From there the Playboy media empire took on a life of its own, but Hefner’s obsession with Monroe never waned. Even in death he pursued her, and bought the crypt at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery neighboring Monroe’s in 1992. Late last week, someone bought their own adjacent crypt to both Hollywood figures on the Corridor of Memories for $195,000.
Julien’s offered a mixture of personal items, costumes, and a large amount of art from Hefner’s collection as well as pieces that were once displayed around the Playboy headquarters, coming to a total of 600 lots. A lavender boned leotard worn by Monroe during the 1958 photoshoot by Richard Avedon for Life magazine sold for $29,250. A pink silk jersey Pucci dress owned by Monroe, “Exclusively for Saks Fifth Avenue” as per the label, made the record sale price for the Florentine designer at $325,000. Monroe’s studio notes, checkbooks with their leather covers, letter correspondences, and several annotated scripts were also on offer during the auction.