MARILYN MONROE OUTFIT AUCTIONED FOR $58,000 

The Associated Press 

December 6, 2003

An outfit worn by Marilyn Monroe in the film "The Seven Year Itch" was purchased Saturday for $58,750 at a charity auction of Hollywood costumes.

The outfit was one of nearly 400 costumes and props from the collection of actress Debbie Reynolds offered for sale at a live auction at the Le Meridien Hotel, over the phone and via the online site eBay to raise money for the planned Hollywood Motion Picture Museum.

The event raised over $500,000, said Darren Julien of Julien Entertainment, one of the show's producers. Most of the major bidders vied for the items by phone and requested anonymity, Julien said.

Monroe's sequined, strapless pant-outfit and its accompanying glowing pink satin shawl was worn briefly in the 1955 film. The bidder purchased the item by phone and requested anonymity.

Another costume worn by Monroe, a late 1800s-styled jacket and dress from her 1950 film, "A Ticket To Tomahawk," was purchased for $41,125.

Other highlights of the sale include $11,750 paid for an original 1939 poster for "Gone With The Wind"; a lavender chiffon gown and matching coat worn by Barbra Streisand in the 1968 musical, "Funny Girl," which sold for $9,400; $5,875 paid for the two-piece white denim uniform worn by Sigourney Weaver in the 1979 sci-fi horror film, "Alien"; a dinner with Reynolds for $5,875; and a walk-on role for the television show "Will and Grace," which sold for $5,400.

Five bidders also paid between $500 and $625 each to attend a private screening of the 1980 film "The Empire Strikes Back" with Reynolds' daughter, Carrie Fisher, who portrayed Princess Leia in three of the "Star Wars" films.

All prices included a 15 percent buyer's fee paid by all winning bidders.