Julien's Auctions Nets $4 Million & New World Record With Marilyn Monroe Pucci Dress, Burial Crypt

Julien's Auctions concluded “ICONS: playboy, Hugh Hefner X Marilyn Monroe” Thursday, March 28th, Friday, March 29th and Saturday, March 30th with a grand finale presentation of iconic items from Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner live in front of an audience of bidders at NYA Studios East in Hollywood, attracting over eight thousand bids online, and on the phone, from countries across each continent such as the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Mexico, Monaco, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Germany, and Hong Kong.

Though the two Hollywood icons remarkably never met, Hugh Hefner's and Marilyn Monroe's legacies became inextricably linked when Monroe appeared in Hefner's inaugural 1953 issue of Playboy. In that moment, they gained worldwide fame becoming two important figures of twentieth-century America and Playboy establishing itself as an iconic global brand.

The three American icons were brought together for the first time in auction history with over 600 historical items including wardrobe, costumes, production documents, furniture, jewelry, artwork, personal effects and beyond sold across the three-day auction event that netted $4 million total and a new world record.

This weekend, many important pieces from Marilyn Monroe's life and career lit up the auction podium with the screen siren turning heads once again with her pink Pucci long-sleeved dress of silk jersey which sold for $325,000, the top selling lot of the event that set a new world record of most expensive Pucci dress sold at auction.

This afternoon, the one-space mausoleum crypt at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary in Los Angeles, California near the final side by side resting places of Hugh Hefner and Marilyn Monroe sold for $195,000, as well as a grave marker from Marilyn Monroe's crypt (as constant touching from fan pilgrimages has led to minor wear causing it to be replaced as needed) sold for an astonishing $88,900 forty-four times its estimate of $2,000.

The crypt and other auction items were sold to Anthony Jabin a tech investor from Beverly Hills, California who commented,” I've always dreamt of being next to Marilyn Monroe for the rest of my life. And I bought Hugh Hefner's round bed and Marilyn Monroe's bathing suit at Julien's this weekend.”

Monroe's The Seven Year Itch costume– a Mae West-inspired black and cellophane effect evening gown designed by legendary costume designer William Travilla worn by Monroe in the classic 1955 film's dream sequence scene, which was later cut from the film–sold for $127,000.

An original Jean Louis painted cream/beige silk jersey cocktail dress worn by Marilyn Monroe for The Misfits cast press conference in the summer of 1960 sold for $65,000, well over its estimate of $40,000.

Marilyn Monroe's custom shade of Elizabeth Arden lipstick in a goldtone case with typewritten label reading "Orange Pink like Miss I./ sample 05022/ May 2, 1960" sold for an incredible $65,000, nine times its estimate of $7,000, making it the second highest selling lipstick in auction history.

A three-piece bathing suit ensemble custom-made for Marilyn Monroe to wear in the 1954 musical There's No Business Like Show Business that Sir Elton John donated to a charity auction in 1990 sold for $29,250, nearly five times its estimate of $6,000.

A lavender satin, boned leotard costume worn by Marilyn Monroe as Lillian Russell for a pictorial feature in the December 22, 1958 issue of Life magazine, photographed by Richard Avedon also stole the spotlight for $29,250. Monroe also dressed as Theda Bara, Clara Bow, Jean Harlow, and Marlene Dietrich for this series of photographs.

An artist proof print featuring an image of Marilyn Monroe from Tom Kelley's famous 1948 Red Velvet photo session initialed by Hugh Hefner "HMH," with "A/P" sold for an astonishing $15,875, nearly twenty-seven times its estimate of $600.

A letter from Jean Smith, one of the children to Rose and Joseph Kennedy and sister to John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy Shriver and four other siblings that reads: "Dear Marilyn - Mother asked me to write and thank you for your sweet note to Daddy - He really enjoyed it and you were very cute to send it. / Understand that you and Bobby are the new item! We all think you should come with him when he comes back east! Again thanks for the note. / Love, Jean Smith" sold for $28,575, seven times its estimate of $4,000.

