also featured in David S. Shields’ recent book, Still: American Silent Motion Photography. On his Broadway Photographs website, Shields introduces an autobiographical essay by Abbe, first published in the Oakland Tribune from 1961-62.

Down in Philadelphia the Saturday Evening Post and Ladies Home Journal got wind of my success and perhaps remembering the brief contact I had with them that day I stopped en route to New York, asked me to submit some of my photographs to them. I did.

One of those I submitted was of actress Jeanne Eagels, and became a Post cover. For that picture I received $75. It was the first time the Post had used a photograph on its cover.

Months afterward, a poet called upon me in my New York studio with some of the prints I had sold the Post and the Journal. He had been assigned to write verses around them I had never heard of him previously, but got to know him later. His name was Christopher Morley.