Remembering Marilyn – in a Land Rover

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There are not many roads that a Land Rover cannot reach, right? The sea is an exception, though. Despite that, Land Rovers are frequently seen and photographed on the beach or at the seaside. It’s just scenic, isn’t it? Just be aware of the dangers of the sea.

We like this early Land Rover beach scene. And, you will have noticed, with that most famous of 1950s film stars in it: Marilyn Monroe. The photograph was taken by a befriended photographer Sam Shaw at Long Beach. An excerpt from an autobiography on Monroe: “In the summer of 1957, Sam took some of the very loveliest shots of Marilyn, in which she looked very much herself and hardly at all the internationally famous star that she was. A carefree girl dancing in her Connecticut garden, having quiet moments with her husband Arthur Miller and their dog Hugo, enjoying a long telephone conversation with a friend, taking a tour by car and by foot of Manhattan and Brooklyn, shopping in the men’s department for a tie for her husband, boating in Central Park, frolicking at a Long Island beach looking simultaneously like a giddy teen and a sizzling temptress. It was, once again, Sam’s unique style in capturing a moment rather than creating one which makes these photos so unique and striking. Although, he would be quick not to take too much credit if asked – he said that Marilyn knew the camera better than his other subjects.” You’ll find more of the photographs that Shaw took that Summer here. We also found this picture, of both Monroe and Shaw as well as the Land Rover.

It was five years later, on August 5, 1962, that the actress was found dead in her house in Brentwood, California. That’s 55 years ago today. Do stand still  for a moment and think of her.

(Words editor, picture Sam Shaw)

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