Items from Monroe's last films made its way to the auction podium including her personal annotated script sides to The Misfits ($22,750, four and half times its estimate of $5,000) and her annotated script to her final uncompleted film Something's Got To Give ($57,150, over estimate of $20,000) and her handwritten notes to the script ($25,400 over its estimate of $10,000).

Other Marilyn highlights sold today included: a shadowbox frame containing Marilyn Monroe's black lace and satin under-wire bra with lace cups ($11,700, nearly six times its estimate of $2,000); a Metropolitan Opera playbill from the 1958-1959 season signed by Monroe ($12,500, over its estimate of $5,000); Monroe's floret styled brooch of simulated diamonds ($13,000, over its estimate of $8,000); a personal check handwritten by Monroe to the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company in the amount of $62.83, dated April 27, 1953 ($11,700, eleven and a half times its estimate of $1,000); her checkbook and cover with seventeen blank checks from the Irving Trust Company with "Marilyn Monroe" printed on each check ($10,400, over its estimate of $3,000); Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe 1954 passport photo ($16,250); a receipt from Pilgrim's Furniture addressed to Marilyn Monroe dated August 4, 1962, the same day Monroe passed away ($12,500); and more.

Hugh Hefner's famous wardrobe and furniture from the Playboy Mansion all sold through the weekend concluding in today's sale such as his burgundy smoking jacket, slippers, pajamas, and tobacco pipe ensemble ($13,000, six and half times its estimate of $2,000) and a circular mansion bed custom-made for Hefner as a back-up to his primary bed at the original Playboy Mansion in Chicago ($13,000, well over its estimate of $2,000).

Playboy Enterprises' large collection of fine contemporary artwork that once hung in Playboy headquarters such as Richard Hunt's “Stalk” sculpture ($127,000) and Milton Resnick's “Crater” among many others as well as the largest collection of Albert Vargas' Vargas Girls pinups were offered to the public for the first time at auction this weekend. LeRoy Neiman's vibrant works from Playboy magazine's “Man at Leisure” series drew bidders with his “Stage Bar” painting ($114,300), "Surfing," ($104,000), "Le Cafe Chambord" ($88,900), as well as his iconic Femlin illustrations all sold.

The auction was held for the first time at NYA Studios East, Hollywood's movie and sound studio that was transformed into a Playboy inspired exhibition that was open to the public prior to the auction. The collection previously traveled to the Fringe Club in Hong Kong for Julien's inaugural exhibition in the city where the historic collection was displayed in a museum like exhibition.

“Throughout our twenty years in the business, Julien's has proudly represented the legacies of Hollywood's biggest stars yet there is no one bigger and more enduring than Marilyn Monroe,” said David Goodman, CEO of Julien's Auctions. “Her most glamourous and incandescent items were the top sellers at our three-day auction that sold a stunning and fascinating collection of artifacts from three American icons of the 20th century, Hugh Hefner, Marilyn Monroe and Playboy.”

Julien's is the auction industry leader in the sales of Marilyn Monroe's most iconic items and ephemera. In 2016, they earned their second Guinness Book of World Record for world's most expensive dress ever sold at auction in their $4.8 million sale of Marilyn Monroe's “Happy Birthday Mr. President” Jean Louis designed gown. Other items from the screen siren sold by Julien's include Monroe's costume from There's No Business Like Show Business sold for $280,000, her iconic red floor length gown worn in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes sold for $250,000,  and her 1956 Ford Thunderbird sold for $490,000

Julien's Auctions

For the moments that matter.

You know that moment when the lights dim, right before your favorite band starts playing? Or that feeling right before the credits roll on a movie that changed your whole world in an instant? The air is charged with anticipation and words are never going to do it justice because you just really had to be there.

At Julien's, we exist to bring those moments back into your life through iconic artifacts and one-of-a-kind collections. Whether collaborating directly with artists, partnering with legendary estates, or working closely with discerning collectors, our auctions make culture pop with the promise of discovery and reconnection. From Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and Ringo Starr to Lady Gaga, Banksy, and Kurt Cobain—from LA to the world, we are where originals find their kind.

Photo Credit: Julien's Auctions

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